having read numerous articles, it's clear that word of mouth is hailed as one of the most valued forms of marketing strategies around!

there are more than 3,000 students at our college presently, with close to 25+ students being skilled designers. however, when the acm chapter faculty sponsors invite you to join the team and become the lead designer for its upcoming international conference and take charge of designing its visual assets, it serves as a huge compliment to one's capabilities and is a testament to the impact one has made in the design community. read ↗

ps: this was a multidisciplinary role, offering the opportunity to learn a lot and connect with many talented people from around the world. grateful.


there's a completely different feeling when you win a competition in which people majoring in design also participate, redefining the power of self-learning.

in preparation for our university's first tedx talk on february 16th, 2024, the team introduced an engaging design challenge. tasked with creating a qr code design that encapsulates the theme- into the newness; the moment I received the email notification, i decided to participate. dedicated nearly an hour to ideation, leading to the realization of a concept that felt both innovative and fitting. the experience has been incredibly rewarding.

it feels amazing to contribute to this incredible community of brilliant people. read ↗

ps: had to miss one complete day of classes to arrive at the final iteration; didn't want to face the creative block because I had a close deadline.


the meetup location was around 40 kms away from our hostel, and given the anticipated travel time, we were hesitant about whether we should attend or not. contemplating the rarity and importance of such moments, moments that impart lessons beyond the scope of textbooks, took a deep breath and decided that we were going.

the next big problem was the inflated cost of travelling; with auto-rickshaws quoting around 850 for a one-way trip, which seemed impractical. my friend piyush suggested a more efficient solution of renting a scooter for the day, and we decided to go with that option.

practised the speed networking session (all of us were seated opposite each other and were given 90 seconds to get to know the person before switching to the next seat and repeating the process), engaged in discussions, and participated in the 10-star experience activity, securing the 2nd position.

meeting people with similar interests as yours feels so exhilarating. no wonder why the design community is considered one of the warmest ones.

ps: left Hustlehub very late, around 8:30(ish), but still managed to reach the hostel in time (very close actually, 9:54). let that be a secret, a fast and bumpy one.


always desired a dedicated space where i could showcase all my work, projects, photographs, writings, and more. the best part is, i can be mindful and have greater control over my digital footprint.

this space functions as a platform for me to share my creative expressions with a wider audience and to connect with individuals who have similar interests.

the complete journey of design, development, debugging, and deployment to production has been a valuable learning experience on its own.


set multiple prs in jan 2024. completed a 5.01k run in 33 minutes and 12 seconds with a pace of 6:37/km and a 110m sprint in 15 seconds with a pace of 2:07/km. read ↗

witnessed a sudden boost in my stamina and overall fitness; running provided me with essential time for self-reflection, allowing me to navigate and process my thoughts.

as a kid, i always used to play games involving running, albeit not in a structured or calculated manner. however, after undergoing nasal surgery in 2021, i had to refrain from all strenuous activities for a long period, significantly affecting my endurance.

after the rest period, when i felt ready, i decided to give it a try. it turned out to be one of the best days of my life - completing a 5k run in 40 minutes and 36 seconds. read ↗


led a composition session with kriti during our university's flagship event, discover pcb, hosted by the photography club. illustrated key composition concepts like- lights and shadows, juxtaposition, frame within a frame, rule of thirds, negative space and more.

was one of the most memorable moments of 2023. read ↗


captured numerous events during the falak sports and cultural fest, spanning a diverse range from painting to dance.

it feels incredibly enticing to capture moments of people completely immersed in the disciplines they truly love- undoubtedly one of the best things i love about photography.


we were given the theme- descent with modification, spanning from the ancient swirls of primordial chaos to the elegant arcs of modern humanity. the theme resonates with the fluidity and dynamism of life itself; and the best part- we all completed the entire design in under 2hrs; a rarity in the field of design work. secured 2nd position, content but not fulfilled.


labmatix was our database systems cse_2251's mini-project, and for its development, we employed the server-side scripting language PHP. i handled the entire front-end development, focusing on enhancing the overall user experience and a more seamless interaction for users.

in version 2.0, following the successful release of the apple mixed reality headset, i revamped the complete ui of labmatix to cater to users accessing it via their headsets. this marked my first mr design, and the learning experience was invaluable. read ↗


i explored the campus, documenting moments of individuals arriving from various parts of the country to engage in activities they love. i had the opportunity to witness noteworthy events such as the national-level hackathon, dynamic revamping challenges, intense coding competitions, and a multitude of other inspiring activities.


led the development of tech solstice's captivating brand identity, encompassing every element from the striking logo design to the carefully curated typography and its vibrant color palette.

after finalising the design, sent the complete assets to the fest's design team to ensure consistent visual identity.


