Designfolio is a no-code portfolio website builder designed specifically for Designers, Product Managers, and Developers. It helps professionals showcase their work digitally in a way that is super fast to set up and effortless to manage.

The primary goal of Designfolio was to empower users to create a brag-worthy portfolio website that could be launched quickly and managed with ease.

Despite a crowded market of no-code and low-code tools, I noticed a gap: none of the existing options prioritized simplifying the process of managing and updating portfolios. Designfolio addresses this by focusing on simplicity, usability, and delivering real value to users.

As the founder of Designfolio, I led both design and product management efforts. I worked closely with a three-member development team to bring the vision to life and actively engaged with our Discord community of over 3,000 members. This community provided constant feedback, helping shape the product based on real user needs.

One of the biggest challenges was analyzing the continuous flow of feedback while leveraging AI to accelerate development and maintain user-friendliness.

PROBLEM #1: Rigid Templates &amp; Personalizations

Templates provided by other tools were generic, failing to allow users to reflect their individuality or personal branding or requires coding or a steep learning curve to modify the design.

Users couldn’t easily customize layouts or branding, leaving them with portfolios that felt cookie-cutter and didn’t showcase their unique style.

Users felt constrained by the lack of creative freedom, which led to frustration and disengagement from these tools.

PROBLEM #2:&nbsp;Complex and Time-Consuming Workflows

Portfolio-building workflows were often confusing and required significant effort to navigate and manage.

Setting up a portfolio required multiple complicated steps, leading to steep learning curves and wasted time.

Users were either deterred from completing the process or left with incomplete, outdated portfolios.

Designfolio introduced ready-to-use templates that allowed users to select, edit, and publish their portfolios effortlessly.

Users can get started quickly without technical expertise.

Templates are clean, modern, and intuitive, reducing the complexity of portfolio setup.

A drag-and-drop interface made it easy for users to tailor layouts and reflect their unique branding.

Users now have full creative freedom to design portfolios that represent their individuality.

Customizations are intuitive, significantly reducing the learning curve.

Designfolio integrated AI to automate tasks and save users time:

AI-generated case studies and portfolio content.

Additional tools like mock interview simulators, resume analyzers, and email generators to support professionals beyond portfolio building.

AI-powered tools speed up content creation, enabling users to focus on showcasing their work.

The additional tools add immense value, addressing multiple career-building needs in one platform.

Free AI-powered tools—such as the mock interview simulator, resume analyzer, and email generator—were introduced at the top of the funnel to engage users even before they signed up.

In fact I was able to launch all these tools in 4 days as we used Lovable.dev to code the interface directly.

Users could access valuable tools without needing to log in, providing an "aha moment" and encouraging them to explore Designfolio further.

This strategy significantly improved engagement, boosting daily logins from 25 out of 100 visitors to an average of 34+ active users.

Impact: Designfolio has seen remarkable growth ⚡️

Average daily signups have increased to 35+ new users.

The top-of-the-funnel tools created a seamless and engaging entry point for new users.

Tools that we use to analyze: Internal NEXT.JS raw analytics and Microsoft Clarity + Feedify for feedback gathering.

Designfolio has been one of my most rewarding projects, and I’m proud of what it has achieved so far. Huge credit goes to the development team and our supportive community of over 3,000 members for their constant feedback and enthusiasm.

Thank you for taking the time to read about my work on Designfolio. I hope you enjoyed learning about my design journey and thought process! :)

<a href="https://www.designfolio.me/">https://www.designfolio.me/</a>

Helping Product folks build bragworthy portfolio websites. 

PROBLEM #1: Rigid Templates & Personalizations

PROBLEM #2: Complex and Time-Consuming Workflows

In fact I was able to launch all these tools in 4 days as we used Lovable.dev to code the interface directly.

 Internal NEXT.JS raw analytics and Microsoft Clarity + Feedify for feedback gathering.

Designfolio: No-Code Portfolio Builder for 9,000+ Users (An Idea I Brought to Life)

I'm passionate about crafting meaningful digital experiences that empower users, especially on large-scale platforms. My professional philosophy blends systems thinking with data-driven insights to solve complex problems and deliver tangible results.

