First,

A concise illustrated* history

of the origins

of this

correspondence.
(Or continue straight to the cover letter text by clicking here)

(Direct link to my Resume here)

*I’ve never sketched this much before- just had to wing it and see where it’d take me.
 UPON THE LAYOFF, A THOUGHTFUL SHOWER.

HMMM...SEMICONDUCTORS: BEEN THERE, DONE THAT.

PERHAPS NOW IS THE TIME TO FOLLOW MY HEART.
WHAT DOES THIS HEART OF MINE SAY?

IT SAYS:

“Tell the world what really makes you tick, Khurram”

 I LAMENT THE NEGLECT AND ABUSE OF TYPE.

I SEE BEAUTY IN HOW WORDS APPEAR WHERE THEY ARE ON A PAGE,

AND I LIKE TO SHARE STORIES- MY OWN, AND OTHERS.

 I BELIEVE MUSIC MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER.

BUT MAKING MUSIC MAKES EVERYTHING BETTERER.

 TO TELL THE BEST STORIES,

I CAPTURE LIFE ON FILM, AND ON FLASH MEMORY.

OFTEN, I RELY HEAVILY ON THE WONDERS OF

DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING TO MAKE THE IMAGES TRULY MY OWN.

 NECESSITY, I FEEL, IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION.

PERHAPS THIS RECESSION WILL BE THE MOTHER OF

MY REINVENTION.

"Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him," his heart said. "We, people's hearts, seldom say much about those treasures, because people
no longer want to go in search of them. We speak of them only to children. Later, we simply let life proceed, in its own direction, toward its
own fate. But, unfortunately, very few follow the path laid out for them---the path to their destinies, and to happiness. Most people see the
world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out indeed, to be a threatening place. "So, we, their hearts, speak more
and more softly. We never stop speaking out, but we begin to hope that our words won't be heard: we don't want people to suffer because they
don't follow their hearts."

"Why don't people's hearts tell them to continue to follow their dreams?" the boy asked the alchemist.

"Because that's what makes a heart suffer most, and hearts don't like to suffer."

Paulo Coelho - e Alchemist

KHURRAM SIDDIQI 1717 WOODLAND AVE #215, E.PALO ALTO CA 94303, ksiddiqi@gmail.com, 323.646.6142
AKQA NEW YORK 175 VARICK ST. 10th FLOOR, NEW YORK, NY 10014
May 18, 2009

I’m writing today, to express heavy interest in the Designer, and Copywriter positions at AKQA.

As Arthur C. Clarke stated elegantly long ago, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic.” I left the teeming streets of Lahore, Pakistan for the United States to
train in such magic; I studied electrical engineering at Purdue, then USC, and was only happy to
find the right sets of doors opening for me, in the right order prescribed by those in the game
before me- I landed a technical marketing position at one of Silicon Valley’s quintessential chip
companies. The work’s been fast paced and challenging, well-paying and most of all-stable. It’s
precisely this stability, however, that has me a little hungry not just for change, but to take on full-
time work, that never feels like work; a sign of doing what I love. I believe that you’ve got to help
someone else live out their dream, before you can start doing the same with your own- now is the
time!

Throughout college and my career, I realized that growing up in the home of two architects
provided more exposure to visual and printed design than the average electrical engineer. Throw in
a unique childhood in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan coupled with coming-of-age in the land of the
stars and stripes, and I’ve got a pocketful of stories to share at any given moment.

“Good design is good business,” we’re told. From reformatting technical documents to maximizing
the efficacy of content through typography, to designing evaluation platforms for usability, I’ve
intertwined creativity with hard and fast delivery of results that semiconductors themselves have
imbued expectations of, within consumers.

I know my background’s not typical- but perhaps my lack of professional experience in the
advertising world will bring me into AKQA free of preconceived notions, the kind I see broken time
and time again by your work. Like you guys, I’m in it for being better than the rest- bigger is pretty
overrated. As for my ability with writing copy- it seems the best copywriters are the ones who can
jump into someone else’s shoes for a bit, yet champion their clients’ stories better than they could.
Engineering and technical marketing throw me into that spot every day- taking abstract concepts
and translating them across organizations and customers- to create a collective sense of value for
producer and consumer. On another other shamelessly self-plugging note, I’m great with
photography and almost swear by Photoshop- both of which I have no formal training in. I want to
leverage these skills for a wider set of people; to take my modern yet sometimes witty visual design
to carry client messages to the right people.

I’d like to close with two suggestions, if I may, to help you decide whether this letter is about to
meet the trash bin (or that Fellowes paper shredder), or tip you into talking to me a little more. First,
you might find reviewing my portfolio helpful. Second, give me an assignment- ask me to write
copy as a challenge. It’s a challenge I’d love to take, so that you guys may take a chance on my
clean slate. Regardless, I applaud you having read this far, and hope to hear from you.

