#0016 - Bhroovi Gupta

What if your passion could lead you to an extraordinary career, bridging cultures and inspiring change? Join us for a captivating conversation with Bhroovi Gupta, a dynamic product designer whose journey from Mumbai to New York City offers insights into the world of design and the power of following one's true calling. Bhroovi shares her evolution from a graphic design enthusiast to a leader in UX design, exploring her path through the vibrant advertising scene of Kansas City and prestigious institutions like Parsons and Cornell. Her experiences at Roku and Google reveal the significance of UX in creating user-friendly and privacy-focused products, blending creativity with responsibility.

Bhroovi's story is a testament to the importance of aligning career paths with personal passions, especially in a world where societal norms can often dictate one's choices. She reflects on the challenges and inspirations of being a trailblazer in design, emphasizing the need for daily creativity and inspiration. Through her personal anecdotes and community service experiences in India, Bhroovi illustrates the beauty of finding a passion-driven path and the role of mentorship and community in fostering a supportive environment. Her advice to aspiring designers is clear: pursue what truly excites you to avoid burnout and achieve fulfillment.

Our episode wraps up with a heartfelt expression of gratitude to the many contributors and supporters who made this enlightening conversation possible. Bhroovi acknowledges the collaborative efforts of organizations like Google, Roku, and the district Rotary International, along with the Almonte Library for their support. Her journey not only inspires a new generation of designers but also encourages fresh conversations and cultural exchanges, bridging gaps and fostering a global community of passionate individuals. Tune in and be inspired by Bhroovi's remarkable journey and the lessons she has learned along the way.

Chapters

• 0:30 Product Design and Cultural Transition
• 11:02 Passion in Design Education and Career
• 17:37 Inspiration and Passion in Design
• 24:31 Social Media Outreach and Gratitude

Transcript

Brian Triger: 0:30

Welcome to the Rotary Spark podcast. I'm your host, brian Schreiger, and with me today is Bhroovi Gupta, a product designer based in New York City, currently leading the UX efforts in the privacy and integrity space at Roku, and also works as a UX production designer for the search team at Google. Thanks for joining us, Bhroovi.

Bhroovi Gupta: 0:55

Hi Brian. Thank you so much for inviting me.

Brian Triger: 0:58

It's my pleasure Tell us a little bit about your journey.

Bhroovi Gupta: 1:05

Yeah, absolutely so. First off, thank you for connecting with me. I think it was. It was great to hear from you. I do have a very personality heavy website, if you can say so. I love to put all parts of you know, colors and excitement on my website, and and I'm so glad that that came across my little donut is the same reason as you. I'm also always hungry all the time, and so that definitely helps with you know, just these little tiny elements to be able to put to the website.

Bhroovi Gupta: 1:38

My journey has been pretty I don't know what to say a pretty up and down journey, but I'm really glad where I'm at at this moment. I originally came to the United States in 2018 from Mumbai, india, and I wanted to pursue a career in graphic design originally, and so my undergraduate degree at KU was visual communication graphic design, studied there and had a wonderful time at the university. I cannot say more about how amazing KU was, and that entire four years of my journey has really played a very, very big role in you know where am I at today, and so I had an amazing time at KU. I graduated and I worked in the advertising community in Kansas City. They have so many amazing companies there and it's definitely a hub for advertising. And I worked at I was able to work at BML, vinar and Native Digital and, you know, be able to work with amazing projects. I worked at Intel when I was at VML by NR when I was at Native Digital, there was Blue Mountain Resort, one of the resorts in Pennsylvania most people go for skiing and I was able to rebrand their logo and their branding and everything from scratch. But, yeah, I was able to work with amazing places at that as well. And then I wanted to shift my career towards product design, since that was something that was really catching my interest during those years, and I thought let's take a leap and try to go to New York City and that's where my degree happened.

Bhroovi Gupta: 3:20

For my master's degree in product design, it was a dual degree. For my master's degree in product design, it was a dual degree which was with the Parsons School of Design and Cornell Tech, and that was an experience on its own. I was going to class in a boat when I was going to the Roosevelt Island, where the Cornell Tech campus is, and I was also going taking the bus and the subway and the train to the Parsons School of Design. So my weeks were split in half and it was just a fantastic experience being able to work with so many different kinds of people and you know people from all sorts of backgrounds. At Parsons, I worked with such amazing mentors and professors and everyone was fabulous at what they did. You know, parsons is very, very reputed at what they do and you know it was just a very, very good opportunity for me to be able to connect with all these people. And then at Cornell Tech, I was working with MBAs and with, you know, the New York Tech City like New York City Tech landscape and you know startups and founders and just to be able to tap into an Ivy League network when it comes to alumni was really, really helpful for me and that happened and that was amazing as well.

