Founders, tell me a time when you found a competitor with the same set of features and product. In 2025, I’m sure you’ll find many.

But do you know what ‘really’ separates your brand from the competition? 

It's experience and design. 

And you relate to this. 

So:
- You look for inspiration online to create your wireframes
- You bring up some designs to put your product together
- You hire a random designer that gives you a dopamine shot by creating your vision

But do you really understand how this affects your brand and business?

- You get signups (with lots of marketing) but NO paid users
- You get paid users (with lots of sales) but NO recurring customers
- You get recurring customers (with lots of support) but NO band advocacy

Look, powerful brands are offering something beyond putting up a product and a team together.

If you look around and understand why you choose a certain brand (say, Uber) over others (say, many ride sharing apps), it all boils down to 2 aspects:

1. Design
2. Experience

When your customers get a good experience from your brand, that’s when they:

1. Sign Up
2. Buy
3. Advocate

That’s when your product really works till you achieve product market fit with superior growth.

- Your leads quickly making decision to turn into customers
- Your customers appreciating your product with quality reviews online
- Your customers turning into raving fans bringing in more customers

That’s when all the true business KPIs start hitting:

- Your sales increase
- Your engagement increase
- Your churn decrease

But there are too many aspects that always become a priority. But it’s time for you to take action and revamp your brand’s design experience.

Hi, I am Vinamra and I have worked (for over a decade) with over 130+ brands by helping tech company founders, CMO’s, product managers with design strategies to increase their business KPIs like user retention, user engagement, conversions for their new/existing digital brand/websites/products by Brand design, UX design and Web design.

I value clarity, empathy, and integrity above all else. These ideals guide my approach to problem solving and life in general. I have earned cheer as a '40-under-40' and have been a panelist/author at events around the world, including TEDx. I am also an On-Deck NoCode Fellow.

If you’re considering a design revamp for your brand, and digital assets like web and product, connect with me and let’s chat!

You can also schedule a discovery call with me from my website.

Vinamra Agrawal

Confusion doesn’t push buyers away.
It makes them hesitate — and hesitation kills sales.

When your message isn’t clear,
people don’t ask follow-up questions.
They move to the next option that feels easier.

Strong brands reduce thinking.
Weak brands increase it.

That’s why clarity beats creativity in business marketing.
It lowers friction, builds trust faster,
and shortens the buying decision.

If your positioning can’t be repeated word-for-word
by someone who just discovered you,
your marketing is doing extra work for fewer results.

Simple messages scale.
Complex ones leak revenue.

Fix the understanding gap first.
Everything else works better after.

Save this if you want higher-quality leads.

customer psychology, buyer journey, ux clarity, ai marketing systems, conversion optimisation, trust building strategiest

I bring “Brand Clarity” to your low-converting websites, business or products, so the traffic translates into Real Revenue.

People don’t leave your page because they’re confused.
They leave because they don’t feel safe.

Messy communication signals messy delivery —
even when your work is solid.

Buyers don’t ask questions out loud.
They just close the tab.

Trust isn’t built with discounts or “DM us” buttons.
It’s built when your message quietly answers:
✔ Who this is for
✔ What problem it solves
✔ What happens next
✔ Why you can be trusted

If your online presence can’t do that in seconds,
the customer doesn’t negotiate —
they move on.

Strong brands don’t shout.
They explain clearly.

Fix the message.
The money follows.

Save this if you’re serious about conversions.

customer psychology, buyer journey, ux clarity, ai marketing systems, conversion optimisation, trust building strategies

Most people misunderstand “vibe coding.”

They think it means:
👉 open an AI tool
👉 type a vague prompt
👉 ship whatever comes out

That’s not leverage. That’s gambling.

What actually works is this:

Design first.
Decisions first.
Intent first.

AI is not your architect. It’s your execution layer.

If you don’t know:

what problem the page is solving

what decision the user should make in 3 seconds

what must exist vs what’s nice-to-have

AI will happily build something.
Just not the right thing.

I see founders wasting weeks “building fast” with AI…
Only to end up with:

pretty but incoherent UIs

over-engineered flows

zero clarity on why conversions aren’t moving

Speed without direction is just faster confusion.

The real unlock isn’t “designers learning to code.”
It’s designers and founders thinking in systems:

outcome → structure → components → execution

Once that’s clear, AI becomes dangerous (in a good way).

