Sonal SoniSan Francisco,
Sonal on a sofa with two collies

About Sonal Soni

About Sonal, for

I'm a product designer who simplifies complex workflows and the systems behind them, and the teammate who turns a critique into a conversation.

Product designer with around five years in enterprise AI at Automation Anywhere and a new MDes from California College of the Arts. Open to product design roles.

I prototype in code and map the messy problem before I draw a screen. I keep a handful of hand drawn frameworks for when a problem will not sit still.

I run projects independently from start to finish, collaborate closely across product and engineering, and tell the story behind a design well enough to bring everyone on board.

I like to join early, shape the problem with you, and scope what should ship first, keeping what users need and what the business needs in the same conversation.

Studying computer science before design helps me understand the constraints you are working with, so when something is hard to build, we can find a way through it together.

Day job

Recently graduated with an MDes in Interaction Design from California College of the Arts. Before that, around five years as a UX Designer at Automation Anywhere, where I worked across the product repository, AI tools and governance, and cloud.

Out of office

I paint, illustrate, cook and explore. I can never stick to one sport, so I switch between swimming, table tennis and pickleball. The one thing I have stuck with is helping my mom run her Airbnb. It taught me service design before I knew the term.

Design is my passport

Three countries, five stops. Each one changed how I design.

JAIMody University
2015 · Rajasthan, IndiaMody UniversityB.Tech, Computer Science
BOMISDI
2019 · Mumbai, IndiaISDI Mumbai, with ParsonsDesign and Innovation
HFESugar Project
2020 · Hefei, ChinaSugar ProjectInternational design programme
BLR
2021 · Bangalore, IndiaAutomation AnywhereUX Designer, around five years
SFOCCA
2025 · San Francisco, USACalifornia College of the ArtsMDes, Interaction Design

How I work

Prototype in code

I build the idea instead of describing it. A working prototype gets tested early, and I can argue with an engineer about a real constraint from inside the code rather than across a spec.

Tell the story behind the design

A good decision still has to win the room. I walk product, engineering and leadership through the why, so a design gets agreed on rather than argued over.

Research that turns into decisions

I talk to admins and developers early, then turn what I hear into a clear direction the team can build from.

Design for everyone involved

A feature touches more than the person using it. I design for the admins, reviewers and teams behind it too, so it works for everyone it reaches.

How I think

The maps I use to understand a problem before I design for it.

Service BlueprintHelps me uncover hidden touchpoints and map the whole journey before I work on screen flows.
Theory of ChangeWhen the goal is clear but the path to get there is not.
Causal LoopWhen a problem feeds on itself and linear cause and effect cannot explain it.
Iceberg ModelWhen a problem keeps recurring, look below the events to the patterns and mindsets producing them.
Stakeholder MapWhen many groups are involved and it is unclear whose buy in actually moves things.
Fishbone DiagramFinds the root cause by breaking a problem into categories of causes and drilling into each.
Object ModelWhen a complex product needs its core objects and relationships defined before any screens.
Journey MapWhen it is unclear where the experience falls short and where it could be better.
Skydiving over Silicon Valley18,000 ft
Skydiving at 18,000 ft
Sonal and two classmates in caps and gowns on graduation dayCCA
Graduation day
Sonal and friends at the Figma logo at Config 2026Config 2026
At Config 2026
The design team in BangaloreAutomation Anywhere
Sonal presenting Just Landed at IDEO, the Dolores Park picnic on the screenIDEO
Presenting at IDEO
The first canvas I sold
Sonal and classmates at the Superhuman office in San FranciscoSuperhuman HQ
Visiting Superhuman HQ
My mom, who makes the Airbnb actually workairbnbSuperhost
Superhost at Airbnb
Sonal with a group of designers at the LinkedIn office in San FranciscoLinkedIn
At the LinkedIn office
A global potluck
Skydiving over Silicon Valley18,000 ft
Skydiving at 18,000 ft
Sonal and two classmates in caps and gowns on graduation dayCCA
Graduation day
Sonal and friends at the Figma logo at Config 2026Config 2026
At Config 2026
The design team in BangaloreAutomation Anywhere
Sonal presenting Just Landed at IDEO, the Dolores Park picnic on the screenIDEO
Presenting at IDEO
The first canvas I sold
Sonal and classmates at the Superhuman office in San FranciscoSuperhuman HQ
Visiting Superhuman HQ
My mom, who makes the Airbnb actually workairbnbSuperhost
Superhost at Airbnb
Sonal with a group of designers at the LinkedIn office in San FranciscoLinkedIn
At the LinkedIn office
A global potluck
Thanks for visiting!