The Human Facet of the Interface: Abhishek Jha’s Artwork of Storytelling By way of Design

Abhishek Jha is a contract designer and coder primarily based in Delhi, at present holding probably the most Website of the Day awards on Awwwards from India. His work blends intuition-driven aesthetics with meticulous craft, dropped at life via code.

Beginnings

Since highschool, I’ve been fascinated by coding. The thought of speaking to computer systems and getting them to reply felt magical. Whereas exploring code, I stumbled upon UI/UX. Again then, it wasn’t as extensively talked about as it’s now. In some unspecified time in the future I landed on Awwwards and found the work of fantastic people and companies. That second modified every thing.

“My thoughts was blown by seeing what was attainable when code and design come collectively,” I keep in mind. “That was the day I made a decision to take design critically and discover ways to carry it to life with code.”

In 2018 and 2019, assets had been scarce, so I taught myself every thing by doing.. With every challenge, I pushed myself to strive one thing totally different, to study a brand new trick or know-how. Codrops was at all times my go-to, and I’ve immense respect for the platform and what it has given the neighborhood.

Rising as a Designer and Developer

After I began, I used to be very process-obsessed. I believed that if I had a stable construction, issues would fall into place. Over time, I noticed that an excessive amount of structuring generally is a blocker. Now, I preserve processes primarily for shopper communication, however I don’t allow them to management me. A course of ought to provide you with an preliminary enhance, not limit you your complete method.

I additionally consider that artwork inevitably influences design. You may’t separate your craft from your self. It would at all times carry hints of your perspective and experiences. There was a time when design was marketed as a purely “goal” enterprise instrument, however right this moment most flows and person journeys have turn out to be so standardized that the true differentiator is the human contact, the creative imprint every designer brings.

I don’t see design and growth as two separate disciplines. For me, they’re totally different elements of the identical bridge. Fairly often, whereas growing one thing, I find yourself altering the design. It’s all one course of, simply expressed via totally different mediums.

And above all, I consider in storytelling. Used correctly, it will possibly elevate an internet site in a method nothing else can. Tales are what folks join with, and they’re what go away a long-lasting impression.

Newest Work

Nuraform

The primary is Nuraform, my largest leap into product constructing. It began as my first try at fixing an issue I personally confronted. Kinds at all times regarded boring and uninspiring to me, and I wished to vary that. I imagined varieties that would really feel alive, adaptive, and conversational. What started as an experiment was a full SaaS product, and on its preliminary launch it positioned #2 Product of the Day on Product Hunt at launch. That have taught me a lot — not nearly design and growth, however about constructing options that different folks really need to use.

Portfolio 2025

The second is my 2025 portfolio, which I see much less as a showcase and extra as a type of self-expression and experimentation. Truthfully, after I design my portfolios, the one particular person I’m making an attempt to impress is myself. It seems like a private pageant — a celebration of progress, an opportunity to strive new methods, and a reminder of how far I’ve come. Each rebuild is each a milestone and a playground. That is the primary folio which makes use of webgl and three.js

Evok

After which there’s Evok, one in every of my most up-to-date works. With new initiatives, I at all times attempt to collaborate with totally different builders and inventive abilities, giving them initiatives which might be really worthy of being portfolio items themselves. Evok was a kind of collaborations, with Victor dealing with the event half. The objective was easy: to create an emotionally charged expertise that each challenged us and gave us one thing we could possibly be proud to indicate.

Frank’s

Frank’s was a novel challenge for me. I labored on branding and the web site for a smash burger model from Germany. With this one I wished to strive one thing totally different from my regular aesthetics, brilliant colours, poppy fashion and lovely stickers made with AI.

Random Explorations

At any time when I’m bored or need to strive a brand new aesthetic I simply create posters or random layouts like those beneath.

Inspirations

Companies like Locomotive, Burocratik, Lively Principle, Exo Ape, and Zhenya Rynzhuk have been enormous inspirations for me. I additionally draw so much from outdoors the design world. Album artwork, outdated posters, and philosophy all feed into my perspective.

“Even when it doesn’t translate immediately into design choices, these influences form how I believe and what I discover.”

My Course of

I like my course of to be flowy, giving me traction at the beginning with out locking me in. For a typical challenge, I collect as many particulars as attainable from the shopper and instantly begin moodboarding to seize their vibe. I’ll typically create posters to get typography, imagery, and structure proper earlier than shifting to the positioning itself.

I place heavy emphasis on shopper expertise and construction, however I prefer to preserve the design course of itself fluid.

From there, I refine the construction to verify we’re fixing the suitable issues, typically with easy adjustments in structure or hierarchy. If a shopper doesn’t have already got branding, I’ll create a comfortable model for them, as a result of with out it, creativity feels incomplete.

On the event aspect, I don’t often code for purchasers. That’s reserved principally for my very own initiatives and IPs. I favor conserving the tech stack mild. I virtually by no means use heavy frameworks for easy web sites. Astro works nicely for CMS wants, and for purchasers who need management I’d use Webflow or Framer. However I personally really feel most at house with customized code. No-code instruments might be helpful, however they typically really feel limiting and add pointless layers.

And one quirk of mine: I virtually at all times start by making posters. It helps me sense the aesthetic route earlier than diving into the web site.

Closing

Trying again, my path has been outlined extra by curiosity than certainty. What excites me most isn’t having status or perfection, it’s the possibility to continue learning, to inform tales with design and code, and to create work that seems like an expression of who I’m. Through the years I’ve realized that non-public initiatives are your largest property. Make your self your largest shopper. Any time you spend on one thing you like is rarely wasted.

And keep in mind, nobody has all of it found out. Don’t suppose others have one thing you lack. the taking part in subject has by no means been extra stage, and the one true differentiator is being your self. Work on what excites you, comply with your curiosity, and also you’ll discover a option to conquer the world in your personal method.