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Gaurav Narwekar
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Toptal member since April 3, 2019
Bio
A certified usability analyst from Human Factors International, Gaurav's successfully delivered 150+ projects. He has over 16 years of experience in UX and digital design and brings an unparalleled value of a multidisciplinary approach which spreads across consulting, branding, user experience, design, and technology. He has worked on projects based in the US, South Africa, Korea, Japan, UAE, and India.
Experience
- User Experience (UX) - 16 years
- User Interface (UI) - 16 years
- Wireframing - 16 years
- UX Design - 16 years
- UX Strategy - 16 years
- Usability - 10 years
- Financial UX - 8 years
- Product Strategy - 6 years
Portfolio
Building Relevance of International Banking Products
UX StrategyInformation Architecture (IA)PersonasAxure RP ProFinancial UXWireframing
Work Experience
Senior UX Lead
2017 - 2019
Clay Consulting
- Consulted with the stakeholders in the articulation of the business problems and identification of the UX opportunity and approach.
- Outlined the UX and design strategy for transformation and innovation projects for a client base in South East Asia and Africa and created the project and resource plan to support the engagements.
- Mentored a team comprising of members in multiple locations and assist them in understanding how their individual contributions rolled up to the overall UX vision and value proposed to the client.
- Managed delivery schedules and tracked key milestones to ensure the team delivers within the committed timeline and exceeds the quality benchmarks.
- Actively contributed to the presales process and collaborated with the business development team.
Technologies: Balsamiq, Adobe Photoshop, Axure, InVision, Sketch
Center of Excellence
2016 - 2017
Human Factors International
- Consulted onsite and offsite on various projects across multiple domains.
- Conducted usability studies in multiple languages.
- Contributed to ecosystem research projects: understood users’ ecosystems through data-gathering techniques such as interviews, focus groups, and contextual inquiry.
- Analyzed the raw qualitative data to identify the patterns and trends within the information.
- Derived and presented findings and insights.
- Managed and collaborated with a multidisciplinary team of visual designers, technical team, content writers, and business analysts to execute the designs.
- Oversaw and was responsible for all UX design and analysis work through a project as well as managing intake, scheduling, delivery, and project management.
- Conceptualized, designed, and delivered UX projects with adherence to the HFI framework.
Technologies: Adobe Photoshop, Axure
Senior UX Lead
2015 - 2015
Loud Cloud Systems
- Oversaw and was responsible for the user experience and design of LoudCloud’s flagship product, a fully integrated and customizable learning management system for delivering credit and competency-based course content from American and Australian universities.
- Took complete ownership of the user experience and product roadmap which was finalized in collaboration with the domain experts and product team in Dallas, United States.
- Laid the framework for a product design audit by creating the entity hierarchy map, information architecture diagram, role-based access, and CRUD function document for the platform.
- Consolidated a UX repository of the existing user patterns documenting the variances in their technical implementation across the platform. This library was leveraged during the strategic UX revamp of key modules such as a student grade book, competency mapper, and course builder.
- Evolved high-level conceptual prototypes for gathering user feedback and building consensus between multiple virtual teams.
- Played the role of a UX evangelist and championed the value and benefits of UX in a technology-first organization.
Technologies: Adobe Photoshop
Founder | Creative Director
2008 - 2015
Kalki Media
- Founded and expanded a digital and branding design agency which created design and delivery services to small-and-medium businesses and startups.
- Nurtured key business relationships with an active role in pre and post-sales processes.
- Created the agency’s reputation as “the preferred digital design partner for real estate firms in Mumbai” with most of top 15 real estate brands as clients.
- Successful delivered 200+ client engagements varying from corporate identity programs, print and digital marketing collaterals, websites, web-based applications, offline presentations, and mobile apps.
- Provided consulting services for startups and entrepreneurs in the use of digital technology and design thinking to strategize new business models. Startups like CoursePlay.Co and ZingHR.com expanded into full-fledged sustainable businesses based on foundational design strategies.
- Played an active role in hiring, mentoring, and training to cultivate a multidisciplinary team of 12, including copywriters, visual designers, HTML and CSS developers, and .NET developers to support the end-to-end delivery and support of projects.
- Designed an in-house client portal as a single point entry for all project, support, and finance-related tracking which streamlined operational functions and provided the client with a transparent and updated view of his accounts and projects irrespective of time and location.
Technologies: Flash, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Photoshop
Project Manager
2003 - 2008
V2 Film and Design
- Was hired as the first team member during the setup of an operational base (in Mumbai) for the branding and digital design agency headquartered in New York.
- Designed the key components as references for branding and visual styling as the design language for the websites and print media.
- Created the design work that featured in the preliminary marketing and sales pitches which helped close the first key business relationships in New York and Dubai.
- Was promoted to a managerial role and was accountable for reporting the weekly team schedules and project status to the managing director, a national award-winning filmmaker and media personality.
- Designed the websites for the film, Chernobyl Heart and the director, Maryann Deleo. Chernobyl Heart won the “Best Documentary Short Subject” award at the 76th Academy Awards in 2003.
Technologies: Flash, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Photoshop
Education
1997 - 2002
Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Communication and Design Strategy
Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art - Mumbai, India
Certifications
MAY 2019 - PRESENT
Innovation of Products and Services
MIT Sloan School of Management
MARCH 2015 - PRESENT
Certified Usability Analyst
Human Factors International, Inc.
Skills
Tools
InVision, Photoshop CC 2019, Balsamiq, Axure RP Pro, Sketch, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Dreamweaver, Flash, Balsamiq Mockups, Sketch 4
Languages
CSS
Platforms
Axure, Mobile
Other
UX Design, Usability Testing, Financial UX, UX Strategy, User Experience (UX), Usability, Usability Heuristics, Personas, Wireframing, Product Strategy, Design Thinking, Design Systems, User Interface (UI), Information Architecture (IA), Persona Design, Creative Direction, User Flows, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Consulting, Usability Guidelines, User Interviews, Findings & Recommendations Reports, Responsive Design, Strategy, SaaS, UI Design, Optimization, User-centered Design (UCD), User Research
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