Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Shah.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
So… Once upon a time there was a little boy in the silent city of Ahmedabad in western India, curious about the world around him and inside him. He knew that he was drawn to many things and would often dwell deep into his imagination, with his book in his lap, sitting on the balcony swing, looking into the open sky and the everyday lives of people in the apartments across the railway line.
I grew up in an urban setting, influenced by the traditions, beliefs in god, and that the act of kindness was a greater good, greater than none. I was drawn to arts, aesthetics, and the meaning behind existence. My education was split into two parts: IB (International Baccalaureate) until middle school and State Board throughout High School. Literature and Design were subjects of interest. I did my bachelor’s in interior design (which I like to state as Spatial Design) and my Master’s in Design Management, between which I freelanced as an interior designer in my hometown.
Today, I work in North America with data visualization and strategy (revolving around design thinking) in the vast realm of providing better User Experience.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth is an interesting term. If it is smooth, it tends to get slippery, and if it is rough, it tends to get tedious. The road has been a mixture of various materials that have trained the legs to walk on any surface. If you tend to look back, you see a road, your very own, with curves and cracks, of tar and mud, slippery and rough, but never smooth.
The struggle has always been the changing definition of success as you grow and the core values you hold as a person – whether to retain them or replace them with the newer knowledge you consume along the way. Attaining satisfaction in my professional life has always been a struggle for me. With my changing interests’ multiple interests and possible opportunities (each apart from the other), it has been difficult to focus on what I want to attain in the long term.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Primarily, I am a designer. My current work includes working with data – strategizing projects that are received as challenges to be solved, visualizing that data for the stakeholders, and gathering more insight from the concerned parties in order to reach a refined version of the compiled solution.
I work best with my instinct which boosts my problem-solving skills. I seek creative and unique paths when presented with a project. My approach depends not only on the project but also on how it can provide me with an opportunity to grow and learn as a human. I will think through multiple scales and lenses that will make the project more interesting, that will open new doors, and connect the project to a greater ecosystem.
I take pride when I am satisfied with what I am doing, which might not be the case often.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I am also an avid photographer and writer. I write my thoughts out in English, Hindi, and Gujarati and capture what my eyes and mind see as photographs and videos.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/i.m.mortality/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrs97/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/caged.time/
