Ajay Asavale

Creative Director & Full Stack Product Designer | Previously Fanatics, Roku, WEMO, Belkin, Linksys

New York, New York, United States

About

I'm a hybrid Creative Director/UX Full Stack Product Designer with a passion for high-quality branding and design down to the small details. With over 15 years of experience providing user-first UX/UI design and brand development, I've worked with clients in the advertising, technology, retail, entertainment and pharmaceutical sectors. Ever-inspired by the world around me, my innovative ideas have benefitted brands like Healthy Together, Kinsa, Fanatics, Roku, Linksys, WEMO, Nike, Simplehuman and Mattel. Additionally, I've received recognition for my work with Red Bull as well as the 2009 sci-fi movie, District 9. When not working, I'm probably either cooking, cheering for the Mets, catching up on the latest tv / movies, browsing a grocery store, training my dog or drinking a slurpee from 7-eleven.

Experience

  • Principal Designer at Healthy Together
    Oct 2024 - Present · 1 yr 10 mos

  • Principal Product Designer at Fanatics, Inc.
    Jun 2022 - Jul 2023 · 1 yr 2 mos

  • Lead UX Product Designer at Roku Inc.
    Oct 2015 - Mar 2022 · 6 yrs 6 mos

    • Managed a team of designers, researchers and sales staff, establishing best practices and improving overall quality of sponsored content. Mentored designers, designed and produced sponsorship campaigns, and collaborated with data analytics and research teams on product improvement, increasing total Ad revenue by more than 90% year-over year (YoY). • Collaborated with engineering, industrial design and research teams to develop the features, UX and UI design for Roku’s Home Theater Speaker System, consisting of soundbars, speakers and subwoofers. Developed interaction and visual design for wireless speaker setup process, ultimately reducing churn by 7%, increasing user streaming hours by 16% and creating a new purchase driver for Roku. • Introduced and utilized user-centered design concepts in the redesign of Roku’s mobile app, creating new opportunities for platform monetization, increasing the app’s user base and raising its rating from 3.5 to 4.5 in app stores. • Spearheaded an internal initiative to increase employee morale, and brand awareness at trade shows, by creating new designs for Roku merchandise.

  • Creative Director at Belkin International
    Aug 2013 - Oct 2015 · 2 yrs 3 mos

    • Led ideation and development of all creative for WEMO brand including website, packaging, in-store displays, marketing campaigns, and mobile app, creating a pathway to profitability for the brand and increasing in-store display sales by 200%. • Managed a team of 10+ designers, engineers and marketing staff. • Collaborated with engineering and marketing teams in the Linksys packaging redesign, and influenced in-store product placement. • Refined the visuals, user experience, functionality and check out flow for Linksys.com, increasing overall sales more than 18%. • Redesigned marketing materials for the Belkin brand, displaying high levels of attention to detail and improving overall quality of all marketing assets and web pages.

  • Senior UX Designer at Hello Design
    Aug 2011 - Jul 2013 · 2 yrs

    • Aided clients’ in-house design teams, conceptualizing visual campaigns for brands such as Nike, Jordan, Simplehuman, Mattel, Tillamook, and Prescriptives. • Created and presented visual explorations for branding, apps and websites, walking through all the applications of each aspect with executives and clients. • Established interaction and visual design for a multifaceted Nature Lab campaign at the Natural History Museum, involving mobile, interactive kiosk and on-site outdoor garden experience.