UX Designer @ KIRFU
Designing a delivery platform from zero - for the drivers no one else designed for.
Project Overview
Role
Founding Product Designer
Duration
1+ years
Team
CEO, CTO, Engineering, Marketing
Deliverables
Driver app, Design system, Company website, Marketing materials
Status
Handed to developers and built
The Problem
At Kirfu, I joined as the first and only UX designer, working directly with the CEO and CTO to shape not just the product, but the product vision. From day one, I was involved in everything from designing the driver app, to rebuilding the company website, to crafting the internal dashboard.
Being part of a small, fast-paced team gave me the opportunity to contribute across every stage of the design process.
Wearing Many Hats in
a Fast-Moving Startup
At Kirfu, I joined as the first and only UX designer, working directly with the CEO and CTO to shape not just the product, but the product vision. From day one, I was involved in everything from designing the driver app, to rebuilding the company website, to crafting the internal dashboard.
Being part of a small, fast-paced team gave me the opportunity to contribute across every stage of the design process.
Designing for Real People on the Road
Our users were independent drivers navigating busy schedules and unpredictable routes. I focused on making the experience intuitive, efficient, and accessible, especially in time-sensitive scenarios.
While I can’t share detailed flows due to confidentiality, my work included:
Turning broad, evolving requirements into clear mobile interfaces.
Collaborating with the product and engineering teams to iterate rapidly.
Prioritizing clarity, simplicity, and accessibility.
This role helped me deepen my ability to design with empathy and speed, especially under real-world constraints.
Building Scalable Design Systems
As the product matured, I led the creation of a comprehensive design system in Figma, crafted to support everything from mobile apps to internal dashboards and our marketing site.
This system included:
Modular, reusable components with responsive behavior.
Clear naming conventions and documentation.
Visual foundations: color, typography, grid.
Usage guidelines to support handoff with developers.
It helped reduce design inconsistencies, speed up handoff, and scale our product with clarity.
(While I can’t show direct visuals due to NDA, the system structure followed industry standards used by modern product teams.)
Learning the Business Side
'' Being included in stakeholder meetings gave me perspective on how UX fits into bigger business goals, something I hadn't seen up close before. I learned how to navigate between user needs and product-market realities.''
What I gained:
Operational Decision-Making
Product-Market Alignment
Stakeholder Engagement
What I Took Away
This experience helped me grow not just as a designer, but as a collaborator and problem solver. I strengthened my skills in:
User-centered design
Design systems thinking
Cross-functional collaboration
Communicating design value across teams
And above all, I learned to work fast, stay flexible, and design with empathy, even when resources are tight and timelines tighter.
🧩 Design Under Constraints
Learned to balance limited resources and tight timelines with clear, user-friendly design.
⚡ Speed & Clarity
Delivered quickly without compromising clarity or usability.
🤝 Cross-Team Collaboration
Worked closely with engineers, founders, and stakeholders to bring ideas to life.
What the Team Said…
Sam Clastine
Co-Founder, CTO
"Akshaya brought structure and polish to our product. Her UI work and the design system made it easier for us to build consistently and focus on solving the right problems."
Jibril Ali
Co-Founder, CEO
"Akshaya made a huge impact in a short time. Her design thinking helped us bring our ideas to life clearly and quickly. She's a team player who gets the bigger picture."
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You made it to the end .. Thank you!
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