Who are you?
I am Ahdiya. I am an Afghan born, Dubai raised and Melbourne based human with Cancer sun, Gemini Rising and Scorpio moon in astrology and I am a Manifestor in Human design – I know this is probably a lot but I am here for it all.
A song or movie to represent your life.
A movie that represent my life, is a Persian movie called Bab’Aziz: The Prince That Contemplates His Soul. Every character in the movies reflects a different aspect of my life; both inner and outer worlds.
What sets your soul on fire? (When do you feel most alive)
Music and moving my body to the tunes or sometimes I get to play around with my dj deck and get lost in the sound.
How do you share your gift with others?
I am a an artist and I’d love to share my experience and learnings through visual illustrations with minimalist approach. I love the simplicity of words and shapes to convey the message that comes through. My main background is UX/UI design. UX stands for user experience and so my philosophy revolves around creating a work that enhances the experience of human that interacts with that particular object.
What environmental or conscious traits do you practice?
I have deep affinity with different modalities and practices that’s been helping the human consciousness and their evolution throughout the history of our existence. I was born a muslim in a secular Shia-muslim family where mysticism is at the core of its existence. In my early adulthood I had gone through a phase where I explored a few different schools of thought and they all allowed me to see the world in a different view and challenged my own beliefs and thoughts, and at the same time they enabled me to connect the dots and become more connected to Islam again with a whole different perspective.
What do you think we are about to see a lot of in your industry?
The future is visual. It is transcending beyond the languages as we all can see with the rise of social media. UX/UI design has become more integrated in shaping the world to become more inclusive through digital products such as apps that provide us with experiences and solutions which we didn’t know we needed. That is an ever-growing industry to this date and yet not many know about this field.
What do you wish you could have told your teenage self?
I would tell her to keep going and that she is on the right path. She just needs to believe in herself a little more.
What has a challenge been when establishing your work / business?
I am currently in the process of expanding my side business. I have recently started offering framed prints (http://quantumastudio.com/store )of my artwork to the public. The process of coding up my website, exporting the artboards and testing them out has been such an expansive process. The challenging part for me was launching it and telling the world that I am releasing these prints. I had to do so much inner work around fear of being seen, sense of guilt to capitalise over my art and so on and so forth. But I realised one thing, if what I offer or create adds value to one person’s life, then that is worth all the work I am doing.
Overall balancing my full-time role as a ux/ui designer with side projects and being an artist is an ongoing learning experience.
What has been your favourite moment so far for your work / business?
I love ideating solutions visually and strategically. Helping businesses to offer their product their service that best serves their client’s needs is my passion.
What is next?
Keep exploring my calling(s). So much will come our from Quantuma Studio soon: think of oracle cards, journals and more print work to adorn your space and accentuate your experience.
How would you describe your day-to-day work life?
I love my 2 hour morning rituals. Breathwork and meditation are my saving grace. movement and sweat has helped my body and hormones to stay in good balance. and also drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated and lubricated in my body.
I work from home full-time at a global tech company. After work I tend to work on my side projects, read a book or simply hang out with my love.
Being constantly creative, how do you balance?
I love this question because being and staying creative is what I live for. I would say one thing that helps to stay creative is to show up every day and practice every day. The way to balance is simply by listening when you need to take a break and when to stay in the flow.
There is a book I read about Artist’s journey by Steven Pressfield. The main message of the book is to make sure to show up to the ‘Muse’ consistently and learn how to self-validate because if an artist I judge or self-sabotage their own work, it will easily manifest through their work.
If you weren't in your field, what do you think you would be doing?
I probably would become a jewelry maker. I love wearing gold and they make me feel magnetic. Afghans looove adorning themselves with gold so I think it’s in the blood. I also love one of my best friend's business (@aledebaran) whom offer antique golden pieces that are one of a kind.
Advice for anyone wanting to start in your field.
Stay curious and read everything about this field. Take online courses that is free or affordable enough because you don’t have to pay thousands in order to get into design.
Design goes hand in had with empathy and intuition. We need data and analytical mind to help with that as well. :)
Who do you pull inspiration from?
My future ideal self.
Who do you admire?
My Mother and her resilience and grace. My father for his passionate and protective heart.
You have 24hrs to do absolutely anything, with limitless funds. What are you up to?
I book a whole year trip around the world and invest some of that money to create generational wealth and help the planet by planting more trees.
What are your rituals to get you in the zone?
Depends on the available time or the state I’m in but the best thing is doing 3x rounds of 4-7-8 breath work, EFT tapping and doing a priming move that instantly calms down my nervous system and directs my focus into what I want to do.
Reflecting on your growth as an individual / brand, how do you feel?
I still have a long way to go, despite my achievements. My wish is to serve as many people through my art and my designs.