• Directed comprehensive UX enhancements for the FreshSales CRM platform
• Improved the quote and deal management UX flows, reducing task time by 40%
• Overhauled tax setup, making it straightforward and improving operational efficiency.

• Leading the design of Sense Recruiting CRM, which serves enterprise customers worldwide.
• Took charge of integrating the Skillate ecosystem into Sense's design system after the company’s acquisition of Skillate.
• CRM: Worked on various projects including candidate surveys, task management dashboards, and jobs dashboards to improve user experience.
• Analytics: Designed data visualizations and dashboards to help businesses track key metrics, including recruiter productivity, interview outcomes, and candidate performance.

• Orchestrated the design vision, resulting in a 20% user base growth within a year
• Led a diverse team of UX/UI designers, and researchers ensuring alignment with company objectives and user needs
• Championed a user-centric design approach, leveraging empirical data, user research, and iterative feedback loopsÈ Built a unified Design System, impacting 250,000 learners
• Mentorship & Team Growth: Played a pivotal role culture building and professional growth of the design team

Freshsales, part of the Freshworks family, is a CRM designed to help sales teams manage leads, track deals, and close more business with less effort. It offers tools like email tracking, deal pipelines, and AI-powered insights, all aimed at making the sales process smoother and more efficient. 

In this project, I’m redesigning the quote builder experience. The focus is on making it simpler and more intuitive for users to create and share quotes effortlessly. It’s a meaningful update to a feature that’s central to the sales workflow.

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I'm the lead product designer for this project. I collaborated with Product Managers (Krutish)&nbsp;and my Staff Product Designer (Gopi) throughout the project.

Problem 1: Difficult Navigation and Low Adoption:

Users struggle to navigate and understand how to use the quote builder, causing frustration and leading to increased drop-off rates.

The interface lacks clarity, making it difficult for users to complete tasks seamlessly. This confusion contributes to an extremely low adoption rate among users. 

With an unclear user experience, users are unable to effectively utilize the feature, leading to disengagement and low conversion rates.

Problem 2: Lack of Personalization in Generated Quotes

The generated quotes lack the ability to reflect the brand identity of the companies using Freshsales, limiting adoption of this feature.

The current quote builder does not allow users to create visually compelling, multi-page quotes with extensive customization options or branding elements.

Without the ability to personalize and brand their quotes, companies find it challenging to adopt this feature, as it does not align with their branding needs.

Strengthen feature adoption and engagement

By redesigning the quote builder, we aim to increase adoption among enterprise users by making the tool more intuitive and user-friendly. This will enhance Freshsales' value proposition as a CRM capable of delivering seamless, branded, and professional quote creation experiences.

A more intuitive and personalized quote builder will help retain existing enterprise customers by addressing their pain points, reducing drop-off rates, and making Freshsales a vital part of their workflow.

Build scalable and reusable design components to ensure consistency across Freshsales features, streamline development processes, and future-proof the design for scalability.

Simplify the quote-building process

Make the quote builder easy to navigate and intuitive, allowing users to create and share quotes quickly without frustration or confusion.

Enable personalized and branded quotes

Provide enterprise users with the ability to create visually appealing, multi-page quotes tailored to their branding needs, ensuring the quotes reflect their company identity and professionalism.

Solution 1:&nbsp;Enhanced Template Library

The new design introduces a clear and visually organized template library, making it easier for users to choose a starting point for their quotes.

The updated quote builder allows users to create visually compelling, multi-page quotes with extensive branding and customization capabilities.

Solution 3:&nbsp;Simplified Quote Creation Workflow

The new design introduces a clean and structured workflow for creating quotes, ensuring users can focus on completing tasks without unnecessary steps.

Unfortunately, I left the company before I could see how the redesigned quote builder performed with real users. However, if I had stayed, here’s what I would have focused on next:

For a project of this size, even with thorough testing, some minor bugs are bound to slip through. I would have worked with the engineering team to quickly identify and resolve any issues users might encounter after launch.

Launching the redesign is just the first step. I would have prioritized collecting data and user feedback to understand what’s working and where improvements are needed. Using these insights, I would have fine-tuned the experience to make it even better for users.

