Our Mentors

Vinod Pillai

Principal Product Designer at Beacon

• Career Advice
• Graphic Design
• Product Design
• User Experience

I am a digital product designer with a slightly-shy-of-a-decade long background in agency, product and freelancing. I have expertise in creating a compelling narrative by crafting delightful experiences that engage the audience and meets business goals (buzzwords? check!). I am passionate about coaching designers and non-designers. More recently I have been engaged through mentoring in programs available on DesignLab, Interaction Design Foundation, Thinkful, Re:Create and Designed.org I write more than I read. I take many photos and make many notes. I don't have a coffee problem.

Pranali Valsangkar

Customer experience Lead at BORN Group

• Accessibility
• Design Leadership
• Interaction Design
• Service Design

Designer at heart, explorer at soul, a customer experience designer by profession and a design Mentor by passion. An independent design consultant and founding director with two ventures. Holds 15 years of Industry experience in shaping up products, systems across US, UK and India A successful DesignOps practitioner(DesOps) resulting in Design at scale strategy Special interest lies in data analytics and visualisation, ux design in 3D space, physical/Tangible interfaces, Tactile/Gestural controls, cuttings edge technology, user psychology and field research Specialties: core design consultancy, innovating concepts from scratch, creating product feature roadmap, agile design life cycle, Information Design, User Interface, User research, Usability, Prototyping, Physical computing, Experimentation Programming (Processing, Arduino )

Prasanna Sridharan

User Experience Designer at Intellect Design Arena Ltd

• Figma
• User Centered Design
• User Experience
• User Interface

I’m a UX enthusiast with 3 years of industry experience. Crafting Seamless User Experiences in AI: Elevating Human-Technology Interaction through Design Excellence.

Jefferson Silva

Product Designer at Proz Educação

• Design Thinking
• User Centered Design
• User Interface
• User Research

I am a product designer, working since 2010 as a freelancer and remote mode. I worked on more than 50 projects, between the websites, systems, mobile applications, and training. I like and practice Design Thinking, Design Sprint, and Agile Methods. I love to work at research behavior people projects and design better experiences to define and solve problems.

Kaitlyn Taylor

Senior User Experience Designer at Backcountry

• Career Advice
• Career Transitions
• Design Critique
• eCommerce

Hi, I'm Kaitlyn! I'm a passionate Product Designer located in Park City, UT. I'm currently a Senior Product Designer at a local Park City company and run my own Digital Design Studio, designing apps and websites for companies worldwide. As a recent graduate from the University of Utah with an Executive MBA, I always look for ways connect my designs to business initiatives and bring analytics and revenue numbers into my work. Additionally, I am heavily involved in an Entrepreneur Institute and am working hard on launching my first tech startup. I love mentoring, coaching, and working with passionate product designers to build their careers, portfolios, and help with career leveling. Let's connect and make great things happen!

Rupika Dhawan

Senior UX Designer at Align Technology

• Design Critique
• Design Process
• Enterprise Design
• Interaction Design

A user experience designer, skilled in user research, interaction design & usability of a product. Having created my own jewelry brand from a concept to a successful retail experience, I have worked within all the stages of a product's lifecycle. I work well with cross functional teams and am effective in bringing user centric design methods to the table.

Paul Oso

Lead Product Designer at HoneyCoin Inc.

• Design Leadership
• Design Sprint
• Design Systems
• Product Design

I’m a Product Design Leader with over 6 years of experience crafting transformative digital experiences that fuel growth and drive impact. I’ve had the privilege of leading design efforts across a few industries, where my teams consistently delivered user-centered solutions that doubled adoption rates and helped secure funding. Currently, I lead Product Design at HoneyCoin Inc., where we’re building innovative financial infrastructure to empower individuals and global businesses. Beyond the metrics, my passion lies in designing products that truly resonate with users, fostering inclusive collaboration, and mentoring the next generation of designers. I’m eager to share my insights on scaling design systems, navigating complex challenges, and growing as a leader in this ever-evolving industry. Whether you’re looking to refine your craft, lead with impact, or transition into product design, I’d be thrilled to help you on your journey.

Nandini Suthar

User Experience Lead at Salesforce

• Design Systems
• Interaction Design
• User Experience
• User Interface

With about10 years of experience in UX Design, I have worked for small design studios, as well as big enterprise companies. The products catered for Indian/global users in B2C, B2B / Supply chain domain, I believe in the philosophy, “Good design begins when you can empathise with the User well”

Akansha Agarwal

Senior Product Designer at Fabhotels

• Branding & Identity
• Mobile Design
• Visual Design

I am a Product Designer with a deep passion for: >> Problem-solving >> Creating User-Centric design >> Compelling Visual Storytelling. Having around 4 years of experience in Product design, working with cross-functional teams including stakeholders, Project managers, and developers to provide seamless product experience. I have worked with diverse and renowned companies such as Fabhotels, Ticketmaster, Foxymoron and so on which helped me upskilling myself in the Design domain. I'm passionate about problem-solving for users and balancing business needs to provide exceptional value. Whether you seek guidance in product design, career progression, or a friendly design chat, I'm here to offer advice, insights, and support.

Pranava Tandra

Product Designer at Intercom

• Design Thinking
• Graphic Design
• User Centered Design
• User Interface

My name is Pranava (pra-na-va). I am a product designer working on omnichannel experiences for Intercom. Previously I was in the Microsoft Teams search team designing autosuggestions and SERP experiences. I like to design and build experiences that are intuitive, accessible, elegant, and fun. As an individual, I love telling stories and travelling. I also write stuff about design, read comics, and practice yoga when I'm not doodling. As a designer, I am deeply interested in processes that support scalable solutions. More than anything I love people and, I thrive in inclusive teams & collaborative environments. As a designer with ​~5 years of experience, I've been fortunate enough to design for several products such as Intercom, Teams, Kaizala, Workplace Analytics, Viva, Excel, and Acrobat. I also like speaking and I also organize workshops as a Figma Advocate for FoF Hyderabad, doing my small part in helping the design community grow.

Nicole Steinmetz

Graphic Designer at Yin & Yang Social

• Creative Direction
• Graphic Design
• Industrial Design
• Portfolio Review

Australian Graphic Designer turned Authorised Squarespace Website Designer & Trainer and Certified Webflow Web Developer. Working on Adobe CC Suite on macOS/iOS. “Taking your essence and expressing it online.”

Minh Nguyen

MPS in UX Design at Maryland Institute College of Art

• Career Advice
• Career Transitions
• Design Critique
• Design Thinking

My name is Minh. I'm a product designer with 10 years of experience. I'm taking a gap year from work to focus on my study at the moment. I was with Refinitiv/LSEG in Singapore before my gap year. 3 facts about me: - I studied computing (eCommerce major) but decided to pursue my passion for designing as a career. - I think the process of UX design is similar to that of a detective. - At the moment, I'm also enrolling as a student at Maryland Institute College of Art, MPS in UXD program.

Yara El Turk

Interior designer at Design Workshop Ramzi Abu Fadel

• Interior Design
• Visual Design

Yara El Turk is a creative and competent (graduate) interior designer with a four-year track record for delivering exceptional visual designs and a strong creative flair that is born from her passion for design. Her purpose is to combine both design and communication. - Certified NLP Practitioner and Coach by the American board of NLP 🇺🇸 - Certified Time Line Therapy Practitioner by the Time Line Therapy Association 🇺🇸 - Certified Hypnotherapist by the American Board of Hypnotherapy 🇺🇸 - Post Graduate Certificate in Design & Innovation at Manipal Innovation and Design, India 🇮🇳(Graduation: March 2021) - Speaker at the First Tabadul Webinar 'Innovative Campaigns to Restore our Rivers' on the 24th of March 2021 🇱🇧🇨🇦🇪🇸 - Publication: Voices Beneath the Surface, a digital art project (publicly launched on February 19,2021) https://waterlution.org/voices-beneath-the-surface/ 🇱🇧🇨🇦 - MA in Communication Arts (2020) - Published in the December/January 2019 issue(#92) of Aesthetica Magazine UK - Bachelor of Arts in Arts & Interior Planning with high distinction (2017) - President Award 2017 - Digital Artist: Instagram @anonyma_artist - Expert in Design Thinking and Human Centered Design - Paris College of Arts student 🇫🇷 - MakeSense Volunteer - Fluent in Arabic, French, English and Italian

Derrick Heng

Lead Product Designer at Rakuten Rewards

• AI (Artificial Intelligence)
• Product Design
• User Experience
• Voice Design

I'm a seasoned designer with over 15 years of experience solving complex problems at a large scale and have led design projects across big tech, IoT, connected devices, fin-tech, and voice AI. Recent projects include building multimodality experiences on Alexa surfaces and various emerging digital products. As Lead Product Designer, I provide UX direction and strategy to businesses and mentoring to design teams while ensuring my solutions connect with users in an emotional and delightful way.

Ann Criqui

Design Leader at Amazon Web Services (AWS)

• Design Management
• DesignOps
• Product Design
• User Centered Design

Experienced, user-centric creative leader and Fortune 500 product designer with a demonstrated history of creative problem solving in various industries, including advertising, finance, and aerospace and defense

Deependra Sunuwar

UX/UI Tutor at UpSkills Nepal

• Graphic Design

Siddhant Shah

Sr. UX Product Designer at Roku Inc.

• Design Strategy
• User Experience

I am a user experience designer and a relentless problem solver focusing on user interactions, design consistency, & cross-functional collaborations. I have over 7 years of experience designing delightful and intuitive user experiences for some of the most complex technologies. I like to create experiences and systems that enable productivity, bridge gaps, and drive product vision.

Adrian Carpintero

UX Designer at Amazon

• Art Direction
• Motion Design
• Portfolio Review
• User Experience

Hi there! I’m Adrian. I was born and raised in Argentina, lived in Spain, moved to Chicago, and now happily call Austin home. I am a UX Designer with a passion for developing creative and compelling end-to-end user experiences. I started my career in art direction at ad agencies back in Argentina before moving to the States, where I’ve had the pleasure of helping launch several startups and working on campaigns for Fortune 500 companies. In addition to UI/UX design, I enjoy creating motion graphic animations, seamless user experiences, service blueprints, user journeys, infographics, illustrations—the list goes on. When I’m not in front of my computer, you can find me playing volleyball, learning to play the piano, or my favorite—the ukulele. Oh, and I also make a mean empanada. Specialties: Visual Design, UI/UX, Web Design, Motion Graphic Design, Design and Art Direction, Human Centered Design, Usability Testing, Research, Brand Development.

Nasarulla Khan

Sr. Product Designer at FEVO

• eCommerce
• Interaction Design
• User Experience
• User Testing

My career over the past fifteen years has challenged me into becoming an evolved designer. I specialize in User Experience, User Interface, and Interaction Design. I am a Designer who likes putting pieces of information together to get insight into how to create meaningful experiences.

Shaun Byrne

Head of Product Design at Zipline App

• Design Leadership
• Interaction Design
• Product Design
• User Experience

Design leader suited for growing distributed teams that believe in the science of design and innovative product development. Believer in using quantitative and qualitative data to validate, inform and measure success. With 10+ years working in global product teams, I have a proven track record in end to end product design, development and delivery. I continually strive to understand the user to continually deliver beautiful and scalable solutions that meet user and business needs. I deliver my best value when working with autonomous product teams and developing the practice of design within an organisation. Specialties: → Product & design strategy → Team building → Workshop facilitation → Multi Fidelity prototyping → Research, interaction & visual design. → Agile and product methodologies → Design systems → MVT & A/B testing

Ryan Seslow

Associate Professor / Graphic Designer / Artist at CUNY York College, CUNY BMCC / NYIT-NYC / Touro University Graduate School of Technology

• Adobe
• Graphic Design
• Illustration
• Painting + Art

I’m an artist, a graphic designer, web designer, illustrator and a professor of art & design living and working in New York. I'm passionate about Art, Design, Technology, Teaching, Learning, Writing and Helping my Fellow Human Beings! Ryan Seslow is an illustrator, graphic designer and a professor of digital art & design in NYC. (I am Deaf)

Mohamed Noordeen

Trapeze Group at Lead Product Designer, Workforce Management

• Design Leadership
• Interaction Design
• User Experience
• User Interface

I am a UX and Product Design leader with over 10 years of experience creating simple, and engaging user experiences that delight the end-user. I’m experienced in crafting experiences for the web, mobile, and cross-channel experiences in the education and enterprise sectors. I'm a team player who loves the process of getting to the right solution through thoughtful collaboration. I don't accept mediocrity so I demand excellence from myself and others. I love to dive into each project from a user-centered design mindset. Understanding the fundamental problems, context, constraints then moving into thoughtful explorations before iterating and testing it all. I believe that getting to the best design is hard work that requires patience and perseverance. Collaborating with all project stakeholders is critical in ensuring the right design is created within the constraints of technology and budget. The goal is knowing that the product experience is exceeding the expectations of the user and is meeting their needs in a way that makes a positive impact in their life.

Vaibhav Bhasin

Design Head - Mobility (Transport & Logistics) at Gojek

• Interaction Design
• Product Design
• User Experience
• User Research

Vaibhav is a Lead Product designer @Gojek, working towards building the best ride-hailing experience for the next billion users. A gamer at heart, Vaibhav has a knack for designing delightful experiences and is passionate about User Research, Gamification & Design ethics.

Roshan Ravi

Manager, UX at Ernst & Young

• Accessibility
• User Centered Design
• User Experience

I am a Designer with 18 years of experience in designing digital products. I started my career in Graphics and Web Design; got interested in Usability and Web Accessibility in the early 2000s, which grew into a passion and led me to discover User Experience and Human-Centered Design. I am a proponent of the User-Centric, Research-Based approach to problem solving and design. In recent years, I have been working in the roles of UX Strategy and Design-Leadership.

Rob Jelinski

Art Director at Infinite™ Design Studio

• Art Direction
• Branding & Identity
• Consulting Advice
• Design Strategy

Rob Jelinski is a senior brand designer, strategist, published illustrator, & the art director/ founder of Infinite™ Design Agency. Along with his outstanding reputation in the industry, Rob’s 20 years of experience in design, strategy, production, etc., emerging designers Rob has mentored over the years had this to say about him "Rob is a thoughtful leader that meets you where you are and nurtures your growth in a way that leaves you feeling confident and excited about where you will go. Rob's eye for design and his leadership style makes him an absolute pleasure to work with." Tatyerra of Sesame Workshop®, New York City You may also know him from: Google Fonts: Beth Ellen™, Giphy, Brooklyn Art Library, & Rob Jelinski Studios, llc.