Hi, I’m
Tanvi Patil
Designer · Illustrator · Daydreamer
Curiosity has shaped nearly every part of who I am.
It’s what first led me to draw animals from my storybooks, learn music, spend hours observing nature, and eventually study Cognitive Science at UC Berkeley.
Today, that same curiosity drives my design process. I’m fascinated by how people think, what motivates them, and how thoughtful design can transform complexity into something intuitive, meaningful, and deeply human.
Design is Everywhere
I’ve always been fascinated by patterns.
The way sunlight filters through leaves,
the symmetry of butterfly wings,
the layered colors in sedimentary rock,
and the spirals of a conch shell curling into a Fibonacci sequence.
Long before humans designed products, nature was solving problems through structure, adaptation, and form. Everywhere I looked, there was design.
Nature & The Human Mind
That curiosity eventually led me to Cognitive Science.
The more I learned about perception, memory, and decision-making, the more I noticed similarities between the systems found in nature and the systems inside our minds.
Millions of neurons work together to create a thought. Millions of grains of pollen drift through the air before one flower is pollinated.
Complex systems somehow converge into something meaningful.
Why I Design
Somewhere along the way, I realized I was asking the same questions everywhere I looked.
- How do people make sense of complexity?
- How do countless small pieces come together to create something larger than themselves?
- How do we find meaning within seemingly endless possibilities?
Design became my way of exploring those questions.
Not the pursuit of perfection, but the opportunity to help people find clarity within complexity—to create experiences that feel intuitive, interconnected, and deeply human.
Why There’s A Cat On My Homepage
If you’ve explored my portfolio, you’ve probably noticed the cat.
The entire website was inspired by my own cat, Diya, whose endless curiosity often leads her into unfamiliar—and sometimes dangerous—situations. I imagined that same spirit of exploration carrying her into an underwater world, where the fish are just as curious about her as she is about them.
To me, that’s what design is.
Stepping into unfamiliar worlds. Asking questions. Learning from the people already there.
Because that’s where my own path into design started:
With curiosity.
When I’m Not Designing…
You’ll usually find me hiking, wandering somewhere new and unplanned, painting, making music, sitting under a tree, picking up a brand new hobby, or spending time with my cat.
I’m also a classically trained pianist, self-taught guitarist, and firm believer that the best ideas tend to appear when you’re wandering somewhere without a plan.
Thanks for stopping by.
It’s been lovely sharing a little bit of my story with you. If you’d like to continue the conversation, I’d love to hear from you.