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

Failure Is Nothing But The Next Step Towards Success!

"I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying."--Michael Jordan

I recently tried my hand at writing a 2000-word short story for a competition. I had the plot in my mind for about 20 days before I actually wrote it. I have to say, I am a bit lazy, as I had approximately 30 days to complete the story, but I wrote it only a few days before the submission date -_- . I posted it haphazardly, which revealed some good and bad things about me…

Firstly, I have the capability to write at least 1500 words in a day, I did not know that. I had written about 70 words initially, but as I got into a flow, the words just simply poured out my mind and through my fingers onto the keyboard.

Secondly, I know I said that I am a ‘bit’ lazy, but as I figured, I am more than a ‘bit’ lazy. I am incredibly lazy. What the good thing I found out was that I do the most astonishing things at the last minute. I once completed a 45 page assignment a day before submission!! Writing a 2000 word story was a new feat entirely.

Lastly, I get puffed up by appreciation, though I keep telling myself that I shouldn’t get too excited. The same happened when I showed this story to some of my friends. They appreciated my work and, as it was my first attempt, I was very excited. I was overwhelmed by the appreciation. I got my hopes up. I thought I would at least get some recognition from the competition for which I had written the story, but my efforts failed. I couldn’t win. I knew I hadn’t put much effort, I was sure I didn’t stand a chance against people who had used all the 30 days given to them for preparation.

I wasn’t heartbroken, but I felt a tinge of sadness. And it Ok, It’s human nature to be sad about failure.

What I learned from this small experience is that I won’t always win, but that doesn’t mean I should stop trying. If there won’t be any efforts how can I even dream of the prize!