Use AI to compress effort.
Not to outsource thinking.

That’s the difference between shipping experiments
and installing systems that actually convert.

If you’ve used AI and felt productive but not effective —
this is probably why.

If people have to think to remember you,
you’ve already lost the sale.

Markets don’t reward talent.
They reward presence.

Not because buyers love seeing you every week —
but because the brain trusts what it sees often.

Silence doesn’t make you mysterious.
It makes you replaceable.

While you’re offline,
someone else is educating, reminding, reassuring,
and quietly becoming the safer choice.

Visibility isn’t noise.
It’s proof of existence.

Show up with the same message,
to the same people,
again and again —
until remembering you feels automatic.

That’s how brands win without discounts.

Save this.
This is how recall becomes revenue.

customer psychology, buyer journey, ux clarity, ai marketing systems, conversion optimisation, trust building strategies

Familiar doesn’t mean famous.

Being known inside your circle
doesn’t make you remembered in the market.

Buyers don’t research every option.
They recall one or two names — and move.

That’s why “we do great work” never wins.
It doesn’t stick. It doesn’t travel. It doesn’t repeat.

What scales isn’t effort.
It’s a single clear idea that people can pass on
without thinking.

No recall = no preference.
No preference = price pressure.

The most dangerous position in business
isn’t second place —
it’s not being considered at all.

Build memory, not noise.

Save this. This is brand survival.

customer psychology, buyer journey, ux clarity, ai marketing systems, conversion optimisation, trust building strategies

When your offer sounds like everyone else,
buyers treat you like everyone else.

That’s why negotiations feel brutal —
not because customers are cheap,
but because nothing separates you.

“Good quality” isn’t a reason to choose.
“On-time delivery” isn’t a differentiator.
Those are minimum expectations.

When your message is generic,
price becomes the only comparison tool.

Clear offers remove negotiation
because they remove doubt.

Specific beats impressive.
Outcome beats effort.
Proof beats promises.

If people need a conversation
to understand why you’re different,
you’ve already made it harder to buy.

Clarity doesn’t limit you.
It protects your margins.

Save this.
This is how you stop discounting.

customer psychology, buyer journey, ux clarity, ai marketing systems, conversion optimisation, trust building strategies

If your “UX impact” slide ends with “stakeholders loved it”, I have news: you just shipped a premium screensaver. 

I am sharing a piece on UX design & business value—and the uncomfortable truth that UX doesn’t automatically create value. It enables it… when it’s treated like infrastructure, not decoration.

What actually pays the bills (the unsexy list):
-Time saved (every extra click is a tax, collected at scale)
-Errors avoided (users will break things with Olympic creativity)
-Support costs reduced (bad UX hires support; good UX quietly fires them)
-Adoption unlocked (people don’t hate change, they hate confusing change)

Where we lose the plot:
-“Improve the experience” with no business question
-Measuring success by applause
-Inviting UX after decisions are frozen (aka makeup on structural debt)

The bar is simple: If UX can’t explain how it saves time, reduces cost, increases adoption, or lowers risk—then it’s not UX. It’s interior decoration for software.

Good UX disappears into results.
Bad UX gets a case study.

PS: If it doesn’t move a metric, it’s not business value—it’s just very polite art.

View newsletter: DesignThatWorks (even with AI)

UX design is often described as critical to business value. This is said confidently, usually right before a slide deck full of pastel boxes and arrow

Open article: UX Design and Business Value: A Love Story That Still Needs Proof by Vinamra Agrawal • 3 min read

UX Design and Business Value: A Love Story That Still Needs Proof

Good design isn’t decoration—it’s the fastest way to earn user trust and drive brand conversion.

Founders often say they want better design because it feels premium.
But what actually matters is this: clear design builds user trust.

When visual storytelling is aligned with your brand promise, users don’t hesitate.
They understand faster. They trust sooner. And trust is what drives brand conversion—not aesthetics alone.

If your communication, visuals, and interface aren’t telling the right story, you’re not losing clicks—you’re losing confidence. And once trust drops, conversion follows.

Save this before your next redesign.
Comment TRUST if design is part of your growth plan this year.

AI is killing “pretty design.”
Good.

Pretty design had great vibes.
It just never helped users decide.

In the AI era, design isn’t how it looks.
It’s how it decides.

Everyone can generate a landing page now.
Everyone can ship a UI kit.
Everyone can “redesign” a product in a weekend and call it progress.

