This case study focuses on the redesign of the Praise feature within Novaworks, a large HR platform that I redesigned as a solo designer. Due to NDA constraints, I’m showcasing a single feature that best represents the design challenges, decision-making, and impact of the broader redesign.

Praise : Redesigning Employee Recognition at Scale

I am responsible for providing the direction and leadership to the design team, ensuring the high quality solution that align with business objectives and user needs.

❖ Provide direction: Set the vision and goals for the design team.

❖ Manage the team: Lead and mentor designers to foster growth and collaboration. I also manage the external design team ( Awesomic )

❖ Ensure quality: Maintain high design standards and consistency across products.

❖ Foster collaboration: Work closely with other teams to align efforts and achieve goals.

❖ Drive innovation: Identify opportunities for improvement and drive innovation in product design.

At Punchh, I served as a Product Designer, transforming master designs into high-fidelity wireframes using Sketch. I contributed to various apps, including Veggie Grill, Taco Johns, TGIF, Tastea, and Tindrum. A notable achievement was initiating and designing a business app that significantly boosted company growth by 10x through a templated design framework.

I Worked with the Art director of compunnel digital. The work involved creating problem-solving high-quality designs starting from wireframes to visuals; Generating concepts on basis of User research & creating workflows, storyboards & prototypes to communicate them to project managers.



I started my career as designer and worked on the various design projects in the design, animation, 3d design and motion design.

At ION, we recognized a chance to revolutionize how companies manage performance, goals, and engagement. While our existing tool managed HRIS effectively, it lacked scalability. Instead of marketing it directly, we decided to reinvent it. The result is ConnectX: a new tool with enhanced tech, user experience, and visual design, built to meet modern workplace needs

This case study focuses on the redesign of the Praise feature within Novaworks, a large HR platform that I redesigned as a solo designer. Due to NDA constraints, I’m showcasing a single feature that best represents the design challenges, decision-making, and impact of the broader redesign

 is a form of employee recognition used by organizations to publicly acknowledge meaningful contributions, behaviors, or outcomes at work.

Unlike private feedback, praise is designed to be visible and shareable — helping teams reinforce values, build morale, and ensure contributions don’t go unnoticed.

This case study covers the end-to-end redesign of 

, an employee recognition feature within Novaworks — a B2B SaaS HR platform used by teams across organizations and locations.

, leading the redesign from problem definition through execution over a 

 (product, engineering, and stakeholders).

While Praise existed as a feature, it struggled to drive sustained engagement. Recognition felt transactional, hard to discover, and emotionally flat — limiting its effectiveness as a cultural and organizational tool.

This redesign focused on rethinking praise as a 

, not a screen — spanning creation, delivery, visibility, and recall — to make recognition feel natural, contextual, and accessible to everyone..

Praise existed in the system, but it wasn’t working.

Despite being positioned as a culture-building feature, recognition was inconsistent, easy to miss, and emotionally flat. Over time, it became clear that praise wasn’t failing because people didn’t care — it was failing because the system placed too much burden on the individual.

User interviews, internal feedback, and usage patterns revealed a consistent pattern:

What was broken in the existing experience

In the earlier design, praise depended almost entirely on 

 it would live — without guidance, prompts, or reinforcement from the system. As a result, recognition often happened inconsistently, felt forced, or didn’t happen at all.

Below is a snapshot of the previous experience.

Creating praise felt more like filling out a form than expressing appreciation. Users weren’t sure what to write, when praise was appropriate, or whether it would meaningfully reach others.

The system provided no cues, no timing, and no support. Recognition relied entirely on individual initiative, confidence, and effort.

Together, the read and create experiences revealed the same underlying issue: praise relied entirely on individual effort, with no system support to guide, amplify, or sustain it.

Recognition depended on who felt comfortable speaking up, who remembered to do it, and who was already visible — making appreciation uneven, fleeting, and inaccessible to many.

The goal, then, wasn’t to automate praise.

 and build a system where recognition could happen naturally, visibly, and consistently — across creation, delivery, and recall

“Why” — From User Friction to Design Decisions

Rather than starting with UI changes, I reframed the problem around why praise wasn’t working as a system.

The goal was to move praise away from awkward social negotiation and toward a 

To do that, I mapped three things side by side:

This helped ensure every design choice was grounded in a real behavioral or structural issue — not aesthetics.

