Ananth Nayak

Current role: Senior Data and Technology Strategist at IA Collaborative
Get in touch with Ananth via email (ananth_nayak@berkeley.edu) to schedule a time to meet.

Ananth Nayak is a creative catalyst and technology strategist whose journey has been all about bridging the gap between cutting-edge technology and human-centered design. He’s driven by creating products that matter—technology that amplifies human potential rather than just showcasing technical prowess.

Ananth’s career has evolved through diverse disciplines, following his curiosity wherever it leads. He started as a mechanical engineer and hardware product designer, but found himself increasingly drawn to human-computer interaction and the ways technology shapes user experiences. This led him to explore design thinking and HCI in digital product development, eventually evolving into design engineering and strategy. Today, he works as a Senior Data and Technology Strategist at IA Collaborative in Chicago, where he helps some of the most successful brands and Fortune 100 clients shape transformative products and experiences.

During his time at Berkeley, Ananth dove deep into the potential of generative AI, exploring how AI-native applications can augment human memory and cognition for his thesis, while co-founding a generative podcast app with friends—experiences that taught him how to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of AI-augmented design.

What excites Ananth most is helping designers embrace being generalists in an age where the lines between disciplines are blurring.

Ananth is excited to mentor and speak to MDes students about:
● Prototyping in the AGI era
● Design-led product development
● Being a generalist and exploring roles outside of traditional UX design
● Portfolio and storytelling
● Navigating design career as an international student

When he’s not designing, you’ll find him out and about with his camera capturing the world through his lens or prototyping interaction concepts in Xcode.