We were lucky to catch up with Pallavi Bora recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Pallavi with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My work ethic comes from a mix of my upbringing and the environments I’ve worked in over the years.
I grew up seeing the value of consistency, responsibility, and doing things the right way even when no one is watching. Therefore, I approach work with ownership, discipline, and respect for people’s time and trust.
Professionally, working across fast-paced teams, diverse cultures, and complex problem spaces has strengthened that foundation. Design, especially at scale, teaches you that shortcuts eventually show up in the product. That’s why I focus on clarity and long-term impact rather than quick wins.
My work ethic is also deeply tied to purpose. When I understand who I’m designing for and the impact it can have, I naturally push myself to go deeper whether that’s improving accessibility, refining systems, or mentoring others.
At the core, it’s about showing up with integrity, staying curious, and taking responsibility for both the process and the outcome.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m a Senior Product Designer focused on building scalable, accessible AI-first products through strong UX and systems thinking. I work closely with product, engineering and stakeholders to design end-to-end experiences for complex workflows.
Previously, I led the end to end product requirements for Museums in the Metaverse-MIM where I translated stakeholder & business requirements into clear, user-centred experiences.
My work is driven by thoughtful problem-solving and creating products that are both usable and impactful.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Keeping Users First- Prioritising the real user problem before designing solutions.
2. Cross-Functional Collaboration-
Working closely with product managers, engineers, and stakeholders to align on goals and translate complex requirements into practical, high-quality experiences.
3. AI-driven Approach-
In the times of AI, using AI as a co-designer to move faster, explore more possibilities, and build scalable products.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
One book that has played a significant role in my development is “The Design of Everyday Things” by Don Norman. It shaped how I think about design not as something that looks good, but as something that works intuitively for people.
The book reinforced the value of user-centred thinking over assumptions. It reminded me that good design comes from deeply understanding users’ mental models, not from imposing our own.
Another key takeaway is designing for human error, that mistakes are inevitable, and good design anticipates them rather than punishing users for them. This has strongly influenced how I approach complex systems, where clarity and feedback are essential.
Overall, the book gave me a strong foundation to build with empathy and responsibility.
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