About
I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Communication Design in 2022 and successfully passed the BCG interviews for the position of Associate Designer. Enter - Sid at BCG!
It was an experience like no other. Starting work at an MNC right out of college hits differently. I was hired along with seven other associates from different colleges (the new kids, as we were called), all of us in the same boat. We entered the BCG office in Bangalore, eyes wide open in awe (“Wait, is this an office?!”), passing the game room, breakout areas, and cafeterias. But as someone’s uncle once said, with great power comes... And so it began! My journey as an associate under BCG’s veteran eyes helped me understand design from a business perspective, developing discipline and an eye for detail, which is especially important in the world of consulting. I was fortunate to be warmly welcomed and fondly mentored by my seniors and managers at BCG.
The Work
The past two years have been a dynamic journey of learning and growth for me. I was placed in the BCG Design Studios’ Print Team, where we worked on numerous visual design projects. But every designer in a consulting firm must pass the sacred rite of passage – learning PowerPoint and designing slides (they say PowerPoint is the bread and butter of BCG). After rigorous hours spent on slides, I started receiving other types of projects that required the use of Adobe tools (finally), which were my main weapons at the time. I began enjoying the projects as the focus shifted from churning out PowerPoint slides to creativity-fueled work that involved decoding briefs, interacting with clients, brainstorming concepts, and landing on the best possible solutions. My managers were supportive and always assigned me to super cool projects, which helped me explore and learn “design” across all possible mediums. I worked on various projects, including branding, animation, UI design, and packaging design. I was the project owner for several internal as well as client-facing branding initiatives. One of the highlights was working on a branding project for an upcoming government initiative in Saudi Arabia, under the team of the King of Saudi Arabia himself! The details for this are currently confidential.
Toward the end of my first year at BCG, I was placed on the dedicated design team for the Middle East Region (ME). The ME is a booming market with progressive opportunities and requires our dedicated support to tackle and solve complex problems through visual design with quick turnarounds. I collaborated with Rand Samara, the Creative Manager at the BCG Dubai office, on all ME projects and worked alongside people from Saudi Arabia, Madrid, and London. We also worked on several experiential design projects for the Middle East offices. One such project was a GenAI workshop organized in Dubai for a large bank. BCG facilitated a workshop on the use of GenAI for the bank’s employees, helping them build more efficiency and productivity in their work. I designed the theme and complete brand identity for this event in collaboration with Rand and the Madrid design team, pitching and deciding on interactive touchpoints that made this event memorable for the bank’s employees. The theme revolved around the concept of “portals to the future,” reflecting the importance of integrating GenAI into processes. We designed passports, boarding passes, stamps, playing cards, and activities to make the workshop an engaging experience for the employees.
Such projects have been a highlight of my journey, allowing me to collaborate globally and witness the magic happen.
Working with GenAI
I was fortunate to closely witness developments in the use of GenAI in the field of design and work hands-on on projects that utilized GenAI. I had licenses to tools like DALL·E, ChatGPT Plus, and MidJourney, and more importantly, the freedom to explore them to my fullest! I integrated GenAI into many of my projects towards the end, utilizing it for branding, storytelling, and brainstorming, which significantly boosted my efficiency and helped me complete projects well before the deadlines. One such highlight was a mascot design project for the BCG Riyadh office.
Feel free to connect with me to know more about this project!
Opportunities to Present My Work on Global Platforms at BCG
BCG Design Studios is a community that celebrates design and its designers. I was fortunate to present my work twice at the Design Studios Launchpad (a monthly global event where selected case studies are featured for everyone to see) and once at the Asia Pacific Townhall.
The first presentation was a rebranding for a major pharmaceutical company in the Middle East. It was a cross-geo collaboration, navigating the intricacies of working with Arabic scripts. Keeping in mind the cultural nuances of the Middle East, I created an internal guide to streamline the onboarding of new designers.
The second was an experiential design project again led by Rand and Ghada AlZibdeh, our creative strategist in the Dubai office. I helped design the visual identity for the event and created and voiced the video displayed on our Launchpad. You can find it below in my selected projects!
The third project was the mascot design. Again, I won’t spoil it – Feel free to connect with me for more details regarding this and the above projects as they are confidential in nature.
