Hello. I’m Niral. I enjoy building teams & resolving complex, ambiguous problems.
5 second project snapshots below. For detailed case studies - send me an email
SVP, Experience Design & Product Management
Directed strategy & work streams for 250 platforms, engaging a global user base of 167 million. Led cross-functional teams responsible for the end-to-end customer journey of B2C, B2B & SaaS products. In 2023, our efforts led to a 12% growth in audience size & a 19% increase in revenue.
By building diverse teams, I was able to reshape organizational culture into one that prioritized customer-centricity, experimentation & collaboration. This helped mentor teams on goals as well as pursuing growth.
Spearheaded 0-to-1 product launches across mobile, TV, smart speakers & automotive platforms. Our releases also included building innovation projects such as Talkback, Meta Augments, iHeartLand (VR) & Soundscapes.
Covering a few more iHeart projects below….
Redefining Discovery
Role: XFN Team Leadership & Strategy
iHeart was having little-to-no success in getting users to try the different content types, limiting engagement & user acquisition.
I guided experiments to help define the experience, & create a cohesive effort across disciplines, as this affected every step of the customer journey.
Utilizing insights, data & risk, we introduced a ‘Home’ page, dynamic real-time content & an updated content strategy.
The organization rallied behind the changes as it met the needs of several teams, even benefitting marketing and sales, to drive revenue and reach.
↗ 20% higher content engagement
↗ 19% new content stream starts
↗ New revenue stream, earning $5M in 1M
Immersing Fans
Role: Product Design Lead & Partnerships
To reach a whole new audience iHeart was exploring entering the metaverse.
Partnering on the experiences, the approach was to build on our access to artists & take the popularity of live concerts into the virtual world. We followed that up with live podcasting events, games, & more concerts to create a premiere interactive experience.
Our guiding principle for these worlds (on Roblox & Fortnite) was to create a world where fans & artists can form communities to get closer to one another.
While it's too early to share impact, the team & I are looking forward to seeing how we can push ourselves to innovate further.
Elevating Search
Role: XFN Team Leadership & Design Lead
Searching on iHeart was a source of friction for users, affecting usability, listening & discovery.
Our goal was to create search journeys that made getting to relevant content easy.
By leading the creation of a content tagging system, a more effective way to navigate search results and integrating AI capabilities (focused on query categorization, dynamic re-ranking & personalization), Search exceeded user expectations.
This was a highly collaborative & time intensive effort that required in-depth learning of data science algorithms, AI & user behavior.
↗ 33% increase in search-listen conversion
↗ 20% new content stream starts
↗ 11% improvement of usability scores
Introducing Rewards
Role: Product Design Lead & GTM Strategy
iHeart was looking to explore different ways to improve user retention & bring in new users to impact growth.
I developed an approach, leaning into our unique selling point (access to artists), combined with game design mechanics, to create a unique rewards program based on listening.
While managing ambiguity, I spearheaded product design where users could win a chance to see Taylor Swift + exclusive merchandise by listening, completing actions & visiting the app.
Our ambitious experiment has now been converted into a scalable system to use around special events, concerts and other partnership opportunities.
↗ 17% increased registration
↗ 16% higher daily listening
↗ 7% conversion from push notifications
Director, User Experience Design
Led the talented design team at Nickelodeon to create fun, safe & educational experiences for kids & families, with silly surprises (AR app) thrown in! Managed the experience eco-system across Noggin, Nick Jr., and Nick to design for an audience that would graduate through each of those brands.
Entrusted to drive customer experience for the launch of interactive videos (Play-alongs), which was meant to be a market differentiator. Fostered teamwork to deliver impactful results - a 55% rise in content consumption & a 32% growth in subscribers.
Collaborated on innovation projects such as Nicks first Alexa game & co-led team invention to achieve a design patent - US10891016B2
Sharing initiatives from Nick & Noggin below….
Mixing Worlds
Role: Product Design Lead
Created design & storytelling for Nickelodeons foray into augmented reality.
Using a mix of character fandom, game design, & mobile computing capabilities, our goal was to make an impactful entry into this ambiguous space.
Through this initiative, the team & I were able to learn more about making child-safe products, working with constraints & executive stakeholder engagement.
↗ 5K+ downloads in 1st month
↗ Maintained app rating of 4.1 stars
↗ Won further investment into AR products
Transforming Noggin
Role: Product Design Lead & DesignOps
Led strategy for the Noggin mobile app, transforming it for Nickelodeon's first foray into curriculum-based, interactive video content for kids.
Our primary focus was to learn from continuous testing, create easy navigation and add a mix of fun while make a performant product.
↗ 55% increase in content consumption
↗ 31% increase in revenue
↗ 32% subscriber growth
Prior to that, spent 10 years designing various products, most notably….
Creating a seamless, cross-platform experience that reimagined how kids, parents & teachers managed learning with Pearson. Designing for the smart thermostat eco-system with EnergyHub. Simplifying credit card context for Chase as well as Quorum. Reimagining insulin delivery devices for Sanofi.
Outside of the above, I build typography, learn languages & draw single panel comics.