Bhroovi Gupta: 4:36

And then I started freelancing. For a while I was working with a company called One Terra. They're a startup in LA. It's founded by a lovely person and he does a really good job to be able to work with you know, different kinds of people within the LA community, and I did that for a while. And then I started Roku and, as you know, I'm at Roku right now. I head their privacy and integrity UX efforts, and it's been a fantastic journey so far. Google actually just happened to be a part of you know what I was doing during the day I was at Roku, but then Google, just like, they actually reached out to me and you know they wanted to use my skills, my OCD, when it comes to design files, and they wanted to bring me on as a production designer because my skills of being able to clean up files and have very specific and detailed oriented workflows was something that caught their eye, and so I do that for them now and, yeah, it's been amazing.

Brian Triger: 5:45

That's an impressive story. Can you tell us a little bit more about what happens? Maybe not specifically in the organization out of respect for any type of confidentiality agreements, but can you give us a little bit of insight as to not only a little bit more about what UX and or product design is, but also how it integrates into any privacy and integrity space for an organization?

Bhroovi Gupta: 6:18

Absolutely so.

Bhroovi Gupta: 6:19

Product design as an umbrella is just a group of people sit together.

Bhroovi Gupta: 6:26

One of them is going to be a designer, one of them is a product manager, one of them is a UX writer, and these three people will come together with the help of an engineer and come together and think about a feature, a feature in an existing product that would make the job of the user easier and that can be in any way possible in any section of the product possible.

Bhroovi Gupta: 6:52

So currently at Roku, I worked on the OS systems, which is the TV itself, and I work in the settings section, so I'm working on how to make that experience better for the users, and privacy and integrity just is a very big part of that, because we as a company have access to a lot of the information of the users and we want to be very mindful of how that information is being used, but also how much that the user knows. The user definitely needs to be very well aware of their choices and how you know their communication with us matters, and so a lot of my job is to make that happen in a very seamless way and be able to have my users know exactly what they're signing up for and also their rights and just the way that they can use their products in the best optimized way possible.

Brian Triger: 7:52

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the way that I'm visualizing this is you're really a lot of the times putting yourself into the shoes of the customer and or end user and understanding what they may or may not miss, and I'll kind of relay this back to you know, a rotary principle or question of asking yourself, you know, is it fair to all concerned, or at least approaching that ideal? Would that be kind of a correct way to look at some of the responsibilities?

Bhroovi Gupta: 8:25

Oh, 100%, approaching that ideal. Would that be kind of a correct way to look at some of the responsibilities? Oh, 100%, I think. Product design itself, the way I see it is, it's in two parts it's UX and UI. Ui is user interface, which means how a product looks, how a feature looks, how a website looks, how a mobile app looks, and user experience is the experience that a user has while using the product, and so a lot of that is thinking from the user's eye, putting yourself in the user's shoes and think about how they are going to perceive the solution that you're putting out to them, and a lot of that is what product design is.

Brian Triger: 9:05

Thank you for the insight, especially you know, individually putting out to them, and a lot of that is what product design is. Thank you for the insight, especially you know individually. I'm at the very beginning of the process of learning some of what you do, so it's really fascinating to see kind of how some of the higher level components move around in that space Out of curiosity. When you moved here from Mumbai, can you tell us a little bit about maybe any of the culture shock or barriers and or opportunities to maybe having such a unique experience and making the choice to make that leap into a completely different place?

Bhroovi Gupta: 9:49

For sure, and I can actually answer your question in two parts. It's funny you actually spoke about culture shock because when I came to the United States for my undergraduate degree, I went to Kansas, which was a much smaller town than Mumbai, which I'm originally from, city that felt a little more like home because I was used to the bustling crowds and you know a very busy city and so I don't think I was there was a culture shock of you know how people live their lifestyles. I think it was more of a shock that I was the first ever person in my degree from India who came for design, and when I took some time to understand that, what came across was that a lot of the people from India they go in. They come into the United States to do their degrees or their education in fields of medical, like to be a doctor, or in the fields of tech, as engineers or you know, even in you know, just sciences in general, and a lot of STEM majors have a high population of people from India.

Bhroovi Gupta: 11:02

But when it comes to design, that is something that is more of a creative field and there were not a lot of people coming in, so it was actually a very interesting experience for my professors as well, because I was the first from my country and everyone was very excited. They also felt that, you know, we should have this more, and I tried my best to, you know, talk a lot about KU back at home as well, so that it could inspire some of my friends and everyone else who was interested in design and would like to pursue an education in america. Um, my experience at ku was just as, as I could not say more about how amazing ku was.

