About — the designer
A practice, not a studio.
I'm Prajesh Shakya — an independent brand identity designer working with founders, operators, and cultural institutions. I spend most of my time thinking about positioning and typography, and the rest of it turning that thinking into identities that actually hold up.
§ Bio
I started designing because I was obsessed with why some brands feel inevitableand others feel assembled. Fifteen years in, that's still the question I'm trying to answer.
I started on the agency side in Kathmandu, moved to New York for five years inside a larger studio, then spent three years in-house at a fintech learning what it takes to actually run a brand day-to-day. I went independent in 2026 because the work I was most proud of always happened when clients and designers could talk directly — without a slide deck in between.
Today I work with three to four clients a quarter, remote, from a small room in Patan with good light and too many books. If what you're building needs more than a logo, I'd like to hear about it.
§ Principles
Four things I believe.
01
Strategy first, always.
If the brief can't be written in a paragraph, the identity won't survive a year. Positioning is the work.
02
Typography is half the job.
A wordmark is a sentence. A system is a voice. Most projects need more letterforms than logos.
03
Specific beats clever.
Clever dates fast. Specific lasts. I'll always push for the answer that's unmistakably this brand.
04
Hand off a system, not a file.
The best launch is quiet — because the team already knows what to do next.
§ Chronology
The long version, briefly.
- 2026
Independent practice. Three to four identity engagements per quarter.
- 2023
Design lead at a Series A fintech. Rebuilt the brand system end to end.
- 2020
Joined a New York studio as a senior designer. Led identity work for three Fortune 500 clients.
- 2017
First studio job — a two-person shop in Kathmandu doing hospitality and cultural work.
- 2015
Graduated with a degree in visual communication. Started freelancing a week later.