11th of the Month special - Pranav Kumar, "Not JUST a designer".

Hello peeps of the internet!

   People who know me know that I have the utmost respect for those who work in the creative fields, like writing, painting, etc. So when it comes to someone who is harnessing technology to put forth a much more visually appealing presentation, a modern twist to normal designing, I was eager to find out more. By sheer happenstance I made a friend on Facebook a year ago, who is a brilliant graphic designer.
You might have seen a lot of memes floating around the internet on several occasions, have you ever thought who made them? Who gave a thought the platform to manifest?

Meet Pranav Kumar, a 21 year old Delhi-ite, currently studying B.Tech Computer Science at SRM University Chennai, who in a year's time has amassed over 12 thousand likes on his page on Facebook, titled - "Minimalistic Soul".

"Less in more"

His passion for designing had a rather comic beginning. Pranav says that "I started designing because my camera was broken and I was bored. I didn't know about Photoshop or designing before I joined college". His journey started when a senior of his Srijan Sharma, who is also the CEO of 365 Degrees, took time to explain to him about the various tools of Photoshop. Rest of his knowledge he attributes to YouTube videos and constant practice. A website he finds inspiring is The Minimalist.

 After dabbling for around 7-8 months, he created Minimalistic Soul in 2015, his page on Facebook, to reach out to a wider audience for his work. In his words, graphic designing is "a way to express one's thoughts, emotions or even to convey the message." When asked about his first success as a designer, he considers a feature piece in Indiatimes online published in April 2015 to be a milestone. You can check it out here. Over the course of more than a year, he has managed to create a fan base of more than 10,000 people, and attributes his progress to the constant criticism he receives from the people on his page.In August 2015, he decided to take his initiative further and now through his website he offers a variety of designing services. 

   Along with creating cool designs himself, Pranav is also active in teaching others to do the same. He has taught in Graphic designing workshops under 365 Degrees' initiative, Mirus. It focuses on organizing creative sessions in colleges to help students understand different creative domains. Pranav says the experience was particularly nostalgic for him, as it brought back memories of the times he was first introduced to the world of graphic designing. This helped him to understand the students better and teach accordingly. 
Apart from being a funny guy and designing cool stuff, Pranav is also an avid photographer and keyboardist.

As a message for aspiring graphic designers, Pranav says -
"If you're reading this and you're really trying to enter the world of graphic designing, Beware.
Those who are about to start I salute you :') 
P.S. Have a lot of patience. Rome wasn't built in a day."

Here's wishing Pranav all the best for the future!

Stay awesome \m/

P.S - (This post is a super special one as this is my first attempt at an interview. Feedback is most welcome!)

Check out Pranav's blog here to know more.
Follow him on Twitter! - @gareeb_designer
Connect on Facebook - Pranav Kumar

Get a life!

Disclaimer-This will be a weird (sentimental) post for some.

So my dad’s sitting, looking through some of his old documents; job appointment letters, blood donation certificates, even his first salary slip! (Btw it was 750 rupees. Just wow.) That’s when he found a file with my brother’s old report cards in it. (Note: My brother has always been good with grades, and I have been average. Shocker) A few days ago, I surfed through my old school pictures and report cards. And it dawned on me that I remember very little of what all was in those photos. Though I am sure my parents would remember most of it.

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Someday, I’ll be in the same position as them. Looking through old things; finding my old documents. Pictures from my school and college farewells will bring back memories of that stick thin girl. Certificates of dance performances; and the feeling of euphoria that came with winning competitions. My first internship certificate, even my CV! And I’ll look misty eyed and stare in the distance thinking, “Life has been so great!”

Truth be told, I had a lukewarm childhood, and my teenage years, not so thrilling; so the real fun I’m having is now and in all probability for all my coming life. I’m basing all my plans on having as much fun as possible. It’s been going on pretty well with this protocol. In the last year, I did more stuff than I’d done during my three years of graduation. I went to Jaipur Literature Festival; spent a gala time during my internship in Mumbai (learned a LOT); and then to end the year, another awesome experience with the Mood Indigo fest (Best Time Ever)! That’s my one year’s worth of memories when I decided I was going to live.

I saw Vir Das live!

There are enough shitty people around you to bum you out, so you just have to ignore all that and focus on the real stuff, the experiences, the memories; because when you’re eighty years old and clinging to a box of medicines to keep you alive, this treasure trove of memories is what’s going to give you the satisfaction of a life well lived before the time had passed. You can earn all the money you want and spend it on luxurious dinners in your 30s, but you won’t ever have the pure fun of having plain 20 rupees idli sambar at 6 in the morning after having stayed up all night chatting about random stuff with people you’ve just met 3 days ago.

Life is unpredictable, and not always fun; but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun. Go out and do something! Live! You’re not going to be here that long, might as well enjoy it while it lasts.

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And Stay Awesome \m/