Hello, I’m Avani!
I design intuitive, scalable workflows for complex SaaS products.
With a rare blend of design expertise and a computer science background, I bridge the gap between design and development, speaking the technical language that drives collaboration and execution.
Check out my product design work, my freelance work or poke through my resume.
Fun fact: My name means “Earth” in Sanskrit. Unsure how to pronounce it?
Read more about my career journey below. 👇
😖 Harnessing frustration to design more universal solutions.
As a petite, left-handed Indian-American woman, I gradually came to realize that the world around me was not designed with my needs in mind.
I was designing products before I even knew what product design was. In foundational studio classes, projects evolved into self-imposed design challenges. For a pop art assignment, a common object, a cell phone, was reimagined as a 6 ft behemoth, but with improved physical affordances.
“What would help with fatigue, regardless of hand preference? What about different hand sizes? “
Asking bigger questions.
“How could the children of immigrants better connect with their heritage? “
During visits to India—especially outside the major cities—I noticed how quickly English signage disappeared. While I speak Gujarati fluently, I found even rudimentary Gujarati reading skills to be essential for navigating everyday environments.
Long before language learning apps became mainstream, a Duo was a celebrity owl, I designed my own MVP to support foundational literacy with a focus numbers, colors, and character recognition. It was an early exercise in designing for real-world, multilingual contexts—one that deepened my understanding of accessibility and user empathy.
🧠 Design thinking
My first physical computing project (using microcontrollers) involved a game of Pong to trigger custom audio when the ball hit a paddle.
“What is your goal?”
“Who is your audience?”
These are the questions I encouraged students to return to when I came back to my alma mater as a professor. I emphasized process—prioritizing ideas, iteration, and collaboration—over the instinct to hyper-focus on tools. It was always about the why, not just the how.
My struggles through the computer science curriculum marked a turning point that shaped my perspective and work. I sought to make concepts more approachable and engaging. I rewrote the introductory computer science curriculum to be more inclusive of different learning types, approaching programming from a visual perspective.
By recreating classic games like Pong or Space Invaders, students explored algorithmic thinking, geometry, and collision detection—while also learning to think about usability and the player’s experience.
🧩 Reimagining how we learn through the lens of gamification
Outside of teaching, I explored games as powerful learning tools: leveraging pattern recognition, interaction, and a bit of humor to make abstract concepts more tangible. One such project, d0uble t1me, was a large-scale interactive installation that helped users understand binary numbers through the tactile satisfaction of hitting large objects.
n collaboration with the Equine Science Center, I designed a series of mini-games to inspire curiosity about both horses and science in younger audiences. My field research left an impression.
“Do not stand behind the horse treadmill, otherwise you will get pelted with manure”.
The game journey began in the barn, where players selected and prepared their horse. They then managed a treadmill session, collected blood samples, and carried out lab procedures including sample prep and analysis. The goal was to simulate the center’s real-world research in an accessible, engaging format.
🪡 Woven throughout my work, a passion for problem-solving is clear.
Whether in teaching, game design, or SaaS, I’ve always been drawn to complex systems—and to making them easier for people to understand and use. From setting up automated services to decoding binary, I care about designing experiences that meet people where they are.
These days, I spend my time in SaaS product design, thinking about how to make tools more intuitive, scalable, and human. I'm always looking for opportunities to keep learning, solve meaningful problems, and make room for more people at the table.