Senior Product Designer, Picsart Drive (Contractor)

What began as a personal mission for a father to empower his daughter has blossomed into a global creative powerhouse. The journey of Picsart started in 2011 when founder Hovhannes Avoyan's daughter was discouraged by negative comments on her shared artwork online. Determined to create a safe and encouraging space for creativity, Hovhannes, along with co-founders Artavazd Mehrabyan and Mikayel Vardanyan, developed the first Picsart application. It was conceived as a simple, standalone tool to help people easily edit photos on their mobile devices, a response to the burgeoning world of mobile photography where accessible yet powerful editing tools were scarce. The first app launched on Android in November 2011, planting the seed for what would become a massive creative community.

From these humble beginnings, Picsart's evolution has been a story of rapid growth and continuous innovation. The initial focus on providing intuitive photo editing tools quickly expanded. By 2013, the app was available on iOS, and its user base began to swell, reaching millions of downloads. The platform transformed from a simple utility into a vibrant social network where creators could not only edit but also share their work, remix others' creations, and find inspiration. This community-centric approach became a core pillar of Picsart's identity. The introduction of AI-powered features marked a significant turning point, propelling Picsart to the forefront of the creator economy. In 2021, a major Series C funding round led by Softbank valued the company at nearly $1.5 billion, officially making it the first tech unicorn to emerge from Armenia. Today, with over 150 million monthly active creators and billions of edits made each month, Picsart stands as the world's largest digital creation platform, a testament to its founding vision of making creativity accessible to everyone, everywhere.