Post-launch, I’d have taken time to connect with users—through interviews, surveys, and usability testing—to hear their thoughts firsthand. Understanding how they’re using the tool and what they struggle with would have been crucial in making meaningful improvements.

Good design isn’t a one-and-done process. I would have monitored adoption rates, usage patterns, and overall satisfaction to plan future updates. My goal would have been to keep evolving the tool so it stays useful, relevant, and valuable for users over time.

This has been one of my proudest projects at Freshworks. I’m incredibly grateful to have worked with such an amazing team—the product managers, engineers, QA team, and everyone who supported this redesign. Their collaboration and dedication made this possible!

Thank you for taking the time to read about my work. I hope you enjoyed learning about my design journey and process. :)

Focused on enhancing the experience for customers in the U.S.

In this project, I’m redesigning the quote builder experience. The focus is on making it simpler and more intuitive for users to create and share quotes effortlessly. It’s a meaningful update to a feature that’s central to the sales workflow.

I'm the lead product designer for this project. I collaborated with Product Managers (Krutish) and my Staff Product Designer (Gopi) throughout the project.

Strengthen feature adoption and engagement

Solution 3: Simplified Quote Creation Workflow

Launching the redesign is just the first step. I would have prioritized collecting data and user feedback to understand what’s working and where improvements are needed. Using these insights, I would have fine-tuned the experience to make it even better for users.

Redesigning Quote Builder at Freshworks for 1,900+ Enterprise Users

At MyCaptain, we saw an opportunity to innovate our user onboarding process. The main challenge was the lengthy forms that were discouraging users. This signaled a need for a more engaging and user-friendly onboarding experience. As the Design Manager at MyCaptain, I led an initiative to transform our onboarding process into a dynamic and interactive experience. We wanted to move beyond the traditional form-filling process and create a platform that encourages users to share detailed information about their skills and knowledge. This led to the idea of a Digital Resume - a dynamic platform for users to showcase their skills and knowledge they acquire with MyCaptain, coupled with storytelling animations that illustrate their progress.

After implementing the new onboarding process, we saw a significant improvement in user engagement and satisfaction. Users were more motivated to complete the onboarding process, and they found the new storytelling features to be more engaging. The redesigned onboarding process was also more intuitive and user-friendly, making navigation easier for users.

We conducted extensive user research to understand the pain points of the current onboarding process. Here's what users shared:

We aimed to simplify the onboarding process by splitting it into two parts: user onboarding and course onboarding. This was to prevent users from feeling overwhelmed by the amount of information they had to provide at once.

We introduced storytelling elements into the onboarding process and a visual animation that created a digital resume as users filled out their form. This made the process more engaging for users.

We personalized the course onboarding process with a video where the co-founder and mentors welcome the users. Users then take an oath/pledge and choose a track: "upskilling or placements."

We conducted testing with 30 participants and received valuable feedback that helped us refine the onboarding process:

However, we also identified areas for improvement:

This project was a valuable learning experience. It taught me the importance of user-centric design and iterative testing. I learned that even small changes can significantly improve the user experience if they address the right problems. The introduction of storytelling elements and a visual animation that created a digital resume as users filled out their form was a novel approach that proved to be very effective.

Team: I would like to give credit to my team, who helped make my vision possible: Sarath (Lead Frontend Developer), Krithika (Lead Product Designer), Krishna (UI Designer), Sharanya (UX Researcher)

At MyCaptain, we saw an opportunity to innovate our user onboarding process. The main challenge was the lengthy forms that were discouraging users. This signaled a need for a more engaging and user-friendly onboarding experience. As the Design Manager at MyCaptain, I led an initiative to transform our onboarding process into a dynamic and interactive experience. 

We wanted to move beyond the traditional form-filling process and create a platform that encourages users to share detailed information about their skills and knowledge. 

This led to the idea of a Digital Resume - a dynamic platform for users to showcase their skills and knowledge they acquire with MyCaptain, coupled with storytelling animations that illustrate their progress.

UX UI

Improved Onboarding, reducing drop-off by 30% for 1M learners

As a Design Manager at MyCaptain, I recognized the need for a unified design language as we experienced rapid growth and expansion. I led the development of the Soul Design System, a tool aimed at ensuring visually cohesive and user-friendly experiences across all our products and services.