To move praise from an individual effort to a system-supported behavior, I redesigned the creation flow end to end. The goal wasn’t to make praise faster — it was to make it easier to begin, easier to contextualize, and more meaningful once shared. Each step in the flow removes a specific point of friction from the old experience, while optional system guidance helps users express appreciation without scripting or pressure

This new flow ensures that praise is always accessible, emotionally clear, and context-rich — transforming recognition from a fleeting moment into a durable signal that can be seen, understood, and remembered over time.

Once the intent was clear, the next challenge was deciding 

 praise creation should live in the product. Because praise is both social and contextual, the entry point and surface mattered as much as the form itself

While designing the read experience, I explored multiple ways users could view and engage with praise without it feeling overwhelming or performative. The goal was to make recognition feel visible yet respectful, ensuring users could quickly understand the context of a praise moment while still allowing deeper engagement when desired.

The final read experience balances visibility with restraint. Praise is surfaced clearly in the feed without demanding attention, while still allowing users to explore context, contributors, and impact when they choose to engage more deeply.

To add warmth and visual distinction, the final read view uses system-assigned colors applied at random. This keeps praise moments lively and varied, while avoiding manual control that could introduce bias or over-stylization. The goal was to bring personality without compromising fairness or consistency.

Punchh are building a platform that enables their brand customers to quickly scale, own their path to innovation, and take back the relationship with their own customers. This eliminates the need for juggling disjointed vendors, developing cumbersome point-to-point integrations, and relying on 3rd party dependencies.

Company advances the ability to provide customers with an end-to-end ordering, loyalty, and marketing solution to optimize the customer experience and drive long lasting one-to-one relationships across all touchpoints.

I was proud to be one of the first product designers at Punchh, helping it grow over 2.5 years. I worked on many apps, and in this case study, I’m excited to share one of my favourites along with the Master App. As the sole designer, I led this project with guidance from the VP of User Experience.(Kailash)

Note : This case study is divided into two part - Part 1 is about the Master App and another part is about design implementation in the client app. (Veggie Grill)&nbsp;and Reading Time - 15 mins.

So Now, Let get started 🚀

The primary challenge we faced was scalability, both in technology and design. Our goal was to grow the business by delivering solutions that ensured high adoption rates, strong return on investment (ROI), and improved consumer retention.

Context:&nbsp;All mobile apps were developed natively for iOS and Android, leading to inefficiencies and high costs.

Solution: To address this, the stakeholders decided to switch to React Native. This technology allowed us to develop a single platform that could serve both iOS and Android users, significantly improving our scalability and led to faster development.

To achieve our goals, we implemented the following strategic decisions:

Product Manager and I sat down and redevelop the application flow, It was an exercise to re-asssure decision from product perspective as well from business perspective.

We followed a structured process to ensure the project's success:

Discovery:&nbsp;We conducted user interviews, surveys, competitive analysis, and usability testing to understand user needs and pain points.( This was done by implementation managers, customer support and data team ) Key insights revealed frustrations with inconsistent design and performance, leading us to prioritise seamless, cross-platform functionality.

Ideation:&nbsp;We brainstormed solutions and sketched initial concepts. From these, we created wireframes to visualize the app's structure, layout, and navigation. These wireframes served as blueprints, guiding the design process and ensuring a clear, user-centered interface.

Challenge: Create master components for wireframes to ensure our team (Designers) can easily duplicate and customize for their own projects. &nbsp; Solution:

For our B2B clients, we created a flexible design library that allows for easy updates and customization. Key components included:

Let me give you a quick recap what've achieved so far.

We were able to achieve what was targeted "Scalability" not just from tech side but also from the design side.

How? Earlier, Design team used to take 2 weeks to design the app for the client whereas after the new update we minimised it to 3 days.

Great Success for the Product Owners and Team 🥳

Part 2: High Fidelity Designs for Veggie Grill App

Implementing new work flow for one of the client after this was a major company update because we didn't update any app since the new update has been signed off. We wanted to make sure we deliver high quality designs and implement the feedback which was provided on the master app.&nbsp;

Let's break it down and understand why and what are the updates we considered in the final design. Reward screen is the main screen (Home) after the login or signup which they see and provides the main key info about the reward program.

Screen explanation from Left to Right.

Screen explanation for Location: from Left to Right.

Screen explanation for Orders: from Left to Right.

Note: To implement the ordering functionality we've partnered with OLO.&nbsp;

Screen explanation for Gift Card: from Left to Right.

