As editorial media navigates the shift toward interactivity, gamification, and AI-driven engagement, designers at the forefront are redefining how audiences experience stories. Few embody this evolution as clearly as Pranav Shinde, whose work at Forbes blends visual craft with innovative mechanics to create digital products that are both engaging and intuitive.
At the intersection of editorial storytelling and digital innovation, Pranav Shinde is redefining how audiences connect with information. As a Webby-winning Product Designer at Forbes, he has led projects ranging from streamlined subscription checkouts to playful editorial games, each crafted to engage, inform, and inspire. With an MFA in Visual Communication Design from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and a foundation in graphic design, Shinde blends aesthetic clarity with user empathy, turning complex challenges into intuitive, immersive experiences.
Shinde’s design sensibility is deeply rooted in his beginnings as a graphic designer, where he learned the power of visual hierarchy, typography, and storytelling. “Graphic design taught me how to communicate clearly with composition and intention,” he reflects, “but in UX, I learned to layer that clarity with behavior, flow, and purpose.” This foundation propelled him into translating static visuals into dynamic, interactive systems, enabling him to lead initiatives at Forbes that reimagine everything from subscription experiences to playful editorial games. His background allows him to strike a careful balance between brand expression and usability, ensuring every product feels polished yet purposeful.
While many might view graphic design and UX as distinct disciplines, Shinde sees them as complementary stages in a continuous creative journey. Early in his career, he realized that great design was more than just making things look appealing, it was about meaningful communication. This insight informs his approach today, where every pixel and interaction must serve a purpose. “The difference between graphic design and UX is motion and behavior,” he explains. “UX takes those visual elements and breathes life into them, making them respond, adapt, and guide the user.”
Despite the freedoms digital design offers, Shinde warns against the trap of endless feature creep or superficial polish without true intent. “With so few constraints, it’s easy to keep adding features or refining pixels without questioning their purpose,” he explains. His grounding in graphic design acts as a compass, always prompting him to ask: does this serve the story or the user? This philosophy drives his work to prioritize clarity and intentionality, not just visual refinement. For Shinde, simplicity isn’t about stripping things down but about making a product’s purpose unmistakably clear. “A user should never have to decode what a product wants them to do,” he says. The more cognitive load designers can lift from users, the more effortless the experience becomes.
Beyond design decisions, Shinde thrives in collaborative spaces where he acts as a vital link between diverse teams. At Forbes, he often finds himself navigating complex conversations among product managers, engineers, editorial leads, and business stakeholders, translating ambition into experience. “My job is to ensure the user never gets lost in the shuffle.” Whether facilitating ideation workshops or partnering closely with developers on UI patterns, Shinde approaches design as a shared language that dissolves friction and keeps teams aligned.
His portfolio of work illustrates this approach vividly. He led a redesign of Forbes’ subscription checkout flow, simplifying a complex system while elevating clarity and helping to increase conversions and reduce friction. This project involved untangling a web of business requirements and edge cases, while focusing relentlessly on what the user truly needs to complete their purchase smoothly. By embedding flexibility without sacrificing usability, the redesign delivered measurable improvements in user satisfaction and revenue.
With Frase by Forbes, a word-based anagram game, Shinde ventured into editorial gaming, creating playful experiences that invite curiosity and pattern recognition. Though not directly tied to news content, Frase exemplifies how simple game mechanics can offer rewarding moments that complement traditional editorial storytelling. The game encourages users to engage with language and logic in a fun way, bridging the gap between casual play and editorial relevance. “Games tap into a different kind of attention,” Shinde says. “They invite curiosity, reward exploration, and offer a sense of progression that traditional articles rarely can.”
Additionally, Shinde crafted a premium directory experience for financial advisors, balancing rich, detailed information with approachable navigation to guide users intuitively through complex content. This directory not only organizes comprehensive profiles but also introduces subtle micro-interactions that clarify functionality and build trust. The result is a sophisticated yet accessible tool that helps users find expertise confidently and efficiently.
For Shinde, games in editorial spaces are more than just entertainment; they are vehicles for storytelling and learning that make complex information approachable and memorable. “We’re not replacing journalism,” he says, “we’re reframing how people access it.” As editorial content increasingly incorporates elements like challenges, feedback loops, and progression systems, designers must rethink story structures to transform readers into active participants. This evolving landscape offers exciting opportunities for brands to connect with younger, digitally native audiences through playful, meaningful formats.
Looking ahead, Shinde remains committed to clarity, curiosity, and craft amid the increasing complexity of digital media. His work blends a storyteller’s sensibility with thoughtful UX and engaging visual systems designed to invite users in rather than overwhelm them. As interactive media, AI, and editorial storytelling converge, he envisions building tools and platforms that are both accessible and emotionally resonant. For Shinde, design is not merely about keeping pace with technology but about using it to tell better stories, solve real problems, and make complexity feel human.
Through his journey from a graphic designer to an innovative UX contributor, Pranav Shinde exemplifies the evolving role of design in digital media. His dedication to balancing aesthetic clarity, technical feasibility, and user empathy helps Forbes push the boundaries of how editorial content can engage and inspire. By championing clarity, interactivity, and purpose, he ensures every product serves both the story and the user. As digital media evolves, Shinde remains committed to crafting experiences that invite curiosity, build trust, and connect audiences with information in ways that are intuitive, meaningful, and deeply human.
