About

Hello! I am a young UX Designer with a couple years of formal education in UX design @IU HCId and a lifetime of thought and experimentation into understanding the lines between people, cultures, communities, and technology.

I work diligently five days a week at @Clutch. to help steer our clients' CX services with an empathy, research, and collaboration-centric approach.

When I am not designing, I read, write, and reflect on design, life, and the future of humanity.

I have come a long way to be able to do what I'm doing now. I am really excited about this new reality of my life and want to collaborate with as many amazing people as I can!

Let's solve the problems! Let's create new possibilities!

Please say hi @ jvikasreddy@gmail.com

SO, WHO REALLY AM I ?

Born and brought up in a middle-class, humble family in south India, I grew up in a land rich with diversity, culture, chaos, and competition (for just about everything). My childhood experiences shaped me into an observant kid, questioning everything that came my way. People, always fascinate me. We are the most biologically-sophisticated yet psychologically-complicated beings out there. "Why things are the way they are? Who made them? Why did they make them so? How could it have been done better?." "How societies function? Why do people suffer?  How can I make our lives better?" I grew up, (and still am) with such, and many more questions.

I was 7 when I first saw a Computer. My school teacher took us to a Computer lab where they showed us how music was composed using a BASIC program. And it did not stop there! She made us play Pac-Man on it!

"Wait! those things move on my command!??"

From that moment onwards, technology became my best friend.

In India, it is said that first, you have to be an Engineer before you figure out what to do with your life. I was not an exception. Given my prowess with code and my love for technology, I took the obvious  Engineering route. I enjoyed it thoroughly and we had a great relationship for years. I worked for a few years as a Software developer and ITSM consultant in India. During that period, I began to realize the immense potential of technology and how it was being used in the real world. I wanted to learn more, I wanted to build things for people. So I came to the US for further education.

Not knowing what was the right way, I took yet another traditional path of doing a Masters in Computer Science at Indiana University Bloomington. I did great there too. I learned about Data Mining, Artificial Intelligence and other state-of-the-art technologies. But thanks to the awesome professors and peers I met at IU, I discovered my second true love in the form of User Experience Design.

"Wait, these people get to do what I've been doing ever since I was a child, and make a living out if it!?" 

I had to be there! I realized that design is the right fit for someone like me who loves people and technology equally well. Then, I made the smartest decision of my life, I applied to the HCId program at IU, and they graciously accepted me!

Two years down the line, I have grown into a people-centric thinker, and maker of things, who seeks pleasure in making pixel-perfect and delightful product-user experiences by leveraging the capabilities of human-perception and technology. I aspire to make use of the wisdom and skills I’ve gained to steer technology towards creating new possibilities and solving the problems we face on a daily basis.

SKILLS (and my competency)

TOOLS I USE

Tosh, a fellow designer, once said, "don't be attached to your tools".  I believe he is right. Tools must enhance, and not hinder creativity and expression.

PEOPLE WHO INSPIRE ME

I am what I am today because of the lessons I learned from people's successes and failures.

BLOGS & BOOKS I FOLLOW

I must confess I haven't been an avid reader until very recently. Not everything can be found on Youtube! Although I've had enjoyed writing articles, a design fiction, and am currently writing a witty-satirical zombie rom-com in my spare time.

SAY HI!

I'd love to share and talk more about my work. Please say hi! I promise, you won't be disappointed.