Anushka Tendolkar — Lead Designer, Brand & UX at Ultraviolette Automotive
Playing most sports, winning awards, featured work at Vogue & Elle to working at the coolest EV performance bike company of India.
Describe your childhood & how did your background influence the career choices that followed later on in your life?
Being the older kid, I was obviously the lab rat, as is the case in most families. Ever since I was 4 or 5 years old, I was exposed to a multitude of extra-curricular activities ranging from sports, art, modeling,graduating into Abacus classes, Spelling Bee, competitive Science Olympiads, you name it.
The multi-tasker in me was nurtured since a very early age and I have been an athlete all my life getting proper state level training in Skating, volleyball, badminton, basketball, table tennis which played a huge impact on my personality and way of being overall. Sports taught me a lot of discipline and consistency and to really ‘trust the process’, accepting that fact that there are no shortcuts to hard work.
My mother really pushed me in the creative field because I loved art and I was decent at it but that push was just the doorway.
My creative career till now has been a result of that grit and consistency of making time to always create and push myself to be better that comes from sports and I still hold health and fitness as my utmost priority in life because it’s only through that medium that I’m able to function the way I do.
Do you remember that crucial moment when design ‘clicked’ for you, and you wanted to get involved more heavily?
I actually don’t remember a crucial moment when it clicked for me but I remember what it felt like to get praised for my work even though in retrospect it was quite average.
But that validation made me feel like I accomplished something on a daily basis and I was really happy just creating whatever was on my mind. I used to be very open to learn anything and everything to just level up my skills constantly but I always felt there’s someone better than me out there and that motivated me to do more and more.
Now that I’ve been working for a while, I know there’s always people much more skilled than I am but there’s also no-one like me. My experiences, thought process, personality that flows into my work is a culmination of my life, that nobody else has lived and that’s something every creative individual should understand to get out of the imposter syndrome mentality.
How did your experience at college align with aspirations you had before joining college and how did college shape you up for your to-be future endeavours?
There is a funny answer to this which I have mentioned too many times in too many conversations but I did not even know what communication design was before I decided to study it and get a degree for the same. Someone sold the concept to me with one simple line “Oh you just need your laptop and you can work from anywhere.”
And I swear, that excited me so much, I immediately signed up for it knowing I’m okay at art, I’ll figure it out. And I honestly feel so grateful to have met that person, wherever they are now, THANK YOU!
Because I don’t think there is any field as versatile and adaptable as communication design. My courses in college were so varied- photography, story telling, branding, ui/ux, exhibition design, coding, illustration, and I can do all of it! Like, if i ever get bored of one, I can switch to the other with ease or even better, use all of them together just like I try to in my everyday design practice now.
I thoroughly enjoyed college time and the company I was blessed with. And while Covid allowed me to ‘work from anywhere’ I’m really looking forward to the time I will get to do that for myself full time.
Looking back, can you put a pin on your experiences from school or college specifically that might have helped you become the designer that you are today?
As a Spiderverse fan, I had my cannon event in my design journey when I participated in Kyoorius Young Blood Awards 2018 with a friend.
It was an external project where companies send out briefs for students to work on and the project that we worked on was one of the most fun yet stressful projects which also was super rewarding because we were shortlisted for the award and won baby elephant award with in-book mentions.
I had a couple of small awards before that, but this was a big one and really changed my design trajectory because I started taking everything a lot more seriously making sure I do everything after that with just as much intent and soul. The whole topic of awards in the creative field is very debatable but you can’t deny the gratification that comes with it which motivates people even more. (at least sometimes lol)
Now, tell us about your professional journey. Internship at J Walter Thompson, then Accenture, working with Adobe, Vogue,Elle and UV; tell us how you went about choosing these companies early in your career and what kind of work you were and are involved in.
My first internship ever was as an illustrator at Mumbai Foodie, a popular instagram foodblog and it was one of the most fun things I did as an absolute rookie.
My next internship was ay Jwalter Thompson (now Wunderman Thompson) which was a 6 month long period working as a graphic designer in such a small team that I never felt like an intern. The team was so wholesome, i got to learn so much in the field of branding that it got me innately intertwined with brand forever and the confidence I built through that internship is something I’ll always be grateful for.
I studied communication design in college but majored in graphics, so after college during placements, when Accenture hired me as a visual designer in UI/UX role, it was a completely new playground where I got to learn so much of UI/UX while on the job.
I did so many heuristic evaluations, design thinking workshops, translating product manager’s product vision to reality all during the lockdown time.
There was also a point where my manager, and only other team member had to go on maternity leave and she trusted me enough to handle all the work which was super intimidating but I somehow managed it and that was my initial pathway into knowing that I think I could be a good lead.
Soon after that I left Accenture for my next big experiment at Ultraviolette- knowing nothing about vehicles but excited to learn more and bring in my fresh perspective to establish the brand and UI/UX at an EV company.
It’s been over 2 years at Ultraviolette and the amount of work I got a chance to be involved in was amazing. The way I’ve selected my path has always been from a place of, “what can I get better at?” and never, “what am I already good at?” because I know I’ll get bored if I don’t challenge myself to outdo the last thing I did. It somehow works out for me.
