About Anil Soman | From Designer to Product Design Strategist & Leader

My Journey

Expansion of perspective, learning from multidisciplinary teams, and building the resilience to design in complex systems

Growth

From my early days at Ideafarms, where prototypes became powerful storytelling tools, to leading design at Cognizant for global enterprises, my journey has been one of continuous growth. Each stage - IBM, Amazon, PayPal, Intuit, Cisco - challenged me to evolve, adapt, and expand my thinking. Growth, for me, is not just career progression but the expansion of perspective, learning from multidisciplinary teams, and building the resilience to design in complex systems.

hybrid approach to problem-solving: blending data-driven algorithms with intuitive heuristics

Wisdom

Wisdom comes from collaboration. Working with engineers, product managers, researchers, and business leaders across industries has enriched me with diverse insights. It taught me that design is never in isolation - it is the synthesis of many disciplines. Over time, I have developed a hybrid approach to problem- solving: blending data-driven algorithms, intuitive heuristics, and cognitive principles like relevance realization and predictive processing to uncover what truly matters and shape trustworthy experiences.

Aligning design outcomes with user trust, adoption, and business growth

Impact

The measure of design is its impact. For Intuit, this meant simplifying financial complexity for small-medium businesses; for PayPal, building trust into dispute resolution; for Cisco, scaling systems that accelerated product velocity; for Amazon, reducing SLAs and improving operational workflows. Across these roles, impact has always meant aligning design outcomes with user trust, adoption, and business growth - turning creativity into measurable results.

Design is not just about aesthetics but about creating trust, velocity, and scale.

Earning trust, building credibility, and creating lasting value.

Design is a discipline that evolves with every project

Proof / Validation

Achievements

Intuit: 700+ interviews → 5+ new features, 15+ optimizations.
‍PayPal: Redesigned flows → +1% adoption, +2% app store reviews.
‍Cisco: Unified design system → faster releases across 6+ teams.
‍Amazon: Vendor workflows optimized → SLA time reduced by 5%.
‍Asian Paints: UX in automation → 5% efficiency gain, 10% downtime reduction.
These achievements are proof points that design is not just about aesthetics but about creating trust, velocity, and scale.

These achievements highlight how design, when centered on relevance and clarity, can move both users and businesses forward.

Proof / Validation

Recognition

Over my journey, peers and leaders have recognized my experimental mindset and ability to deliver beyond expectations. Sunil Malhotra, founder of Ideafarms, once said:
“Anil exemplifies a can-do attitude and often delivers beyond expectations. His sharp understanding ability and experimental mindset delivered surprising results."

‍Recognition for me is not just about awards or certifications - it is about earning trust, building credibility, and creating lasting value.

Proof / Validation

Credentials

My foundation is built on continuous learning - from early multimedia studies to certifications(CUA from HFI) and applying design thinking, user research, and leadership. Alongside formal education, I’ve invested in tools and methods like Figma, Sketch, Adobe Suite, After Effects, Audition, Maya and Miro, which enable me to translate ideas into experiences. Credentials are not just proof of expertise, but a reminder that design is a discipline that evolves with every project.