The Soul Design System had a transformative impact on our design and development workflow:

We recognized the challenge of managing a myriad of functions and outcomes in our design department due to the rapid growth and diversification of MyCaptain. The absence of a consistent design language made it difficult to balance innovation with performance, and the need for a unified system became increasingly apparent.

Our objective was to create the Soul Design System, a tool that could ensure design consistency while facilitating a user-friendly and intuitive design experience. This would enhance overall user satisfaction.

Goal 1: Establishing a Unified Design Language

We aimed to create a unified design language that would serve as the foundation for all our products. This involved defining consistent typography, color schemes, and component designs that reflected our brand identity and enhanced usability.

To reduce redundancy and accelerate our design process, we developed a library of reusable components. These components were designed to be versatile and adaptable, ensuring they could be used in a variety of contexts across different products.

Recognizing the power of motion design in enhancing user experience, we designed the Soul Design System to support and incorporate motion design. This allowed us to create more dynamic, engaging interfaces, adding another dimension to our design language.

Testing with Maze: Enhancing Usability and Gathering User Feedback

During the development of the Soul Design System, we utilized Maze, a user testing and research platform, to ensure usability and collect valuable feedback.

The development of the Soul Design System was a significant milestone in MyCaptain's growth. It reinforced the importance of a unified design language, demonstrated the value of reusable components, and highlighted the impact of comprehensive design guidelines on efficiency and consistency. The incorporation of motion

As a Design Manager at MyCaptain, I recognized the need for a unified design language as we experienced rapid growth and expansion. 

I led the development of the Soul Design System, a tool aimed at ensuring visually cohesive and user-friendly experiences across all our products and services.

Recognizing the power of motion design in enhancing user experience, we designed the Soul Design System to support and incorporate motion design. This allowed us to create more dynamic, engaging interfaces, adding another dimension to our design language.

Designing a scalable Design System to reduce development time by 40%

Our journey with Damnnnn began with a fascination for bite-sized content, specifically micro-blogs, inspired by the work of Chris Do on Instagram. In today's fast-paced, information-heavy world, we recognized the power of these quick, digestible content pieces. From this insight, Damnnnn was born—an app designed to share knowledge nuggets in an intuitive, engaging, and ad-free environment.

In the conceptualization and execution stages, we focused on creating a platform that not only delivers content but also allows users to create and share their own. The Mighty List—a space where users can curate links to their favorite internet resources such as books, TED talks, tools, and podcasts, and share them with the world—was designed to further enhance the learning experience and foster a sense of community among users.

Users should be able to create anything they want from "Quiz, Audio Bite, Video Bite, Image, Text" right inside the app. To address this, we aimed to improve the content creation process, making it more intuitive and user-friendly.

Users expressed a desire for more interaction with other learners. To solve this, we planned to enhance the community features of the app, allowing users to share and discuss their learning materials more easily.

Recognizing the need for a more dynamic and comprehensive learning method, we introduced the "Mighty List". This feature allows creators to curate a list of resources associated with a link, enabling learners to access a wide variety of learning materials. The Mighty List can include anything from top tools, top resources, recommended books, podcasts, and more.

We brainstormed several ways to implement the Mighty List. Option 1 was to have a separate section for the Mighty List on the creator's profile. Option 2 was to integrate the Mighty List within each content piece. Option 3 was to have a dedicated Mighty List page that aggregates all lists from different creators.

After careful consideration, we decided to go with Option 3, creating a dedicated Mighty List page. This would allow learners to access a wide variety of resources in one place, and it would also provide creators with a platform to share their expertise and recommendations.

Technically, this project allowed us to explore the power of bite-sized learning in a digital environment. More broadly, the project reinforced the value of user-centric design. The changes we made were not visually drastic, but they significantly improved the user experience. This taught us that impactful redesigns focus on solving the right problems, not just making large-scale changes.

The projectalso highlighted the importance of iterative design and testing, shaping our approach to future design projects. We've created a unique learning platform that not only facilitates the sharing of knowledge in an intuitive manner but also promotes community engagement through features like the Mighty List. We're proud of what we've built and are eager to continue improving and expanding our platform.As the founder and lead product designer, I had the opportunity to be hands-on in both the ideation and the execution stages. I guided the development of Damnnnn, taking it from concept to creation. I would like to extend my gratitude to the entire team who made this vision possible.And yes we made it to the top on Product Hunt!

