Fateme Mohammadi Maklavani is a digital product designer and researcher passionate about solving real world challenges and creating innovative, AI-powered products that improve everyday life.

Selected Works


About

Fateme is an award-winning digital product designer and researcher with a passion for problem-solving and developing innovative, AI-driven projects.

With extensive experience on large-scale international projects such as Iran's domestic search engine and Mecurus, Fateme has shown her ability to tackle complex challenges from an end-to-end perspective.

Having worked in both industrial and academic settings, she uniquely translates data and research insights into meaningful, practical design solutions.

Experience

2026 – 2027

Center for Ethics and Human Values
The Ohio State University

Graduate Research Associate

Designing public-facing learning experiences for the Center’s civil-discourse and ethics programs, including turning the “4Cs of Civil Discourse” course into an open website.

2025

Mellon Foundation

Summer Associate

Owned the call-for-art and jury pipeline for the AAAS Community Extension Center, built an Ohio-wide artist and organization database to drive targeted outreach, and designed and managed the production of print and digital promotional assets.

2023 – 2025

Department of Design
The Ohio State University

Graduate Teaching Associate

Supported design-thinking foundations instruction for 20+ students each semester in an in-person studio, and for 200+ undergraduate designers in the online course Introduction to Design Practice.

2021 – 2023

Middle East Bank

Senior Digital Product Designer & Researcher

Led user research and redesign for CorpoMeter — a financial-data platform analysts use to track the ~500 biggest companies in Iran — and the company’s main website, within a cross-functional team of ML engineers, data scientists, PMs and developers. Documented a scalable Figma design system to keep patterns consistent, and built a cross-team workflow that cut meetings and let teams set realistic deadlines.

2020 – 2023

Regiti

Staff Product Designer & Project Manager

Led design for an online platform of 13,000+ words for the Tłı̨chǫ Government, managing a companion font project (proposal, hiring and supervising the type designer, contracts, budget, deadlines) and several websites. Ran 6 co-design sessions and 10 usability sessions, and designed the online dictionary and application end-to-end, with a crowdsourced text / image / audio contribution feature so indigenous people can record words.

2021 – 2023

Mecurus

UX Researcher & Designer

Collaborated with international teams to research and design the end-to-end user experience and interface for a B2B textile-sales platform serving buyers, sellers, and administrators. Conducted A/B testing and usability evaluations to assess design effectiveness, and developed responsive, multilingual designs across website and mobile (including English, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Indonesian) ensuring accessibility for diverse international audiences.

2021 – 2023

Mishin

Founder & Product Owner

Founded a sustainable business to empower Iranian women, especially home-based workers, by turning traditional skills into income opportunities while preserving cultural heritage through eco-friendly materials and Iranian concepts. Defined its product vision and ran iterative launches grounded in user feedback and market validation to bring handmade cushions — combining traditional craftsmanship with modern design — to market.

2021 – 2023

Sillage

Co-Founder

Co-led a women’s-fashion startup, designing high-quality clothing and managing production, team coordination, material sourcing, and marketing — working in small-batch production with independent tailors to help sustain their craft and livelihoods.

2020 – 2021

Alzahra University

Instructor — New Media & Graphic (UI/UX)

Taught UI and UX design to M.A. visual communication students, combining theory, hands-on workshops and peer critique.

2018 – 2022

MHS Group

Senior Product Designer

Designed scalable digital products and visual systems across the group’s portfolio (from workflows to high-fidelity prototypes) including the user experience and interface for blockchain-based cryptocurrency platforms and websites.

2017 – 2023

Shutterstock · Ponisha · Parscoders

Freelance Designer & Consultant

Design and consulting engagements for international clients, including healthcare and medical-equipment companies: branding, UI and illustration.

2013 – 2022

ICT Research Institute

Senior Designer & Art Director — Design Lead

Led design across the institute’s national ICT projects, partnering with scientists, engineers and leadership. Sole designer on the core strategy team of the national search engine serving millions, providing art and design consulting on every publication, website and data visualization across its sub-projects.

2017 – 2019

Internet of Things Academy

Art Director

Creative direction and visual identity for a knowledge-based IoT company, across product and marketing.

2016

Mehr Argham Rayaneh

UI Designer

User interfaces and branded graphics for corporate and product-facing needs.

2013 – 2015

Women Research Center, Alzahra University

Researcher & Team Leader

Collaborated with the Women Research Center at Alzahra University on the project “Studying the Effectiveness of Problem-Based Learning on the Development of Entrepreneurship Skills of Female Students, with an Emphasis on Family-Owned Business,” designing products that draw on its traditional patterns and methods while appealing to modern audiences, and presented the final products to a marketing group to attract investors.

2013 – 2015

ISNA — Iranian Students’ News Agency

Photographer

Documented stories and events for the Iranian Students’ News Agency as part of its volunteer photographer program.

2012

Rasta

Graphic & UI Designer

Built interface mockups and marketing materials for technology products.

2011 – 2012

Yellow Page Student Journal

Graphic Designer

Managed editorial layouts and visual assets for the university’s Yellow Page student publication.

2011

Khane-Ye-Ma Journal

Photographer & Graphic Designer

Handled photography, retouching, and graphic design for the journal’s features.

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What I'm known for

  • End-to-End UX Research
  • Service & Journey Mapping
  • Enterprise UI Systems
  • Interaction & Motion Design
  • High-Fidelity Prototyping
  • Design Ops & Facilitation
  • Product Discovery Sprints