Salonee Pathak

Design professional with 6.5+ years of experience in color strategy, material and finish, trend research, branding and UI/UX, plus CMF internships across the paints and automobile industries. Led color and branding at JSW Paints, covering product launches, wallpaper design research, retail display design, PAN India sales training. B.Des in Industrial Design from NID Ahmedabad with a year of exchange study at RMIT University, Melbourne.

Design Lead (Color & Branding) at JSW Paints Pvt. Ltd (2019-12 – 2025-11)

Key responsibilities: Color, Material & Finish, Color Trend Research, User Experience Design, Content Creation, UI/UX

• Color & Strategy: Developed color strategies and palettes using trend research, color psychology and market Insights.
• Wallpaper Research: Conducted market, competitor and consumer research for the wallpaper segment.
• Product & Décor: Developed premium paint launches, décor finishes, textures, patterns and color combinations.
• UI/UX & Digital: Contributed to Colourvista Touch app revamp and created digital content for brand engagement.
• Retail & Branding: Designed shade cards, display units, retail packages and TVC color aesthetics.
• AID & Customization: Developed toolkits, shade ranges, textures, finishes and customized tabletop solutions.
• Training & Research: Created training modules and conducted PAN India sessions for sales/marketing teams

CMF Designer (Internship) at Maruti Suzuki (2019-01 – 2019-06)

Key responsibilities: Color design strategy (interior/exterior), CMF competition benchmarking, color trend analysis

• CMF Strategy: Redesigned the ‘Next Gen Ignis Model’ to be launched in 2025 developed 3 launch concepts – Dramatic, Floating & Ombre – for the next Gen Ignis around the “Express It” theme, covering interior/exterior CMF, graphics, seats and accessories.
• Interior & Exterior: Developed dashboard textures, seat weaves, doormats, interior accents and abstract exterior graphics across Matt, Gloss & Shimmer finishes.
• Supplier Development: Collaborated with suppliers to develop finishes, fabrics and body paints as per testing and cost specifications.
• Trend & Material Research: Translated cross-industry trends into CMF trend kits, with a focus on sustainable and functional material development.
• Branding: Developed supporting brand elements including color palette, typography, logo, taglines and slogans.

CMF Designer & Color Trend Forecasting (Internship) at Kansai Nerolac Paints (2017-04 – 2017-06)

• Developed heritage-inspired shades for exterior, interior and automotive fandecks, integrating Indian culture and traditions.
• Conducted market research and root cause analysis to identify shade gaps in white, red and yellow categories to address sales stagnation.
• Analysed global color trends and expanded sector-specific shade offerings through continuous research.

B.Des. in Industrial Design – NID Ahmedabad (2015 – 2019)

Year-long Student Exchange Program in Color, Material & Finish and Trend Forecasting – RMIT University, Melbourne (2017-06 – 2018-05)