Meher
Goel

What led you into design?

My earliest memory of my mom is intertwined with my first recollection of being a "designer"—I've been a life-long maker for as long as I can remember. As a pre-teen, I spent hours organizing my many doll houses and rearranging my room. My teenage years were filled with adding code to my Tumblr theme, painting walls, and starting crafty businesses.

Sifting through the noise of creative endeavors has been an ongoing journey, but I realized pretty early on that I wanted to pursue a creative education (and then career). Psychology was a close second, though. I almost went to RISD and Brown, dreaming of becoming an art therapist. But I quickly realized that I loved humanity (and by extension, people) too much to listen to their inner musings every day and help them through it.

So naturally, as an early 20-something, it wasn't entirely surprising that I found myself roaming the halls of Parsons in New York, delving into multi-media art and exploring what it means to make a living as a designer. Product design, however, was a surprise. I always thought I'd pursue advertising, but I remember walking out of my first UX design class absolutely mind-blown. It was like I'd discovered a melting pot for my two passions: design and psychology. Design is my favorite way to bring clarity to the world around us and connect people.

What does a typical day look like?

My workday, regardless of location, follows a consistent pattern centered around systems thinking. I'm currently working on EST hours from various places around the world, I've grown comfortable adapting my routine to different environments.

The day kicks off around 9am with my non-negotiable morning ritual—prayers, affirmations, skincare, and a mini dance party. When I'm not in New York, I might start with reading at a cafe, soaking up morning sun at the beach, or enjoying a slower start in bed. In NYC, I head straight to my desk after my routine.

By 1 pm, I'm switching to "systems 2" tasks, often eating lunch at my desk in the midst of back-to-back meetings. Don't worry—my mornings are all about quiet and joy, so this doesn't feel like a compromise. Sometimes I'll transition to my dining area just for a change of scenery.

The magic happens around 3-3:30 pm when I hit my flow state. This is when I dive into the meat of my work: crafting information architecture, mapping user flows, and ideating in Figma. It's probably my favorite part of my work day and I'm sure many designers can relate to this. I wrap up my workday around 6ish, taking time to write out my systems 1 list for the next day and adjusting my systems 2 list for the day/week ahead.

Being a night owl, I often get another creative burst from 9-11 pm, perfect for a couch session of brain-dumping ideas or finishing up work and personal screen-time tasks. Evenings are for walks with friends, working on my crafting projects, cooking dinner, or TV binges. I try to avoid pre-bed screen time, using house chores as a buffer, though TikTok sometimes wins. Reading and a night-time skincare routine before sleep is my go-to wind-down.

What's your workstation setup?

Where do you go to get inspired?

I believe that living a creative life is such a privilege, so I often think of inspiration as an entity that has a mind of it's own (which is honestly just my way of not getting frustrated when i'm uninspired). Elizabeth Gilbert talks about "creativity visiting her" in her book Big Magic, and that really resonates. I have to remind myself that I'm at the mercy of every wonderful and terrible creative idea. Respecting the craft means giving it time and space, which can be challenging when you have business goals to meet. As a result, I'm not big on scrolling through digital mediums and often turn to the world around me for inspiration.

My most trusted way of feeling inspired or getting out of creative-blocks is to do something with meditative my hands— figure drawing, woodworking, potting plants, or ceramics. I will usually pair this with finding ways to be in nature (which is a little tricky in New York, but not impossible), being curious in a new place, and talking to someone about something they love. Recently I took myself on a weekend getaway to The Catskills with the sole purpose of "getting bored" (which is very difficult for me) and ended up marveling at the Pantone colors of nature, found inspiration in diner typography, and problem solved while teaching myself how to grill.

What product have you recently seen that made you think this is great design?

Great design is often discussed in terms of balancing form and function, but I've come to believe there's a crucial third 'F' that elevates design from good to great: the ability to make you feel something. When design creates an emotional response – whether it's delight, calm, or an unexpected 'aha' moment – that's when it truly succeeds. Which is difficult because human beings are dynamic, complex, and have varying reactions to the same thing. However, even the pursuit of designing something that aligns with the 3 F's is an important one.

When I encounter products that manage to strike this delicate balance, they stand out immediately. Recently, I've been captivated by the Headspace app's redesign, where playful mascots and thoughtful animations transform a functional meditation app into an experience that actually makes you feel more at ease. This emotional layer of design appears in other places too – from the satisfying interaction animations in apps like Dot, to everyday objects that solve practical problems while bringing joy, like kitchen utensils that consider both organization and ergonomics, or functional items that double as sculptural pieces.

The best designs create a perfect trinity of form, function, and feeling. When all three align, you get those magical products that not only serve their purpose beautifully but also make you use them again and again (or maybe never again because once was precious enough!).

What pieces of work are you most proud of?

As designers, we're intimately familiar with imposter syndrome, which can make this question particularly challenging to answer. Reflecting on it, I've realized that the work I'm most proud of isn't necessarily about the grandeur of the projects, but rather how they align with my personal values of service and community.

Currently, I'm leading design at Riley, building something from 0-1 that directly impacts parents, especially new moms. Seeing their positive responses to thoughtful details like false bottoms, delightful animations, and distinctive Riley-isms reminds me why I became a designer – to create experiences that not only serve a purpose but bring joy and make people's lives a little better.

Other examples are a bench I recently designed and built from scratch. While it might seem simple, it was a labor of love filled with failures that led to valuable learnings. The curved edge detail, the functionality of comfortably seating people, and the satisfaction of seeing the final piece embody both craftsmanship and purpose – it represents everything I love about the design process.

During my time at Etsy, I led our internal design conference in 2022. Working with 20 dedicated volunteers, we created a two-day experience focused on 'Building design community with your superpowers,' encouraging designers to discover their strengths and mentor 20+ emerging designers. Despite challenges with budget and hybrid formatting, seeing the team create meaningful connections and rise to the challenges was incredibly rewarding.

Projects that have the most synchronicity and cohesiveness from inception to reality tend to be my favorite ones.

What design challenges do you face at your company?

Building something from 0-1 presents an interesting challenge of telling a cohesive story while wearing multiple hats. At Riley, while we've done a great job maintaining brand cohesiveness, our current exciting challenge lies in navigating uncharted territory: finding the sweet spot between AI interaction patterns and the psychology of parents using a parenting app.

These two distinct user experiences – the efficiency-driven patterns of AI interfaces and the more emotionally nuanced needs of parents — require thoughtful integration. It's about creating a design 'melting pot' that maintains our core values of being trustworthy, delightful, and supportive, while seamlessly incorporating AI capabilities in a way that feels natural and empowering to parents.

This challenge actually energizes me because it pushes us to innovate beyond established design patterns. It's a balance of technical functionality and emotional resonance that makes this challenge particularly meaningful in our mission to make parenthood more approachable and joyful.

What music do you listen to while designing?

Any advice for ambitious designers?

My advice would stem from something I had to learn myself: success in design isn't just about mastering tools or staying on top of trends. It's about finding that sweet spot where your personal values align with your work, and where form, function, and feeling come together to create meaningful impact. Remember that no work is "above you"—there is always something you can learn by going back to the basics.

First, embrace the failures – they're not setbacks, they're stepping stones. Whether you're building a bench (like I recently did) or launching a product, each 'failure' teaches you something valuable about your craft and yourself.

Second, find ways to leave the world around you a little bit better than you found it (maybe this isn't design specific but stay with me!). Some of my proudest moments came from projects that focused on lifting others up, it will always come around to you as well. Success becomes more meaningful when you're contributing to something larger than yourself.

Lastly, don't forget to infuse joy and personality into your work. In a world obsessed with efficiency and optimization, remember that great design isn't just about solving problems – it's about creating experiences that make people feel something.

Anything you want to promote or plug?

If you're a parent or know a parent, please share Riley with them. If you're an interior design, wellness, and travel enthusiast, follow along my adventures and stepping stones.