Diving into
Nivverse.
A designer, artist, occasional overthinker, and someone who still gets unnecessarily excited about a good visual.
illustrator · product designer · portraiture · music · body art · @nivverse · design systems · playlists · Bengaluru · Nivverse ·
Hi, I'm Nivedhya but most people call me Niv. I'm a multidisciplinary designer who spends most of my professional life thinking about products, interfaces, systems and how to make complicated things feel a little less complicated. But design is only one part of me. Outside of work, I draw. I make illustrations. I experiment with visual storytelling. I write sometimes. I take photographs when something catches my eye. I collect ideas that probably don't have anywhere to go yet.
This little corner of the internet is where those things get to exist together.
No order required - pick what you're curious about.
start here
Not a case study
Skippable tiles. One idea at a time. The portfolio is the other half of this site.
the wall thing
Before I was a designer
Dad's diary. Crayons. Walls. Sketchbooks later.
day job
What I actually do
UX, UI, systems, enterprise - the messy middle.
Before I was a designer
I think I've always been making things. When I was a kid, I wasn't really thinking about becoming an artist.I just liked drawing. One of my earliest memories is drawing a girl in my father's diary with a bunch of crayons. Then came the walls. I used to draw on them too. I'm sure my parents are very relieved that I've since discovered sketchbooks. Looking back, I think those messy little experiments taught me something that still shows up in my work today: follow your curiosity before you worry about whether you're doing it “right.” That instinct has stayed with me. It took me from drawing on walls to studying design, from making llustrations to designing digital products, and eventually to figuring out how the two can live together.
So, what do I actually do ?
I turn ideas into things people can understand. As a designer, I work across UX, UI, product thinking, visual design and design systems. I've worked on large enterprise experiences and design systems to mobile products, dashboards and marketing ecosystems. I enjoy the messy middle of a project most. The part where nobody quite knows what the answer is yet.
The sketches.
The conversations.
The terrible first version.
The “wait… what if we tried this?” moment. And eventually, the little moment when everything starts making sense.
But i also make things that I want to
Enter: Nivverse.
I have an Instagram account where I get to step away from requirements, user flows, design systems and stakeholder feedback. No brief. No sprint. No acceptance criteria. Just me, a blank canvas and whatever happens to be occupying my brain that day. I make illustrations, experiment with characters, play with colours and occasionally disappear into Procreate for far longer than I intended. Design is how I solve problems. Art is how I explore them.
@nivverse
From sketches to stories
I've always been interested in what happens between an idea and the final picture. My art journey has slowly grown beyond just drawing. I've explored illustration, character design, visual storytelling, storyboarding and moving images - basically anything that lets an idea become something you can actually see. That's also why I enjoy working across different creative mediums. Sometimes an idea wants to be a UI. Sometimes it wants to be an illustration. Sometimes it probably should have stayed in my notes app. I'm learning to tell the difference.
@nivedhyakolathodi
Youtube
The two sides of my brain
ART
Illustration · Character design · Visual storytelling · Sketching · Procreate experiments · Photography · Making things that don't necessarily need to exist
DESIGN
UX / UI · Product design · Design systems · Enterprise experiences · Visual design · Storytelling through interfaces · Making complicated things feel simple
Things that make me, me
I collect visual references like they're Pokémon.
I can spend way too long choosing a font.
I like quiet roads, strange little details, and photographs that feel like a frame from a movie.
I usually have about five creative ideas going on at the same time. Most won't ship. That's okay.
Currently curious about
Things occupying my brain lately:
· design systems · illustration · human-first products · Bengaluru
Whether you want to collaborate, talk design, share ideas, or send a playlist,
I’m around.
