How to Reverse Engineer a Desired Outcome through Design - Ram Castillo

Ram Castillo is a Sydney-based design director, author, international speaker, and career director. His hit podcast, Giant Thinkers, has charted #3 on iTunes in more than 5 countries and currently has over 250,000 active listeners. Ram has been helping designers find employment for almost a decade. Now, he continues to mentor all kinds of creatives through systems such as the Lightning Bolt Method, inspiring and motivating them to successfully pursue their passions. 
 In this episode, Ram delves deep into his childhood and how he expressed his creativity from a young age using whatever resources he could find, including toilet paper rolls. We also discuss: 

How the lens of design leads to better questioning

The importance of varied mentorship and how to find good mentors 

The importance of decision-making 

High-value vs. low-value activities 

How fear is a false construct based on untested assumptions 

 Ram’s website: https://ramcastillo.com/
Giant Thinkers: https://giantthinkers.com/
Giant Thinkers podcast: https://giantthinkers.com/category/podcast/
Ram’s books - How to Get a Job as a Designer, Guaranteed https://www.amazon.com/How-Designer-Guaranteed-Step-Step/dp/099257000X, How to Get a Mentor as a Designer, Guaranteed https://www.amazon.com/How-Get-Mentor-Designer-Guaranteed/dp/0992570026
Keep up with Ram on Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thegiantthinker

FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheGiantThinker

Linkedin: https://au.linkedin.com/in/ram-castillo-39a39923

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegiantthinker/

Chapter titles 

00:19 - Ram’s childhood and what toilet paper rolls mean to him

4:33 - How Ram’s parents influenced him to dream big 

10:33 - How of childhood bullying affected Ram

17:47 - Ram starts in the mailroom 

27:07 - The lens of design and how it leads to asking questions 

33:00 - Mentorship in Ram’s life

41:09 - The importance of making decisions

47:32 - High-value vs. low-value activities

52:44 - Fear is a construct

Frameworks
According to Ram, the four steps of design are:

Research. Gather information. Then, 

Define. Group research and data and narrow it down to solve a specific problem. Next,

Conceptualize. Create a prototype. And finally, 

Deliver. Distribute the design into the world. 

Then gather feedback and repeat the steps. 
How to Find a Mentor
A mentor should be an advisor, friend, and idol 

Get clear on the definition

Go through a personal analysis

Pair your goals with the right people

Mentor others and give back

Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=23010497)
This is an encore episode and was originally published on July 7, 2021.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ram Castillo is a Sydney-based design director, author, international speaker, and career director. His hit podcast, Giant Thinkers, has charted #3 on iTunes in more than 5 countries and currently has over 250,000 active listeners. Ram has been helping designers find employment for almost a decade. Now, he continues to mentor all kinds of creatives through systems such as the Lightning Bolt Method, inspiring and motivating them to successfully pursue their passions. 

 In this episode, Ram delves deep into his childhood and how he expressed his creativity from a young age using whatever resources he could find, including toilet paper rolls. We also discuss: 

How the lens of design leads to better questioning
The importance of varied mentorship and how to find good mentors 
The importance of decision-making 
High-value vs. low-value activities 
How fear is a false construct based on untested assumptions 

 Ram’s website: https://ramcastillo.com/

Giant Thinkers: https://giantthinkers.com/

Giant Thinkers podcast: https://giantthinkers.com/category/podcast/

Ram’s books - How to Get a Job as a Designer, Guaranteed https://www.amazon.com/How-Designer-Guaranteed-Step-Step/dp/099257000X, How to Get a Mentor as a Designer, Guaranteed https://www.amazon.com/How-Get-Mentor-Designer-Guaranteed/dp/0992570026

Keep up with Ram on Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thegiantthinker

FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheGiantThinker

Linkedin: https://au.linkedin.com/in/ram-castillo-39a39923

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegiantthinker/

Chapter titles 

00:19 - Ram’s childhood and what toilet paper rolls mean to him
4:33 - How Ram’s parents influenced him to dream big 
10:33 - How of childhood bullying affected Ram
17:47 - Ram starts in the mailroom 
27:07 - The lens of design and how it leads to asking questions 
33:00 - Mentorship in Ram’s life
41:09 - The importance of making decisions
47:32 - High-value vs. low-value activities
52:44 - Fear is a construct

Frameworks

According to Ram, the four steps of design are:

Research. Gather information. Then, 
Define. Group research and data and narrow it down to solve a specific problem. Next,
Conceptualize. Create a prototype. And finally, 
Deliver. Distribute the design into the world. 

Then gather feedback and repeat the steps. 

How to Find a Mentor

A mentor should be an advisor, friend, and idol 

Get clear on the definition
Go through a personal analysis
Pair your goals with the right people
Mentor others and give back

Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=23010497)

This is an encore episode and was originally published on July 7, 2021.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices