Lead design at Contineu, shaping brand & product from the ground up. Built everything 0→1, from visual identity to complex dashboards and mobile workflows that help construction teams work smarter every day

- Designed and delivered real-world projects with government and industry partners.
- Led a patent-pending product from research to prototype.
- Mentored by senior designers, building strong foundations in UX and product strategy.

Three years ago, while doing my Masters in Delhi, I visited the Red Fort, a childhood dream. I hired a tour guide who rapidly recited dates, emperors and battles. His fast-paced delivery left me and the other visitors struggling to keep up.

Standing in those vast empty spaces, I thought: “Could design bring history alive beyond textbooks?”

&nbsp;According to Statista (2023), centrally protected monuments in India attract around 48 million domestic visitors and 1.45 million foreign visitors annually.
This huge audience highlighted the need and potential for a more engaging, immersive way to experience heritage sites.&nbsp;&nbsp;

This moment made me realize the vast potential hidden in historical spaces and inspired me to create:

&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “ExUnx — explore the unexplored”

Traditional methods of experiencing historical landmarks fail to provide engaging, immersive and informative experiences for visitors. This results in a disconnect in understanding and appreciating history. Additionally, the large amount of information available can make planning overwhelming, leading to confusion and fragmented visitor experience.

ExUnx is an AR-integrated app that bridges the gap between past &amp; present.&nbsp;

For a detailed case study, including user research, prototypes and my deeper learnings&nbsp; &nbsp;<a href="https://medium.com/design-bootcamp/enhancing-historical-tourism-through-time-travel-a-ux-case-study-4f3a8db7aab4">Explore the Full Story on medium→</a>

Designed an AR experience that let visitors “time travel” at historical landmarks, boosting engagement and making stories more immersive.

Enhancing tourism through time travel

In rural Tamil Nadu, I know women who still saved money in small dabbas, steel containers hidden in their kitchens. These savings were fragile: often borrowed, sometimes stolen and never formally recorded.

Despite the rise of digital banking in cities, these women were excluded. With limited financial and digital literacy, they had little trust in banks and no access to user-friendly financial tools.

That’s when I asked myself: could design bridge the gap between dabbas and digital banking?

🔆Leveraging SHGs for Financial Inclusion

Here’s a breakdown of what the&nbsp;rural woman’s side&nbsp;of the device looks like:

While the Saheli system focuses on micro-savings and digital literacy, the concept of a rewards system can be integrated to further incentivize rural women, which would seamlessly integrate with Saheli’s existing structure:

1.&nbsp;Enrollment – Women hear about Saheli through word-of-mouth and join via a simple flow.

2.&nbsp;Investment – Animators guide onboarding, deposits, and savings goal setup.

3.&nbsp;Consistency – Women use Saheli like a money box, tracking deposits and progress.

4.&nbsp;Rewards – Saheli Tokens redeemable for essentials build trust and loyalty.

The ability to redeem tokens for groceries creates a closed-loop system that encourages repeat business from Saheli users. It encourages customer loyalty and strengthens the relationship between the women, local businesses and Saheli.

Saheli is a powerful ecosystem empowering rural women in India to take control of their finances. By fostering micro-savings, digital literacy and a supportive community through SHGs. Saheli bridges the digital divide and opens doors to a brighter financial future

Transforming the savings habits of rural women with limited financial and digital literacy into secure, transparent and empowering systems rooted in trust.

Hello there, I am Shifhana