Lookup Blog Meet Lookup Rockstar of the month: Manikandan!

Manikandan Saseendran (Product Designer, Lookup) is passionate about user research and experience design, problem solving and mentoring.Q: Why Lookup?A: This generation is impatient and craves instant gratification. This is where Lookup comes into the picture, helping people get things done instantly through a simple conversation over chat. Chat is the future, and being part of something as exciting as that is amazing for me.Moreover, the Lookup Team is a close-knit group of like-minded individuals passionate about all things tech and entrepreneurship. We share many of the same values and interests, including the drive to achieve big things, making Lookup a great fit for me.Q: Describe your journey at Lookup.A: I had participated in and won a few Design Hackathon events, after which I was called in for an interview by Lookup's CEO and Founder, Deepak Ravindran. Soon after, he asked me to join the Lookup family as Product Designer, and I began independently designing Lookup's iOS app. I later went on to aid in the design process of the Android app, working with my team to help both apps reach where they are today. The energy and drive of my colleagues was infectious and contributed to a work culture that ultimately made me want to stick around. I'm currently working on the final design for the Lookup Biz App on iOS, which we are building for our verified merchants.Q: What does a day on the job look like?A: At Lookup, I don't feel pressured by work. Instead, design has become both my profession and hobby. I begin my day with a big breakfast and cup of coffee. After the daily morning meeting, I sit down to tackle the day's work with fellow product designer, Niranjan, which always ends up being a blast since he is not only my colleague but has also become one of my closest friends. We spend the day analyzing user patterns and journeys, validating design prototypes, and improving the user experience in the apps. It is usually around tea-time that I sit down to talk with my colleagues about things apart from work. This is when I share trending tech news I've read about with the team, usually spamming them on a minute-to-minute basis. After that, I regroup with Niranjan to wrap up the day's work.Q: What is the most challenging part about your job?A: Understanding user behavior is particularly challenging in my field of work, since every user has a different attention span and way of interacting with the app.Q: When you are not working, what do you like to do? A secret passion of yours?A: I am always working because to me, work is my passion. When I'm not designing, I look for design inspiration by studying emerging products online as well as reading tech and startup-related articles so that I can stay on top of the latest design trends. I try to learn and grow as a product designer everyday, as I plan to build my own independent product in the near future. With my web development background, one could call me quite the "product unicorn"!Q: What is the one stereotype you think is associated with "design"?A: The biggest stereotype is that "design" is all about placing things beautifully on a screen. In reality, design is much more than that. The design process always begins with a deep understanding of the problem in order to create a memorable and unique experience for everyone which effectively addresses the problem."Design is not just about what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." - Steve JobsQ: Where do you see Lookup heading in the future?A: In the future, I see Lookup bringing all possible local vendors online to cater to everyone's daily needs. That said, I believe Lookup will eventually expand across international borders and become a global representative of the offline world.Q: What advice would you like to give budding designers?A: It is absolutely essential to stay up-to-date on developments in the design world! I'd highly recommend subscribing to newsletters, reading tech articles, following design trends on Dribbble, and keeping track of the latest app releases on the App Store. Don't take for granted the value of the endless wealth of knowledge on the Internet in your growth as a designer!