7: A Conversation with Ali Murtaza (Ricult‪)‬ Design Baithak

In this episode, co-hosts Imran Hussain and Suleman Shahid talk with Ali Murtaza about why he became a designer, his design educational experiences in Pakistan and the US, agritech, his current role at Ricult and more. Don’t forget to check out the behind-the-scenes segment at the end of the podcast episode and the show notes below.

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TAGS
ricult, mathematics, design, architecture, bad grades, nca, bnu, communication design, illustration, scad, industrial design, teaching, itu, makeistan, frog, ideo, dunning kruger effect, nightmare on elm street, nasa, etsy, smart design, agri-tech, pakistan, apple, motorola, icloud, me.com, mental models, lifestyles, bush, 9/11, fulbright scholarship

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ABOUT ALI MURTAZA
Ali Murtaza is a designer and educator who specialises in industrial and interaction design. He is a Fulbright alumnus, and holds a BFA in Visual Communication, and MFA in Industrial Design from Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD). 
Ali has been working as a design consultant for around ten years, in which time he has worked with clients like Dolby Labs, Grid Impact, Coke USA, Working Class Studio, and Innovations for Poverty Alleviation Lab (IPAL). He has also been teaching at design and engineering schools since 2015, while being deeply involved in Pakistan’s burgeoning maker scene, as the program manager of Makeistan, Pakistan’s first academic makerspace. 
Ali now works as the UX Design Lead at Ricult, an agri-tech startup that aims to empower smallholder farmers in the developing world to make more informed decisions. 
Learn more about Ali at www.alimurtaza.net.

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ALI’S TOP 3 DESIGN BOOKS
- The Design Of Everyday Things, by Don Norman 
- Change By Design, by Tim Brown 
- 100 Things Every Designer Needs To Know About People, by Susan M. Weinschenk
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LINKS

ITU
https://itu.edu.pk/
Dunning Kruger effect 
https://www.verywellmind.com/an-overview-of-the-dunning-kruger-effect-4160740
Collaborative Learning Programme 
https://www.scad.edu/about/industry-partnerships/executive-education
FROG design 
https://www.frogdesign.com/
SCAD
https://www.scad.edu/
Ricult
https://www.ricult.com/

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ABOUT DESIGN BAITHAK
Design Baithak is a community initiative to promote design, experience and usability in Pakistan. Our podcast features in-depth conversations with experts from different fields of design. Our guests candidly share their stories, insights, opinions and experiences. We also organize meetups across the country that enable people to connect with, and learn from, each other. We believe that by using a design thinking and human-centered design led approach people can create better products, services and customer experiences.
You can learn more about Design Baithak on Twitter and Instagram.
twitter.com/designbaithak 
www.instagram.com/designbaithak 

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ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS
Design Baithak is organized and curated by Imran Hussain, Managing Partner at Cordoba, and Suleman Shahid, Assistant Professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and Partner at Cordoba.
Imran Hussain
https://twitter.com
https://cordobastudio.io

Dr. Suleman Shahid
https://www.facebook.com/sulemans
https://www.instagram.com/sulemans/