We didn’t democratize design.
We commoditized aesthetics.

AI didn’t replace design.
It replaced surface-level design — the kind that impresses other designers and quietly loses users.

What AI is great at:
-Layouts, colors, copy, trends
-50 options no one will test
-Making everything look polished and behave confused

What it can’t do (where the money still is):
-Turn ambiguity into a clear next step
-Build trust when stakes are real (payments, health, security)
-Reduce cognitive load instead of rearranging it
-Explain why something happened without making users feel stupid

In the AI era, design gets promoted.
From “make it pretty”
to “make it safe, clear, and decisive.”

Because AI products are probabilistic.
Users are emotional.
Design is the job of stopping that combination from causing churn.

The new moat isn’t AI.
AI is table stakes.
The moat is how your product makes people feel while they decide.

Pretty design had a good run.
But vibes don’t convert.

Verdict:
When intelligence is cheap, confusion is unforgivable.

What used to take a week can now be done in hours—with the right agentic workflow and AI efficiency.

Everyone debates whether to use AI. That’s the wrong question.
The real advantage comes from agentic workflow design, not just tools.

A global rebranding project—normally research-heavy and time-intensive—was completed in six hours instead of a week. Not because we rushed, but because AI efficiency was paired with the right process.

AI doesn’t replace thinking.
It removes friction.
And when friction goes down, quality and speed go up—together.

Save this if speed matters to your business.
Comment SPEED if you’re using AI beyond surface-level automation.

Pavle Lucic

Senior UI/UX Designer @ Toptal | Prototyping, Branding, UI Development

I am a Senior UI/UX Designer at Toptal, a network of the world's top 3% of software engineering, design, and finance talent. With over 10 years of experience in the design industry, I have a proven track record of creating visually engaging and user-friendly interfaces for in-car navigation systems, SaaS apps, and marketing websites.

My background in business and economics gives me a unique perspective on how to design UX and UI that are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also functional, efficient, and user-friendly. I am passionate about solving complex problems, collaborating with diverse teams, and learning new skills. I am also Adwords Search Certified, which demonstrates my ability to optimize the online presence and performance of my clients. My goal is to help tech companies increase their revenue by improving the user experience of their products.

Senior UI/UX Desiger

This is how I work now:

1. Think
2. Write
3. Plan
4. Ask
5. Wait
6. Then design

It’s slower. But it works.

Because UX isn’t just what you make.
It’s what you understand first.

(Repost ♻️)

P.S. What is your process?

Senior UI/UX Product Designer | UX Strategy | Figma

No alternative text description for this image

Most designers aren't designers.

(they're technicians who happen to use design tools)

Yesterday I lost 2 hours on a shelf.

Just me obsessing over form and function.
And here's the thing...

That "is" design.

Not the logo you send on Friday.
Not the mockup in your portfolio.
Not the deliverable in your inbox.

Design is how you "think."

- How you can't ignore a bad detail.
- How you see a room and want to fix it.
- How you solve problems no one asked you to solve.

Just think about this:

1. The Bauhaus school understood this.
↳ They didn't teach "tools." They taught living.

2. Japanese carpenters understood this.
↳ No nails. No shortcuts. Every cut is intentional.

Design is form.
Design is function.
Design is creation.

It doesn't "clock in and out."

If you only design when you open your laptop...
And stop when you close it...

You're not a designer.
You're a technician who uses design tools.

Nothing wrong with that.

Just don't confuse the two.

P.S. Agree or disagree? 👇

This might be a controversial post but it's true.

I don't have a formal design degree.

I'm pretty sure a lot of self-taught designers experience this too.

Examples:

Every time I share my work online, someone asks "where did you study?"
I can feel the judgment coming.

Every time I'm in a room with "formally trained" designers.
I hear the whispers: "They probably just watch YouTube tutorials."

Every portfolio review, every job interview, someone implies "you're not a real designer without the credentials."

But then...They see just ONE of my projects and:

That skepticism closes immediately
I get genuine compliments in my DMs
I get referrals + new client inquiries

So...

Why do we judge credentials before we judge the work?
Especially with creative fields? 😊

Fear that talent and hustle might matter more than a piece of paper. 
Which, honestly, they often do.

To my fellow self-taught designers who've "made it work" I love you. 

Keep building. Keep proving that skills speak louder than diplomas.