Brian Triger: 11:44

So, um, that was just a very good foundation that I had there I love that you had that relationship because you know varied perspectives across the board of people and their level of appreciation, know see the pros and cons and are kind of more objective, a little bit neutral. And then you know, on the other end of the spectrum you just have this kind of warmness in your heart and like really deep feeling associated to how connected you are to KU. How connected you are to KU. So I it's inspiring for me because sometimes you know I get into that. You know alternative, anti-institution mindset that you know has a mixture of ignorance and you know anecdotal experience and stuff like that. So when I connect with someone like you I just realized, wait, you know, my isolated experience isn't everything and there are people that are really loving the networks that they're building with some of these amazing educational organizations. So thank you for that.

Bhroovi Gupta: 13:02

Absolutely, and I think I will give the full credit to the marketing communications at KU.

Bhroovi Gupta: 13:08

I worked with them as a student designer the first semester itself that I I came in and I worked with them till the end of my degree. So for four years that was my only job and and the fact that I was able to go from a student designer to get promoted every semester and get to a point where I was handling projects which were like total projects, like full projects that you know any adult was, I think the trust that they put in me and you know the mentorship that I got during that time really helped me understand how much efforts were put in. You know, making the students feel at home. K did a very good job of doing that and and their, their organization or their orientations, their events, everything they put so much into making the students feel that they were, that this was the place for them, that they were supported, and that just made me look at the other side as well and and, yeah, I think I will give my full credit for my love to kuU to them.

Brian Triger: 14:11

That's fantastic. So do you have? Do you have any tips on anyone who's taking either the same or a similar journey than than you took, Like? Are there any pointers that, let's say, you were able to give to your past self?

Bhroovi Gupta: 14:26

So the first thing I would say is this wouldn't be for my past self Cause I was insane about design. I was absolutely crazy about it. But I would definitely say someone who is thinking about pursuing a career in design Design is not like engineering, it's not like the medical field, it's not like any other field, where you are given tasks and you have to do it because that's your job. Design requires you to be passionate about what you do every single day, because you have to bring in ideas from your own brain. You have to wake up one morning and every morning actually and come up with new things that would inspire other people, and that is only possible, and it is only possible for you to do your job well when you feel very passionately about it. So you're not passionate about design, pick another career, because you will only burn out and not enjoy what you're doing.

Bhroovi Gupta: 15:21

And that's my biggest advice to anyone not just design, do what you really like and and follow. Follow a path that you would want to follow for the rest of your life, or even 20 years from now, because it really is going to be a majority of your time during your life. Eight hours a week sorry. Eight hours a day is what you're doing and your job, and if you don't like it, you're gonna you're gonna hate yourself. So that is my one advice is to all the students who are thinking about getting into design be very, be very, very sure, because it is not as easy as it looks, but it will get a little easy if you like it that's, that's great, um, but I I resonate with that.

Brian Triger: 16:05

Uh, you know I have my off days, but if I'm not and I'm not perfect, I never will be but if I'm not legitimately inspired by other people who are designing things, or if I'm not, let's say I'm in the engagement community, engagement space and I'm not, you know, thrilled to some extent or really excited about a comment or an emoji reaction. Excited about a comment or an emoji reaction, and I'm kind of thinking about it more than just an impulse drive of imagining what the experience is like for another individual. If that ever disappears, then I'm going to push myself out of the way, because I think that in order to drive through all of the data and to pursue anything within the design space, at least based on my experience, you're really like, as you said, just to completely agree with you. I think that you need that passion in order to push forward. Otherwise, you're just kind of marking something on a checklist and you're kind of sitting in a chair that could be occupied by someone who's really excited and is going to actually drive the cause forward.

Bhroovi Gupta: 17:18

Exactly you said. You said it absolutely correctly, I think I, as I mentioned, you know most of the people from back home would come for um to pursue a medical field or, like you know, going to tech jobs, and that itself made me be surrounded with a lot of people from those places. So I didn't have a lot of friends in design. I had a lot of friends who were engineers. I had a lot of friends who were studying to be a doctor, and in most cases they were doing it because their parents told them to pursue that career.

Bhroovi Gupta: 17:51

In India we have amazing parents, but we also have a little bit of pressure when it comes to choosing a career and it's sort of a stereotype where only an engineer, a doctor or a lawyer is going to be successful and all other fields are sort of in the middle. And so in most cases, you know, if a boy from India is doing engineering, it's pretty, pretty, pretty positive to say that his dad or his mom told him to do so, and so I found that lack of passion and it was sort of sad to see as well in some cases, where they would go and they would do their job and they would come back and they couldn't wait for it to be 5 pm. And that just I couldn't see myself doing that. I couldn't imagine myself, you know, dreading every weekday and you know waiting for the weekend. I think I would burn myself out really quickly if I did so.

