About
Hi I’m Malvika, I am a UX & Product Designer based out of Toronto, ON.
Having been born in Mumbai, raised in Singapore and educated in Toronto, my designs frequently reflect my global upbringing and perspective. I love to explore how the unique behaviours of individual cultures intersect with the commonalities of human experience that transcend those same boundaries.
In a bid to understand people and their behaviour further I pursued my Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology & English from the University of Toronto and graduated in 2019. I spent the first three years of my professional career as a sales and marketing specialist for various global tech start-ups, where I spent my time interfacing with clients and building strategic outreach campaigns to grow the company’s pipeline.
My personal, academic and professional backgrounds all primed me to be a problem solver. My expertise lay in getting to understand people - their behaviours, motivations and desires - and finding solutions to challenges they faced, whether that was a client debating a purchase, or a company hoping to further develop their brand.
It was only when I first learned of design thinking, and UX design, did the true possibility of enacting change at a much larger scale unfurl for me. The world before me was no longer a series of challenges for people to overcome, but rather an array of opportunities for growth and improvement that I could personally enact.
As a designer, I am passionate about designing seamless, innovative and delightful experiences for users. I love to watch an idea transform into a solution as it travels through various iterations.
I want my designs to create sustainable, equitable and meaningful change in the world.
When I am not donning my designer hat, I am a classically trained dancer, creative fiction writer, voracious reader and avid dungeons & dragons player (in the little time I have left)
My Skills
STRATEGY & DESIGN THINKING
CONTENT STRATEGY & UX WRITING
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
INTERACTION DESIGN
WIREFRAMING & PROTOTYPING
UX RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
My Design Philosophy
I believe that good Design is rooted in good Storytelling.
My design philosophy hinges on the principle that the story of your design will begin at the origin of the problem. And only once you understand wholly how the problem space has come about, can you can then move towards a solution.
The story informs the design.
In keeping with this idea I have developed four key rules for good design
Good design is narrative
Good design should seamlessly tell the story of its purpose. Why has it been included? What is it solving ? These are questions that should be easily answered by the form of the design, without any additional justification or input required.
Good design is strategic
Good design should be intentional and informed. It should be built to serve a specific function, and should be backed with extensive research and data. Strategic design allows both users and brands to achieve their goals simultaneously.
Good design is empathetic
Good design will understand its users. Their behaviors, desires and motivations, and it will help them reach where they need to go.
Good design is effortless
Good design should be simple and intuitive. Just as the design should understand its users, the users need to understand the design.
When each of these rules are adhered to, the design process snaps together like pieces of a puzzle to reveal your optimal solution