TLDR

Assalamu Alaikum!

My name is Mohammad Owaiz. Everyone calls me Owaiz. I’m from Rayachoty, a small town in India.

As a kid, I felt everything a little too much, so I learned to see things through other people’s eyes. I practised calligraphy, doodled my teachers’ faces in class, and turned everything that happened to me into a story.

I also wanted to be a scientist. I loved math and patterns, and I was always looking for the structure under things.

Design turned out to be the one place where both sides of me were useful.

I’ve been doing it for 10 years now, mostly in software. I help founders figure out what their product should be, then design and build it with their teams.

The long version

Born in 1994.
Goes to nursery, primary school, high school. The usual route.
Teaches himself calligraphy.
Wins a school art competition in fifth grade.

Doodles his teachers' faces in class. Never gets caught.
Does mimicry and beatboxing on the school stage. Once.
Wants to be a scientist.
Does the Asian thing of getting high marks and A grades.

Moves to a hostel in Guntur in 2009 for higher schooling, far from home.
Prepares for the IIT entrance exam, India's toughest. Takes it twice. Doesn't get in.

Chooses BITS Pilani Hyderabad in 2013 for its campus life and a rumoured zero attendance policy.
Studies computer science for the math. Leaves physics behind without regret.
Discovers Adobe Illustrator and HTML in the same first year.
Designs posters for campus fests. Becomes known as "the design guy."

Builds his first website, for Atmos 2015.
Leads design for Pearl, Arena and Atmos, three national-level fests. Skips classes to do it.

Wins Campus Diaries' 25 Under 25 for Art & Design in 2016, with Jessica Walsh on the jury.
Gets frustrated by the college timetable portal, then the income tax site. Decides interfaces matter.
Studies human-computer interaction, then UI/UX with the IxDF.
Interns at Avaya in Pune as a software engineer. Enjoys the code. Enjoys designing for people more.

Chooses design over engineering in February 2017.

Values I live by

Less but better

Inspired by legendary Dieter Rams, The idea of eliminating all the noise and focusing only on the essential aspects and giving it our best effort works, not only in design but in life. Embracing less but better shifted my attention from quantity to quality.

There is no substitute for passion

Passion is what keeps me up in the night.

The aim is not to do things for the sake of doing them. When you are motivated by your passion, you are in line with your goals, your vision with every part of your being and belief. You truly have a sense of urgency and the importance of not only manifesting your goal but enjoying the path in making it happen.

I always try to infect people around me with my passion.

Practice extraordinary kindness

Everyone has a story.

The point is that you never know what’s really going on in someone’s life. You may see a pleasant, surface-level picture, or inexplicably bad behaviour. Make no assumptions. The back story, the one you don’t see, is why it’s so important to treat people with patience and kindness.

Maintain crazy high standards

Quality-first is the most important mindset I believe in. Mediocre stuff is not my cup of tea or coffee. In the real world, getting from good to great requires extraordinary effort. I always try to take that extra mile to make my mark on everything I do.

The aim is not to be a perfectionist but is to strive for excellence.

Zero bullshit

No shady tricks to make the extra bucks.

Ethics are very important for a designer, just as they are for a doctor or a lawyer. Don’t take unethical shortcuts to meet your goals and needs.

Consider the context of the product you are creating, for whom? What kind of impact does it have on society and the environment?

Lead by helping others

Helping others can actually create a sense of meaning we’re seeking. Rather than ruminating on what makes our life worthwhile as we work toward burnout, we can find the answer outside ourselves, in human connection.

With discipline anything is possible

Discipline doesn’t need talent, it just needs will power. If there is one thing that can keep you at the place, it is discipline.

“Sometimes you just get in there and force yourself to work and something good will come out of it.”Jack White

The people who inspire me

Generally, I tend not to have any favourites, I try to get inspiration from everyone I meet and everything I see. Learning, like Design, is never complete. These are some people who have inspired me and shaped my thinking.