Aastha Bhargava
Staff Designer & ICM, Mapping, San Francisco
Share a ride with Aastha
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Spend some time with Aastha, one of our staff designers based in California
What do you love most about being a Product Designer?
I love bringing people together to solve problems. I love having the opportunity to work through a ton of ambiguity and connect the dots to define a product strategy, together. My absolute favorite moments are when diverse perspectives in the room build on each other and strengthen the outcome.
What’s been your favorite project at Lyft?
I’ve had many favorite projects at Lyft, so it’s hard to pick just one. Right now, I’m enjoying building mapping systems (navigation, cartography, and map-making ecosystems) 0 to 1 and collaborating with some incredible experts in the industry.
“Designers are meant to be collaborative—not work in silos—so leverage the experts around you and use the opportunity to grow. ”
— Aastha Bhargava, Staff Designer & ICM
How do you practice self care?
Staying inspired to me, in a way, is practicing self-care. I’ve never really been able to meditate but I love gardening, and it’s the only time I don’t think about anything else. So I start most of my mornings with a cup of coffee and about 50 plants.
I also love finding other creative outlets from which I can draw parallels to my work—such as pottery. The unpredictability that comes with making something out of clay, watching how it takes shape and accepting that many aspects of the process are out of your control, helps exercise the right muscles for product design too. Although sometimes, doing absolutely nothing makes me feel recharged as well.
Any advice on how to get started in product design?
Take every opportunity you can get. There’s no project too big or small, and there’s always going to be something new to learn so it’s important to jump in with an open mind. Take advantage of mentorship programs, and don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know how to tackle something. Designers are meant to be collaborative—not work in silos—so leverage the experts around you and use the opportunity to grow.
If you could take a Lyft ride with anyone, who would it be?
Taylor Swift. I’m a Swiftie!
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