Who is Krishan Gupta?
For over a decade, Krishan Gupta has been at the forefront of reshaping how India experiences digital finance. As Head of Design Strategy at Them Consulting, he partners with leading banks, NBFCs, and fintechs to convert digital adoption into measurable growth. With India’s bank credit forecast to cross ₹20 trillion by FY26 (ICRA) and UPI volumes already exceeding 13 billion transactions monthly (NPCI, 2025), Krishan sees design not as decoration but as a business lever that drives trust, retention, and revenue.
His journey began with India’s early digital trading and wealth platforms, when the language of “UX” was barely present in boardrooms. What he learned then continues to shape his practice today: an interface is only the surface – the true value lies in the journey beneath, where every tap, choice, and nudge either accelerates adoption or erodes confidence.
Them Consulting: BFSI Growth Through UX-Led Transformation
Them sit at the intersection of UX strategy and BFSI growth, helping leading financial institutions turn forecasts into measurable outcomes. Under Krishan’s leadership, the firm has delivered game-changing transformations for PayU, Motilal Oswal, NSE, ICICI, DotPe, NPCI, and more, shaping how millions of Indians transact, invest, and trust digital platforms.
At the core of these partnerships lies a belief: user journeys must be emotion-aware. From designing trust cues for first-time investors to creating seamless trading flows for seasoned users, Them ensures platforms anticipate behaviors and reduce friction.
This translates to higher adoption, significant retention uplift, and revenue acceleration.
By rebuilding funnels in UX and UI, Them turn digital products into growth engines. That means reducing drop-offs during KYC and onboarding, simplifying complex wealth products into digestible experiences, and designing retention hooks that keep users engaged. The result? Financial platforms that don’t just look good, but perform – driving loyalty, scale, and sustainable revenue growth.
Krishan summarizes it best: “Our work isn’t about cosmetic design. It’s about building journeys that turn digital trust into business impact. That’s how we’ve helped BFSI leaders move from projections to performance.”
Principles That Shape His Practice
Across industries, Krishan has distilled a set of design principles that guide his work:
- Start with behavior, not buttons.
“A user doesn’t wake up wanting to ‘navigate a flow.’ They wake up wanting to pay a bill, invest, or learn. Anchor design in human behavior first.” - Simplicity is strategy.
“Minimalism is not about fewer screens. It is about fewer doubts. Every extra field, every unnecessary step introduces hesitation. Remove it.” - Design for growth, not aesthetics.
“Experiences that reduce friction and build confidence will always outperform cosmetic polish.” - Journey, not page.
“Designers often obsess about screens. I tell them: think about what comes before the click, and what comes after. That’s where business lives.”
Advice for Upcoming Designers
Krishan’s counsel to young UX/UI professionals goes beyond tools or trends:
- Learn the business language.
“If you can’t explain how your design will impact revenue or retention, you won’t be heard at the table.” - Study human psychology.
“Design is applied behavioral science. Read Kahneman before you read Figma tutorials.” - Never design in isolation.
“Talk to compliance teams, customer service reps, and frontline staff. They hold insights analytics dashboards that can’t show you.” - Build for scale.
“A prototype that delights ten users is easy. Designing flows that millions can trust under regulatory pressure is the real game.”
The Industry Shift
Globally, between 65 and 73 percent of online adults now expect to complete any financial task from a mobile app. That expectation is reshaping banks everywhere: journeys must feel seamless across app, web, and branch.
At Them, Krishan’s teams watch these shifts closely, AI-driven personalization, real-time analytics, conversational assistants, and the rise of warm, humanized digital voices. Yet, he warns against chasing shiny features:
“Don’t add gamification just because a competitor has it. Ask: Will this actually build trust? Will it reduce friction? Otherwise, it’s noise.”
Making Finance Human Again
Colleagues describe Krishan less as a designer and more as an architect of trust. His work consistently demonstrates that good design is not cosmetic; it changes the P&L. That belief has earned him a seat at the leadership table in BFSI strategy conversations.
“These aren’t cosmetic wins,” he says. “They change the P&L. That’s why design deserves a seat in the boardroom.”
Looking Ahead
As BFSI enters 2025, driven by AI and mobile-first expectations, Krishan sees the role of design expanding further. At Them, his mandate is clear: to help financial institutions not only look digital, but truly become digital-first organizations that customers trust.
“The designer of the future is not just drawing interfaces,” Krishan says. “They are orchestrating ecosystems of trust, regulation, technology, and human behavior. If you want to thrive here, treat design not as craft but as consequence.”
For Krishan Gupta, that conviction has defined his career, and it continues to shape how Them Consulting helps banks, fintechs, and NBFCs navigate their next phase of digital growth.
Learn more about his journey on
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/krishan-gupta-profile/
