Renowned UX Expert Trivikram Annamalai Empowers Design Students with Cutting-Edge AI-Driven Design Insights

At ATLAS SkillTech University, we believe in providing our students with more than just an education – we aim to prepare them for the dynamic challenges of the ever-evolving industry. Recently, we were privileged to host Trivikram Annamalai, Senior UXD at Google, who conducted a workshop on ‘AI Driven Design – Elevate your UX craft.‘ This workshop not only introduced the intricacies of tomorrow’s design but also opened doors to speculative design and AI applications. The valuable insights shared by Trivikram, guiding our students toward a future-proof skill set and mindset will also help them to be industry-ready professionals upon graduation.

What Makes This Workshop Essential for Aspiring Designers?

• Learn which projects, companies and startup ideas are worthwhile
• Ensure your projects are future-proof
• Develop a speculative mindset

“AI is here to stay! UX designers need to adapt to this new future”
– Trivikram Annamalai

AI Driven Design: Navigating Tomorrow’s Challenges

In this captivating session, Trivikram Annamalai covered a range of topics, exploring the intersection of design and artificial intelligence. The workshop focused on “Designing Tomorrow” and the significance of speculative design in shaping the future. Trivikram introduced students to the Gartner’s Hype Cycle, providing them with a tool to navigate emerging tech trends and make informed decisions. The emphasis on the role of AI in design thinking left students with a profound understanding of its importance in the industry landscape.

Speculative Design: Crafting Possible Futures

Speculative Design is a creative approach to design that explores possible futures, challenge assumptions and explores impact of emerging technologies & social changes. The term ‘speculative design’ was coined by Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby.

The workshop highlighted the importance of speculative design, a creative approach to exploring possible futures influenced by emerging technologies and social changes. Trivikram Annamalai shed light on the iterative, exploratory and speculative aspects of design. As he rightly put it, speculative design allows designers to decide whether to pursue a particular approach and predict how design will evolve in the future.

Workshop on Speculative Design: Shaping Tomorrow’s World

How do I practice Speculative design?

Immerse: Delve into all the available details about the problem area and define the brief; present, probable, plausible and possible ideas

Research: Collect all relevant insights about the brief with apt research methods. 

Ideate: Explore as many ways the brief can be solved and create detailed concepts. List down Application, values and assumptions. Look at the idea from 4 lenses- environment, individuals, society and culture, interpersonal relationships

Test: Get feedback from the users with prototypes and validate all assumptions

Trivikram also conducted an interactive workshop, immersing students in speculative design. Dividing them into groups, each assigned a distinct topic related to the future, students were challenged to speculate on the problem statements, frame design briefs and conduct in-depth research. The diverse topics ranged from the Future of Remote Collaboration and Healthcare in 2050 to Mobility in Mumbai, Future of Social Media and the Future of Education in 2050.

Why Speculative Design Matters: Navigating the Unknown

In a rapidly changing job market, where 65% of today’s primary school children will step into careers that don’t yet exist, speculative design becomes paramount. As designers, our students are not just equipped with technical skills; they are armed with the ability to challenge assumptions, explore beyond limits and dive deep into trends. This unique skill set enables them to be pioneers in a landscape where AI and emerging technologies play a pivotal role.

ATLAS SkillTech University continues to create an environment where students not only learn the latest industry trends but actively engage with them. The recent workshop with Trivikram Annamalai exemplify our commitment to providing students with a holistic education. By exposing them to the insights of industry leaders, we ensure that our graduates are not just skilled professionals but visionaries ready to shape the future of design with AI. Embracing speculative design, our students step into the unknown with confidence, armed with the tools and mindset to tackle the challenges of tomorrow’s ever-evolving industry.