Varun Lakshman

Visual, UX & UI designer purely fueled by powdered robusta beans with hot water, led zep, and 8 hours of rest.

Based in India, available to design worldwide.

Varun Lakshman

Visual, UX & UI designer purely fueled by powdered robusta beans with hot water, led zep, and 8 hours of rest.

Based in India, available to design worldwide.

Varun Lakshman

Visual, UX & UI designer purely fueled by powdered robusta beans with hot water, led zep, and 8 hours of rest.

Based in India, available to design worldwide.

Varun Lakshman

Visual, UX & UI designer purely fueled by powdered robusta beans with hot water, led zep, and 8 hours of rest.

Based in India, available to design worldwide.

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10+ years of relentless pixel-pushing, sharp interactions, and an extra large serving of creative discipline. 

10+ years of relentless pixel-pushing, sharp interactions, and an extra large serving of creative discipline. 

10+ years of relentless pixel-pushing, sharp interactions, and an extra large serving of creative discipline. 

I’m Varun Lakshman, an interface, experience and visual designer from Chennai, now based in Bengaluru. I’ve been exploring everything from mobile apps and service ecosystems to XR experiences and AI-supported interfaces.


I started my career in 2014 as a design intern during my B.Com and for the last 12 years, designed in marketing agencies, design studios, startups and recently, a SaaS giant.


Outside the screen, I bring a mix of calm focus and good taste into the workspace, so if you're here to search for your next great design partnership, look no further.

I’m Varun Lakshman, an interface, experience and visual designer from Chennai, now based in Bengaluru. I’ve been exploring everything from mobile apps and service ecosystems to XR experiences and AI-supported interfaces.


I started my career in 2014 as a design intern during my B.Com and for the last 12 years, designed in marketing agencies, design studios, startups and recently, a SaaS giant.


Outside the screen, I bring a mix of calm focus and good taste into the workspace, so if you're here to search for your next great design partnership, look no further.

For the last 12 years, I've enjoyed working through the full design process: understanding people, mapping problems, building concepts, testing ideas, and refining the small details that make an experience feel polished. I believe great design isn't just aesthetically compelling, it's strategically grounded and culturally aware. I like my work to feel considered, but never cold; thoughtful, functional, and with a bit of character.

For the last 12 years, I've enjoyed working through the full design process: understanding people, mapping problems, building concepts, testing ideas, and refining the small details that make an experience feel polished. I believe great design isn't just aesthetically compelling, it's strategically grounded and culturally aware. I like my work to feel considered, but never cold; thoughtful, functional, and with a bit of character.

For the last 12 years, I've enjoyed working through the full design process: understanding people, mapping problems, building concepts, testing ideas, and refining the small details that make an experience feel polished. I believe great design isn't just aesthetically compelling, it's strategically grounded and culturally aware. I like my work to feel considered, but never cold; thoughtful, functional, and with a bit of character.

2016 – 2017
2016 – 2017
2016 – 2017

Web/Visual Designer · Chennai

Made By Fire (ex-raisingibrows)

+ Adobe Suite

+ Art Direction

+ HTML CSS JS

+ Brand Identity

Built brands with bite, and digital experiences to match.

Created brand identities, business collaterals, campaign assets, animations and responsive sites from early concepts through final handover.

6 website launches: VOGT, AudioTube, StayBoat, EatWater UK, JAWA Yezdi, Doshi Housing

4 client brands: Nippon, Hyundai, SSP, Exide, Kalpa Druma

2017
2017

Visual Designer · Chennai

PickYourTrail

+ Product Design

+ Design System Control

+ Type script

+ Video Editing

Made planning the trip feel like the fun part.

Made planning the trip feel like the fun part in the travel-tech space.

Designed for clearer discovery of the itinerary web-app and conversion moments for travellers, web-UI components, icons & illustrations, social media creatives, travel guides and handy collaterals.

2017

2018 – 2019

2018 – 2019

Senior Designer · Chennai

Limited Edition Studio

+ Art Direction

+ Brand Systems

+ Campaign Strategy

+ Copywriting

+ Management

Turned sharp ideas into identities people actually noticed.

