INTERVIEW with Rubab Paracha - multi skilled woman, an architect, a designer, artist, project manager

Hello everyone!

The first interview of the year is here! And I am so happy to present you this person, she is such a multi skilled creative woman, very inspirational. Above all, a very kind human being!
Hope you like this interview, in my opinion, it’s a very interesting one :)

Q: What word would you use to describe yourself?

A: Resilient

Q: Favourite song?

A: American Baby - Dave Matthews band

Q: Favourite book?

A: I have multiple, but the book that changed my life is “To Kill a Mocking Bird” and currently i’m loving and learning from "Dare to Lead" by Brene Brown

Q: What advice would you give to your younger self?

A: You don’t need all those awards to prove your worth

Q: What architects do you find most inspirational?

A: The architects/designers i find most inspirational (not in any order):

1. Christoph Niemann (illustrator) 

2. Templo Studio UK (graphic design)

3. Tadao Ando (architect)

4. Neri Oxman (designer)

Q: Tell me something about your last work?

A: My last project is a work-in-progress called “Solair Aesthetics" building my own design brand, philosophy and communicating it with those who love good design, aesthetics and human centered experiences.  

Q: Did your country or culture inspire your work? 

A: Yes, I was born and brought up in Pakistan, I speak 3 very different languages and come from a rich cultural background. It not only gives me a solid work ethic but allows me to bring a unique human perspective to my projects which are either in German or international context.  The mixed background helps me a lot when designing user experiences and unique customer journeys and looking at things from varied perspectives.

Q: What would you like to achieve with your work? 

A: I think being a designer and mentor, my first and foremost aim is to show the importance and positive effects of good design because it can change your life, well-being and your business for the better.  I also want my efforts as a leader to promote the importance of being human at the workplace and improve work environments which will inevitably result in more innovative and creative projects.

Q: Is it important to you that people understand your work? 

A: I think I want people to interact with my work rather than just see it.  This is something I learnt from my art background, that I express myself and allow people to make their own interpretations when they engage with it - but it must stir something within them only then is my work effective.

Q: Tell me a bit more about what inspired you to study architecture? 

A: I studied architecture and still love this field but after a few years of professional experience and teaching I diversified towards multi-disciplinary design (bringing different fields together). I firmly believe that one cannot design in a bubble and getting input from different fields is crucial to problem solving.  I’m a visual person therefore the design field allows me to communicate and express creativity.  My background in architecture gives me a unique edge in the field of digital design (UX/CX) because I can transfer the knowledge effectively and test the design approaches effectively which wasn’t possible in architecture.

Q: How do you see the world changing in the future regarding sustainability? 

A: Given the shift that we all experienced in 2020, I think more people are now willing to challenge the status quo whether it is about transport, offices/work spaces and how we design products and the effect it has on your environment.  This sudden stop gave us all a moment to think, that things can change from “this is how we always did it” to “how can we make this work differently and better”.  I was fortunate to mentor some startups in 2020 and I saw so many business ideas talking about sustainability, this was really inspiring for me.

Q: How do you see the industry changing after 2020? 

A: I think the buzz word of the year is “digital transformation” and I think many companies who have long considered this step unnecessary are finally forced to change their ways , especially in Germany (Hallelujah).  I’m hoping for better systems, optimised processes and more human centered approaches in the design field.

Q: How did this year and the global pandemic affect your work? 

A: Previously,I did a lot of work in service design and in-person experiences(UX/CX), while the digital touch-points still work very well, the digital translation of in-person events needs more work.  e.g. At the moment in the automotive industry there are 1-to-1 translations of car display shows in a AR setting.  However, moving forward we need to find a better strategy of how to create immersive digital experiences which are not a replication of in-person events.  It made me research more and question the way we currently do things and how we can transform that for better user engagement and improve the quality of the experience..

Q: How do you keep yourself busy during the lockdown? 

A: During the lockdown I dedicated a lot of time towards my health and well-being. I was a workaholic who was forced to slow down; I meditated daily, tended to my herb garden, spent a substantial time in nature and created a series of artworks that brings together my love for books, plants and illustration.

Q: Goals for the next year? 

A: If there is anything 2020 taught me, is to stop over-planning and setting strict goals.  I’ve shifted to a more process and intention oriented approach.  This does not mean I don’t have aims, I just allow things to move more fluidly and I am trying to embrace the serendipity mindset.

