We come across design problems everyday whether it be software/ hardware interfaces, products,or public places. I am fascinated by identifying such a problem for its intended users which tends to lead me to looking for its possible solutions. I remember myself in XXXXX Railway station once. I was traveling alone for the first time. I had the eticket in my hand but wondered on which platform my train would come. The communication boards and announcements were in a native language I did not understand. Also, the place was very chaotic and crowded and I could not locate the nearest information desk. After this day, I was petrified to travel alone by train. Though I was naĂŻve, that day I had realized the importance of User Experience in our daily lives.
I am a budding User Interface Designer, currently employed at XXXXXXX, one of the leading IT firms in India. I would like to study Masters in Interaction Design at XXXX University in order to gain a strong academic background of my profession and to have a deep insight about its fundamentals and principles. Above all, I hope to become a more competent Interaction Designer.
My engineering in Computer Science gave me ample opportunities to become exposed to different avenues of technology. With good programming skills and application of software engineering principles, I initially worked as a Test Engineer in the same firm for two years. Subsequently, I came across a few articles published in our local intranet regarding concerns of Interaction design. After much brainstorming I realized it is Interaction Design that would compliment my insatiable appetite of creativity, fascination, imagination and curiosity towards people and technology. Recently, out of curiosity, I have also enrolled for an online course titled Introduction to Human Computer Interaction, offered by Stanford University.
In the User Experience Academic projects inside XXXX, we were exposed to topics such as user interviews, modeling, workflows, paper prototyping, wire frames and then finally visual design. Out of these, I found User research and Information Architecture, most interesting. In PlayED, an e-learning system which our team proposed, User Research helped us understand the intended users and above all, define the scope of our academic project.
On the personal side, I have very strong inclination towards art and crafts since childhood. Not just deep admiration but also I love playing with my tools/brushes. Eventually I have also learnt various art forms from diverse states of my nation. This way I am gradually enhancing my fundamentals of drawing, perspective, composition and color theory which indirectly help me to understand designs better. Also, my appreciation of different people and their culture would be very well nurtured in an international academic atmosphere.
// here, I want to write 2 things: 1. my art background helps me in designing better things. 2. i will get to learn about people from other cultures which is really fascinating :)
With Masters in Interaction Design at XXX University, I wish to further explore the changing scenarios of the common people, the children, the elderly and the specially-abled. At your institution, I see opportunities to develop different skills, immerse myself in powerful ideas and tackle design challenges in a global context. It is an ideal multicultural platform offering enormous exposure, understanding and inspiration. Studying at esteemed XXXXXX will certainly help me fulfill my dream of creating designs that communicate to a larger population offering them to express themselves better; so that no intended user of a system ever undergoes the same emotions as when I was stranded alone at XXX railway station.
