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ABOUT

I lead design for ambitious products — making complex systems feel clear, considered, and worthy of the people who use them.

I ship product strategy that aligns customer, business, and engineering — and turns insight into measurable outcomes.

I'm a design leader based in New York. Over fifteen years, I've owned design at startups (Vidyo) and at the world's largest consumer bank (JPMC). I started as a software engineer at Goldman Sachs, then trained in HCI at Carnegie Mellon, and now lead the design practice that sits between research, product, and engineering.

Most great products fail not because the design is wrong, but because business motivation, customer motivation, and engineering reality were never aligned in the first place. The job of a design leader is to hold all three in tension — and ship the work that resolves them.

At Blue Book Services I led the design transformation across IA, brand, and the .NET → React migration. At VTS I built Terra, the design system that unified six acquired products. At JPMC I led Manhattan Design System and shipped Design Assistant — now pre-installed on every JPMC designer's machine. At Vidyo I designed the platform that became VidyoConnect™ and built MV2C, a custom UI framework to make it shippable.

I work end-to-end. User research, design strategy, IA, brand, design systems, and the rigor to ship across engineering. The system is the design. The brand is the system. The UX is the brand.

That's the work I show up for.

I'm a product strategist and design leader based in New York. Over fifteen years, I've owned product direction at startups (Vidyo) and at the world's largest consumer bank (JPMC). I started as a software engineer at Goldman Sachs, then trained in HCI at Carnegie Mellon, and now lead the work that sits between business, customers, and engineering.

Most product work fails not because the design is wrong, but because business motivation, customer motivation, and engineering reality were never aligned in the first place. The job of a product leader is to hold all three in tension — and ship the outcome that resolves them.

At Blue Book Services I led pricing strategy, conversion design, and an AI roadmap — +30% revenue at 98% retention, $420K of new ARR in 90 days, and a proposed vision for the next decade. At VTS I unified six acquired products into one platform — 700 components consolidated to 160, 7× reduction in navigation complexity. At JPMC I owned an internal product from 0→1 — now pre-installed on every JPMC designer's machine. At Vidyo I flipped a product paradigm and seeded a new product line that replaced the company's legacy client.

I work end-to-end. Customer research, product strategy, prioritization, design execution, engineering tradeoffs, go-to-market, and shipping. The roadmap is a design problem. The design is a business problem. The business is an engineering problem.

That's the work I show up for.

WHAT I OWN DESIGN · SYSTEMS · BRAND PRODUCT · STRATEGY · GROWTH

Design Strategy

  • Information architecture & UX. 7× navigation reduction at VTS, zero-based IA at Blue Book.
  • Design systems at scale. Terra at VTS (700 → 160 components). Manhattan Design System at JPMC (5 brands, 200+ designers).
  • Brand & visual identity. Rebrands at Blue Book and VTS — voice, tone, aesthetics.
  • Design operations. Governance, contribution models, cross-team adoption.
  • Research synthesis. Interviews, surveys, analytics — translated into design direction.
  • Accessibility & inclusion. WCAG AA across every system I've shipped.

Design + Engineering

  • Engineering fluency. Built MV2C — a custom UI framework — at Vidyo. Software engineering background at Goldman Sachs.
  • Tech-stack modernization. .NET → React migration at Blue Book Services.
  • Internal tooling. Design Assistant at JPMC — built from 0→1, now pre-installed.
  • Rapid prototyping. Working prototypes that change the politics, not just the deck.
  • API & platform design. Drove micro-event API contract at Vidyo.
  • Cross-functional leadership. Across 6 squads at VTS, 200+ designers and 500+ engineers at JPMC.

Product & Strategy

  • Product strategy & vision. From customer insight to durable roadmap.
  • Pricing & packaging. Consolidated 9 plans into 3, raised price 10–50%, kept 98% retention.
  • Customer research & persona modeling. Built the persona archetypes that anchored Blue Book's funnel.
  • Conversion & growth. $420K of new ARR in 90 days from a previously zero-conversion site.
  • 0→1 product development. Shipped Design Assistant at JPMC; Vidyo Neo Connect → VidyoConnect™.
  • Roadmap & prioritization. Sequencing the work — system first, ops next, product last.
  • Cross-functional leadership. Led across 6 squads at VTS, 200+ designers and 500+ engineers at JPMC.
  • Business-aligned design. Every initiative tied to a measurable outcome — churn, adoption, NPS, revenue.

Design & Engineering

  • Design strategy. Systems thinking applied to product, brand, and organization.
  • Information architecture & UX. 7× navigation reduction at VTS, zero-based IA at Blue Book.
  • Design systems at scale. Terra at VTS (700 → 160 components). Manhattan Design System at JPMC.
  • Brand & visual identity. Rebrands at Blue Book and VTS.
  • Engineering fluency. Built MV2C — a custom UI framework — at Vidyo. Background as software engineer at Goldman Sachs.
  • API & platform design. Drove micro-event API contract at Vidyo to enable customer-side customization.
  • Rapid prototyping. Working prototypes that change the politics, not just the deck.
  • Accessibility & inclusion. WCAG AA across every system I've shipped.
HOW I WORK SIX TRAITS
01

Restorative

I like to fix things.

