Prasanth joined Funnel in 2021 as a UX/UI design consultant and is now a Staff Product Designer. In his role, he aspires to make navigating marketing data enjoyable and delightful. In this post, he shares insights into his journey at Funnel, the challenges of designing for data, and how collaboration plays a key role in creating smarter, more user-friendly solutions.

Could you share a bit about your background and what led you to pursue a career in user and product design?

I’m Prasanth, a Staff Product Designer at Funnel. I first joined as a UX/UI design consultant in 2021 before moving into a full-time role. 

Even though my career started in engineering, I quickly realized that while I enjoy technical problem-solving, I'm my happiest when I have a creative outlet. And badly designed experiences have always frustrated me, so pursuing a career in product design was an obvious choice. Unlike painting which has always been a source of comfort for me since childhood, the magic in product design lies in finding ways to make people not think, where creativity meets function to shape experiences that just work while sparking delight. 

Throughout my journey, I've had the opportunity to tackle diverse challenges across a wide range of industries, each offering unique learnings. From solving spatial interaction problems in VR experiences to designing within the constraints of physical products, from gamifying adoption in mobile apps to driving efficiency in operational platforms, no two challenges have been the same. Now, at Funnel, I get to work together with incredible people to design solutions that simplify the complexities of marketing data.

What does a normal day look like for a Staff Product Designer?

I love the variety in my role since no two days are the same. My work can vary from being strategic to hands-on depending on the day you ask me. While I don’t directly manage a team, I assist product designers when needed and help align efforts across teams to make sure that design decisions fit into the bigger picture.

A big focus right now has been refining Funnel’s design system. This means maintaining visual and pattern consistency across all products and ensuring our design choices scale effectively. I also collaborate with teams like marketing and product to identify UX pain points and help navigate through the messy unknown of the future. Some challenges are straightforward, but many require coordination across multiple teams. When an issue spans different areas of the product and doesn’t fall under a single team’s responsibility, I step in to align priorities and drive a cohesive strategy.

I love my work because it keeps me on my toes, finding the right balance between keeping the product intuitive for marketers and maintaining the depth needed for data professionals.

You joined Funnel as a consultant and are now a full-time employee. What motivated you to take the step?

In some ways, I still feel like a consultant, but just within the context of Funnel. My role involves solving problems for Funnel’s customers together with them, which is similar to what I did as a consultant, except now I get to work representing Funnel and its incredible software. And more importantly, I get to work hand in hand with so many amazing people at Funnel who are really passionate about solving problems for our customers and thrive on solving it together. What can I ask more of from my place of work?

What ultimately motivated me to transition into a full-time role was the scale of the problem Funnel is solving. Marketing data is notoriously difficult to work with, and even after 15-20 years of digital marketing, it remains complex. Funnel is making real progress in simplifying how marketers interact with data, and the impact of that work is significant. Seeing how customers respond to our product reinforced my belief that Funnel is making a difference.

Looking back at your time with Funnel, do you have any standout projects or moments that you’re particularly proud of?

There are things we accomplish constantly every day that makes me very proud of being part of this journey. But if I have to pick, I’m particularly proud of the naming conventions feature we released recently. For larger companies, managing naming conventions is a real challenge, and we built a feature that helps users maintain consistency without unnecessary complexity. It’s a small step toward making marketing data easier to work with, and we’re continuing to refine and evolve it.

As you look ahead, what excites you the most about the future of product design?

AI is already reshaping the design landscape, automating tedious tasks and freeing designers to focus on strategic problem-solving. But beyond that, I’m deeply interested in the ethical dimensions of design. Every choice we make, no matter how small, can have a meaningful impact. As technology evolves, we need to stay mindful of how design shapes behavior and society.

I’m also excited about the next transformative leap in interaction design. Touchscreen interfaces were nearly unimaginable two decades ago, and I believe there’s another seismic shift on the horizon. Perhaps brain-computer interfaces, haptic interactions, or something entirely new. It’s that unknown future that inspires me the most.

Interested in working in our Development, Product & Design department? Read more here.