Today’s post is an interview with Rukmini Poddar, a visual designer and illustrator. She’s based in New York City and also works as a designer for The Bhakti Center. I met Rukmini through Jay Shetty, a mutual friend of ours and was particularly inspired with her Enneagram illustrations. For those of you who don’t know, the Enneagram is a personality typing system that consists of nine different types. Everyone is considered to be one single type, although one can have traits belonging to other ones. Check out the interview below.
Where are you based?
New York City
What is your creative zone of genius?
I would hope to think that it lies in the intersection of creative illustration and healthy self awareness.
What is the story of this particular project?
The seed for this project, 100 days of Illustrating the Enneagram, was planted in my heart a few years ago. It started in 2016 when I decided to dedicate 100 days of my life to illustrating the murky, unclear and often obscure emotions I feel in my life. That is when I started to become endlessly fascinated with understanding human emotion and different personality frameworks.
Not too long after, a friend told me that I was drawing Enneagram types without even knowing it. I didn’t know what that meant.
I soon found out that the Enneagram is an incredibly nuanced and specific personality typing system. It’s a powerful tool for understanding the human psyche and ultimately for self growth and transformation.
Unlike most personality typing systems, it focuses on motivation rather than behavior.
Last year I dived into head first into the world of Enneagram when I took 2 intensive Enneagram workshops entitled Excavating Your Ego, hosted by Upbuild. As I was taking these workshops I immediately dreamt of the day that I could help share this knowledge through illustration. I found that visual guides could make the enneagram so much more accessible and understandable to people.
It’s a tool that I found to be so helpful in understanding myself better and for creating stronger sense of empathy in understanding the sufferings and joys of others.
What was your inspiration for creating this?
I find illustration such a powerful way to share knowledge with others. The Enneagram has proven to be so helpful in understanding myself and others better, that I wanted to find a visual language where I could make it more accessible and easily understood to people.
What did your creative process look like in making this project?
My creative process is done daily. It’s as consistent as possible. It’s forgiving (none of my images are perfect), and it involves minimal tools (sketchbook and $20 paint set). Basically, my creative process involves me to sit down and draw an illustration every day and to trust that in consistency and persistence, all things come. I do not wait for inspiration. In fact, inspiration is barely part of the picture. I have to create so rapidly and quickly that I have no time to bother with inspiration. And I find that so freeing. Because the moment I don’t use inspiration as a crutch, I begin to realize that it’s been next to me all along.
How can people help you get involved?
Right now I’m just encouraging everyone to engage with this material. Check out my different enneagram types on my instagram account and see what resonates with you. Learn more on the enneagram if you’re interested and follow me for more daily drawings.
Where can people follow you or see more of your work?
You can follow me on instagram and see my daily updates: @rockinruksi and you can also check out my other side project, Dear Ruksi: www.dearruksi.com
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CULTIVATING YOUR VISUAL UNIQUENESS AND STREAMLINING YOUR BRAND'S EVOLUTION
Today’s post is an interview with Rukmini Poddar, a visual designer and illustrator. She’s based in New York City and also works as a designer for The Bhakti Center. I met Rukmini through Jay Shetty, a mutual friend of ours and was particularly inspired with her Enneagram illustrations. For those of you who don’t know, the Enneagram is a personality typing system that consists of nine different types. Everyone is considered to be one single type, although one can have traits belonging to other ones. Check out the interview below.
Where are you based?
New York City
What is your creative zone of genius?
I would hope to think that it lies in the intersection of creative illustration and healthy self awareness.
What is the story of this particular project?
The seed for this project, 100 days of Illustrating the Enneagram, was planted in my heart a few years ago. It started in 2016 when I decided to dedicate 100 days of my life to illustrating the murky, unclear and often obscure emotions I feel in my life. That is when I started to become endlessly fascinated with understanding human emotion and different personality frameworks.
Not too long after, a friend told me that I was drawing Enneagram types without even knowing it. I didn’t know what that meant.
I soon found out that the Enneagram is an incredibly nuanced and specific personality typing system. It’s a powerful tool for understanding the human psyche and ultimately for self growth and transformation.
