UX Designer & Researcher · Austin, TX

Designing experiences grounded in real human insight.

I bring 6+ years of cross-industry UX experience — from energy analytics to physical retail spaces — using mixed-method research to close the gap between what users need and what products deliver.

Darsh Kaur
User InterviewsJourney MappingHeuristic EvaluationsUsability TestingStakeholder WorkshopsEthnographyAffinity MappingSWOT AnalysisPersona BuildingFigmaMiroUserTesting User InterviewsJourney MappingHeuristic EvaluationsUsability TestingStakeholder WorkshopsEthnographyAffinity MappingSWOT AnalysisPersona BuildingFigmaMiroUserTesting
Selected Work
Projects built on research, shaped by people
6+
Years of UX experience across enterprise and consumer products
23%
User engagement increase after contextual inquiry and redesign at Innowatts
5
Companies across energy, consulting, tech, and physical retail
IDEO
Certified in Leading Complex Problems, 2023
B2B PlatformInnowatts
UX Redesign · Energy Analytics

Ease 2.0 — rebuilding trust in an AI analytics platform

Users were abandoning tasks within 10 minutes and exporting everything to Excel. Through usability testing, card sorting, and stakeholder interviews I uncovered the real issue: a lack of trust in the platform. I redesigned the load forecasting module to keep users in-product.

RoleJunior UX Designer · Innowatts
MethodsUsability Testing · Card Sort · Analytics
Impact↑ 23% user engagement
End-to-End UX · Food & Discovery

Truck Stop — a food truck finder for Austin

Austin's food truck scene is vibrant but hard to navigate — 59% of users relied on word of mouth. I ran a survey with 25 local residents, developed a persona, and built journey maps that shaped a mobile app putting real-time locations, menus, and reviews in one place.

RoleLead UX Designer
MethodsSurvey · Persona · Journey Map · Prototype
Participants25 Austin residents
🚚
Mobile AppAustin, TX
🏪
Physical + DigitalRetail
Service Design · Physical Space · UX Consulting

Retail Shop — redesigning a physical and digital shopping experience

Through customer interviews, observation sessions, and ethnographic research I identified three core problems: disorganized employee workflows, unreliable equipment, and a store layout with safety risks. Each had a research-backed solution.

RoleUX / Marketing Consultant
MethodsInterviews · Ethnography · SWOT · Affinity Mapping
DeliverablesLabeling system · Layout redesign · Order flow
Experience
6 years across enterprise, consulting, and consumer
Retail Location2025 – present
UX / Marketing Consultant
  • Led UX-driven renovation of a retail space, redesigning layout to improve customer flow and shopping experience
  • Implemented a new labeling and organizational system for employees, reducing cognitive load and streamlining operations
  • Developed a new order submission system, optimizing accuracy and reducing processing time
TESCareers2022 – present
Consultant
  • Conducted heuristic evaluations and user journey reviews for a leading recruiting platform, identifying friction points to streamline talent acquisition
  • Delivered user-centered solutions through interviews, audits, and competitor analysis
  • Led design efforts to create a wall builder tool and table builder tool; expanded client's design library
Labs1962023 – 2024
UX / UI Designer
  • Crafted visually compelling investor decks conveying complex ideas and solutions
  • Ensured research insights were reflected in strategic narratives, influencing stakeholder decision-making and product direction
Accenture2020 – 2021
Service and Interaction Designer
  • Facilitated research-based workshops to uncover stakeholder needs, synthesizing findings into leadership playbacks
  • Gathered requirements and created wireframes for a Data & Analytics Expo
  • Produced brand-aligned output decks adopted by the full design team
Innowatts2019 – 2020
Junior UX Designer
  • Led stakeholder user testing and revamped client-facing platform through contextual inquiry and design thinking
  • Bridged communication gap between engineering and design to create unified, implementable solutions
↑ 23% user engagement
InnowattsSummer 2019
UX / UI Design Intern
  • Presented multiple design solutions per UX issue during team design reviews
  • Redesigned outdated platform icons to better reflect current design trends
About
Rooted in curiosity, driven by people
Darsh Kaur

Hi, I go by Darsh. I design impactful experiences based on deep user insights.

I'm a UX Designer based in Austin with 6+ years of experience spanning energy analytics, recruiting tech, investment storytelling, and physical retail. I believe the best products come from genuinely understanding the people who use them — not just the ones who build them.

My work is grounded in mixed-method research: I'm as comfortable in a stakeholder workshop as I am running a quiet observation session on a shop floor. I've worked with teams at Accenture, Innowatts, TESCareers, and Labs196, and I hold credentials from IDEO, the University of Texas, and Austin Community College.

I thrive in cross-functional environments where design and research sit at the center of product decisions.


UX Methods
User InterviewsJourney MappingHeuristic EvaluationsUsability TestingStakeholder WorkshopsEthnographyAffinity MappingPersona BuildingSWOT Analysis
Tools
FigmaMiroInvisionUserTesting

IDEO

Leading Complex Problems

2023

University of Texas

UX/UI Bootcamp Certificate

2018

Austin Community College

User Experience Design A.A.S

2015 – 2017

Let's work together

Open to full-time roles and consulting projects. I'd love to hear what you're building and how research can help get it right.