# About — Umair Ali Khatri, UX Design Leader and Teacher

> I'm Umair Ali Khatri, Director, Product Experience and Services at 10Pearls. On sabbatical from IVS, I run Friends of Figma Karachi and build agents that execute.

Source: https://umairalikhatri.com/about/
Author: Umair Ali Khatri
Updated: 2026-08-22

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# About

I'm Umair Ali Khatri, a UX design leader and teacher based in Karachi.

## The Outside

I like calm and minimal choices. Neutral colors. Simple silhouettes. No visible branding unless it reflects me.I look organized and composed.

## The Inside

My Mac desktop has many files scattered around. My head works the same way with ideas, tasks, and curiosity moving in parallel threads.I multitask often and explore a lot. I have accepted that this is part of how I think.

Inside my head (and desktop), at any given moment:

- Random screenshots

- 12 half-finished notes

- New ideas dropping in faster than I can organize them

- AI agents picking up the slack

## Work

I am Director, Product Experience and Services at 10Pearls, where I lead the User Experience Design function and help teams move from designing screens to making clear and thoughtful decisions that respect users.

I also teach Interaction Design and Tech Product Management at Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture.

I am on a sabbatical from formal teaching right now because I have two little boys at home, which feels like a valid time to slow down. I still stay involved through mentoring and guest sessions.

## The path

The short version, with dates.

Design Director at Vortechs Innovations, 2014 to 2015.Founder and Managing Partner at Two Dots Design Studio, 2016 to 2020. 10Pearls acquired it.Head of User Experience and Design at 10Pearls from November 2020, now Director, Product Experience and Services.

Alongside the day job: Entrepreneur in Residence at The Nest I/O from 2016 to 2020, where I mentored more than 60 startups. Design workshops for the Sindh TechEd programme across 7 universities and 600 students. Digital consultant for the Karachi Biennale in 2017 and 2019.

## Community

I run the Friends of Figma Karachi chapter. It became one of the most active chapters in 2024 with a large and growing community.

I host events, introduce designers to new tools and ideas, and create spaces where people can learn together.I enjoy the energy this brings, and then I take quiet days to recharge.

## Play

Padel tennis hooked me recently. I play with my left hand, even though I write with my right.When I was a child, a teacher made me switch my writing hand. I could write with both hands on a chalkboard, but I did not keep that ability with me.

When I am not on the court or in a design session, I am experimenting.

Perfumery is something I learned from my father. He has more than two hundred perfumes in his collection and creates his own blends.I create my own impressions and notes for fun and quiet time. If we meet, I might create one for you. If you are lucky, you might get a gift.

I also blend songs using AI tools in a playful way. It is something I do for myself.

## Agents and Systems

I am exploring the world of AI agents with a focus on execution rather than ideas.

I use tools like Figma Make, Codex, Replit, WISPR Flow, Microsoft Copilot, and Nano Banana to build workflows that take a task, break it down, and move it forward while I stay in flow.These systems help me turn my internal chaos into something useful.

## Life

Everything I do, whether it is design, teaching, community, scent, music, or agents, comes from curiosity and a willingness to explore the mess until something interesting comes out of it.

If any of this feels familiar or interesting, feel free to [reach out](https://www.linkedin.com/in/umairalikhatri).

Keep going:

[→ What I'm doing now](https://umairalikhatri.com/now/)

[→ Things I'm writing about](https://umairalikhatri.com/writing/)

[→ The rest of my life](https://umairalikhatri.com/life/)

[→ What I do for teams](https://umairalikhatri.com/work/)