Designing the perfect user experience

Technology is fast catching up with the Indian start-ups, and they’re finally coming to terms with the fact that having an online presence is very important to succeed. But this hasn’t always been the case, says Anil Reddy, founder of UX/UI (user experience / user design) design studio, Lollypop.

Having previously worked at well-known firms such as Ogilvy and TBWA in New Zealand, Reddy decided to return home to Bengaluru to start Lollypop. “There was always a perception in all the offices I worked at in New Zealand, that Indians did not pay much attention to design of websites. Coding? Sure. Designing a website? No. The user experience of a website? Not at all!” It was to change this perception that Reddy focussed on interface design. Founded in 2013, Lollypop focuses on UX and UI and the front end of website development.

The team

Reddy, who completed his under-graduation from Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat and his masters from Design and Art College in Christchurch, New Zealand, also helped design the internet portal for Bengaluru’s famous International Tech Park in Whitefield. “It was always difficult, especially in India, to get a job — freelance or full time — with a degree in design. But after ITPL, I worked on some other projects based in the Middle East, which then took me to New Zealand,” Reddy tells BLonCampus .

Designing a website is no child’s play. A fair bit of work goes into it. In fact, it is the experience users have on the site that brings them back. Companies in the West realised this soon enough, and a UI/UX designing firm is hot property. Eager to create the same in India and armed with 16 years of experience under his belt, Reddy wants to tackle the Indian market. He built himself a team of 35, which he handpicked by carefully selecting artists and designers. They were then trained to suit this line of work.

Reddy says he was lucky to have been able to bring some consultancy work from New Zealand with him to Lollypop, after he quit his job. “So far, we’ve serviced 95 clients in nine countries. Initially, we got projects on a trial basis from some of my clients from New Zealand and this really helped us start off. From there, our brand and reputation grew mainly by word of mouth.”

Funding

Lollypop is personally funded. Reddy says they’ve already broken even and are making profits now. At present, they are based out of Bengaluru, but have an office in New Delhi as well.

Ask him what’s on the cards for the company in the near future and Reddy says a UX-lab will be set up, where a user’s experience with a product can be tested. “Such labs were commonplace in New Zealand. In India too, I think we stand to benefit a lot from them,” he says, adding that these labs will be rented out so other companies can use them too.

In the not-so-distant future, Reddy says he plans on taking Lollypop to Mumbai first, and then San Francisco. “We’re almost ready to open our Mumbai office. Initial talks for our San Francisco office have already started,” he says.