1. Starting with Available Resources

"You mentioned about DPDI, but what if I am not in a state where I can do that right now, approach it or afford it with the resources that are already existing out there, what is the best that I can make out of them, what is the path I have to choose in that sense and how exactly which particular books I have to choose or articles I have to read or tasks that I may have to do to arrive there?"

"Great question, where can I start, what can I do with what I have and how can I enhance my knowledge levels from where I am, that is the question you are asking, there are multiple ways to do that, as I said, just because you do not have a map does not mean that you cannot, you are not stranded in point A, you can still make an attempt to go to point B for sure, you can take your own transport and go, but the path may be a little rugged, so be it and that is the price of not buying a ticket and that is fine."

2. Focus on Mastering Tool First

"So I would suggest the best possible place to get started is by practising on the tool, earlier there were, if you look at the design world, there were tons of tools, I am so glad that all of you are learning design now, thank God you did not learn it 20 years ago, it was a very, very different world, it had very different types of tools and it was a pain, but today Figma has removed all the pain and it has made it super simple and seamless and collaborative, so I would strongly suggest, start from Figma, start building confidence by doing more, the minute you do more, you will have more confidence, it is not the other way around, you are confident and hence you did, it is because you did more, you became confident."

3. Learn Through Imitation

"So start replicating some of the apps that you like, for example, I am a very big fan of Airbnb, it is an amazing, amazing, it truly shows that design decisions are taken, every little thing that they kind of put it into that app is very well thought through, and if you can first imitate and understand what they are trying to do, then probably that is a place to get started."

4. Consistent Practice

"If you can have a cadence of everyday 2 hours, you will sit and do it, and slowly you will first imitate, and then you will start asking questions on your imitation, then you will start saying, oh, this screen I can do better, and then you will start creating, so from imitation to creation is a process, and you will come through that, and don't underestimate when I say 2 hours a day, if you do it for one year, you will be an unstoppable designer"

5. Developing Curiosity and Critical Thinking

"So I would start from imitating and then slowly asking better questions and then asking curious questions like why did this design decision get made? What can I do better in Airbnb? What are the problems people are facing using Airbnb? What are the sentiments? What does Reddit say about Airbnb? Why you know Brian made a few decisions? These are amazing ways in which you can go deep."

6. Focused Learning Blocks

"So take a WhatsApp and go ahead and break it down and that is a block. A block is like 21 days just for the fun of it like three weeks. Just do one app per block. In a year trust me you'll be able to do much much more and the way your portfolio will shine is unquestionable. These are the things hiring managers want to see. I definitely want to see somebody like that. Somebody as crazy as that and that's the kind of things that will take you those artifacts will take you into the path of growth. I don't know if it made sense but that is a place I would start."