You’re probably one of the few designers I know who work at the intersection of UX and graphic design. How did that happen? What does your current day-to-day look like?
I’ve always believed in being a designer who practices DESIGN as a whole rather than focus on just one thing and do only that. Studying communication design really helped with exposure to multiple skills which I was then able to take forward as per my interest.
Like I mentioned, my first job at Accenture is where I practiced UI/UX design properly and continue to do so at Ultraviolette.
I lead a team of 4 designers here and I’m trying to be as cool a lead as possible lol. The day always starts with to-do lists for the day, lots of meetings, lots of chill time too but always meeting deadlines with work. I’m very particular about time and hate last minute work so I try to plan the whole team’s time in a way that gives us time to work freely without stress.
After office hours is when my personal brand work begins where I’m either working on branding or illustration projects or making personal projects for myself and upskilling.
My partner is a designer too and it works out pretty well for us that we are both super ambitious and we get our need to work more beyond office hours. That understanding has led both of us to really push ourselves and each other while also trying to make time for the gym, our dog, and lots of food and fun times with our friends.
What do you think is the biggest motivation for designers in the current wave of product orgs. to switch or join (or, not join) a specific organisation? Do you see patterns, traits?
I do see a pattern shift in how things used to be where design students directly wanted to go join a studio to do all a variety of fun work they can showcase in their portfolio. It was a lot of quantity over quality work that was appealing for a while but within the current startup situation in India, lots and lots of designers are switching to particular organizations to do quality work.
This is also my perspective because I know the in-depth brand work I’ve done at Ultraviolette vs the top layer work I’ve done in a studio set-up, just for more clients. But the quality that comes through that one long project is unmatched.
Apart from the work, I’ve also seen design become part of the mainstream and pay a lot more than what it used to before when everyone was in studios. It’s definitely a reason for the switch but not the only one.
What do you absolutely wish companies knew about hiring designers?
Don’t just go on someone’s portfolio. Communication skills and an open mind is super important to know if the person would create an egoistic mess later or be a team player.
Another very important aspect I’m always on the lookout for is a refined taste palette which they could absolutely own up to and also influence others in a positive way.
What’s your take on the Indian product design community? What do you think are the goods and areas for improvement? Since you’ve been part of both Indian and global companies, do you have a point of view on how the communities differ?
I think i have a big big problem with people who are self proclaimed experts at only one aspect of design.
I truly feel design needs to be practiced in a multidisciplinary way and a lot of product designers get very stuck up on the trend of “ui/ux design” as apps or websites. Or even- say vehicle designers who are also product designers, getting stuck up on everything around just vehicles. Like there is a world of possibilities outside of this one topic and the tunnel vision is what feels less inclusive.
Having worked with a few global brands, I really love the way they respect and speak about design and art, giving the due credit, giving the right compensation as well since they recognise the effort and somehow I’ve always found it easier to work with the global teams/brands than the Indian ones. I really hope that perception changes soon because there is just SO much to do in India and for India.
What skills do you think have become increasingly more important for designers?
Believe it or not, soft skills are more important for a designer than any other skill at this point. I’ve met so many talented designers who don’t know how to explain their work or talk about themselves or even hold a conversation for a while without fumbling.
These things matter a lot when networking and while designer skills can be learnt on youtube and practiced, conversation skills are just as important if you want people to invest in you.
Switching tracks, do you have other side/personal projects that you keep yourself busy with? How do you think they influence your work?
All the time! Apart from my day time job, I’ve always maintained the importance of having my personal brand as worked for clients like Adobe, Elle, Vogue, KFC for skills I don’t usually get to showcase at my job and I love how both the experiences feed into each other, allowing me to create outputs that are clearly a result of the different experiences i have for each project.
I’m currently working on getting better at Procreate illustrations and I already got a project to make botanical drawings. What can be better than that!
Any plugs you want to put in?
I’m going independent soon! Would love to work on super interesting projects that feel like passion projects to me.
Where are you located now?
Bangalore
Top bookmarks
Serious Pinterest addict. AWWWARDS, Saveeit.
Favourite mobile apps
Instagram. Sounds like a basic answer but I’ve been a user since 2012. I’ve literally seen it grow from the very beginning and I don’t think I can live without it.
Where can one find you online?
@anushkatendolkar or @anushkatee
Favourite reads? What are you reading lately?
I only read design books for great inspo and sometimes when I feel lost- some self help books. Currently going through a stressful time and The Almanac of Naval Ravikant is giving me solace.
Favourite tracks? What are you listening to lately?
I really listen to anything and everything except for techno and house music. Can’t stand that.
Currently the tracks playing on repeat for me are: Boho Days from Tick tick boom, Sweatpants by Childish Gambino and Love in the Dark by Adele.
Favourite accessories/ gadgets?
It’s too soon to declare but I just got myself a Ricoh GRiiix and i am OBSESSED. I’ve been into photography since i was in school and have had 2–3 diff cameras in the past, but this is just so compact that it’s replaced my iphone camera for sure.
Tea or coffee?
Coffee all the way! I’m basically Lorelai Gilmore when it comes to my coffee addiction.
