04About
I'm interested in the messy part of design.
The part before the polished interface.
The part where the problem is still unclear, different people want different things, the business has constraints, the technology has limitations and everyone has a slightly different understanding of what needs to happen next.
That's where I tend to be most useful.
Karen Thorat
Product & UX Design Leader
20+ years
I'm a Product and UX Design Leader with more than 20 years of experience across enterprise software, complex workflows, research, information architecture, service design, product strategy and design leadership.
I've worked as a hands-on designer, researcher, design leader, mentor and educator.
Over time, my role has expanded from designing individual experiences to understanding the systems, organisations and product decisions behind them.
Today, I'm particularly interested in complex enterprise products and the opportunities created by AI, automation and intelligent workflows.
"Not because complexity should disappear. But because people deserve better ways to work with it."
What I bring to a product team
Product thinking
I connect user needs, business goals and product direction rather than treating UX as a layer applied at the end.
Systems thinking
I look beyond individual features to understand workflows, relationships, dependencies and the architecture connecting them.
Research thinking
I use research, observation, usability evaluation and domain understanding to uncover what people actually need.
Design craft
I care about interaction, information hierarchy, visual clarity and the details that make complex products usable.
Leadership
I help teams create direction, improve their practice and make stronger design decisions.
Emerging technology
I explore practical applications of AI, OCR and automation where they can remove repetitive effort without removing human judgement.
Career story
Early career
Building the foundations
Hands-on UX, usability, interaction design, information architecture and digital experiences.
Cybage
Growing into design practice and education
UX practice, usability, training, communication and professional development. Became a Cybage Certified Trainer and delivered learning sessions across the organisation.
Software Pundits
From designer to design leader
Led a UX team of approximately 12–15 designers, combining design leadership, mentoring and learning.
Imagility
From UX leadership to product ecosystems
Worked across product strategy, experience architecture, workflows, research, product design, AI, OCR, automation and design direction.
How I work
My process isn't linear.
- 01
Listen
Understand people, context and business goals.
- 02
Map
Make workflows, relationships and complexity visible.
- 03
Frame
Find the real problem underneath the request.
- 04
Explore
Create and challenge possible directions.
- 05
Validate
Use research, testing, reviews and evidence.
- 06
Design
Turn the direction into usable experiences.
- 07
Scale
Create patterns, systems and practices that survive beyond one project.
What I work on
Product
Product strategy; product discovery; experience architecture; product evolution
Experience
UX design; interaction design; information architecture; service design; workflow design
Research
User interviews; usability testing; personas; task analysis; journey mapping; card sorting; expert review
Systems
Design systems; reusable patterns; configuration models; cross-product consistency
Technology
AI-assisted workflows; OCR; data extraction; automation
People
Design leadership; mentoring; UX practice; training; facilitation
Beyond the screen
Some of my best design work never became a screen.
Sometimes it is a workflow. Sometimes it is a product decision. Sometimes it is an information architecture. Sometimes it is a conversation that changes direction. Sometimes it is helping another designer see a problem differently.
That is the part of design leadership I value most.
Education
Abhinav Kala Maha Vidyalaya
Certifications
- Certified User Experience Analyst (CXA), HFI
- Certified Usability Analyst, HFI
Languages
English · Marathi · Hindi