Brian Triger: 18:49

Wow. So I mean that all of this has been inspiring and I feel like you know whether my attitude isn't adjusted or I'm around the wrong people. This level of inspiration, at least for me, based on where I am, is rare because you know at times, whether it's internal and or external, there's a lot of obligation, but I think that as I bump into people like you that are inspired and passionate, I remind myself that there are other people out there and also for the people who aren't as inspired and passionate, maybe there's opportunities for people to pivot and to become passionate about new endeavors. So just, I don't know. At the very least, thank you for kind of being a light in that way and just sharing some hope for even our little community out in District 5750.

Bhroovi Gupta: 19:48

Absolutely, and I totally agree. It's never too late. I'm pretty sure, just like how, from graphic design, I decided to go into product design. They're both still in design, but I pivoted very quickly and I am young. But, like, I know for sure as a fact that even if I am 67 years old and if I don't enjoy what I'm doing anymore, I will not think twice to pivot and shift and take that risk, because that's the only thing that's going to make me want to keep going.

Brian Triger: 20:21

I like that a lot. So I'm going to circle back to one thing that we mentioned. You said that you had some rotary exposure when you were a kid. You mentioned, I believe, that your father was in rotary at some point out in Mumbai.

Bhroovi Gupta: 20:36

Yes, he was, he was a part of.

Bhroovi Gupta: 20:38

So my father is a doctor, he's an oral surgeon, and so a lot of his friends, um, they formed a group and then they, they used to go to these rotary events and, um, sometimes he would take me along with him, and so there was, there was these little events that we would do where it's like either a cleanup drive in the in the community or planting little plants.

Bhroovi Gupta: 21:02

And I remember I was like, probably in school, I was like in the seventh or the eighth grade or even maybe the fifth grade, but I remember very, very correctly, because a lot of my friends would also go with me, and it was just a very cute experience, to say the least. Like it just made me feel like I was doing something outside of school, and at that point I didn't realize what I was doing, but I was giving back. And the fact that I was able to give back again now by talking to you and be able to share my journey with other people when you reached out, that was one of the reasons why, you know, I was very excited for this opportunity because, as you mentioned, there is definitely a gap between school and now and there was not a lot of opportunities I had where I could connect with the Rotary, and so this is great.

Brian Triger: 21:53

I love that you mentioned that. They're definitely. And again, it may be regional and I only have about a year and a half of experience, so again, this may be limited, but there's definitely a gap between individuals jumping out from Rotaract and maybe people in their mid-30s and forties, at least within our district specifically. And, uh, I'm excited about some objectives in the future to maybe make some changes, and I think it starts with new conversations and new activities and embracing, uh, the interconnected nature of the planet. Not even branding that initiative, Like you know, I think that and personally and professionally, I think DEI is important and a variety of other terminology that's attached to the idea of having a bigger picture view. But, regardless of how we want to frame and package those initiatives, I think that they're all important in just seeing how every single human being on this planet and maybe in the future other planets are interconnected and that, as we kind of branch out, things just continue to get better.

Bhroovi Gupta: 23:06

Absolutely.

Brian Triger: 23:25

So well, thank you for everything with or really any excuse to connect with you tied to your personal journey and your profession, and also your community relationships, because I've enjoyed this quite a bit and I really want to honor and respect the fact that this will inevitably lead to not only inspiration but hope for an entire district, and I just truly want to thank you for this experience.

Bhroovi Gupta: 23:57

Absolutely. Thank you so much for inviting me today. It was wonderful to be able to talk about my journey and, and, uh, I would love to share with anyone who's listening. Please don't hesitate to reach out, I, you can find me on LinkedIn, you can find me on Instagram and, you know, in in anywhere, basically on my website. Um, but please reach out if you ever have questions about design. I am a full nerd when it comes to design and would love to blabber about it for hours and hours and, um, and yeah, definitely reach out if you have any questions.

Brian Triger: 24:31

So and I'll put the spelling in the comments, also in the transcript as well it's broovycom, it's B-H, as in hotel R, as in Romeo O, as in Oscar O, as in Oscar V, as in Victor I, as in Indiacom, and we'll go ahead and give any and all of the social media links to anyone who wants to reach out to Bruvy directly. I want to take this opportunity not only to thank you, bruvy, but also the Almonte Library for sharing the space to record this podcast, our district Rotary International and any of the organizations that have been directly or indirectly connected, thanks to Google, roku KU and any other organizations that haven't been mentioned right now but were throughout this episode. Have a great night, everyone. I hope that everyone's having a happy new year and we'll see you next week. Thank you.