Divami Design Labs: Naveen Puttagunta on Building a Global UI/UX Powerhouse
In the early days of the Indian startup ecosystem, design was often an afterthought—a coat of paint applied just before launch. Naveen Puttagunta, Co-founder and CEO of Divami Design Labs, saw a different future. Returning to India in 2007 after 13 years in the US, Naveen pivoted from a failed social networking venture to build what has become one of the country's most respected boutique UI/UX design firms.
The Origin of Divami
The name Divami is a sentimental portmanteau, combining "Div" from Vidya and "Ami" from Pratima—the names of the co-founders' spouses. What started as a small team built to rescue a social networking project has grown into a 120-person agency serving global giants like Google and Airtel.
The Failed Startup that Birthed a Design Giant
Naveen’s entrepreneurial journey didn't start with a design lab. "15 years ago, social networking was getting popular," Naveen recalls. He attempted to build a family-tree-based social platform. While the product eventually ran out of funding, the process of building it taught Naveen a valuable lesson: finding a team that could bridge the gap between complex engineering and intuitive user experience was nearly impossible.
Realizing the scarcity of specialized design talent, Naveen decided to turn that internal capability into a standalone services company. Since then, Divami has specialized in "design-led development," catering to deep-tech startups, SaaS platforms, and digital transformation for large enterprises.
Decoding the Difference: UX vs. UI
Many conflate user experience (UX) with user interface (UI), but Naveen breaks it down with engineering-like precision.
By treating design as an analytical discipline, Divami has been able to take on high-complexity projects, such as Google's Cloud Data Fusion. Their task was to take a complex data integration tool used by data scientists and make it intuitive enough that a user could design a data flow from point A to point B with minimal clicks and zero prior expertise.
Quantifying Design: The ROI of Empathy
How does a company measure the value of a "boutique design lab"? Naveen points to three key metrics:
- Time-to-Task: Reducing the minutes it takes for a user to complete a core function.
- User Adoption: Accelerating the rate at which new users become active daily users.
- User Retention: Creating an experience "sticky" enough that churn rates drop.
Solving the "Subjective Design" Problem
- Upfront Consensus: Before designing a single screen, Divami works on "styling"—establishing the aesthetic direction independently.
- Iterative Review: Periodic meetings with stakeholders to ensure the design aligns with the brand vision at every step.
- Intermediate Feedback: Eliminating the "big reveal" shock by incorporating client input early in the design cycle.
Building a Team from Scratch
Divami's growth has been organic, doubling in size in just the last two years. Their secret weapon? A unique hiring model. Instead of poaching expensive senior talent, they hire young designers and engineers fresh out of college and train them in-house in Divami’s specific methodologies. This has resulted in a team that can transition seamlessly between analytical engineering and aesthetic communication.
Founder's Lesson: The Power of the Co-founder
Naveen views entrepreneurship as a roller coaster. His biggest takeaway? "Find co-founders that align with your value system. There will be days of disappointment where you need someone to lean on for moral support. Alignment in philosophy is more important than alignment in skills."
The Future: Design-Led Transformation
Today, Divami operates out of Hyderabad with a global footprint. As digital transformation moves from simple apps to complex, AI-driven ecosystems, Naveen’s vision remains clear: the most powerful technology is useless if the human on the other side doesn't know how to use it.