50+
Project
13+
Years
پروفایل
Hi I'm

Hessam Daraei

With a strong focus on product design and digital experiences, I craft clean, user-centered solutions that not only look great but perform seamlessly. Bridging the gap between design, development, and business, I approach projects with a product mindset — from shaping ideas and defining user needs to delivering impactful, high-quality products.

Iran, Tehran

+13 years of experience

Ready to collaborate

Tech Stack

Skills & Technologies

Figma
Expert
Sketch
EXPERT
Adobe XD
EXPERT
Adobe Photoshop
Expert
Adobe After Effects
Advanced
Adobe Premiere
Advanced
Jira
Advanced
Trello
Advanced
Analytics
Advanced
Clarity
Advanced

Experience

Recent Professional Journey

Product Design Lead
Iran Currency & Gold Exchange Center
2024 — 2026 Full-Time
Led product design across multiple large-scale fintech platforms under the supervision of the Central Bank, serving 5M+ users and handling over $1B in annual transactions. Built and scaled a design team while aligning UX with complex financial regulations.
Figma Product Strategy UI/UX Design
Improved usability of national B2G services in traditionally complex systems.
Built and mentored a 10-person design team within one year.
Enhanced accessibility and user experience across high-impact financial products.
Product Lead / Product Design Lead
Panco
2022 — 2024 Full-Time
Directed product design and later full product strategy for a social iGaming platform with 3M+ downloads, focusing on growth, engagement, and monetization.
Figma Deign and Product Management Growth Experiments
Increased app rating from 4.0 to 4.4 through optimized user flows.
Boosted retention by +25% with gamification systems.
Achieved 6× DAU growth and 90× revenue increase.
Product Lead / Product Design Lead
Gajino / Gajmarket (Gaj International Publishing)
2020 — 2022 Full-Time
Led product design and strategy for a large-scale e-learning platform serving 2M+ students, focusing on engagement, accessibility, and cross-platform experience.
Figma Deign and Product Management Growth Experiments
Increased retention by +25% through gamified learning mechanics.
Launched a PWA enabling seamless cross-device access.
Scaled the platform into one of the leading edtech products in the market.

Education

Education & Courses

Master's Design Dynamic Media
Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Boston, Massachusetts
2016 — 2018
MFA
Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design
University of Tehran
Tehran, Iran
2011 — 2015
B.Sc

Endorsements

Trusted Voices

"
Hessam is a brilliant designer, combining his expertise in cinematic and non-linear storytelling with user experience (UX), and interface design (UI). I’ve known Hessam for almost three years. I greatly respect his personal and professional integrity, his seriousness and commitment to learning, conducting research and exploring territories outside of his comfort zone. Hessam’s high intellectual ability matches his exceptional curiosity and creativity.
Jan Kubasiewicz
Professor at Dynamic Media Institute
★★★★★
"
Hessam is an extraordinary designer. His work takes on the most difficult issues of our day with grace and deep empathy. His work helps us to see new possibilities, new ways of relating to one another and to ourselves.
Joe Quackenbush
Founder at Quackenbush Design
★★★★★
"
Hessam's sense pf UI/UX is graceful and intuitive throughout all of his work - it is cohesive and unobtrusive - incredibly polished and impressive. I believe telling stories is the most important skill today for interaction design, Hessam's profound skills as a storyteller set him apart in crafting experiences. I also believe Hessam makes the people around him better by being around his innate ability to help others empathize with different perspectives.
Fish McGill
Associate Professor of Design
★★★★★
"
Hessam is a motivated, forward thinking plus intelligent product designer with lots of knowledge in his field. He consistently demonstrated a solid work ethic at Gajino and a dedication to success. Hessam provided outstanding results for Gajino. He showed a high level of UX design, product design and the last but not the least Coaching Technical Skills and was a valuable contributor to our projects.
Mohammadreza Taheri
Entrepreneurial Business Leader
★★★★★

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Your project can be exceptional

Let’s build an outstanding digital product together. From design to development, I’m here with you.