ABOUT
I'm Nitya.
I design the thinking behind the design
I started by designing physical spaces, then became more curious about the behaviors unfolding inside them. That curiosity never stopped.
UX Researcher
Experience Strategist
Service Designer
Design Strategist
Data Storyteller
I'm Nitya.
I design the thinking behind the design
I started by designing physical spaces, then became more curious about the behaviors unfolding inside them. That curiosity never stopped.
UX Researcher
Experience Strategist
Service Designer
Design Strategist
Data Storyteller
Based in
Based in
Seattle WA
Seattle WA
Currently
Currently
Marshmallow Minds + UW
Marshmallow Minds + UW
Available for
Available for
UX Research & Strategy Roles
UX Research & Strategy Roles
ORIGIN
Architecture taught me that space shapes behavior. Everything else followed.
Architecture taught me that space shapes behavior. Everything else followed.
I trained as an architect in India , fascinated not just by buildings, but by how invisible structures guide movement, interaction, and emotion. When I began studying systems through anthropology, sustainability, and storytelling at the Anant Fellowship's Built Environment program, a throughline emerged:
Cities, organizations, and digital products are all behavioral systems. What changes is the medium. What doesn't is the underlying question:
What shapes how people act, decide, and feel?
That realization pulled me into UX and design strategy. The discipline gave language to what architecture had always been, at its best: an attempt to design conditions for better human experience.
I trained as an architect in India , fascinated not just by buildings, but by how invisible structures guide movement, interaction, and emotion. When I began studying systems through anthropology, sustainability, and storytelling at the Anant Fellowship's Built Environment program, a throughline emerged:
Cities, organizations, and digital products are all behavioral systems. What changes is the medium. What doesn't is the underlying question:
What shapes how people act, decide, and feel?
That realization pulled me into UX and design strategy. The discipline gave language to what architecture had always been, at its best: an attempt to design conditions for better human experience.
With my Architecture Colleagues in India, Feb 2014
With my Architecture Colleagues in India, Feb 2014
With my Architecture Colleagues in India, Feb 2014
FOUNDATION
FOUNDATION
Architecture + Built Environment
Architecture + Built Environment
Spatial systems, behavioral design, how physical structure shapes experience
Spatial systems, behavioral design, how physical structure shapes experience
EXPANSION
EXPANSION
Anant Fellowship — Systems & Storytelling
Anant Fellowship — Systems & Storytelling
Anthropology, sustainability, journalism, regional development. Systems don't shift without narrative.
Anthropology, sustainability, journalism, regional development. Systems don't shift without narrative.
FORMALIZATION
FORMALIZATION
UW — UX & Visual Interface Design
UW — UX & Visual Interface Design
Grounding systems thinking in digital interaction, usability, and research methods
Grounding systems thinking in digital interaction, usability, and research methods
STRATEGIC LAYER
STRATEGIC LAYER
SCAD — MA in Design Management
SCAD — MA in Design Management
Connecting research and design to business impact, organizational strategy, and measurable outcomes
Connecting research and design to business impact, organizational strategy, and measurable outcomes
NOW
NOW
UX Research + Experience Strategy
UX Research + Experience Strategy
Translating fragmented touchpoints into cohesive experience ecosystems across various flields (logistics, global mobility, urban systems, ed-tech and more)
Translating fragmented touchpoints into cohesive experience ecosystems across various flields (logistics, global mobility, urban systems, ed-tech and more)
My career journey map
My career journey map
My career journey map
How I Work
How I Work
01
01
Structure in ambiguity.
Structure in ambiguity.
I bring clarity to complex, cross-functional problems — through co-creation, research synthesis, and strategic framing that helps teams move from scattered inputs to aligned direction.
I bring clarity to complex, cross-functional problems — through co-creation, research synthesis, and strategic framing that helps teams move from scattered inputs to aligned direction.
02
02
Research as argument.
Research as argument.
I treat data as something to be shaped, not just reported. The goal isn't a finding — it's a story that moves a decision-maker from passive review to strategic action.
I treat data as something to be shaped, not just reported. The goal isn't a finding — it's a story that moves a decision-maker from passive review to strategic action.
03
03
Multicultural by design.
Multicultural by design.
I've worked across India, the U.S., and globally distributed teams. I thrive in environments where the research population doesn't look like the research team — and where that tension is treated as signal, not noise.
I've worked across India, the U.S., and globally distributed teams. I thrive in environments where the research population doesn't look like the research team — and where that tension is treated as signal, not noise.
Education
Education
MA, Design Management
MA, Design Management
Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD)
Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD)
Strategy, design leadership, business impact. Also where I presented NewRoots and published thinking on design's relationship to hard science.
Strategy, design leadership, business impact. Also where I presented NewRoots and published thinking on design's relationship to hard science.
Bachelor of Architecture
Bachelor of Architecture
India
India
Five years studying how physical form shapes human behavior. The foundational lens through which I still read every system I encounter.
Five years studying how physical form shapes human behavior. The foundational lens through which I still read every system I encounter.
UX & Visual Interface Design
UX & Visual Interface Design
University of Washington
University of Washington
Formalized research methods, usability, and digital interaction design. Returned later as an Assistant Instructor — teaching three courses over six months.
Formalized research methods, usability, and digital interaction design. Returned later as an Assistant Instructor — teaching three courses over six months.
CURRENTLY EXPLORING
CURRENTLY EXPLORING
AI as a collaborator in insight translation and systems thinking, not as automation, but as a thinking partner for pattern recognition, synthesis, and strategic framing at scale.
AI as a collaborator in insight translation and systems thinking, not as automation, but as a thinking partner for pattern recognition, synthesis, and strategic framing at scale.
Outside of design
Outside of design
The same instinct that builds systems also builds 1,500-piece puzzles.
The same instinct that builds systems also builds 1,500-piece puzzles.
Paint by numbers:
A series of four canvases. Proof that constraints and creativity are not opposites.
Paint by numbers:
A series of four canvases. Proof that constraints and creativity are not opposites.
Puzzles:
Recently completed: 1,500 pieces. Small systems of pattern recognition that remind me why I do this work.
Puzzles:
Recently completed: 1,500 pieces. Small systems of pattern recognition that remind me why I do this work.
Open to new roles- Seattle & Remote
Looking for roles in UX Research, Design Research, Design & Experience Strategy, and strategy-oriented experience design, on teams where insight actually shapes the work.
Nitya Jois | Seattle WA
Open to new roles- Seattle & Remote
Looking for roles in UX Research, Design Research, Design & Experience Strategy, and strategy-oriented experience design, on teams where insight actually shapes the work.
Nitya Jois | Seattle WA
Open to new roles- Seattle & Remote
Looking for roles in UX Research, Design Research, Design & Experience Strategy, and strategy-oriented experience design, on teams where insight actually shapes the work.
Nitya Jois | Seattle WA