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Rohit
Arun Rao

Design Evangelist • Mentor • Storyteller

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🙏🏽
Pranaam • Hello • Namaskaram

​Design Evangelist • Mentor • Storyteller

Rohit

I am

Artist first, then a designer.
22 years in design. And its still the most human thing I know.

I've spent most of my years proving that design is not always about the screen, it's beyond and above!

I design screens | I design spaces | I design lives
Arun 
Rao
RR-Cover-01.png
My story cover

my

Story

My inspiration cover

my

Inspiration

Whats is design for me cover

design for me

what is 

My tools cover

Tools

my

My beliefs cover

beliefs

my

CALM Cover

conversations about life moments

C.A.L.M

My social life cover

me

outside design

My outside design cover

my

portfolio

Me as a leader and mentor cover

leader & mentor

me as a

Clients i've delighted

The Giants. The School I Never Enrolled In.
Over 22 years, I've had the privilege of designing for some of the most recognised brands in the world. Across industries I had no business being in, until I was. Finance. Telecom. Beauty. Publishing. Entertainment. Payments infrastructure that an entire country depends on. Each one a new language to learn, a new user to understand, a new set of constraints that would either break your thinking or sharpen it.

My Career Roadmap

Over the course of 22 years, the work that means the most to me isn't what I designed, it's what I built. Latest at Thoughtworks, I scaled the India Design team from 30 to over 80 designers across multiple verticals over the years. And the thread that runs through my entire career, across agencies, product companies, consultancies, and global enterprises, is the same. Establishing design cultures where none existed. Creating UX practice frameworks that outlived my presence. Constantly evangelising design and educating that design goes beyond screen, shaping daily habits lives.

Mentoring designers who went on to lead teams of their own. Running cross-functional sprints that brought clarity to chaos and shaved 25% off delivery timelines, not by cutting corners, but by cutting confusion. And consistently earning the kind of client trust that doesn't just retain relationships, it opens new ones.


Numbers tell part of the story. The rest lives in the people.

  • Lead UX Consultant

    May 2019 - Current

    • Lead and mentor an 70+ member UX team across India, establishing best practices and scalable design systems.

    • Oversee hiring, staffing, and talent development to align UX capabilities with client and organizational goals.

    • Partner with senior stakeholders to pitch, consult, and deliver strategic design engagements across industries.

    • Spearhead design evangelization initiatives to strengthen Thoughtworks’ brand presence and design credibility.

    • Established a scalable UX practice framework that reduced new project onboarding time from 10 to 8 days (20% faster) and standardized workflows across 5 studios.

  • India UX Lead

    May 2018 - May 2019

    • Built and scaled India’s first UX team from 0 to 25 members within 12 months, defining operating processes and tool stack now used across global delivery centers.

    • Integrated UX culture into engineering and delivery workflows, enhancing user-first design adoption.

    • Collaborated with global business units to deliver enterprise-level UX solutions and consultation.

    • Improved usability outcomes across platforms, increasing user engagement and satisfaction metrics.

  • UX Lead

    Feb 2014 - Mar 2018

    • Promoted to Associate Consultant for consistent delivery excellence in UX initiatives.

    • Designed and optimized 12+ Microsoft internal tools used by 50K+ employees, improving usability and accessibility compliance scores, adhering to MDL and accessibility standards.

    • Conducted usability audits, design reviews, and stakeholder workshops for adoption improvement.

    • Partnered cross-functionally to ensure consistent design systems and user experiences.

  • UX Lead

    Dec 2012 - Jan 2014

    • Directed UX design for enterprise insurance and distribution management products (VUE Software).

    • Improved agent productivity by redesigning workflows and simplifying product interactions.

    • Collaborated with PMs to align UX outcomes with business KPIs and customer needs.

  • Sr. UX Designer

    • Designed responsive marketing sites and mobile UI systems for titles including Don 2: The Game.

    • Contributed to early-stage iOS and Android UI guidelines and mobile gaming UX foundations.

    • Delivered promotional design campaigns increasing digital engagement rates.

    Jun 2010 - Dec 2012

  • Design Head

    • Founded independent studio serving clients in India, UK, and Canada with full-cycle design delivery.

    • Managed client relationships, proposals, and brand identity projects with strategic ownership.

    Sep 2009 - Jun 2010

  • Sr. Web Designer

    Apr 2006 - Aug 2009

    • Designed and developed web interfaces for clients including MTV, Verizon, and SBH.

    • Won multiple TopCoder UI/UX design contests and mentored junior designers.

    • Handled training / onboarding for new joiners with Org coding and design standards

  • Web Designer

    Jun 2005 - Apr 2006

    • Created Flash/GIF campaigns and landing pages; enhanced early-stage digital experiences.

  • Graphic Designer

    • Designed reports, brochures, logos, and branding for print media; built foundation in design principles.

    Apr 2004 - Apr 2005

  • Design Intern

    • Supported creative execution for advertising campaigns; learned agency workflow fundamentals.

    Oct 2003 - Dec 2003

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