We turned eight!

Turian Labs, an idea to bring an integrative knowledge ecosystem, completed eight years this month. We have seen some great disruptions taking shape since then, like the digitization of the world, the rise of cryptocurrency, the rise of China in the global economy, the beginning of the EV movement, the COVID pandemic, and lately, the Ukraine-Russia war changing the geopolitics forever. We are also sitting on the threshold (or probably already crossed it) of the 'uncanny valley' in recent developments in AI. Elon Musk, who is about to launch a rocket to Mars (the first attempt of the launch was not a 'failure' but 'Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly'), has shared his reservations about AI and suggested that further developments should be paused. In the next 6-8 years, millions will move from poverty to middle-class status, of which 60% will be in India and China. Renewable energy will be 60% of total energy consumption by 2030. The landscape of innovation seems to be just getting super interesting.

This year we could successfully launch Turian Academy to bridge the gap between demand and availability of skilled UX researchers. We are digitalizing our internal operations, using AI to make our strategy documents sharper and better, adding some powerful brands like JIO and META to our rich portfolio of clients, and lastly successfully logging into the rare craft of futures' thinking with our first-ever assignment in the middle-east.

I thank you all for all your support and encouragement. Here are some glimpses into what happened in the last few months. Happy reading!

Manoj Kothari | CEO & Chief Strategist

Launching Turian Academy

User Experience (UX) or Customer Experience (CX) is fast becoming an integral part of business strategy and a key to good governance in the broader spectrum. However, there is a tremendous dearth of UX research and strategy professionals.

With a strong foundation spanning more than two decades in design and innovation, Turian Labs took a conscious step through Turian Academy to prepare the next generation of innovators and research professionals by imparting high-quality courses with industry best practices.

The second round of the UX Research Certification course is underway, and the third will start soon (check out this link for registrations and more). Here is what one of the participants of the first cohort had to say about the course:

"Turian Academy's UX Research Certification Program was an excellent investment of my time and money. The course provided a comprehensive overview of the key principles and practices of UX research, from understanding, planning, and conducting user studies to analyzing data and presenting findings......

One of the things I appreciated most about the course was the emphasis on practical skills and real-world applications. We had the opportunity to work on a real UX research project and apply the techniques we learned to a real-world problem. This helped me build confidence in my abilities and gave me a sense of what it's like to work in the field.

Overall, I would highly recommend this UX research course to anyone interested in learning from pioneers of UX research. It was a valuable experience that has already paid off in my work as an experience designer."

New Frontiers of Design Thinking

As Design Thinking rapidly goes mainstream, the process steps are no longer a mystery for the participants. The dialogue and interactions in our corporate DT training workshops are shifting. Usually, we find that 30%-40% of participants in any DT training workshop have had some exposure to the process prior. Challenges lie somewhere else.

In one of our recent training sessions with a global R&D centre of a med-tech corporation based in India, we realized that DT would add great value in helping the team trace back the origin of strategic mandates received from their global counterparts.

We conducted another DT workshop (second year of running this workshop) for several senior stakeholders from premier schools of India, at the IIM Calcutta campus (in a unique hybrid mode). Our realization here was that DT would help the learners bring original thinking to the fore in an age where Al could devise solutions in a flicker. Nearly three years of online facilitation, back-to-back in-person, and hybrid workshops underlined an acute awareness that in-person learning is probably irreplaceable in terms of learning intensity and Rol.

Design Thinking continues to drive the narrative for bringing about and managing change amid continued disruption. AI would continue to accelerate many complex processes. However, to a large extent, sense-making of the data, in the chaos, would remain with humans.

New direction for Indian luxury?

What does Indian luxury look like right now?

Indian sensibilities around luxury continue to be associated with ornate, loaded with golden details, saturated colours, exotic objects in varied hues, handcrafted and exclusive. What is the effect of globalization and borderless travel that Indians now indulge in? What is the effect of COVID on luxury consumption? Do young Indians have a different definition of luxury than their earlier generations?

We had a research mandate from a global home furnishings luxury brand earlier this year to decode some of these questions. Of course, personal storytelling has been one of the constant themes in this arena, as revealed in our previous studies. Megatrends of fluidity and minimalism that we have been studying for some time did show up in this particular study again. One of the experts (a founder of a boutique textile and furnishings studio) commented

“There was a time when bling was very in. Now, the detailing is matte and intricate…It’s also to do with globalisation. Foreign brands are bringing the language of minimalism and that is affecting the aesthetic language Indians are familiar with”.