Feel free to write your thoughts in the comments!
I will see you soon with a new topic and more interviews.

Have a great end of the week.

Ena <3

Berlin Art Week 2019

Welcome to today’s topic: BERLIN ART WEEK!

It’s a quite chilly day in Berlin and I am drinking my oat milk latte, so Berlin haha. It’s been a few days since the Berlin Art Week has officially closed its doors for this year. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t visit most of the exhibitions that took part.

September is as I like to call it an Art Month, even though a lot of events still happen even throughout October. But let’s talk about the Art Week!

Every year for about 5 days there is a week that has so many exhibition openings that you can only try to see them all. Usually I would pick a few and slowly visit them, but this year I really tried to see as many as possible, and then I ended up having as I called an “art overload”. Just kidding, that is almost impossible, but the amount of art pieces I have seen during these few days was really admiring I have to say. Galleries and museums all over the city are opening their doors for art enthusiasts. There were several openings each day and we’d have to stop time in order to see them all! Apart from galleries and museums, there were numerous installations all around Berlin. With years I have to say I began to appreciate installations more and more, and especially those that are done as some sort of an urban intervention that everyone can see while walking around, going to work, commuting or just stepping out of their house. 

In this post I will show some of my favourite exhibitions and art pieces! 

One of my favourite exhibition spaces is for sure KINDL Zentrum für Zeitgenössische Kunst. The space itself leaves you speechless, but the choice of artists that exhibit there never leaves you indifferent. 

Am Sudhaus 3, 12053 Berlin

Next on the list is most definitely Hamburger Bahnhof. An old station that is now an amazing museum offers different exhibitions at the same time. The art that is shown is mostly contemporary and from time to time there are also live performances included. Since the location of the museum is in Mitte, very central, and not more than 3 minutes walking distance from the central train station Hauptbahnhof, this museum for sure is a must to whoever visits Berlin!

Invalidenstraße 50-51, 10557 Berlin

After being in an art-architecture world for a while now, Bauhaus has a special place in my heart! This year, 2019, is actually a 100y since the movement has been founded! During the year there have been several exhibitions that showed pieces from this movement, regarding art, design, architecture, even photography (even though lots of photographers don’t even know that Bauhaus plays a big role in our world as well, not just in architecture and design!) Berlinische Galerie (Alte Jakobstraße 124-128, 10969 Berlin) as one of the main and biggest galleries in the city has exhibited pieces from this movement. For the first time I have seen that people are actually standing in a line and waiting for something cultural and not clubs, iPhones and stuff like that. 

When speaking of Bauhaus, it’s inevitable to mention Gropius Bau Museum. Martin Gropius who is a founder of the museum was a grandson of Walter Gropius, one of the founders of Bauhaus movement. Gropius Bau Museum is one of my favourite buildings in Berlin and the feeling I get every time I go there is just pure bliss! As museum is pretty big, and it has lots of space, often there are at least 3 different exhibitions, and that was the case this time as well!

Niederkirchnerstraße 7, 10963 Berlin

After mentioning big guys, I have to talk about my absolute favourite gallery, that has always left me speechless and full of some certain of very special indescribable feeling: Museum Frieder Burda Berlin which is located in the “art street” Auguststraße. One of the photographic projects that I found as the most powerful that I have seen in a long time is being exhibited there. Photographer Olaf Heine and Rwanda Daughters is for sure an experience everybody has to go through if they are in Berlin while its on display! (If you are reading this and you are in Berlin please go and see it!) 

Auguststraße 11 - 13, 10117 Berlin

And last but not least, Art Fair that was held on the Tempelhofer Feld and inside the abandoned airport. Hangars 5 and 6 hosted numerous galleries and you could see art buyers, gallerists and enthusiasts walking around, having meetings one after the other. I am currently not running a gallery but I for sure enjoyed this fair so much. It was such an inspirational experience!

Since this post has became so long, I am just going to list some other galleries and museums I find very interesting to visit: Me Collectors Room, Akademie der Künste, C/O (will talk about this one more in a specially dedicated post), König Galerie, Auguststraße (street full of galleries!)

Thank you for reading this and I promise there is a lot of very interesting content including interviews with stimulating people coming!

Have a lovely day!
Ena :)