Janardhan Massar

Who they are

Janardhan Massar is Founder of Designdockapp — an architect-turned-product-designer who built a Shopify-focused design agency and created Feedio, a distribution tool for content creators.

Person

Janardhan studied Architecture at Manipal Academy of Higher Education (graduating 2017), then pivoted hard into product design — a move that brought spatial and systems thinking into digital UX. He cut his teeth at Lollypop Design Studio, one of India's better-known UX agencies, then moved in-house: Product Designer at Unacademy during its high-growth edtech phase, Specialist Product Designer at dezerv (fintech), and Specialist Product Designer roles at Coral (London) and Hoist (Brooklyn) — each step taking him further into B2B and fintech product work. In 2021–2022 he completed a Master's in Human Computer Interaction at City, University of London, a deliberate credentialing move that also put him in the European design market. He founded Designdockapp in January 2024 — a product design agency focused on Shopify app ecosystems, covering MVP design, B2B SaaS design, and product branding, based in Bengaluru. Alongside that he's been building Feedio, a distribution tool for content creators. He writes at designdock.in and publishes on Medium (@janardhanmassar), covering Shopify app design, design leadership, measurable skill matrices, and career growth; he's also an active LinkedIn voice on the same themes and has spoken at Whiteboard.fm, Shop Quest (2025), and guest-lectured at NIFT Jodhpur on product experience and interface design. The through-line is a practitioner who keeps building — agencies, products, platforms — while simultaneously teaching and writing about what he's learning.

Network

Janardhan's visible network is built around client and collaborator relationships rather than institutional ties. He worked with Justin Butlion of Titan CX on optimizing Intercom for B2B SaaS companies, and completed a product design project with Apollo Hospitals. He has also guest-lectured at NIFT Jodhpur, placing him in India's design education circuit.

Justin Butlion· Founder, Titan CX

How they likely show up

Founded Designdockapp while maintaining a prior employed career track → high agency; builds rather than waits for the right opportunity.
Active public writer across designdock.in, Medium, and LinkedIn → comfortable being visible and teaching in public; likely responds well to specific, substantive questions.
Architecture degree followed by self-directed pivot into UX via IxDF certifications and a London Master's → disciplined about filling skill gaps deliberately, not by accident.
Spoke at Shop Quest 2025 on Shopify app onboarding and usability → practical orientation; favors concrete craft over abstract theory.
Client roster spans Apollo Hospitals, Titan CX, and Shopify ecosystem partners → comfortable working across domains and with clients who are not design-native.
Guinness World Record for world's largest drum ensemble → participates in large, coordinated collective efforts; not just a solo operator.

Conversation tips

→ Reference designdock.in specifically — he named and built his own publication, and most people don't notice it.
→ Ask about the architecture-to-product-design pivot — it's an unusual origin story and likely one he's thought about deeply.
→ Come with specifics on Shopify app design or B2B SaaS onboarding; he publishes on these topics and will engage much more readily if you match his level of specificity.
→ Mention the NIFT guest lecture or Shop Quest talk — he's investing in education and community, not just client work, and it signals you've done more than a surface scan.

Toolbox

Openers

Open on Feedio — he recently shared it publicly as 'distribution tools for content creators,' a side project that sits outside the Shopify lane he's known for, which makes it a pointed bet worth asking about.
Reference his Shop Quest 2025 talk on building and designing Shopify apps and crafting onboarding flows — it's the most recent public moment where he articulated his craft on stage.
Bring up the Apollo Hospitals project — it's a notable client for a Bengaluru-based design agency and signals he's working outside pure Shopify into healthcare product design.

Discovery questions

You went from architecture to UX to running a Shopify-focused design agency — at what point did Shopify app design become the specific niche, and what made it the right one to build around?
Your writing covers measurable skill matrices for designers — how do you actually apply that inside Designdockapp when you're hiring or evaluating collaborators?
The Feedio project looks different from everything else you've built — what's the bet there, and how does it sit alongside the agency work?

Avoid

Don't treat him as a generalist UX freelancer — he has a specific niche (Shopify app ecosystems, B2B SaaS onboarding), a graduate degree in HCI, and an active writing and speaking practice; generic 'design thinking' conversation will land flat.

Make it yours