My Kobe Bryant Moment at Rocketium
At Rocketium we love — Building for builders.
I don’t come from a design background and neither do I know anything about physical tools — but I’ve always admired the craftsmanship of the people who build physical/tangible things.
“A potter’s hands are the clay’s heart, giving it form and expression.” — Khalil Gibran
Since I joined Rocketium, my interest in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) has taken me down a rabbit hole exploring the creative industry. It’s fascinating to delve into how people navigate/operate in today’s digital landscape. In the process I stumbled upon this term — “Digital Craftsman.” yeah, it does sound pretty cool, just kinda stuff we’re doing at Rocketium.
Building products for today’s craftsmen is hard and complex but that’s the fun part about my job. I am super proud of the team for what we’ve accomplished & excited about the future, we’re solving the problem by not building another replica of creative suite but we’re creating a new category — to bring the paradigm shift, which will not only saves huge chunk of time for the user who are tired of doing the mundane work but we’re also automating the parts of processes along the way and enhance their overall productivity.
Why Rocketium Matters–
After spending hours in demo calls and talking to customers. We found there’s a problem and we’re here to solve it.
Context : Creating creatives is just one part of the process in the whole creative ops life-cycle, let me break it down for you.
Example if you want to go live with an AD or Campaign for 5 different channels, like → Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn & TikTok.
as a creative person it’s one hell of a task to resize & create multiple variants across each channel, but with Rocketium you can achieve it in just a few clicks.
In creative ops — journey, we have learned in the process of mastering your craft — be it programming, design, or any creative pursuit — initially, the tools you use may not make a massive difference. But once you cross a certain proficiency threshold, the way you optimize & finesse those tools becomes a game-changer. It’s the mastery tipping point where the tools you use start delivering significant returns.
It reminds me of the Nike — Kobe Bryant Story.
When the Nike Kobe 8 shoes were released, Kobe Bryant asked Nike to trim off the bottom portion of his shoe to have a performance edge. Keep in mind, this was not the rookie Kobe anymore. rather he was at the peak of his skill and nearing retirement, and his body started fading. Hence, he made sure his tools were optimised for his precise needs to carve out the max performance.
“I’m always focused on improving my game, to perform at my best– shaving fractions off the height & weight, it allows me to play faster with more control. I want to feel like I’m moving at the speed of light.” Bryant : said during the unveiling of the Nike Kobe 8. Press Release.
This story of Kobe and his relationship with his tool (i.e. shoes) gave me déjà-vu. What we’re building is something similar, aiming to equip creative users to carve out maximum performance.
Relationship with Tools–
My professional journey has led me to engage with various types of tools, ranging from creatives suite to analytical software and consumer tools. The common thread between all these is understanding user journey workflows and behaviours, during my early days at BI & Sprinklr. I gained a profound insight — the essence of workflow & persona is paramount. Every detail and feedback, especially from users of the platform matters because it’s going to shape their experiences. Altering the interface could significantly impact their behavior and it could leave the user with a bad taste.
Power of Tool in Craft–
The Paintbrush has been the instrument of countless iconic landscapes & visual statements. Artists like Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo and Claude Monet transformed everyday objects into extensions of their personal narratives.
Whether it’s the paintbrush, a basketball shoe, or digital tools, whatever we use and how you treat it is a reflection of how you value your craft. Each tool has a story and emotion attached to it, which gives a sense of purpose that the people who made them are very thoughtful & intentional.
My role is far from easy– it carries a significant sense of responsibility and an even deeper sense of purpose. As Nafees Khan, Head of Design at Rocketium,
often quotes– it’s a tremendous responsibility to build for makers & builders.
The moment of awakening occurred when our Plexus team actively used our own product, being power users, We witnessed firsthand how even the smallest quality details matter & profoundly impact their workflow.