utsav is the biggest annual sports and cultural fest for all of mahe everywhere. me and Advay were shortlisted for the photography event (which had some restriction of only 2 people being sent from each campus), this experience was very different from the previous ones, got to observe some international photographers and their workflow, and learned about their perspectives as well.


a friend of mine showed me a logo designed by one of our batchmates, unsatisfied with its vibes, genuinely wanting my design touch. i decided to help; and researched elements, colors, and type. After like 8-10 iterations, landed on a design that pleased me. forwarded it, and he was the happiest.

finally spent about 20 minutes designing the jacket; the entire process took 2-4 days, but it was fulfilling to help, so it was worth it. read ↗


for our fourth sem, pcb organised a photo walk to bhoga nandishwara temple; we got to capture the essence of nature and ancient architecture, the expedition provided an enriching experience for our photography enthusiasts, exploring diverse themes; instilling a greater appreciation for the beauty around us. read ↗


on march 24, 2023, we had the opportunity to experience one of the most versatile singers in india, mohit chauhan. i've been listening to his music since childhood and have always wanted to hear him perform live. i got goosebumps when he started performing- especially during nadaan parindey! it is a core memory for real.


underwent multiple rounds of interviews; got selected among the candidates; went to manipal to participate in its annual sports and cultural fest, revels 2023, for the photography and design events. was my first photography competition; got to meet a lot of talented photographers.

secured 2nd place in product photography and 3rd place in design revamp. was one rewarding experience. read ↗


following the national science day event, the winners and dedicated volunteers who contributed sincerely to the event's success were given the opportunity to visit the indian institute of science for a field trip alongside the faculty members; was an enriching experience, learned a lot from iisc's students. read ↗


we had the air show practice going on for one complete week, and our classes moved online for that particular week; in one casual conversation, sounak and sanidhya suggested going to nandi hills, surprisingly, within 10 minutes, the decision escalated, and we ended up planning a trip to tamil nadu instead. after receiving permission from our parents and obtaining leave forms, we took off. the next four days were filled with pure wonder.

experienced moments that i'm going to cherish for life, especially the one where a small monkey cheekily took a big fraction of our food from my hand.


took part in a national science day competition, where the task was to design a poster based on the theme- global science for global wellbeing; went for the digital category, underwent around 8-9 rounds of iterations, and finally arrived at a design that I truly loved.

secured first place; the best part was receiving the kite runner, which has undoubtedly become one of the best books i've read so far. i love it! read ↗

after several rounds of fun conversations with my friend advay, made up my mind to join the creative board of the photography club (pcb) as head of design; got the chance to design numerous assets- including primary logos for its sub-departments of creative content, videography and design, and posters for a multitude of workshops; made me fall in love with design all over again.

met so many people who are excellent at their respective crafts. read ↗


took the time to design a recap of all of my highlighted designs from 2022 (not the confidentiality agreement ones); revised all the fundamentals and strengthened my knowledge of design.

2022's been an incredibly fruitful experience. read ↗


participated in my first product design challenge; challenge prompt was to design an interface for a vending machine app, designed it considering a simple, clean and user centric approach. thanks don!

got a learn a ton of new design principles.

secured the 3rd position among fellow designers and garnered the highest number of upvotes.


bluelearn offered an opportunity for ui/ux designers to directly join the design club, skipping the lengthy waitlist, through their released application.

the task was to design a carpooling mobile app interface that enabled its users to offer and find rides. took 2 days to land on the final iteration, I loved it; received significant appreciation from the community members and was featured on bluelearn's social media platform and most importantly received the invitation to join the design club. read ↗


joined fiducia, our campus's blockchain-based student project, as its lead developer and technical designer.

took charge of designing its visual assets from zero; built an enhanced version of the voting and the feedback subpart front-end; focussed on enhancing the user experience by simplifying and making the ui look more intuitive.


one of my friends who was in the chess club's core board approached me to design the club's primary logo and its subsequent versions; had a tight schedule that week, but was able to squeeze just enough time to present the iteration that i loved.

after finalising the design, sent the type, color, and imagery guidelines to the club's graphic designer to ensure consistency and maintain the club's visual identity. read ↗


was selected to be a part of the media organizing committee for our campus's fest- falak 2022; captured numerous pictures—such a fun experience!


designed the landing page and accompanying web assets, including type and color guidelines, for our college's inaugural sports and cultural fest (now named falak).

design becomes truly enjoyable when ideas flow seamlessly and everything falls into place. read ↗


went to harohalli lake with our juniors for a morning photo walk, and gained a lot of valuable experience in capturing portraits, landscapes, and more. built connections with many talented juniors, and got to learn about their passion for photography.

mentored juniors in photography, sharing insights on framing a picture using different composition techniques and using various camera settings.

qas one rewarding experience.


on 09/09/22, our team participated in our first hackathon, the industry conclave 1.0, held in manipal, udupi. we developed an object detection model designed to provide patrolling officers with crucial data about cars in real-time; key detection included speeding, driver drowsiness, excessive pollution, wobbling wheels, and drunk driving. trained the model using an existing public dataset plus creating an additional dataset internally as well (the public one wasn't giving satisfactory accuracy).

despite strong competition from over 50 teams, we secured a position in the top 10(9th). The experience provided us with invaluable insights and learning opportunities.

learned about collaborative project development.

