About
Hi, I’m Raj.
I’m a design leader based in Shanghai. I’ve spent 15 years designing cars, scooters, RVs, robots and yachts, and leading the teams that make them.
I care about two things at once: making products that genuinely improve people’s lives, and making sure those products work as a business. Without the second, the first never reaches anyone.
The long way round
Every detour taught me something I still use.
I didn’t start as a designer. I started on the workshop floor. That’s why I think about a product from the factory to the showroom, not just on the drawing board.
Early career · India
Maintenance Engineer
Larsen & Toubro
Machines don’t care about intentions. Respect how things actually work.
Early career · India
Technician → Service Advisor
Honda
I started on the workshop floor. Every design decision ends up in someone’s hands, and eventually on a service bay.
Early career · India
Sales Consultant
BMW & Porsche
Why people buy is rarely about the spec sheet. It’s identity, trust and how the product makes them feel.
2012 – 2015 · Pune
Master’s in Transportation Design
DSK International School of Design
Design gave me a way to put people, emotion, function and form in one place.
2013 – 2015 · Pune
Design Intern
Tata Elxsi · Tata Motors
Headlamps, seats, interior details. Learning how a big OEM turns sketches into cars.
2016 · Türkiye
Yacht Designer
Bozca Design
Designed the interior and exterior of the super yacht Sarco. Luxury is mostly about how a space makes you feel.
2016 – 2018 · Mumbai
Founder · Senior Designer
Nephos Design · Zeuva Technologies
Designed an EV two-wheeler for delivery riders; the company later cancelled the programme. Running a studio taught me that without business, there is no product.
2018 – 2020 · Shanghai
Senior Designer → Design Manager
JOMEC Automotive
Joined as a senior designer, quickly promoted to lead. Dongfeng Honda and MAXUS programmes, all the way to production.
2020 – 2023 · Shanghai
Design Lead
ICONA Design
Led designers across four countries. Ninebot D, Q and V series, robots, consumer products.
2024 – now · Shanghai
Design Head
INOVIX
Leading a multidisciplinary team from opportunity framing through production.
Why I do this
“I want to make things that improve people’s lives and push what’s possible a little further, and help the next generation of designers do the same.”
Builder
I like making real things. Sketching, modelling and solving the detail still make me happy.
Explorer
Cars, yachts, robots, Mars. I enjoy walking into an unfamiliar industry and learning it through its users.
Mentor
These days, seeing a younger designer grow gives me as much satisfaction as my own work.
Beyond work
The shy kid who joined a speaking club.
As a child I was painfully shy. Stage fright made my legs shake. Sales forced me to talk to people, and slowly I found I liked it.
Now I’m a member of Leadership Toastmasters in Shanghai, because I believe storytelling is a superpower, and because confidence, for me, only ever comes from doing the thing that scares me. A friend from the club and I swap short impromptu voice notes every day and give each other feedback. Think pen pals, but spoken.
Otherwise: motorsport, trekking, engines, astronomy, food, and people from everywhere.
Recognition
17 international awards and finals.
Mostly from my early years, and they taught me to compete on ideas. Today I measure success by what reaches production.
| Year | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Local Motors — Mobility: Moving Life | Winner |
| 2018 | IMT × NASA — Humans Beyond Earth | Third |
| 2018 | Local Motors — Dynamic Form Lifestyle Device | Third |
| 2017 | European Product Design Award | Silver |
| 2017 | DesignCars2Win | Winner |
| 2017 | Local Motors — The Future of Mobility | Third + Narrative Award |
| 2016 | Pune Design Festival | Winner |
| 2016 | ISDI Design Mela | Second |
| 2016 | RSA Design Award | Finalist |
| 2015 | Honda Design Contest Asia Pacific | Bronze |
| 2015 | A’ Design Award | Bronze |
| 2015 | Pune Design Festival | Winner |
| 2015 | Car Design Award | Finalist |
| 2014 | Volkswagen Design Contest | Winner |
| 2014 | SIAM Automotive Design Challenge | Winner |
| 2014 | I Design Award | Gold |
| 2013 | SIAM Automotive Design Challenge | Finalist |
Toolkit
Still hands-on.
Leadership
- Design strategy
- Brief framing
- Workshops
- Design reviews
- Stakeholder alignment
- Mentoring
Design
- Sketching
- Form development
- Ergonomics
- CMF
- User research
- Storytelling
Software
- Photoshop
- Sketchbook Pro
- Alias
- Maya
- Blender
- 3ds Max
- SolidWorks
- CATIA
Making
- Clay modelling
- 3D printing
- MDF
- FRP
- Sheet metal
AI
- Midjourney
- Stable Diffusion
- Leonardo.ai
- Photoshop generative tools
Education
Master’s in Transportation Design, DSK International School of Design, Pune (2012–2015)
Diploma in Automobile Engineering, Dr. T.M.A. Pai Polytechnic, Manipal (2004–2007)