I see the forest and the trees, the system and the pixel, the strategy and the craft .

This is how I design. I solve problems at scale without losing sight of what makes products feel right.

I've led design at PwC, UnitedHealth Group, and The Cumin Club. The work has looked different each time, but the pattern stays the same. I walk into complexity, find the structural problem hidden under the surface problem, and build the systems that let the team operate differently after I leave. Sometimes that is a redesigned product. Sometimes it is a workflow that gets adopted across the company. Sometimes it is both.

What pulls me toward the work over the long arc is the same thing that pulled me toward architecture. I like products where the decisions are impactful, where there are real users on the other side of the interface, and where the team has the appetite to build something that lasts longer than any one engagement.

I came to product design through architecture. Five years of B.Arch. training taught me three things that still shape the work:

  • Microdetails compound upward, so a small early decision can dictate the shape of the whole later

  • Elegant solutions come from working inside constraints, not around them

  • You have to hold the whole system in your head while designing each connection point with precision.

The transition from buildings to interfaces felt less like a career change and more like the same training applied to a different medium.

I've led design at PwC, UnitedHealth Group, and The Cumin Club. The work has looked different each time, but the pattern stays the same. I walk into complexity, find the structural problem hidden under the surface problem, and build the systems that let the team operate differently after I leave. Sometimes that is a redesigned product. Sometimes it is a workflow that gets adopted across the company. Sometimes it is both.

What pulls me toward the work over the long arc is the same thing that pulled me toward architecture. I like products where the decisions are impactful, where there are real users on the other side of the interface, and where the team has the appetite to build something that lasts longer than any one engagement.

I came to product design through architecture. Five years of B.Arch. training taught me three things that still shape the work:

  • Microdetails compound upward, so a small early decision can dictate the shape of the whole later

  • Elegant solutions come from working inside constraints, not around them

  • You have to hold the whole system in your head while designing each connection point with precision.

The transition from buildings to interfaces felt less like a career change and more like the same training applied to a different medium.

How I Work

I was the kid who was crazy about jigsaw puzzles. I loved the satisfaction of breaking a complex picture into pieces and fitting them back together so the seams disappear. That instinct shapes how I work today.

I push beyond the brief.

I don't take the problem statement at face value. I dig into the why, surface assumptions, and often find that the real opportunity is adjacent to where we started.

I make the work better through the team.

The best design decisions I've made were shaped by the engineers, PMs, and stakeholders I worked with, not handed down to them. I work alongside the team, share thinking early, and treat disagreement as information.

I build the structure that lets the team move.

When the roadmap doesn't exist yet, I build one. Workflows, documentation, design-engineering rituals. Whatever helps the team move forward with confidence and keep moving after I'm gone.

I design for the whole system.

Every screen exists within a larger context. I think through user flows, edge cases, handoffs, and scale. The details matter, but so does the architecture holding them together.

Let's work together

I'd love to help tackle your next big challenge. Drop me a message or book some time to chat!

I'd love to help tackle your next big challenge. Drop me a message!

You can also book some time to chat if you prefer!

© Surya Vaidyanathan 2025. All rights reserved.

Made with filter coffee and 💛.

© Surya Vaidyanathan 2025.

All rights reserved.

Made with filter coffee and 💛.

© Surya Vaidyanathan 2025. All rights reserved.

Made with filter coffee and 💛.