On the final day, we explored the beautiful town of manipal for the first time— so green and lush.


as the lead designer and developer, i crafted the entire brand kit for almanac visuals, one of our college's clubs. this experience deepened my understanding of branding and the essential elements encompassed in a brand kit; i also made significant contributions to the initial version of its website.

took a ton of time to finish it, but was all worth it.


after settling into our newly constructed campus, we still had multiple places left to be explored. following this, our photography club scheduled its first photo walk. on June 12, 2022, at 5:30 pm, we started our in-house expedition.

meeting the club members in person was a delight, and listening to their stories about how they ventured into photography added a personal and meaningful touch to the experience.

with a group of nearly 15 members, we explored the campus for around 2 hours, discovering a multitude of perspectives. the photowalk was a resounding success.

fun fact: back then, I hadn't even laid hands on a camera before; and using one, changing lenses, adjusting settings, and understanding the purpose of each setting, were all entirely new to me.


just a week before moving to our new campus, we had conversations to organise an unofficial college road trip to some beautiful dest, ended up finalising a waterfall adventure to Chunchi falls (preferably chhoti falls), as it included trekking as well. (was incredibly exhausting, but simultaneously was a lot of fun.)

etched numerous core memories as it was my first visit to a waterfall, got completely captivated by its sheer beauty.


in appreciation of our mother earth, i designed a poster to celebrate earth day on 22/04.

got to learn the fundamental principle that a design isn't crafted in a day; rather, it undergoes multiple iterations to reach its final and polished form.

in the words of kahlil gibran: “and forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” read ↗


we were given the beautiful theme of- celebrating awesome women in my life, penned the essay dedicating my mom, how she has always been my strongest support system and an unwavering cheerleader. secured the 2nd prize. read ↗


one of my close friends came up with a brilliant idea to create a mobile app that streamlines the delivery process by providing significant details about a customer's order just through their shipment ids; inviting me to join the team, agreed to it; while designing the interface from zero, learned valuable insights into user research, competitive analysis, and the importance of adopting a user-centric approach.

the experience also emphasized the significance of creating a simple interface. read ↗

enrolled in google's ux design specialisation course on coursera. took me the next 8 months to properly understand and learn the provided concepts. this specialisation significantly elevated my understanding and skills in design. got familiar with fundamental concepts such as user-centric designs, designing for accessibility, inclusivity, type and color theory.

always had a knack for enhancing existing solutions. (unpopular opinion, i believe designs aren't just beautiful screens; they are functional solutions.)

taking this specialisation course was undoubtedly one of the best decisions i made in 2021. read ↗


some of my batchmates started a community experience-sharing blog called manipal bengaluru spotlight (present- the manipal convocal); one of the members reached out to me seeking assistance with some design work; and wanted suggestions for their brand kit. did in-depth research for the same and provided crucial key points and assets that enhanced their brand's visual identity.

this was my first time volunteering in design!


the first semester being online (due to covid lockdown) allowed me to balance my academics and explore new areas in tech. delved into web development, gained an understanding of how web architecture works, did frontend dev and worked on some of my first projects.


i took up computer science and engineering at manipal, specialising in cyber security. chose my electives in Iot, Cloud, python programming, distributed cloud security, and cyber law and ethics. additionally, took an interdisciplinary course on legal rights and duties.

i was fortunate to have the flexibility to explore a wide range of domains, giving me the chance to experiment with various subjects and pinpoint my areas of interest. fell in love with the stem approach to creativity and critical analysis. been one enriching experience.

this exploratory approach played a crucial role in equipping me with significant transferable skills.

my teenage and childhood were filled with fun and curiosity. i loved building cardboard projects to understand how things worked (remember crazy russian hacker? safety is the number one priority!), like a rainwater harvesting model for a one-story house, a periscope to watch lights dance, or a pinhole camera to see inverted images in real-time.

used to enjoy doing origami and loved having friendly competitions with my people to see whose paper plane could cover the farthest distance or perform a 360 in the air, among other creative challenges.

diving into the mysteries beneath the ocean's surface has always fascinated me. it's like exploring a magical world that goes beyond what meets the eye, much like how animated movies such as toy story, wall-e, inside out, and finding nemo sparked my love for animation, leaving a lasting impression on my interests.

i consider myself very fortunate to have had teachers who supported me throughout my childhood. i deeply respect them for instilling values in me that are a big part of who i am today. thank you so much; forever grateful!