Geneva, Humanitarianism & Swiss trains 🚃
Geneva happened in 2019. That too for a great reason. I got to design for the world’s largest humanitarian organisation. I traveled with my team of brilliant developers and product managers to envision a product for healthcare providers who operate in deep conflict areas. There was passion, compassion, Swiss trains and travel sketching all zipped in one travel pack. Let me unpack that for you.
Designing for humanitarianism
After having worked for retail & fin-tech clients this year, this project came like a soothing breath of fresh air. Not because I got to use my design chops for social impact but because I got to work with people who have dedicated their lives to humanity. There was inspiration oozing out of each one of them. One such woman was a 50 yo physiotherapist who had been on the field for over 20 years serving in war zones. She was now on a journey to help other therapists benefit from digitization of therapy centers. Designing with her was like being a part of huge chain that somewhere ended in greater good.
Designing for humanitarian organisations is therapeutic. You are far away from mindless number chase and you get to collaborate with some genuinely passionate people.
Also their office! ❤️ Bare concrete to symbolize purity of purpose & inflated cows to spread cheer.
Such design inceptions are loaded with product strategy & UX heavy white-board sketching. The challenge here was lack of first hand experience with the end users. Although we had the best representatives of end-user segments but you know that’s not REAL. However, I managed to arrive at basic design principles and help my development team get started with shipping the first version.
Work on this trip was interluded by city walks, train rides and sketching.
Geneva city seemed to be as peaceful as 🕊️ Music on streets, Jet d'Eau and gorgeous windows!
The magical Swiss trains
While all work days were supremely fulfilling, the more charming part was the weekend getaways on Swiss trains. These trains are like magnificent museums of design & art on wheels. It was just me & Ruchika (a colleague) who took the golden pass. We did Geneva > Montreux > Spiez > Zweisimmen > Thun > Bern > Geneva > Hot chocolate back on our beds all in one day :)
These trains keep throwing fantasy filled visuals on you. What amazes me is how accessible the Alps are! There are routes, bridges, ramps for people with mobility restrictions at most of the places.
That’s the golden pass experience with panoramic views, artistic stations & fully accessible trains 👨🦽
Really Quick travel sketching
I managed to do some rapid sketching. I don’t think they turned out to be as good as the ones from Dusseldorf. But then I managed to get this little charming piece for my stationary collection - a Caran d'Ache popline mechanical pencil 💃💃
If you don’t know about them, these folks have been making elegant drawing and writing instruments for the last 100 years. Go check them out.
Thanks for reading again. Wish you all a very fulfilling 2020!