Yours truly,

Khurram A. Siddiqi
PORTFOLIO: www.studiosapuri.com/portfolio

encl: ‘Techie’ Resume

KHURRAM SIDDIQI
1717 Woodland Ave E. Palo Alto Apt. 215, California 94303, USA // ksiddiqi@gmail.com // +1 (323) 646-6142

EDUCATION
• University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 2006. Master of Science, Electrical Engineering.
• Purdue University, IN, 2004. Bachelor of Science Electrical Engineering. Minor in English and Tech Writing

WORK EXPERIENCE
Cypress Semiconductor, San Jose, CA

Marketing Manager - PSoC Customer Solutions Jan 2008 - present

• Manage turn-key, whole-product solutions for Ultra-low Power, and Battery Management application markets.
• Manage two cross-functional teams of 3 applications and design engineers in multiple solution centers, developing
technical collateral and training, reducing costs and time to market for customers.
• Lead the development of single-chip solutions for wired and novel contact-less battery management in mobile
communication and portable computation applications.
• Develop training and documentation for sales and customer training to facilitate adoption through knowledge transfer.
• Drive engagement with key customer accounts through business development and sales organizations.

Associate Product Manager - PSoC3/5 Microcontroller Platform Jan 2007 - Dec 2007

• Owned product definition for power system in next-generation of flagship programmable products.
• Analyzed technology, markets, competitive trends and customer feedback to ensure competitive performance,
pricing and successful adoption of 8 and 32-bit microcontrollers across a $6B target market.
• Delivered on stringent technical and marketing requirements as a liaison between lead customers, upper
management, engineering, procurement, and technical publication teams.
• Developed ultra-low power, cost-effective energy harvesting prototypes with SunPower Corp.
• Designed custom evaluation boards, optimizing functionality and usability to provide in-depth, standalone evaluation
of system power performance, for ease of use by sales force and customers.
• Directed corporate web team to address content and web-usability from customer and management viewpoints,
standardizing templates for web and wiki implementation across business units and solution teams.

Applications Engineer, PSoC CapSense Group Jul 2006 - Dec 2006

• Developed, tested and debugged code for capacitive sensing in portable and mobile devices for key customers.
• Developed failure analysis platform, enabling reuse across multiple device packages, system voltages, sensing
algorithms and multiple communication interfaces to reduce testing costs by 60% and improve test reliability by 20%.
• Planned and organized company presence at industry (embedded systems conference) and college recruiting events.

Center for Global Innovation Management, Marshall School of Business, USC

Research Assistant, CleanTech and Alternative Energy Markets Jul 2005 - May 2006

• Conducted market and technical research on leading clean and renewable technologies to compile case studies for
MBA courses on global innovation in Fortune 100 corporations.
• Researched the effectiveness of innovation in consumer and high tech markets with USC, University of Minnesota,
Imperial College London, and the University of Cambridge.
Lahore University of Management and Sciences (LUMS), Lahore, Pakistan
Teaching Assistant, English Language Jun 2004 - Dec 2004

• Teaching assistant for first and second year English language students at Pakistan’s foremost technical and research
institution, partnered with Harvard University (Cambridge, MA) and McGill University (Montreal, Quebec)
• Responsible for advising 45 freshman and sophomore students with technical and creative writing portfolios..
• Developed technical writing curriculum for engineering department at dean’s request.

City FM89.9, Lahore, Pakistan

Disc-Jockey, “Dirty Dancing” Jun 2004 - Dec 2004

• Introduced an electronic-music focused show on City FM89.9, one of Pakistan’s foremost radio stations, streamed
across the country to all major metropolitan areas with combined audience of more than a million households.
• First show focused on electronic music in Pakistan - became wildly popular with new audiences because of novel
marketing and unique rotation of multiple hosts, DJs and features.
• Scouted talent for hiring as incumbent DJs and hired future show hosts.
• Edited audio and sound-bites for commercial programming as well as theatrics/ plays for the radio.

SKILLS & TOOLS

• Computer Languages+Tools: C/ C++, HTML, Assembly (HC12,MC8,8051), MATLAB, LabView.
• Market Research Tools: LexisNexis Pro, Factiva2.0, ProQuest, Bloomberg Professional.
• Computer Platforms: Sun Solaris, Mac OS, Windows NT/95/98/2000/ME/XP, UNIX, LINUX
• Graphic Design Tools: Adobe: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, Dreamweaver, Microsoft Visio
• Audio Editing and Publishing: Propellerhead Reason,NI Traktor, Absynth, Ableton Live, Apple GarageBand
• Languages: fluent in English and Urdu/ Hindi, coursework in French, Arabic and Hebrew.

WEB, GRAPHIC & DOCUMENT DESIGN

• Exhibition- graphic design & photography: “Urban and Urbane” - Lahore, Pakistan, 2008.
• Designed and maintain Studio Sapuri, personal website (2007)
• Designed and maintained web-presence and print publicity for TableManners, the electronic music society at USC.
(2005-2006).
• Designed advertising and marketing print and digital collateral for the most innovative sporting goods manufacturer in
Pakistan (2004) - AwanSports
• Graphic design: logos and corporate stationery: multiple global clients (US, E.U., Asia)
• Portfolio available upon request.

MUSIC/AUDIO
• Remixed and produced (unofficially) numerous audio tracks (BT, Sasha and more)
• Mix, edit and publish my own enhanced electronic-music podcast, Do You Speak Sapuri?, currently available on
iTunes.