happieebean

[happieebean]

FINAL CHAPTER

Hi everyone! It’s the final chapter now. I spoke about a lot in the previous blogs. I wrote about how excited i was to start working at Humans of Bombay. I wrote about the amazing opportunities i got while i was there. I wrote about the work i did there, I revamped HOB’s corporate image, designed a cover photo for their  several online platforms, designed an employee handbook, made several stat reports of their collaborations, designed various pitches for their collaborations, worked on campaigns etc etc. 

I did everything inside and outside my job role and i am really proud of my journey. I also made a huge Indian map with a marker on glass without any sort of help. I was told to draw one as they wanted to get a clear picture to move ahead with their strategy and so i took my phone, googled a picture of the latest map outline and started drawing (i’ll attach a picture because i was happy after it was done). Because of my great knowledge with online platforms i suggested a few bloggers and famous people they could reach out to for a organic boots with followers and reach ( for example: siddharth shukla, dolly singh, komal pandey etc)

I can very proudly say that i have put my heart into everything i worked on to get Humans of Bombay where it is today. The journey was a roller coaster to be honest. There was good days and bad days and there were some amazing days as well. But i can definitely say that even though i wanted them to like me i didn’t lose my personality and who i am as a person. If something was wrong i stood for it and if something was worth appreciating i did that too. I didn’t shy away from voicing out or saying anything to anyone.Basically i was myself the whole time and didn’t pretend to be someone else for them to like. My work made them like me to be honest. I did my job and took every responsibility seriously and worked to make it the best. 

This journey has taught me a lot and gave me some amazing friends to hold onto for life. I appreciate every moment i spent and i’ll never forget the days.  

[happieebean]

WORK FROM HOME SCENES

Hola people! I am back with yet another blog post about my work life. In the last post i spoke about how amazing the response was for my first ever campaign and how we had entered the work from home space. In this blog, i’ll elaborate on how we operated from home and how this journey was.

Work from home had started in full blow. Everything shifted to online communication which had it’s pros and cons. The schedule to work from home was pretty much planned. We had two zoom meetings everyday. One at 10:30 am and the other at 4:00 pm. We discussed our plan for the day and work was delegated to everyone and at 4:00 we checked in to see if things are flowing as per the plan. Everything was fine to be honest. But there were times when things got a little out of hand. It was somehow assumed that we employees had to be available at any given time and there was so sense of time. We had to work and couldn’t have any commitments. Which i didn’t like because yes work is important but then having a personal life is important to balance it all otherwise mental health goes for a toss. But there was no understanding in such cases. 

I used to oppose to it sometimes because office work wasn’t the only thing to work on. There was a lot of work otherwise as well. But then nothing was considered so i let it go too. It was taxing and at such times when anxiety is at it’s peak it’s important to be considerate but never mind. It went on and work didn’t stop. I as it as had a few more days to do as my internship was about to get over, so i let things go. 

My next blog will be the last of all. My internship is getting over so i’ll sum up my whole journey in it once and for all. Stay tuned!

[happieebean]

IT’S GOING TO BE WFH!

Hey guysss!!! I am back. I know it’s been a really long time. But I couldn’t help it.A lot was going on and i lost track of time. But it feels good being back and venting finally. There’s so much of catching up to do. So let’s get to that without wasting any time. 

The last i wrote about was me working on a campaign for women’s day with 2 other colleagues. The campaign was a hit to be honest. The selfie thing we did for a fun build, we got an insane response to it. Approximately 200+ selfies in just 24 hours. The campaign ran for the entire week starting from 1st March, 2020 till 8th March, 2020. We got an approx of 100+ selfies everyday. Of course we couldn’t repost all but it was insane. The video was also loved by everyone. We got an amazing response...so many people commented and could relate to it. It was an emotional moment to be honest. It was my first campaign going live. It made me really happy. 

Everything was going great but then the virus problem got serious and we were asked to start working from home. The interviews shifted to phone conversations and video calls. We also started asking people to click pictures at home itself and send it to us. Luckily we could still function as a company during this pandemic. It was fun yet tough at the same time. But we will get through this.

I’ll continue and talk about how it was with work from home in my next blog. So stay tuned!

[happieebean]

DAYS ARE GOING BY...

Hola!! i know it’s been a while but here’s my fourth chapter about the insane life i am living. In this chapter, i’ll tell you about a few more things that i designed. So get comfortable and let’s begin!

