Hrithik Sanyal

I'm the kind of end-to-end designer who gets genuinely excited about information architecture (yes, really) and believes the best products live at the intersection of user empathy, business sense, and emerging tech possibilities. Having led 10+ projects from napkin sketch to shipped feature, I've learned that the magic happens when you're equally comfortable with GenAI-powered UX experiments and good old-fashioned usability testing. My superpower? I thrive in that sweet spot where ambiguity meets opportunity, constantly asking "why" until I understand the real problem, then figuring out "how" to solve it in ways users didn't know they needed. I'm driven by high ownership and an iterative mindset that treats every design decision as a hypothesis worth testing. Success, for me, isn't just about crafting products people can't live without but about building experiences that evolve alongside both users and technology. I create designs that make users feel understood while delivering measurable business impact, all while keeping one eye on the future of AI, design systems, and whatever comes next in UX. Currently fascinated by how AI is reshaping not just what we design, but how we design it. Let's build something people will wonder how they ever managed without.

Projects

Product Design Portfolio

My official Portfolio

Automotive UX - Cadillac Escalade Design Proposal

I led the redesign of the Cadillac Escalade’s digital experience, focusing on the integration of personalized AI and an augmented reality HUD. The challenge was to push the boundaries of in-car technology while preserving the Escalade’s core values of safety, luxury, and intuitive control. I drove the end-to-end design process—from user research and low-fidelity sketches to high-fidelity prototyping and usability testing. Leveraging Figma and HCM principles, I ensured AI personalization enhanced the experience without introducing cognitive overload. Close collaboration with engineering helped bring the vision to life while staying grounded in technical feasibility. This project sharpened my ability to design for complex, high-impact environments and deepened my experience with AI-powered UX. The final design was well-received by stakeholders and recognized for its user-centered approach, gaining attention across the automotive design community.See More

Raseet Health

I designed a digital platform that transformed local pharmacies into e-commerce-ready health and wellness hubs. The challenge? Balancing the needs of pharmacists, healthcare providers, and customers—while keeping things secure, compliant, and user-friendly. Through deep user research, I mapped pain points and opportunities, then crafted role-specific dashboards and high-fidelity prototypes, and ran iterative usability tests to fine-tune key flows like onboarding and checkout. This project sharpened my ability to simplify complex, regulated workflows while designing for trust and scalability. The result: a 30% drop in manual tasks, a 25% decrease in cart abandonment, and a 35% boost in repeat orders—helping Raseet Health increase partner pharmacy revenue by 20% in just three months.See More

Redesigning BMW's Digital Interface (iDrive)

This project focused on reimagining the iDrive 8 interface to enhance usability while maintaining BMW’s signature minimalist design. The key challenge was to refine the information hierarchy and navigation experience without sacrificing visual clarity or brand identity. I led a research-driven process that began with a deep dive into BMW’s design language, user expectations, and competitive automotive systems. From early sketching of the vehicle’s interior to developing black-and-white wireframes, I structured content across multiple screens including navigation, vehicle controls, and head-unit interfaces. High-fidelity prototyping and usability testing helped validate and iterate on the design. This experience sharpened my ability to craft intuitive in-car interactions, balancing form with function in a high-stakes environment. The result was a cleaner, more user-friendly interface that improved core task accessibility while staying true to BMW’s design DNA.See More

Calmi Ring

Calmi Ring incorporates three key sensors: a heart rate monitor, a skin condition sensor, and an algorithm to analyze biometric signals. The device features a haptic feedback mechanism that delivers consistent reminders to engage in calming activities. The Calmi Ring system provides users with real-time insights into their emotional well-being and proactive support for managing anxiety in their daily lives.See More

CanniBuddy

Cannibuddy is a mobile app designed to guide users through the often confusing world of medical cannabis. With no standardized dosages and highly individual responses, users are left navigating trial-and-error on their own—often facing negative side effects like panic attacks. The challenge was to create a tool that not only personalized recommendations but also offered emotional and practical support. I designed Cannibuddy to combine AI-driven recommendations with user-centered care. The app features strain and dosage suggestions based on individual needs, session tracking for continuous learning, and real-time support during anxiety episodes. It also fosters a sense of community, offering peer insights and coping strategies for a more supported experience. This project deepened my expertise in designing for health and wellness, particularly in emerging, stigmatized spaces. By merging empathy with data, Cannibuddy helps users build confidence in their treatment journey—safely, effectively, and with less guesswork.See More

