The Viewfinder Timeline

Hi, I'm Christo.

I didn't take a traditional path into product design. From a kid with a camera to a data-driven product builder—here is the roadmap of how I found my focus.

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Christo with a camera — early photography days
2002 – 2019

01. The Viewfinder

I was born in January 2002. Long before I knew what UX was, I was obsessed with how the world looked through a lens—moving from an old 2000-model camera to a Nikon DSLR, and finally a Canon. During my 12th grade in Fujairah, I dabbled in coding and built a basic e-commerce UI in NetBeans.

My IP teacher (Salini Ma'am) told me "Christo you have good visual eye for things, the colors you use and i have not seen someone better visually this good in my career"

i didn't understand those words back then.
Early hustle — IEDC Hobby Hub, Kerala Startup Mission, Christmas hampers and design work
2020 – 2021

02. The ₹50 Hustle

College started with building Flutter apps, but code alone didn't give me the creative thrill I was chasing. When the Covid lockdowns hit, I watched seniors do magic in Photoshop and After Effects, and I decided to lock myself in and learn both. I started designing for those same seniors, charging just ₹50 a job. That tiny hustle snowballed into 30 freelance clients for video editing and branding.

Hack@Arch first prize win with the team of four, and the Trawell app UI
2022

03. The UI Awakening

The real pivot happened during hackathons. I placed second in a Canva Designathon, which gave me an incredible adrenaline rush. Shortly after, a team of four—including me—won first place at a Govt College Thrissur Hackathon, where I received a special mention specifically for the UI. I realized I didn't just want to make things look pretty—I wanted to build functional products.

Levantate Labs — the team building products, self-development books, and the studio space
2022 – 2023

04. The Builder's Lens (Levantate Labs)

Riding that creative momentum, three friends and I co-founded Levantate Labs, a student product studio. We delivered 8 client projects and launched 3 of our own. But my entrepreneurial itch wasn't just digital—I was active in the IEDC Hobby Hub, managed events, and even built and sold 120 Christmas hampers as a side hustle. Today, I advise our 10-person tech studio from a high level, retaining that founder's mindset.

2023

05. The Proactive Pitch

I was hungry to test my UX skills in the wild. I noticed a startup founder's app had friction in its UX. Instead of just pointing it out, I redesigned a few screens, documented the why in a PDF, and sent it over. The founder appreciated the initiative and offered me a full-time role, which funded my travels across India and gave me a real-world sandbox.

RateUp team, Google UX Design certificate, and Christo receiving an award at graduation
Late 2023

06. Re-Focusing

After graduating, the startup offered me equity to stay. It was a kind offer, but I knew I needed experienced mentors to truly scale my skills. I moved back to my family in the UAE, shut out all distractions, and spent a grueling month doing nothing but portfolio prep and treating my job hunt like a design sprint.

View old portfolio of 2023
Edenred — the Dubai office desk, ideas whiteboard on a skyline window, and Christo presenting
2024 – Present

07. High Resolution (Edenred)

I joined Edenred as an Intern in Jan 2024, moved to Junior PD by June, and was promoted to Product Designer in Jan 2026. Because we design for blue-collar workers, aesthetics take a back seat to pure usability. I learned to design with data—anchoring my work in OKRs, while also pushing my technical boundaries to become a finalist at ETHGlobal 2025.

Christo's Instagram grid — travel, motorcycling, food and life beyond design
The Note

08. Beyond the Frame

Beyond this timeline, a lot more has happened — but honestly, travel and food are the ways I find my peace. So instead of more words, just take a look. This is the journey outside the frame.

Follow the journey on Instagram