Building a bite-sized social learning app from zero to 5K active users

At MyCaptain, we identified an opportunity to overhaul our Learning Management System (LMS) to better cater to our mentees. The central challenge was the low course completion rates, signalling a need to revamp our user experience to engage our mentees more effectively and foster an improved learning environment.

As the Design Manager and Lead Designer, my responsibility was to steer my dedicated team towards transforming our LMS into a vibrant, interactive platform. Our vision was not just to serve as an information repository, but to become an empowering tool for our mentees, encouraging healthy competition and kindling a genuine passion for learning.

We conducted 40+ user interviews with learners from diverse courses at MyCaptain to gather insights about their experiences with the current LMS. Here's what they shared:

Users found it difficult to navigate through the platform and locate specific learning materials. To address this, we aimed to improve the navigation bar for more intuitive access to different sections of the LMS.

Additionally, we decided to introduce a separate page for 'Projects', making it easier for users to find and manage their project work.

Ideation:To improve navigation, we brainstormed several options for how we could structure the LMS. Option 1 was to keep the current structure but improve the navigation bar. Option 2 was to introduce a sidebar for navigation. Option 3 was to introduce a separate 'Projects' page. Option 4 was to use a dropdown menu for navigation.After some deliberation, we decided to eliminate Option 4, as we found that it was harder to navigate using a dropdown menu compared to a navigation bar or sidebar. Furthermore, the dropdown menu took up a lot of screen space, making it less scalable.

The current notice board style layout was not engaging enough for users. We decided to switch to a list view, which would present information in a more organized and digestible manner, thereby driving better engagement.

Ideation: To improve navigation, we brainstormed several options for how we could structure the LMS. Option 1 was to keep the current structure but improve the navigation bar. Option 2 was to introduce a sidebar for navigation. Option 3 was to introduce a separate 'Projects' page. Option 4 was to use a dropdown menu for navigation. After some deliberation, we decided to eliminate Option 4, as we found that it was harder to navigate using a dropdown menu compared to a navigation bar or sidebar. Furthermore, the dropdown menu took up a lot of screen space, making it less scalable.

Users found it hard to track their progress and understand their learning journey in the program. To solve this, we planned to replace the generic course journey with a calendar view. This would provide users with a clear visual representation of their progress and upcoming tasks, helping them manage their time and expectations better.

To help users better understand their program, we considered several options for presenting the course journey. Option 1 was to improve the current course journey with more details. Option 2 was to introduce a progress bar. Option 3 was to use a calendar view. Option 4 was to use a timeline view.

After some thought, we decided to go with Option 3, the calendar view, as it provided a clear and intuitive visual representation of the user's progress and upcoming tasks.

Technically, this project allowed me to explore gamification in e-learning, with features like leaderboards and weekly checklists enhancing user engagement.

More broadly, the project reinforced the value of user-centric design. The changes we made were not visually drastic, but they significantly improved the user experience. This taught me that impactful redesigns focus on solving the right problems, not just making large-scale changes.

The project also highlighted the importance of iterative design and testing, shaping my approach to future design projects.

Also super credits to my team, who are making my vision possible: Mohan (Lead Product Designer), Prashanth (Jr Product Designer)

To improve navigation, we brainstormed several options for how we could structure the LMS. Option 1 was to keep the current structure but improve the navigation bar. Option 2 was to introduce a sidebar for navigation. Option 3 was to introduce a separate 'Projects' page. Option 4 was to use a dropdown menu for navigation.

After some deliberation, we decided to eliminate Option 4, as we found that it was harder to navigate using a dropdown menu compared to a navigation bar or sidebar. Furthermore, the dropdown menu took up a lot of screen space, making it less scalable.

To help users better understand their program, we considered several options for presenting the course journey. Option 1 was to improve the current course journey with more details. Option 2 was to introduce a progress bar. Option 3 was to use a calendar view. Option 4 was to use a timeline view.

Designfolio: No-Code Portfolio Builder for 9,000+ Users (An Idea I Brought to Life)

PROJECT DETAILS

Let's build something great.