Niharika Kumar
Toronto
Summary
A visual communicator and thinker, I find joy in designing effective narratives. Through my rigorous design education and experience across industries, I've cultivated a versatile toolkit that enables me to bridge concepts, creating impactful visual stories that enable and enrich customer experiences.
Overview
5
5
years of professional experience
Work History
Freelance Designer
TriAxis Consulting & Aeos Optics
05.2023 - Current
- Developed and designed facilitation toolkits and decks for entrepreneurial leadership workshops
- Designed company brand identity, language and logo
- Crafted several investor pitch decks
Summer Associate, TELUS
Business Design Initiative
05.2022 - 08.2022
- Crafted user journey maps, effectively amplifying customer needs and pain points, from insights gained through in-depth user interviews; translated findings into actionable recommendations, incorporating feedback through an iterative design process to inform the product development of a new smart home offering
- Led hypothesis generation workshops and stakeholder brainstorming sessions, created visual aids to expedite prompt understanding and promote efficient stakeholder collaboration, to enhance communication and consensus-building
- Co-created the phone sales user experience journey sales agents; designed custom tools to visually map end-to-end customer interactions, streamline touchpoints and pinpoint optimization opportunities
- Conceptualized and developed interactive prototypes with UX designers to illustrate the value propositions of products and align them with diverse use cases, enhancing customer understanding and engagement.
Senior Designer
ADK Rage Communications, Citi Bank
05.2020 - 06.2021
- Formulated over 10 effective client pitches by redefining problem statements, project scoping, selecting optimal design research strategies, and materializing concepts through Adobe Creative Suite
- Conceptualized the gamification of a performance incentive tool to strategically empower Citi's Relationship Managers during the pandemic by building dynamic dashboards and leaderboards to visualize competition in a virtual environment, informed by keen insights into sales agents' perceptions and motivational triggers; Resulted in a ~22% upswing in 'new to business customer growth, effectively reversing a previous decline
- Designed the brand identity and marketing assets for Citi Singapore's latest product, Citi Plus, leveraging insights from immersive co-creation workshops.
Assistant Manager Design
Reliance Industries Limited
06.2018 - 03.2020
- Designed the market research for the company's first-ever plus-size clothing pilot line; completed competitive scans, conducted customer interviews, synthesized direct customer feedback; trials that led to the establishment of a substantial permanent segment of over 100 SKUs
- Conceptualized and implemented the re-branding of a private label brand, designing marketing assets; the brand grew into the 2nd largest brand by volume on the e-com platform accounting for ~27% of sales from private labels in 2020 and ~80,000 customers.
Volunteer Learning Designer
Chudar Aid India
04.2020 - 05.2021
- Designed the online learning experience for select government schools in Tamil Nadu; Used observational
- Research, and user interviews to identify pain points and implement a solution
- Created language agnostic, and purely visual infographics to create awareness around COVID-19 safety.
Education
MBA - Business Design, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
06.2023
Bachelor of Design -
NIFT
Mumbai India 05.2018
Skills
Service Design
Visual Mapping
Journey Mapping
User Research
Prototyping
Graphic Design
Timeline
Freelance Designer
TriAxis Consulting & Aeos Optics
05.2023 - Current
Summer Associate, TELUS
Business Design Initiative
05.2022 - 08.2022
Senior Designer
ADK Rage Communications, Citi Bank
05.2020 - 06.2021
Volunteer Learning Designer
Chudar Aid India
04.2020 - 05.2021
Assistant Manager Design
Reliance Industries Limited
06.2018 - 03.2020
MBA - Business Design, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
Bachelor of Design -
NIFT
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