Nila Kapoor
Independent Designer · Brand Identity
hi@nila.studio · +1 (415) 555-0184 · Brooklyn, NY, US · vetty.me/nila · are.na/nila-kapoor · instagram.com/nila.studio · linkedin.com/in/nilakapoor
Summary
Designer and small studio of one. I shape brand systems, motion language, and editorial covers for tools you'd actually post about — from seed-stage startups to indie magazines. Previously at a 4-person research lab where I designed everything that wasn't code.
Experience
Brand Designer · Studio of One — Independent
Brand systems, identity, editorial covers, and motion for early-stage tools and small magazines.
- Shipped 8 brand identities in 14 months — all post-launch revenue-positive within 90 days for the client.
- Designed the cover system for an independent design quarterly (4 issues, 12k+ subscribers).
- Built a Figma-to-React component library used by 3 client engineering teams.
Founding Designer — Phasm Research
Sole designer at a 4-person AI research lab. Owned brand, product, and editorial output.
- Designed the entire visual system — from the logomark to the API docs.
- Shipped 11 long-form research articles with bespoke editorial design.
- Built the public site that took the lab from invite-only to 22k waitlist signups in 5 weeks.
Product Designer — Wayfinder
Consumer travel app, Series B. Owned discovery and trip-building flows.
- Redesigned the trip-builder; activation rate moved 18% → 31% in a 6-week test.
- Shipped the iOS-only AR map preview that became the App Store "App of the Day" pick.
Projects
Off-Issue
Independent design quarterly — cover system, type system, and print spec. 4 issues shipped, 12k subscribers.
- Editorial cover system survives across 4 issues without feeling repetitive.
- Print spec doc handed to a Brooklyn-based risograph shop with zero back-and-forth on issue 3.
Education
Rhode Island School of Design
Skills
- Brand Identity
- Editorial
- Type
- Motion
- Figma
- After Effects
- HTML/CSS
- React
- Framer
- Tailwind
- Figma
- Cavalry
- Pangram Pangram
- Are.na
- Linear
- Notion