Hello! I am Astha Dhami, a

designer & researcher who codes.

8+ years across design and software engineering.
Based in Toronto, open to work across Canada.

View my work

Selected case studies

A few product stories that show how I move from ambiguity to usable systems.

OurGreenway · 2026 · UX Research · IA

IA Redesign & Accessibility Audit

WCAG review, card sort, and a complete IA redesign for a Toronto sustainability organization.

TravelersBuddy · UX Research · IA

TravelersBuddy

A collaborative trip-planning app designed through competitive analysis, user interviews, and usability testing to reduce travel-planning stress.

SaveM · UX Design · Designathon

SaveM

A 24-hour designathon case study reimagining financial wellness for Gen Z through behavioral psychology and personalized guidance.

What collaborators say

Her exceptional creativity, meticulous attention to detail, and ability to translate complex ideas into meaningful solutions have helped the team go to the next level. With her collaborative nature and strategic mindset, she is an invaluable asset to any team, a rare mix of productivity and talent.
Khushbu Pipalia
Associate Team Lead · Ex-Accenture, Owens & Minor

Astha's curiosity, creativity, and user-centered mindset made a real impact on our team and product experience. She tackled complex Energy & Sustainability UX problems, collaborating across teams, and consistently showing a level of maturity and professionalism well beyond an internship role.
Soroush Amidi
Product & Portfolio Leader, Brightly

Astha took ownership of a complex feature that required ideation, discovery, and problem-solving. She worked closely with internal users, developers, and product managers to understand needs through research, deal with constraints, and turn insights into solutions. Her ability to tackle ambiguity, collaborate across teams, and deliver with a high level of quality made her a valuable contributor.
Michael Rhodes
Design Ops · Senior Product Designer, Brightly

A little about me

Astha Dhami celebrating graduation on a campus lawn. — The day the Master of Information made it official.

The Engineer

For six years, I was working as a full-stack engineer. I built features, shipped code, and learned firsthand what a product can and can't do once it leaves a design file. What I didn't know yet: I was already paying more attention to how things felt to use than an engineer usually needs to.

When I'm not coding or designing, I'm storytelling on YouTube, where three years of making content taught me that the best stories come from understanding how they make people feel.

Where I have worked

UX Designer & Product Owner Intern @ Brightly

May 2025 - Dec 2025

Simplified complex operational data into intuitive workflows and dashboards, saving 4+ hours per week in setup time for 100+ sustainability managers.
Turned business and user goals into clear design solutions across agile sprint cycles, writing and refining 14 user stories.
Designed user journeys, personas, wireframes, and production-ready interfaces for complex enterprise workflows.
Led moderated and unmoderated usability testing, synthesized findings via affinity mapping, built Pendo dashboards, and contributed to the product design system.