In 2020, I stayed awake for almost 32 hours straight.
Not for an exam.
Not for a deadline.
Not for money.
But because I had just discovered something that didn’t feel like regular design.
It started during my fourth semester of my B.Sc. in Animation & Multimedia, when I was introduced to Web Design using Adobe Dreamweaver.
Up until that point, design meant visual storytelling to me. I spent my time creating motion graphics, editing videos, designing posters, and exploring multimedia projects. I loved the creative process, but something always felt missing.
Then I opened Dreamweaver.
It wasn’t just graphic design anymore.
It wasn’t just posters or visuals.
It felt like building.
For the first time, I wasn’t creating something to simply look at.
I was creating something people could use.
Something they could interact with.
Something that could solve a problem.
That realization completely changed the direction of my career.
What started as curiosity quickly became an obsession.
That curiosity led me into UI/UX.
Certifications.
Adobe XD & Figma experiments.
Portfolio building.
An endless fascination with layouts, flows, interactions, and user behavior.
That night, I built posters, website concepts, UI screens, and case study ideas in one continuous stretch of creative momentum.
I wasn’t following a course.
I wasn’t trying to impress anyone.
I was simply excited.
And somewhere around hour thirty-two, I realized something important:
I don’t just enjoy making things look good.
I enjoy solving things.
UI Was the Entry. Product Was the Evolution.
UI design taught me structure, hierarchy, and aesthetics.
It taught me how to communicate visually and create experiences that feel intuitive.
But Product Design taught me responsibility.
Responsibility to:
- Understand the real problem.
- Question whether a feature should exist.
- Align user needs, business goals, and technical constraints.
- Think beyond screens.
For me, Product Design is not decoration.
It is the process of taking a vague opportunity and turning it into a tangible, scalable solution.
It blends:
- Psychology
- Systems thinking
- Strategy
- Research
- Design craft
- Business awareness
And that complexity is exactly what makes it meaningful.
The deeper I went, the more I realized that great products aren’t built by accident.
Every interaction is intentional.
Every workflow has consequences.
Every design decision affects someone’s experience.
That realization is what made me fall in love with Product Design.
The Chapter I Didn’t Expect
Years later, that curiosity brought me to Canada.
I completed a Post-Graduate Diploma in Web & Mobile App Design and Development at Langara College, where I had the opportunity to work with talented classmates, learn modern product design practices, and challenge myself in new ways.
One of the highlights of that journey was leading our capstone project — a product designed to help parents track and monitor the auditory health of their children.
We poured months of research, design, testing, and iteration into it.
And in the end, we won.
For a moment, it felt like everything was moving exactly as planned.
And then something unexpected happened.
Silence.
Not failure.
Not giving up.
Just silence.
The transition from school to the next chapter of my career wasn’t as straightforward as I expected.
At the same time, I was working in digital operations, managing projects, optimizing processes, and helping businesses improve their digital presence. I was gaining valuable experience, learning how organizations operate, and developing a stronger understanding of strategy, execution, and business growth.
On paper, everything seemed fine.
But something felt missing.
While I appreciated the work and the opportunities it provided, I found myself constantly drawn back to product design. I missed the challenge of understanding users, solving problems, mapping experiences, and turning ideas into products that people could actually use.
The more time passed, the clearer it became.
I wasn’t losing interest in design.
I was moving further away from the work that had originally inspired me.
At the same time, the industry was changing rapidly. AI was becoming part of everyday conversations, new tools were appearing every month, and it felt like everyone was moving faster than ever.
For the first time, I found myself overthinking instead of creating.
Planning instead of shipping.
Preparing instead of publishing.
The strange part was that I never stopped loving design.
If anything, I cared about it more than ever.
I just needed to reconnect with the reason I started.
And once I did, the path forward became obvious.
Not because everything was suddenly easy.
But because I finally understood what kind of work I wanted to spend my life doing.
What 2026 Means to Me
Today, my goals look different than they did when I first discovered product design.
I don’t want to simply become a designer who creates attractive interfaces.
I want to become a designer who creates meaningful impact.
A designer who:
- Thinks strategically.
- Builds consistently.
- Understands business impact.
- Uses research and data to make better decisions.
- Collaborates deeply with engineers.
- Designs systems, not just screens.
- Ships ideas instead of endlessly perfecting them.
I’ve learned that a design can always be iterated.
But solving the wrong problem is far more expensive than imperfect execution.
If I build something, I want it to:
- Solve a real problem.
- Create measurable value.
- Improve someone’s experience.
- Leave things better than they were before.
The Kind of Products I Want to Be Known For
Ten years from now, I don’t want to be known for trendy UI.
I want to be known for building products that:
- Are ethical.
- Are user-centered.
- Solve meaningful problems.
- Create long-term value.
- Help both users and businesses succeed.
And I want to help build teams that create those products.
Not through authority.
But through clarity.
Not through having all the answers.
But through asking better questions.
Why I Still Choose Product Design
Because it allows structure and creativity to coexist.
Because it forces you to think deeply before acting.
Because it rewards systems over noise.
Because it’s not about copying competitors.
It’s about understanding people.
And because when it’s done right, Product Design isn’t really about screens at all.
It’s about decisions.
Decisions that make life easier.
Decisions that solve problems.
Decisions that deserve to exist.
That same curiosity that kept me awake for 32 hours in 2020 still exists today.
The tools have changed.
The challenges have changed.
I’ve changed.
But the reason I started hasn’t.
And that’s why I still choose Product Design.