So in the last chapter i spoke about my work and a few designs. In this chapter, i’ll talk about my work more. Cause that’s what i only do to be honest.

It’s been 3 months since i have been working here. To be honest it’s been an insane journey so far. Lots of learning but at the same time lots of fun too. Worked on a lot of new things, experienced a lot as well. But i am really enjoying too. There’s a lot of workload because i am the only graphic designer but it’s going good so far.

I recently worked on Humans of Bombay cover photo for Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. It was hell of a task but i nailed it eventually. It received so much of love, and that made me so happy. Other than that recently i have been working on a campaign for Women’s Day. It’s a lot of pressure to be honest and a huge responsibility but am very excited for the outcome. 

For the campaign we(my teammates and me) came up with a concept for a video of people writing letters to their younger selves. We also came up with a hashtag for the same (#forwomenwithlove). For creating a fun build up we started with a selfie streak with people, asking them to post selfies with the women in their life and tagging us, which we would repost. We also designed insta stories for appreciating women in the past with a fun quiz and also designed rights that would help them know better about the law. 

Everything has been going seemless so far with the campaign and other work so far. The video will be out on 8th march. So stay tuned for it!

Anyways i got to get back to work so i’ll take a leave. See you guys soon :)

[happieebean]

Time to Work!

Hey Guys! i know it’s been a while but here’s my third chapter about the beautiful crazy life i am living. In this chapter, i’ll tell you about a few things i designed and fun times in office. Grab your snacks, relax and let’s begin!

So in the last chapter i told you how my work place is and a little about the kind of work i get. In this chapter, i’ll talk about the work i did, i might also show a few examples (cause why not :p)

Humans of Bombay has literally been my dream place to work at since the time I've known it’s existence. Now that i’m finally here, i’ll make the most of it. The people here are chill and fun, but also serious when they have to. It’s a friendly environment which is great. It’s not like typical office and i love that. 

Now talking about work. Recently i have been working on a few cool things besides Instagram stories. 

The first thing that i’ll talk about is the Employee Handbook that i am working on. So my boss asked me one day randomly, “Nihali, how would designing a book sound to you?” and i was like whaaattttttt! book designing is insane fun. From there the conversation began and she told me about her thought on the handbook. To start with i showed her a couple of examples i pulled off from dribble and behance on the style as reference. We finalized on a few ideas and i combined all of them to make something different. After a lot of brainstorming, we finalized that the book should look fun, peppy and colourful. The illustration style i decided was to make flat black and white illustration with a tint of color somewhere randomly to make it fun. The colors we picked were all pop colors to make it bold and playful. After finalizing everything i started off with designing. I can talk in detail about my process, what i did first and how it went ahead...but it’s just too long. Once the book was designed, i went ahead and figured out the printing, cost and got the final copies to office. It felt so good seeing the book physically. That happiness was something different only. Made myself proud that day. Everyone at work also loved the book a lot. Meant a lot to me. 

Anyway moving on, (otheriwse i’ll start crying :p) the next thing that i worked on, actually still working on is the pitch that went to Ponds for a collaboration. So basically, Ponds approached us to post stories for their recent campaign #SeeWhatHappens. For this we had to prepare an entire presentation on what all we are planning to do for this campaign. It was a good 20 slide presentation with a lot of details which had to be designed. The campaign was all about women empowerment. So after a lot of talking and seeing examples, we decided to use illustrations of women in action and use Ponds colors to add to it. The presentation has to look clean and powerful. It’s not over yet but it’s fun making cool illustrations.

As of now i think this much is fine. These were the two big things i was working and am working on, besides the Instagram stories which are never ending. I didn’t explain the work in detail because it’s a lot but let me tell you it was crazy fun working on these two things. 

It’s time to bid goodbye for today. Wrote a lot. Thankyou so much for taking time out and reading about my fun life, means a lot. Goodbye for now. Stay happy and hydrated:p Enjoy life and do what you love. It’s a big life to do something you’re not passionate about. And yes, last but not the least... Love yourself!

PS Sharing a few images of the book design.

[happieebean]

Chapter 2: To New Beginnings!

Hello! Finally a new chapter is up. To give a quick recap on my last chapter, it was all about my past, me joining Humans of Bombay as a designer and my plans on future. It was a quick introduction into my life. Although you’ll get to know me better with the other chapters. 

This chapter is all about my New Workplace, what all i do and how is my experience going so far. 

As you know i am working with Humans of Bombay. But the first question that came to my mind and everyone i told was, what design work will you do there? Because Humans of Bombay is all about photography, content, writing. To be honest i was also kinda confused as to what will i really do there. 

