Nila Kapoor

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

2024-04 — Present

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

2022-08 — 2024-03

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

2020-09 — 2022-07

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

2024-06 — Present · off-issue.com

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.