Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
Hello!, I'm Dhawal (DJ) Shah.
*/d-uh-wa-l
It can be a bit difficult to pronounce my name correctly, since the pronunciation for "DHA" requires the sounds to be formed and sounded from the chest, not the throat. In addition, the "WAL" should not sound like "wall".
A lot of friends across the world have made the effort to get within ~98% correct with the pronunciation, but after being called everything from "The Wall" to "Devil", I also answer to "DJ". Take your pick.
I’m a User Experience Architect with a passion for crafting functional, intuitive and compelling product experiences for complex, multi-faceted, data intensive, transactional Web & Mobile products.
My experiences have helped me develop a pragmatic approach to product strategy, requirements gathering, interaction design, user experience design, information architecture, research and usability.
By education, I'm a Mechanical Engineer with a Business Management Post-Grad in International Marketing (Weird huh!)
My journey in the world of design, software, products and experiences started back in 1988 when I got my hands on my first Intel 8085, 2 5 1/4" Inch Floppy Drives, No Hard Drive, and Green Monochrome Monitor. The fascinating world of Word Star, Lotus 123, DBase III+ and games like PacMan, Paratroop & Space Invaders completely enamored my 14 year old self.
The journey continued to building software applications in dBaseIII, transitioning to Foxbase, FoxPro to ASP, VB6 to .NET, SQL, etc.
In parallel, the introduction to Animation, 3D Modeling and Video Walkthroughs rounded off my exposure in preparation for all things Internet.
My first forays into Design for the web started in 1996 with interface design using Photoshop 2.0, Hand-Coding HTML and JavaScript and optimizing it for internet connections with 32.2 kbps Phone Dialup internet connections.
Over the last 25+ years, I have had the opportunity to work in India, Hong Kong, The United Kingdom & United States in the Gaming, Banking, Wealth Management, Finance, Regulatory Compliance & Insurance Industries. My engagements over the years have ranged from Product Websites to Online Gaming to Complex Enterprise Software Platforms catering to a huge variety to User Groups, Personas, User Needs and Wants.
The "Experience" in User Experience Design does come from first hand experience; making the mistakes, learning from your user base, reflecting on what worked, what didn't, why it worked or didn't and bringing that knowledge and experience in your next engagement.
I absolutely believe in the methodologies, tools and processes UX Professionals use today to help solve complex User Experience and Product problems. At the same time, there is the world of experience gained over a career solving real user problems that hones a UX Professional's Instinct when looking at a problem and devising a potential solution.