Anusree Raju began her career journey with engineering, but she found her passion when her tech skills were mixed with some creative elements and she eventually became a Senior Interaction Designer.
Her journey began in India where she completed a degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering. After graduating, Anusree landed a job as a Systems Engineer with an IT firm. Her role was very technical and involved working on backend database systems. And while she learned a lot of practical knowledge in IT, the day-to-day tasks were often monotonous. As a young professional early in her career, Anusree wanted to keep moving forward.
How did you change your career path from engineering to a design focus?
After a year or so, there was a career change opportunity in the IT firm I was working at, so I applied and got it. It was for a role as User Experience (UX) Design professional and I entered the world of UX. I loved being a User Centred Design professional as it fed my creativity. I enjoyed visualising and solving user problems, and each new design challenge was different.
What made you choose to work within the Scottish Government?
When I moved to the UK in 2019, I successfully applied for job in Scottish Government as a Senior Interaction Designer. When I was hired, it was great to find out that this role within Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) came with a lot of perks, such as a flexible work environment and a pay supplement.
In what ways does your work inspire you?
My work experience in the public sector digital services helps to improve the lives of people in Scotland. For example I helped design the Covid postcode checker for Scotland, which helped people find out which Covid restrictions applied in their area during the lockdown. Not only is Interaction Design fascinating, it’s key to knowing how users interact with a system - different users interact in different ways with the same service. As an Interaction Designer, I need to work out the best way for a user to interact with a service, in terms of both overall flow and at the level of individual design elements to ensure its accessible.
Anusree is now Head of Practice for Interaction Design, mentoring and coaching less experienced designers. Her career motto is “Learning is a continuous process” and it is inspired by her mum! The DDaT employees in Scottish Government have a strong practice community culture and has provided Anusree with great leadership opportunities as she continues to grow.
