Experience design, it's not just my "day job". I am in a constant state of trying to design beautiful experiences for people–for my audience as a musician, for my readers when writing, and even for my guests when hosting a party!

My creative pursuits help me become a better designer

I play the tabla, a North Indian instrument. I perform professionally. Music helps me breakthrough walls when I face a tough design problem. Being a performing musician is the ultimate design exercise (immediate feedback and iteration)

A link to my music channel

About me

In 2015, I was an economics graduate who had no idea what to do next. I did what everyone else does: I got a job. I worked in corporations and small businesses.

From aerospace and defence to consultancy, no matter which role I was in: making technology work for people became my thing. Thanks to my innate curiosity, I learnt that what I was doing fell within the realms of Design. I learnt about human factors, human-computer interactions, and design thinking. It turned out that what I was doing as a side project at work, could actually turn into a fulfilling career.

Determined to pursue this path, I enrolled at the School of Code, a competitive (and free) full-stack development boot camp. There, I honed my UX/UI skills alongside my teammates and grasped the realities of development. Landing my first UX job at a UK public sector design consultancy was a milestone. I embraced the gold-standard design principles of the Government Digital Service (GDS). Life was secure, and the work was good. But, I was still craving something.

I took a leap of faith and joined a small Birmingham-based software agency. This was the deep end. Individuals and start-up founders trusted me to bring their concepts to life. The clients needed me to help optimise processes to improve the user experience, internally and externally. From creating wireframes and prototypes to writing micro-copy and even functional specifications, my work led to actual products being built. I worked closely with development teams to refine and improve the very designs that I had created.

This is how I became a designer.

Design should be functional and practical: it needs to help the user achieve their goal in the easiest way possible. It should also be something that can be implemented quickly by a dev team.

Design must create value, for the business: Design is a business function. It must operate and be accountable like any other business function. Whatever the end goal of a business, design must support it by creating user-centred solutions.

Design must be evidence-led: good experiences are created by validating and testing assumptions. It is a scientific process.

I love to read. Books are a constant source of inspiration, ideas, and energy. I mostly invest my time in reading biographies and science fiction. Both are a treasure trove of problem solving in action. I have started writing too.

A link to my blog, the wireframecraft

I am also a photographer. Fuji X100T is my chosen tool. It helps me practice perspective. How many different was can you look at the same thing? (Many)

You can checkout my portfolio here