Now that i know let me tell you what work i do. So basically i make Instagram stories for them for different stories that they search for. I also design the deck/pitch that goes to different clients for collaborations. I know it’s not hardcore design, but i personally love Humans of Bombay and i really wanted to experience working with them once. Also i got to do photography, which is my first love, so why not! 

Working with HOB (Humans of Bombay) has been good so far. They have a pretty relaxed work environment. The working hours are also good (10:30-6:30). They do believe in work life balance and hence weekends are off. We just have to be available on call if some urgent work pops up. The office is literally so beautiful. And everybody is so chill. Everybody in office sits for lunch together everyday. Music is played. It’s basically comfortable and friendly. However when work hits it gets crazy as well. But it’s really fun to work which i like. We get to meet such amazing people on interviews, It’s an amazing experience to listen to different stories and get inspired. 

Well on the last note, i just wanna say that working with HOB is going great. So far so good. Stay tuned for the next chapter where i’ll spill more beans on the work in HOB :)

[happieebean]

Chapter 1: The Introduction

So basically i’ll be coming up with a few posts where i’ll be writing about my experience at my workplace. I’ll be talking about where i work and what kind of work do i do and lots of personal insight regarding the same. So get ready..get a tub of popcorn and drinks because you’re about to read a lot.

In this Chapter i’ll be talking about myself and my life before i started working. Basically a little about me. So, Hola! I am Nihali Chheda. My friends call me with a lot of names but the most used is “Ni”...short and simple. I got metaphors for bones and a hyperbolic soul. I dream despite the grey skies, knowing there will always be sunshine somewhere. A happy bean who believes in magic. 

I did my graduation in Mass Media from KC College (if you haven’t heard of it, just google it) and my post graduation is Advertising, Visual Communication and Graphic Design from Ecole Intuit Lab (famous but still google is there if you haven’t heard of it). Besides studying, i absolutely love watching movies, reading a few books, listening to music, going for walks and chilling with my friends over a few drinks. 

Studying was fun to be honest. Life was good, I met my friends everyday and enjoyed. However everything has to end for a new chapter to start. Working was my new Chapter. After college got over i started making my resume and my portfolio on Behance. I was nervous to send out the emails but i never doubted myself or my capabilities (one of best things Ecole taught me, to trust myself at all times). I sent a hell lot of emails to some amazing places. I was sure about one thing which is that i won’t get stuck on one type of designing. I was open to anything that came my way for the benefit of getting experience. I was okay with anything be it advertising, branding, editorial etc. as long as the place and the work they do is good. After a lot of struggle i finally got selected to work at Humans of Bombay. I have always loved that place. I admire their page and the kind of work they do.

For those who don’t know Humans of Bombay, It’s basically a team of storytellers that concentrate on the journey of individuals, showing their followers that each and every person is unique, inspirational, and relatable.(i’ll put a link of their instagram handle, check it out and also follow https://www.instagram.com/officialhumansofbombay/)

To be honest before starting i was really scared, because now whatever i make will make a difference. Until now i had the liberty to create according to my liking but now not anymore. My work will make a difference and that scared me. But i was also very excited to start working. They hired me as a graphic designer and photographer as well. Oh yeah forgot to mention i do a lot of street photography also. I’ll attach a few photos too, so have a look.

Well to end this chapter, am really excited and nervous to start this new chapter in my life. Let’s see where it takes me. Thank you for reading my rant. Stay tuned for the next chapter.

Ps: attaching a photo of my cool office and a few cool photos of my street photography.

[happieebean]

Be Yourself :)

"I’ve always been different; sometimes, it’s been said with a loving smile, and sometimes, whispered behind my back. But there has always been an underlying feeling that somehow, by being who I am naturally, I was not what others wanted me to be—and so I changed. 

“Just be yourself,” they say, as if it’s the easiest thing in the world, as if doing that doesn’t actually require an immense amount of growth and knowledge. As if it’s not the most terrifying thing any of us have to do. It is scary because the truth is, not everyone will like or understand us. And more so, not everyone will accept us. 

But, isn’t it a greater risk to continue hiding our true colors and only have the affection and approval from others because we behave as we are expected?

Suddenly, we are gone and in place of our true selves is a shadow of who we were meant to be. Sure, we may smile and walk the talk and do all the right things, but inside we’re empty because we’ve sold ourselves in an attempt to blend in."