Work
Info
Hi! ఎలా ఉన్నారు?
I'm
Pooja Junnuri.
(Pronounced winnie the 'pooh' + 'juh')
My background in Programming.
In June of 2014, I graduated as computer science student at the Institute of Aeronautical Engineering, there I became fascinated with web development and responsive design.
I learned coding, taking on front-end projects at Cognizant and a startup to apply and expand my skills.
This is my story — alongside some flicks from my recent trip to Goa.
This thing called UX
Although I enjoyed the freedom of academic pursuits, I found myself lacking job satisfaction. I wanted to do something that made me happy and felt fulfilled. To discover my true calling, I took a year off to explore various careers.
I then realized that I wanted to be part of a product team. Deliberately, I joined a startup where I could wear multiple hats and eventually learn where I truly saw myself fitting in. I stumbled upon product design. I found myself designing websites while coding simultaneously, and it was then that I experienced a profound sense of happiness and fulfillment from design work.
Designer to Conscious Designer
Once I discovered design, I dove into the fundamentals of product design. Initially, I was a designer focused more on outputs rather than the user experience. However, when the pandemic struck, I seized the opportunity to deeply immerse myself in UX design. I explored UX design bootcamps, delving into UX research, different frameworks, and approaches to UX challenges. This journey transformed me into a conscious, user-centric UX designer.
Long story short, my failures eventually turned into lessons, and now I thrive on delivering high quality user experiences that can help users, product teams and companies.
Making it all happen
I’ve hence steadily climbed up the ranks and I’m proud to call myself a UX professional today.
Through my own career, I hope to tell a story where a self-taught designer can succeed in creative industries.
I have managed teams, decided that management isn’t for me, and I’m now paving the pathway to become a Staff Designer and design educator in the near future.
What do I specialize in?
I spend most of my time designing for entrepreneurs, and I love innovation and speculative interfaces.
For the last three years, I’ve worked for life-sciences based SaaS company ACTO, where I was able to apply and expand my skillset in enterprise design. And support by designing for entrepreneurs, I now I find a clear purpose and meaning in my work.
In the last 5 years, I’ve been exploring the nuances of digital product design consulting, business design, service design, and various frameworks like OOUX.
Competencies
UX Research UX Strategy Prototyping Interaction Design Product Thinking Workshop Facilitation Creative Initiatives
Moving forward, I will prioritise applying my knowledge to various industries that design hasn’t influenced enough yet and that lacks human touch.
I make a conscious choice to work on projects that carries impact whenever possible.
Design Experience
✦ Total Experience in design → 9+ Years
T.Ex
UX Designer, Lead
2024 - Current
From UX strategy to design, collaborated across teams and shipped experiences. Led the overhaul of a platform serving a 2 million user base, slated for launch in March 2025.
ValueLabs
UX Designer, ACTO
09/20 - 04/24
As part of ACTO 3.0, I redesigned reporting and coaching experiences, resulting in a 30% boost in user engagement and increased satisfaction.
Zapfitt
Founder & Strategist
09/18 - 06/20
Conceptualized and developed a platform connecting 1 million small businesses and artisans with users, shaping the end-to-end O2O experience. Conducted surveys with 200+ customers to validate business objectives and onboarded 300+ fashion designers through in-depth interviews.