Working directly under the co-founders, spearheaded visual direction across brand, digital, and campaign work - equal parts polish, pace, and good taste. Executed environment design for offices, print & packaging campaigns consistently. Managed 2 junior designers and 3 interns during my tenure.

4 website launches: Studio Tara, BotVFX, CoverItUp, Aizome Jeans

7 client brands: CoverItUp, BSA, Swiggy, Quikr, BotVFX, The Kati Roll Shop, Peri Alley

3 print/packaging campaigns: Minister White, The Kati Roll Shop, Parambriym

Office environment: BotVFX

2017 – 2019

2019 – 2020

2019 – 2020

Head of Design · Bangalore

Aflog

+ Product Strategy

+ Founding Team

+ Brand Ops

+ UX & UI

+ NodeJS / React

+ 0-1 SaaS

Built an influencer tech ecosystem using user-generated-content & brand collab campaign opportunities into one clear visual language from scratch.

Started as a frontend & visual designer but quickly moved into a hybrid, generalist, leadership role. Made design decisions easier to scale by rebuilding the core ecosystem UI, approaching with a end-to-end user-focused design thinking using regular research, surveys & testing, and introduced component-based thinking to a team that had never used one. Worked alongside full-stack engineers to ensure pixel-perfection using scalable agile methodologies and coding when necessary.

Founding Team Role

Worked on setting up the design system framework & architecture, and product management for 3 products in the ecosystem. Collaborated with multiple stakeholders & investors helping secure Pre - Series A seed extension funding with Chennai Angels. Managed 2 Junior Designers & 3 Design Interns during tenure.

2019 – 2020

2021 – 2025

2021 – 2025

Senior Designer · Bangalore / Chennai

Freshworks

+ Enterprise UX & UI

+ Complex Design Systems

+ Cross-functional Design

+ Google Ads

+ Brand Collaterals

🏅 Rising Star Award - H1 2021

🏅 Dynamo Award - H2 2024

Made complex work feel considerably less complex.

Worked on business collaterals, E-books, illustrations, Google ads & social media campaigns in 2021 in a visual designer role earning a rising star award in the first half of my employment owing to my quick turn-around time, being easy to work with and strong communication -> execution prowess.


Transitioned to a web-UX designer role in 2023 producing data-driven design for webpages, UI animations, layout & interaction design, design system management & version controlling across social & web mediums, including collaborative support across marketing & engineering teams for design strategy & execution, earning a dynamo award in the second half of 2024.

2021 – 2025

2025 – 2026

2025 – 2026

MSc. User Experience Design · London

Kingston University

+ UX Research

+ Usability Testing

+ Service Design

+ Agile

+ Lean UX

+ Stanford.d

+ Double Diamond

+ Designing for AI

+ Heuristic Evaluation

+ XR/VR Design

+ C# Code

Turned curiosity into a more considered design practice.

The master's program sharpened how I approach problems: starting with people, testing assumptions early, and making every interaction earn its place. Across five research-led projects, I worked from messy first questions through to clearer journeys, prototypes, and practical recommendations.

Mapifai: Explored AI-assisted wayfinding through a calmer, more human lens - mapping journeys, shaping information hierarchy, and designing guidance that helps without getting in the way.


Premier League: Audited existing mobile-app experience against usability principles, identifying friction across navigation, clarity, feedback, and error prevention and turned findings into prioritised recommendations.


Pawse: Developed a pet-care service concept around the everyday details owners need to keep track of. The focus was on making care feel more organised, reassuring, and less like another tab left open.


Grocr: Reimagined grocery planning as an AR service using smart-glasses as a more thoughtful everyday ritual by connecting discovery, list-making, and shopping into one simple, useful flow.


Stash (Thesis): Explored a decentralised peer-to-peer sharing marketplace experience where structure and clarity did the heavy lifting. A lesson in making complex decisions feel lighter, not louder.

2025 – 2026

You reached the bottom. But the ideas? They stay on top.
If you're looking for ideas that rise above the noise, you know where to find me.

You reached the bottom. But the ideas? They stay on top.
If you're looking for ideas that rise above the noise, you know where to find me.

You reached the bottom. But the ideas? They stay on top.
If you're looking for ideas that rise above the noise, you know where to find me.