I'm Varun. I design products, and I sing.
I'm a product designer in Chennai with 14 years of work behind me, much of it with teams in the US. This page is the part of me that doesn't fit in a case study.
From websites to products
I started building websites in 2011, then spent six years at Thrive shipping more than 400 of them for US clients. Somewhere along the way, I got more interested in why people click than in what they click.
Clear before clever
I start with the problem behind the request, make the trade-offs visible, and design so people don't have to guess what to do next.
Fast loops, my judgment
On Dusk I used AI throughout, to explore more directions and test them sooner, while the decisions stayed mine. I've worked with US teams from Chennai since 2016.
Carnatic taught me patience
I've trained as a Carnatic vocalist for years. A raga has strict rules and endless room inside them, which is how I think about design systems too. The clip here is from my own rearrangement and production of Ilaiyaraaja's Vaanengum. Press play to hear it.