The redesigned app led to a 10X increase in user adoption and significantly boosted store visits and online orders. The scalable design template allowed for quick adaptation to new clients, further driving business growth.

Users praised the app for its intuitive design and the rewarding experience it offered. Positive reviews flooded both iOS and Android app stores, reflecting high user satisfaction.

The major challenge was convincing stakeholders of the benefits of a templated approach. However, demonstrating the long-term efficiency and scalability won their support.

Key learnings included the importance of defining a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and iterating based on user feedback. Extensive prototype testing and review cycles were crucial in developing a successful app.

Thank you for taking the time to read through this case study. If you’re interested in learning more or discussing further, I would be delighted to connect.👍 parasuxdesign@gmail.com

This project was a journey of transformation, collaboration, and innovation. By focusing on scalability and user experience, we not only solved the client's immediate problems but also created a solution that could be replicated across multiple clients, driving growth and engagement.

VG Reward App: This is point based reward system program where an individual can earn points on their purchase and get dollar reward. This app has multiple features like - Rewards, Locations, Order and Gift Card.

This case study is divided into two part - Part 1 is about the Master App and another part is about design implementation in the client app. (Veggie Grill)

, both in technology and design. Our goal was to grow the business by delivering solutions that ensured 

high adoption rates, strong return on investment (ROI), and improved consumer retention

 All mobile apps were developed natively for iOS and Android, leading to inefficiencies and high costs.

 To address this, the stakeholders decided to switch to 

. This technology allowed us to develop a single platform that could serve both 

 users, significantly improving our scalability and led to faster development.

 We conducted user interviews, surveys, competitive analysis, and usability testing to understand user needs and pain points.(

 This was done by implementation managers, customer support and data team 

) Key insights revealed frustrations with inconsistent design and performance, leading us to prioritise seamless, cross-platform functionality.

We identify pain points on tech, user flow and on the designs

We brainstormed solutions and sketched initial concepts. From these, we created wireframes to visualize the app's structure, layout, and navigation. These wireframes served as blueprints, guiding the design process and ensuring a clear, user-centered interface.

In order to achieve the desired results from the application.We did lots of iterations which helped us to finalise the wireframes. (Unfortunately I don't have all those iterations 😒)

Create master components for wireframes to ensure our team (Designers) can easily duplicate and customize for their own projects.

We were able to achieve what was targeted "

" not just from tech side but also from the design side.

 to design the app for the client whereas after the new update we minimised it to 

Great Success for the Product Owners and Team 🥳

Implementing new work flow for one of the client after this was a major company update because we didn't update any app since the new update has been signed off. We wanted to make sure we deliver high quality designs and implement the feedback which was provided on the master app. 

We came up with three solutions which allows users to get rewards, whichever easiest for the user.

Note: To implement the ordering functionality we've partnered with OL

Thank you for taking the time to read through this case study. If you’re interested in learning more or discussing further, I would be delighted to connect.

Concept to Launch: Master app framework led to client satisfaction

It was an absolute pleasure working with Paras. He is one of the most collaborative designers I have worked with throughout my entire career. I presented many complicated client use-cases to Paras which he handled flawlessly, always producing the best possible mock up in preparation for our next meeting together. I could always trust we would produce quality work and would appreciate the opportunity to chat with anyone who would like to learn more about Paras.

Daniel Atwood

I had the pleasure of working with Paras, and he has been an invaluable asset to our team. Paras is an exceptionally talented designer with a keen eye for detail and a passion for creating stunning visuals. They consistently delivered high-quality designs that exceeded client expectations. Their collaboration skills, work ethic, and positive attitude make him a true professional. I highly recommend Paras for any design-related position.

Nikita Sharma 

One of the qualities that truly sets Paras apart is his ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams. He have the skills, experience, and passion to make a significant impact on any design team and drive the success of any product. It has been a privilege to work with Paras, and I have no doubt that his future endeavours will be filled with continued success.

Kailash Singh 

It's rarely experienced to come across exceptional talent like Paras. While I was a Design Manager at Infopro, he was the Product Experience Designer on several of my projects. We collaborated to create a growth plan for the client that focused on long-term design experience sustainability. Paras was a key member of the team and one of the most productive people...

Pankaj Dargan 

I've had the pleasure working with Paras for the past 2 years at ION, designing the newly updated employee platform ConnectX. Paras is very experienced and knowledgeable about product design. Even if there was any uncertainty in the design process, he would always take to initiative to research and find the answers and he was not afraid of taking risks to break barriers.