Keep letting your work change people's minds. It's worth it.

Pavle ❤️

Loading states matter.

Blank screen = user thinks it's broken.

Progress bar = user knows how long.
Spinner = user knows something's happening.
Skeleton screen = user sees structure forming.
Instant feedback = user doesn't notice the wait.
Steps = user knows where they are ("Step 2 of 4").
Active waiting = user is entertained while waiting (tips, facts).

Never leave users guessing.

Show them the system is working.
Even if it takes time, show progress.

(Repost further ♻️)

17 genuine tips for using illustrations to improve UX

(I wish someone told me number 8 sooner)

1. Empty states feel less scary
2. Error messages feel friendlier
3. Users remember visuals 6x better
4. Onboarding completes 40% more
5. They reduce mental effort instantly
6. They help users know where they are
7. You will add illustrations way too soon
8. They reduce support tickets by 30-40%
9. Permission requests make more sense
10. Complex steps feel simpler with visuals
11. They answer questions before users ask
12. Visual metaphors beat long explanations
13. Users understand faster than reading text
14. They build trust during frustrating moments
15. Empty spaces feel intentional instead of broken
16. They guide without overwhelming with instructions
17. Strategic placement turns confusion into confidence

Repost this free value for others ♻️ Thank you!

P.S. Hey, which one (1-17) do you like most?

If there's one thing I'd eliminate in UX design...

It's birthday pickers like this. You know the ones:

1. Scroll wheels flicking through 40+ years to find 1986
2. Calendar grids tapping "previous month" 480 times
3. Three separate dropdowns, praying the order is right

There's a much better way.

It's called "TIF = Text Input First". 
Rooted in real behavior.
Backed by research. 

TIF is simple:

1. Let users type their birthday
2. Auto-format date as they go
3. Offer a picker as backup only

Why it works:

People know their birthday by heart.
Typing takes 2 seconds.

Scrolling through a picker takes 15+ seconds of frustration.

Hope this helps! (Repost if so ♻️)

P.S. Anything worse than a scroll-wheel date picker?

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I was in a meeting last week.

One designer talked for 60 of them.

References to everything. 
"What if we..." on repeat.

Opinions on everything.

Loud. 
Confident. 
Influential.

Everyone nodded along.

Then someone asked:
"So who's going to build this?"

Silence.

The loud one? 
"I'm more of a strategy person."

The quiet one in the corner?

She opened Figma.
Had 3 options ready.
Built while they debated.

That's when I realized:

The best designer in the room?
Often the one who says the least.

Repost this ♻️ if you've seen this happen too.

A client came to me with a "broken" product. 

Here's what happened:

They spent 8 months building an app.

It worked perfectly. But nobody used it.

Refund requests? Daily. 
App store reviews? 2.1 stars.
Support tickets? 200+ per week. 

They thought the product was broken.

It wasn't.
The design was.

I changed 5 things:

1. Moved the main CTA
2. Simplified the onboarding
3. Fixed the mobile navigation
4. Added visual feedback on buttons
5. Reduced the menu from 15 items to 4

4 weeks later?

Retention doubled.
Reviews jumped to 4.4 stars. 
Support tickets dropped 73%. 

Same code. Same product. Same features. 

I didn't "make it pretty."
I made it usable.

That's what designers actually do.

Repost ♻️ if this changed how you see design.

P.S. Have you ever blamed your product when design was the problem? 😊

Good UX is boring.

Users complete tasks without thinking.

They don't notice the design. They just finish.

Bad UX is memorable.
Users remember frustration. Confusion. Friction.

Stop trying to impress users.

The best interfaces are simple.

P.S. When was the last time you noticed good UX?

My first client ever:

"Make the logo bigger."

Quoted Steve Jobs.
I argued for 20 minutes. 
Sent 5 articles about white space. 

They made it bigger themselves in PowerPoint.

My latest client:
"Make the logo bigger."

I said: "Let's test it. I'll send you 2 versions. You pick."
They picked the smaller one.

What changed?

I stopped convincing. 
I started collaborating.

People don't resist ideas. They resist being told what to do.

Give them ownership. 
Watch them choose wisely.

♻️ Repost if you wish you knew this earlier.

Entry-level means no experience.

It's for juniors to begin their careers, learn, and grow.

Yet job posts say:

"Entry-level position"
"Requirements: 3-5 years experience"

That's not entry-level. That's mid-level.

