I thrive on solving complex problems and aligning senior stakeholders, building high-performing teams, shipping multi-billion-dollar products, and designing systems that turn vision into resilient ecosystems balancing strategy, craft, and business impact.
I focus on uncovering the real problem, building thoughtful systems, and creating alignment across teams so products can grow with both purpose and resilience.
[ Design Philosophy ]
My approach to design is rooted in curiosity, care, and inclusivity.
Curious & Courageous
I navigate complexity by questioning, reframing, and challenging assumptions in service of bold, future-oriented strategies.
[ Qual + Quant research ] [ Market Analysis ] [ Behavioral Dashboard ] [ Design Vision ]
“Payal provides structure in a white-space area like business travel in its scaling stages where testing and learning are critical, guiding next steps and grounding them in the “why” through business results and data.” - Sr Product Manager, Capital One
“In response to business team push on a payment idea that was financially valuable but compromised customer experience, Payal quickly mocked up iterations, ran user testing. The customer feedback was a great education opportunity for the business team and ultimately led to a more customer friendly design.” - Product Director, Capital One
Purpose & Craft Driven
I pair meaning with meticulous design craft, balancing customer needs with business outcomes through scalable systems .
[ Journey Map ] [ Systems Framework ] [ Adoption Strategy ] [ Design Handover +QA ]
“Payal strikes a strong balance of business practicality while still pushing for the right design when it matters. That’s precisely why I never hesitate to involve her in conversations with senior leaders.” - Sr Product Director, Capital One
Payal keeps stakeholders and partners closely involved in the design process and is not afraid to have hard conversations. She always comes at it from an angle of doing the right thing for the benefit of the business and customers - steering the team towards risk-minded decisions” - Sr. Marketing Manager, Capital One
Authentic & Inclusive
I create environments where teams feel heard and trusted, enabling open dialogue that drives clarity and sparks innovation.
[ Team Staffing ] [ Mentorship Programs ] [ Design Critiques ] [ Culture Building Programs ]
“Payal is an empowering manager, attuned to the many moving parts in the portfolio and always seeking ways for her team to grow and reach their goals. She was fundamental in bringing me into travel work, which created valuable opportunities to learn and grow as a designer.” - Principle Design Associate, Capital One
“Payal excels in driving autonomy, efficiency, and transparency through effective team processes. Her implementation of our sprint structure, critique sessions, roadmapping, and retros significantly improved team workflows.” - Principle Design Associate, Capital One
Advocacy & Ownership
I build design collaboration to align diverse perspectives, amplifying design’s impact and creating shared ownership.
[ XFN Workshops ] [ Steerco + Exec reviews ] [ Design Sprints ] [ Design Office Hours ]
“Payal led several design sprints for destination NPSL designs. Initially I was skeptical, but as the sprints progressed, I could see ideas come to life and Payal thoughtfully incorporated all our feedback. At the end, I came to appreciate Payal’s push to focus on the customer and plan for destination while building the MVP” - Product Director, Capital One
“Payal led several design sprints for destination NPSL designs. Initially I was skeptical, but as the sprints progressed, I could see ideas come to life and Payal thoughtfully incorporated all our feedback. In the end, I came to appreciate Payal’s push to focus on the customer and plan for destination while building the MVP” - Product Director, Capital One