Unlike most personality typing systems, it focuses on motivation rather than behavior.
Last year I dived into head first into the world of Enneagram when I took 2 intensive Enneagram workshops entitled Excavating Your Ego, hosted by Upbuild. As I was taking these workshops I immediately dreamt of the day that I could help share this knowledge through illustration. I found that visual guides could make the enneagram so much more accessible and understandable to people.
It’s a tool that I found to be so helpful in understanding myself better and for creating stronger sense of empathy in understanding the sufferings and joys of others.
What was your inspiration for creating this?
I find illustration such a powerful way to share knowledge with others. The Enneagram has proven to be so helpful in understanding myself and others better, that I wanted to find a visual language where I could make it more accessible and easily understood to people.
What did your creative process look like in making this project?
My creative process is done daily. It’s as consistent as possible. It’s forgiving (none of my images are perfect), and it involves minimal tools (sketchbook and $20 paint set). Basically, my creative process involves me to sit down and draw an illustration every day and to trust that in consistency and persistence, all things come. I do not wait for inspiration. In fact, inspiration is barely part of the picture. I have to create so rapidly and quickly that I have no time to bother with inspiration. And I find that so freeing. Because the moment I don’t use inspiration as a crutch, I begin to realize that it’s been next to me all along.
How can people help you get involved?
Right now I’m just encouraging everyone to engage with this material. Check out my different enneagram types on my instagram account and see what resonates with you. Learn more on the enneagram if you’re interested and follow me for more daily drawings.
Where can people follow you or see more of your work?
You can follow me on instagram and see my daily updates: @rockinruksi and you can also check out my other side project, Dear Ruksi: www.dearruksi.com
6/14/18
Community Feature: Rukmini Poddar
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masterfully aligning perception and reality through personal branding
Today’s post is an interview with Rukmini Poddar, a visual designer and illustrator. She’s based in New York City and also works as a designer for The Bhakti Center. I met Rukmini through Jay Shetty, a mutual friend of ours and was particularly inspired with her Enneagram illustrations. For those of you who don’t know, the Enneagram is a personality typing system that consists of nine different types. Everyone is considered to be one single type, although one can have traits belonging to other ones. Check out the interview below.
Where are you based?
New York City
What is your creative zone of genius?
I would hope to think that it lies in the intersection of creative illustration and healthy self awareness.
What is the story of this particular project?
The seed for this project, 100 days of Illustrating the Enneagram, was planted in my heart a few years ago. It started in 2016 when I decided to dedicate 100 days of my life to illustrating the murky, unclear and often obscure emotions I feel in my life. That is when I started to become endlessly fascinated with understanding human emotion and different personality frameworks.
Not too long after, a friend told me that I was drawing Enneagram types without even knowing it. I didn’t know what that meant.
I soon found out that the Enneagram is an incredibly nuanced and specific personality typing system. It’s a powerful tool for understanding the human psyche and ultimately for self growth and transformation.
Unlike most personality typing systems, it focuses on motivation rather than behavior.
Last year I dived into head first into the world of Enneagram when I took 2 intensive Enneagram workshops entitled Excavating Your Ego, hosted by Upbuild. As I was taking these workshops I immediately dreamt of the day that I could help share this knowledge through illustration. I found that visual guides could make the enneagram so much more accessible and understandable to people.
It’s a tool that I found to be so helpful in understanding myself better and for creating stronger sense of empathy in understanding the sufferings and joys of others.
What was your inspiration for creating this?
I find illustration such a powerful way to share knowledge with others. The Enneagram has proven to be so helpful in understanding myself and others better, that I wanted to find a visual language where I could make it more accessible and easily understood to people.
What did your creative process look like in making this project?
My creative process is done daily. It’s as consistent as possible. It’s forgiving (none of my images are perfect), and it involves minimal tools (sketchbook and $20 paint set). Basically, my creative process involves me to sit down and draw an illustration every day and to trust that in consistency and persistence, all things come. I do not wait for inspiration. In fact, inspiration is barely part of the picture. I have to create so rapidly and quickly that I have no time to bother with inspiration. And I find that so freeing. Because the moment I don’t use inspiration as a crutch, I begin to realize that it’s been next to me all along.