Stop lying in job descriptions.
You're not finding candidates because you're asking for the impossible.

Entry-level = zero experience required.

If you need experience, it's not entry-level.

(Repost for job seekers ♻️)

P.S. Have you seen this contradiction in job posts?

Mini-masterclass on receiving design feedback:

(save this for your next critique)

Well-delivered feedback = great insight
Well-received feedback = great growth

That being said... Let's dive into 5 levels of receiving feedback:

Level 1: Defensive 
↳ "But here's why I did it this way..." 
↳ You're protecting ego, not improving work

Level 2: Silent 
↳ You nod. You take notes. You change nothing. 
↳ Feedback theater. Everyone sees through it.

Level 3: Selective 
↳ You only hear what confirms your choices 
↳ Cherry-picking isn't growth

Level 4: Receptive 
↳ You listen. You ask questions. You implement. 
↳ This is where most good designers live.

Level 5: Hungry 
↳ You seek feedback before anyone offers it 
↳ "What's not working? Where did you struggle?" 
↳ This is where great designers live.

Getting feedback is a skill. Just like giving it.

And most of us never practiced receiving.
We just practiced defending.

Time to switch.

Repost this ♻️ for your design team.

P.S. What level are you at right now (1-5)? No judgment 👇

7 prototyping rules I wish someone told me earlier.

(would've saved me months)

1. Ugly is fine
↳ You're testing the idea, not the aesthetics.

2. Speed beats polish
↳ A prototype in 3 hours > a mockup in 3 weeks.

3. Real users, not teammates
↳ Your team already knows too much.

4. One question per prototype
↳ "Does this solve the problem?" That's it.

5. Kill bad ideas early
↳ A failed prototype costs you a day. A failed product costs you a year.

6. Don't fall in love with version 1
↳ The first prototype is a conversation starter. Not the final answer.

7. Prototype the riskiest part first
↳ Start where you're least certain.

Prototyping isn't a step you "skip."

It's the step that saves everything after it.

Happy building ✌️

P.S. Which rule above hits hardest for you? (1-7)

Old design workflow:

1. Sketch idea
2. Open Figma
3. Design for hours
4. Export and code
5. Test and iterate

New workflow with Claude:

1. Describe idea to Claude
2. Claude codes it fast
3. See design instantly
4. Iterate with prompts
5. Ship faster

I made glass icon effects this way.

No design tools. 
Just conversation.

The bottleneck shifted from execution to clarity of thought.

Can you describe what you want clearly?

That's the new design skill.

(Repost this shift ♻️)

P.S. How has your workflow changed with AI?

I just found out the best color generator for designers.

uicolors. app/generate

Save it for later or repost ♻️

Three reasons Inter dominates:

It's variable

One font file. 
It's optimized.
Multiple widths. 
Multiple weights. 
Smaller load times.

Letter spacing, x-height, character distinction all tuned for screens.

It's free
No legal.
No licensing. 
No procurement. 
Just download and use.

Hard to compete with that combination.

P.S. What font makes your product memorable?

Here's the biggest lesson my son taught me:

Yesterday, I cut my finger.

He saw blood. He didn't freeze. He didn't cry.

He ran to get a napkin. 
Wrapped it around my finger. 
Taped it with whatever he found.

Then he grabbed a pen.

And drew a little stick figure on the bandage.
A tiny man.

"That's you, daddy. So you're not alone."

I looked at this ridiculous napkin-bandage. 
Tape peeling off. 
Little man with "hair".

This is what support actually looks like.

Show up. With what you have. 
And make sure they know they're not alone.

That little stick figure?

Best medicine I ever got.

Repost this ♻️ to spread a good message today.

Feedback feels personal.

It's not.

They're critiquing your design. Not you.

Hard to separate:

"This button is unclear" = design feedback
"You made this unclear" = feels like attack
Same words. Different interpretation.

Train yourself to hear:

"The layout is confusing" not "You're confused"
"This needs work" not "You're not good enough"
"Try another approach" not "You failed"

Your design is separate from your worth.

(Repost if this resonates ♻️)

P.S. Does feedback feel personal to you?

taplio

The Battle

Vinamra Agrawal

Pavle Lucic

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taplio

The Battle

Vinamra Agrawal

Pavle Lucic

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Vinamra Agrawal's LinkedIn Performance

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