Work History

User Experience Designer

Project: Human CityDesigned an AI-powered gamified LMS, enhancing collaboration and knowledge retention through adaptive UX workflows. Led user research via surveys, form analytics, & heatmaps (Google Forms, Hotjar), increasing participation by 30%. Designed intelligent search and discovery experiences, improving wayfinding, usability, and content discoverability through refined information architecture, faceted navigation, and intent-driven search recommendations. Built ‘CityScape’, a scalable design system, cutting redundant design efforts by 20% (tracked via Figma Design Metrics) and accelerating design-to-development handoff by 30% using Jira, ensuring seamless multi-platform consistency.

Graduate Student Instructor (GSI)

University of MichiganAug 2023 - May 2024 • 10 mosSI 364 – Building Data-Driven Applications. Taught foundational web development concepts, including Python, Django, HTML, CSS, SQL, and API integrations, through structured lab sessions and office hours. Led advanced hands-on debugging sessions, guiding students through performance optimization and security best practices in Django applications. Provided one-on-one mentorship to students struggling with complex topics like asynchronous requests, form validation, and CRUD operations. Assisted in structuring and reviewing capstone projects, ensuring students could successfully deploy their full-stack web applications using GitHub and PythonAnywhere. Facilitated discussions on front-end vs. back-end development, helping students understand how JavaScript frameworks like jQuery integrate with Django. Created supplementary learning resources, including example code snippets and walkthroughs, to help students grasp tricky concepts outside of lecture time.

Product Designer

General MotorsJan 2024 - May 2024 • 5 mosDesigned and developed an AI-powered luxury in-vehicle infotainment system by integrating personalized HUD displays, multimodal interactions including voice, touch, and gesture, and ergonomic UI frameworks while ensuring compliance with NHTSA guidelines to minimize driver distraction through optimized interaction flows, touch targets, and accessibility-driven design. Conducted a competitive analysis of industry-leading automotive UX systems including Mercedes-Benz MBUX, BMW iDrive, and Tesla UI to benchmark best practices in AI-driven personalization, HMI design, and information hierarchy, applying insights to iterate on 80+ wireframes and prototypes that refined key workflows for navigation, media control, and climate settings to enhance usability and engagement. Led usability testing with 50+ participants by applying research methods such as task completion rate analysis, eye-tracking insights, and error rate evaluations to assess interaction efficiency, accessibility, and cognitive load, leading to a restructuring of navigation systems and UI elements that improved information discoverability and reduced user friction. Developed an adaptive in-car theme system that enables drivers to personalize ambient lighting, instrument cluster layouts, and interface aesthetics by leveraging luxury market research, cognitive psychology principles like Hick’s Law and Fitt’s Law, and HMI ergonomics to create an intuitive experience that balances personalization and safety. Collaborated with GM’s HMI designers, engineers, and product strategists to align technical feasibility with user-centered design by integrating system constraints into UX decisions, presenting final research-backed automotive concepts to General Motors stakeholders, and demonstrating a data-driven approach that earned recognition for usability and personalization in luxury vehicle interfaces.

Information Architect

The Understanding Group (TUG)Jul 2023 - Dec 2023 • 6 mosDesigned AI-driven IA for enterprise platforms, improving navigation, search pathways, and discoverability by refining AI-powered digital experiences through UX research (Hotjar, Google Analytics). Optimized search usability and wayfinding, boosting engagement by 25% via faceted navigation, auto-suggestions, and query interpretation, leveraging heuristic evaluations to enhance navigation efficiency.

Education

University of Michigan

Master of Science - MS, Information (MSI) – User Experience (UX), and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Aug 2022 - May 2024

Bharati Vidyapeeth University College Of Engineering, Pune

Bachelor of Technology - BTech, Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering2014 - 2018

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