Rise and rise of the Creator Economy

India is often presented as a 'market' where consumption is booming. But digital empowerment has expanded the power of expression amongst consumers and turned them into creators. India boasts of 80 million digital content creators online. While only 150,000 make money through this content, it still represents the onset of a big trend. Another reflection of this trend is the rise of 'homepreneuership' and 'home-chefery' in the food and catering business.

India is also now home to a rising D2C market fueled by the same trend (about 600 businesses doing business worth $55 bn in 2022). Over the past six months, our team conducted multiple research studies with some of the biggest tech brands in the world focused on understanding the world of content creators. In the social media domain, from Facebook to Instagram and from Linkedin to Youtube, the brands are racing past each other to enable content creators to generate professional quality content following the best practices.

There has been a significant rise in vernacular content, of late. In an interesting study of content creators from the vernacular background conducted by IIM Udaipur, three personae of these content creators were revealed, showing the flux between depicting social mobility aspirations vs. rootedness. “We observed a sense of regional sub-nationalism in small towns where consumers identified with their State more than the entire nation”, the researcher of this report said.

(pic: Ajey Nagar, also known as CarryMinati, is an Indian YouTuber and streamer. He is known for his roasting videos and comedic skits. He has more than 38mn followers)

Designing for the vernacular users

With the increasing accessibility of the internet and mobile devices, there has been a surge of users from rural and semi-urban areas in India joining the digital economy. There are 692 million active internet users in India (2023), and much of the growth continues to be driven by rural India (351 million users with 37% penetration). However, designing digital products for these users requires a different approach. In one of our recent projects, we discovered that 'enhanced foundational features' can effectively engage and retain these users.

Foundational features are essential functions that enable the core functioning of the app, as basic as 'search'. These features are often taken for granted by designers, as they are used frequently and are common to many applications. However, when designing for non-internet-savvy and vernacular users, we need to rethink these features by identifying limitations and emerging mental models.

Our past studies have shown that 'voice search' is often used, and it makes search more accessible to users with limited literacy and to those who prefer to speak in their vernacular language. Another example is the music app Resso, which integrates 'song catch' in their search bar to identify music playing around you or from other apps like Instagram that you might be using. Additionally, YouTube Music displays correct search results even when the spelling of the song is incorrect or alternative spellings are used to search for songs in 'Hinglish'. It also has 'filter chips' attached to the search bar, allowing users to search for songs either on the app, their library, or on their local device.

By adding these micro-features to foundational features, businesses can make these features more accessible, easy to use, and comprehensive, leading to an enhanced app experience.

Supporting less privileged kids

For the last 2 years, Turian Labs has been supporting Abhinav Vikas Foundation, an NGO working with children of the rag-pickers community in Pune. Last Christmas, the Turian team raised funds and celebrated the day with fun and stimulating activities with about 70 kids mentored by this NGO. The public hall in the middle of the slum which they used for conducting the classes, was in bad shape. The ceiling had leakages, doors falling apart and the paint layer had badly chipped off. Later, Turian Labs took up the refurbishing and repair work for the venue to create a safe and hygienic place for the children.

Abhinav Vikas Foundation is run by two dedicated individuals Vikas Borkar and Gauri Sonavane. Do visit their website and connect with them directly to contribute to the great work they have been doing.

Life @ Turian Labs

Workation 3, 2023

At Turian Labs, we have chosen to continue to work in the 'hybrid' mode. However, like others, we also realized that people need to meet and spend time together often to have a great working rhythm. We have been conducting offsite get-togethers for a while now. This year we chose a resort overlooking the Naneghat Valley in Junnar. From nature walks to team games and carefree chit-chats, it was a great way to get to know humans beyond the screens.

The news you can use

UX research tips

Here is a consolidated good list of UX research tools for 2023, including those for Research Ops.
A great list of resources for getting to know the essentials of UX research
A store of Notion templates for UX research

A peek into the future
1. A well-researched global report by Dubai Future Foundation, with over 800 citations. This is a great report on how the future will unfold by 2030. It has a list of 50 opportunities that the world is staring at. However, a caveat, most of these are tech-driven opportunities.

2. Indian middle class would double by 2030 (literally every one in two families would belong to the middle class). India and China will have 60% of the global middle class by 2030. The rise of the global middle class - led by China and India- a good summary here. A sure sign of resilient economies for the future.

3._By 2050, 70 percent of the world’s population will live in cities, up from 54 percent in 2020.
Multiple cities from India will join the distinction of a megacity (10m+). Rigorous town planning is needed. A great chart here.

Turian Tales April 2023