Most of my design work has been at company inflection points — when the old experience is no longer working and the new one needs someone to design it.

Most of my product work has been at company inflection points — when the old direction is no longer working and the new one needs someone to design and ship it.

02

Activator

I bring the energy.

I'd rather ship a prototype than perfect in private. Working prototypes change the conversation faster than spec documents.

I'd rather ship a prototype that wins the room than write a 40-page spec. Working prototypes change product politics in ways docs can't.

03

Strategic

I pick the best option.

I treat sequencing as a design decision. Build the foundation, then the operations, then the product — never out of order.

I treat sequencing as a product decision. Foundation first, operating model next, product last — never out of order. Roadmaps are design problems.

04

Builder

I like to make stuff.

I shipped my own UI framework at Vidyo because the design I wanted couldn't run on the existing one. Sometimes the design is the framework.

When the existing stack couldn't support the product vision at Vidyo, I built the framework that could. Sometimes the product is the technical bet.

05

Learner & Coach

The more I see, the less I know.

I teach what I learn — to designers, engineers, executives. A team that understands the why ships better than one that just executes the what.

I teach what I learn — to designers, PMs, engineers, executives. A cross-functional team that understands the why ships better products than one that just executes the what.

06

Non-Dogmatic

Science is cool, but let's be practical.

Design systems, agile, double-diamond, atomic — all useful frameworks, none of them sacred. The right answer is usually pragmatic, not pure.

Agile, double-diamond, OKRs, atomic design — useful frameworks, none sacred. The right answer for the product in front of you is usually pragmatic, not pure.

BACKGROUND INDIA · CMU · NEW YORK

I grew up in India, studied Information Technology at the Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology in Allahabad, and started my career as a software engineer at Goldman Sachs in Bangalore — writing the code that ran trading systems.

I moved to the US to attend Carnegie Mellon University's Human-Computer Interaction Institute for my Master's — the place where I learned that great products are research disciplines first, aesthetic ones second.

Since 2014 I've been based in New York, leading design and product direction at Vidyo, JPMorgan Chase, View The Space (VTS), and Blue Book Services. Along the way I created Chakra UX — a conscious design framework that maps the chakra system to layered product attention.

What I bring is fifteen years of seeing design from both sides — as the engineer who once wrote the code and as the design leader who now sets the vision.

What I bring is fifteen years of seeing products from three sides — as the engineer who once wrote the code, the designer who shapes the experience, and the strategist who owns the business outcome.

Pratyush Image
FULL CAREER 2005 — PRESENT
OUTSIDE WORK FRAMEWORKS · PRACTICE · WRITING
FRAMEWORK

Chakra UX

A conscious design framework I created during my Master's at CMU. It maps the seven chakras of the body to seven layers of design attention — from foundational accessibility to systemic intent. Used in my own practice and shared with teams I've led.

A conscious product design framework I created during my Master's at CMU. It maps the seven chakras of the body to seven layers of product attention — from foundational accessibility to systemic intent.

PRACTICE

Coaching designers

Coaching product leaders

The thing I've always loved most about leading teams is mentoring the next generation of designers. I've coached designers at every level — from new grads at JPMC to senior leads at VTS. Always open to a conversation.

I mentor designers and product managers — the two roles are converging, and the best people in both fluently move between them. I've coached people at every level. Always open to a conversation.

WRITING

Essays & reflections

I occasionally write about the intersection of design, engineering, and business strategy — usually after a project where I learned something I want to remember. Find writing at ptewari.com.

I occasionally write about the intersection of design strategy, product management, and engineering reality — usually after a project where I learned something I want to remember. Find writing at ptewari.com.

PHILOSOPHY

Design + Engineering Fluency

Product + Design + Engineering Fluency

I believe the most powerful design leaders in the next decade will be those who can sit comfortably in both the design conversation and the engineering one. I show up for projects where that fluency matters.

The most powerful product leaders in the next decade will be those who can sit fluently in the design conversation, the product conversation, and the engineering one. I show up for roles where that fluency matters.

Currently exploring my next role.

Looking for design leadership roles where vision, research, and shipping all meet. If that sounds like your team, reach out.

Open to Product Manager, Head of Product, Director of Product, and Product Strategy roles where customer insight, business outcomes, and engineering rigor meet.

Head of Design VP of Design Design Director Design Strategy Lead Sr. Staff Designer
Head of Product Director of Product Sr. Product Manager Group Product Manager Product Strategist
EMAIL
hello at ptewari dot com
LINKEDIN
linkedin.com/in/ptewari
PORTFOLIO
ptewari.com
LOCATION
New York, NY · Open to remote
RESUME
Download Resume

The best products feel like they couldn't have been any other way — quietly inevitable, deeply considered, made for the people who actually use them. That's the work I show up for.

The best products emerge when business motivation, customer motivation, and engineering reality finally come into alignment. The PM's job is to hold all three in tension until that product reveals itself. That's the work I show up for.