Darshan Gajara

About

I’m a designer and maker with 10+ years helping startups and scale-ups ship meaningful products. In my last role at Hygraph, I led the 0→1 design of our headless CMS and shaped product, brand, motion, and design systems. I also run Product Disrupt – my ongoing project to share, teach, and give back to the design community.

Experience

• Maker · With a View05-01-2024 –

  Making you fall in love with the breathtaking beauty of our planet, all over again ✦

• Program Partner – Design Fellowship · Coho03-01-2022 – 10-01-2023

  Coho is a spin-off from On Deck Design (ODD). ODD is a continuous community for experienced designers who want to accelerate their careers and become confident leaders through professional development and access to a trusted network of peers. As a Program Partner, I teach various course tracks and help designers with direct coaching.

• Head of Design · Hygraph (previously GraphCMS)07-01-2021 – 09-01-2024

  I built the design function at Hygraph (previously GraphCMS) from the ground up. I'm currently working on: • Building and growing the design team • Overseeing all design & brand operations in the org • Getting the design system ready for the broader ecosystem • Nurturing the culture of ownership, growth & inclusivity

• Senior Product Designer · Hygraph (previously GraphCMS)06-01-2020 – 07-01-2021

  GraphCMS is a GraphQL native headless CMS that enables companies to deliver digital content at scale. I joined GraphCMS as the first designer and worked on: • Building a design system • Leading design efforts for feature work • Setting up the design process in the org • Contributing to marketing design

• Product Designer – Growth · Contentful12-01-2019 – 03-01-2020

  Product Designers at Contentful are placed in cross-functional teams and are responsible for leading the design efforts for the respective team opportunities. I was a part of the Growth group that owns the growth opportunities like onboarding, enterprise trials, billing, and similar. I led design for opportunities such as user provisioning through an identity provider and billing/discovery improvements.

• Head of Design (Consultant) · Studysid01-01-2018 – 11-01-2019

  Hired on a contract to help Studysid build their core product to help students in India find the best coaching class according to their needs. Responsibilities included building & growing the core product and mentoring a remote team of designers.

• Product Design Consultant · Sapaad Pte Ltd06-01-2017 – 04-01-2019

  Responsible for designing a set of software tools for a wide range of restaurants in the Gulf, India, Singapore, UK & South Africa region. Major projects included end-to-end restaurant experiences for online ordering and Kitchen Display System for order fulfillment.

• Maker · Product Disrupt01-01-2017 –

  Product Disrupt is a curated list of resources to learn product design from the internet. Think of it as a guide to your DIY design education. It's the internet age and we no longer need to go to an expensive school to educate ourselves about design. There are enough good folks out there who have created resources for everyone to benefit from. Whether you're just starting out or already a PRO, there's always something you can learn. P. S. Product Disrupt was voted #1 product of the day on Product Hunt.

• Product Designer · Wishberry.in04-01-2016 – 01-01-2017

  Responsible for designing the core product – crowdfunding platform for creatives in India. End-to-end product design across research, UX, UI, prototyping, and collaboration with developers.

• Product Design Consultant · darshan.design05-01-2012 – 12-01-2019

  Freelancing early in my career. Worked with clients such as Sapaad, mCanvas, Indiez, MyFatoora, WeAreJanuary, Founders First, and more. Led design work across product and branding projects.

Education

• On DeckDesign Fellow, Design Management
• K J Somaiya College of Engineering, VidyaviharBachelor’s Degree, Computer Engineering
• S K Somaiya College of Arts, Science & Commerce, VidyaviharVocational Science, Computer Science
• Kalgidhar English Medium SchoolSSC

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