Design, From the Ground Up

In 2023, I took on an astrology-services product, the Art of Living's Jyotis Vastu Academy, as a UX designer. What started as a small platform quickly became one of my most impactful projects, and it changed everything.

Impressed by the results, the CEO offered me something rare: the chance to build a new design practice inside Sumeru Inc. There had been previous attempts, but the timing and my background, a blend of fine-arts training and engineering, created the right conditions for it to finally take root.

Within the first two months, I rebranded Sumeru's 20-year-old symbol into something fresher and more modern, a signal of the new standard the practice would hold itself to.

In January 2024, I officially began. Within a week I landed my first client. Then another, and another. I made one rule for myself: always deliver more than what's asked for. That meant 12-14 hour days, juggling design delivery with prospecting, pitching, and building trust.

By the end of the year the numbers told the story: 20+ client projects completed. Agencies and partners began to see us not as another design shop, but as a long-term creative partner. The ODUGlobal redesign, led with KWall, went on to win a 2025 Web Excellence Award.

2024 was the turning point. We nearly doubled revenue through new client onboarding and the strength of long-term relationships. What started as a one-person bet became an award-winning design practice with its own name, team, and reputation.