How can people help you get involved?
Right now I’m just encouraging everyone to engage with this material. Check out my different enneagram types on my instagram account and see what resonates with you. Learn more on the enneagram if you’re interested and follow me for more daily drawings.
Where can people follow you or see more of your work?
You can follow me on instagram and see my daily updates: @rockinruksi and you can also check out my other side project, Dear Ruksi: www.dearruksi.com
6/14/18
Community Feature: Rukmini Poddar
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The Brand Intelligence Engine is an AI personal brand system that builds the complete infrastructure of a premium brand in three phases. Here’s exactly what happens inside, what it produces, and who it’s built for.
Your content strategy is not working because the problem isn’t content. It’s what’s underneath it. When your brand lacks identity and visual translation, posting more just amplifies incoherence. Here’s the trap and how to escape it.
This personal brand audit takes two minutes and reveals exactly where your brand is broken. Four questions, one for each layer of brand intelligence. Most people fail at least two. Here’s the diagnostic.
Your personal brand identity is not you. It’s a translation of you. When you confuse the two, you either freeze up or perform. Neither builds authority. Here’s the distinction that changes how you show up online.
The biggest personal brand photography investment mistake isn’t underspending on photos. It’s investing $50,000 in coaching, ads, and masterminds while spending $500 on visual identity. Here’s what that costs you and how to fix the order.
I spent 20 years photographing personal brands. I watched brilliant people stay invisible because they skipped the layers nobody talks about. So I built the Brand Intelligence Engine to fix it. Here’s the full story.
Your AI content sounds generic because the AI doesn’t know who you are. It’s not a tool problem. It’s an input problem. Without your identity, voice, and brand intelligence loaded, every AI produces the same bland output. Here’s how to fix it.
Creativity as intelligence is the idea that creative work isn’t about expressing who you already are. It’s about constructing who you’re becoming. Most people treat creativity as output. It’s actually architecture. Here’s why that changes everything.
The personal brand identity gap is the distance between your expertise and your visibility. When who you are doesn’t match how you’re seen online, it’s not a marketing problem. It’s a coherence problem. Here’s how to close it.
Most personal brands skip visual translation entirely. They jump from identity straight to content. But brand identity before website, before content, before the sales page is the order that actually works. Here’s the layer you’re missing.
Most personal brand strategy frameworks skip the foundation. Brand intelligence is built in four layers: Identity, Visual Translation, Content, and Business. Here’s why starting at layer three is the reason your brand feels off.
Your personal brand feels off but you can’t explain why. It’s not your logo or colors. It’s a coherence problem, a structural gap between who you are and how you’re seen. Here’s what to do.
Authority isn’t binary. You’re not either an authority or not an authority. Authority exists in levels, stages, and progressions. Each level has distinct characteristics, distinct positioning, distinct challenges, and distinct requirements for advancement. Most people get stuck at Level One. They’re visible, active, creating content, showing up regularly. But they’re not building actual authority. They’re […]
About the Blogger
I was born in a low middle class conservative religious family in the suburbs of Seattle. Art was and always has been my passion, and more than that a way of life. Starting as a graphic designer, I taught myself photography, built a commercial/editorial business shooting for the worlds biggest brands like Nike, Coca-Cola, Adidas and more. I've also had the opportunity to photograph the world's biggest celebrities like Justin Bieber, Usher, Jessica Alba and more. I've curated a lifestyle around creativity and have learned a lot along the way which I get to share here.
I was born in a low middle class conservative religious family in the suburbs of Seattle. Art was and always has been my passion, and more than that a way of life. Starting as a graphic designer, I taught myself photography, built a commercial/editorial business shooting for the worlds biggest brands like Nike, Coca-Cola, Adidas and more. I've also had the opportunity to photograph the world's biggest celebrities like Justin Bieber, Usher, Jessica Alba and more. I've curated a lifestyle around creativity and have learned a lot along the way which I get to share here.
