The most powerful design work doesn’t announce itself. It appears on a Coachella stage, in a humanitarian campaign seen around the world, on a Formula 1 helmet concept, or in a global gaming platform, and it feels as if it has always belonged there.
For multidisciplinary designer and art director Sai Narayanan Balaji, that has been the hallmark of his career: creating work that feels inevitable and unforgettable, work that shapes how audiences engage with music, fashion, technology, and philanthropy. Over the past six years, his designs have traveled across continents, worn by fans in sold-out arenas, featured in fashion launches, embedded in Fortune 500 campaigns, and tied to humanitarian causes. Often, they appear without his name in the spotlight, but with unmistakable impact.
From Studios to the Global Stage
Sai began in traditional design studios and agencies, where he built brand identities, campaign visuals, and full-scale visual systems. The discipline of delivering on-brief creative became second nature. Over time, he stepped away from conventional advertising to explore collaborations that blurred the boundaries between commerce, culture, and cause. His portfolio soon began to include projects for internationally recognized names, and the scale and visibility of his work grew rapidly.
Sai’s Portfolio Website: www.sainarayanan.com (courtesy) that received Honorable Mention on Awards
Designs Across Industries
One of his recent high-visibility projects was a collectible merchandise line for Ahmed Spins’ Coachella debut in 2025. Sold at the official festival stand and worn by more than 250,000 attendees across both weekends, the collection became part of an experience streamed to millions worldwide.
Sports have also provided a canvas. For Formula 1, Sai developed helmet concepts for drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel. Each merged performance engineering with personal storytelling, adding a visual layer to one of the world’s most-watched sports.
With Millinsky, Sai’s work also finds its way into fashion and music crossovers. During Milan Design Week 2023, he contributed designs for a capsule collection from Golden Goose, Millinsky, and END., a drop that drew press and design enthusiasts from around the world. He also developed merchandise for Jamie Jones’ Paradise in 2024–25, creating designs rooted in the group’s visual identity and cultural tone. His portfolio includes the Arctic Monkeys’ The Car world tour merchandise, seen across sold-out arenas in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Sai also created exclusive merchandise for Deep House Bible’s 2023 desert event in Agafay, Morocco, a gathering that brought together electronic music icons Carlita, Diplo, Keinemusik, and Anotr.
Left to right: Ahmed Spins Coachella 2025 merch; Arctic Monkeys merch; Golden Goose collaboration (All images: Courtesy Sai Narayanan)
Parallel to his independent practice, Sai’s time at Media.Monks (now .Monks) saw him leading design for HP OMEN in India. He spearheaded OMEN Playground, a platform aimed at upskilling the gaming community and normalizing esports in India. The initiative, which he branded and launched through omenplayground.com, gave HP an authentic foothold in one of the world’s fastest-growing gaming markets. His collaborations with Google in 2024 further extended into brand systems and visual direction delivered through agency partnerships.
When Design Meets Impact
Sai’s projects extend beyond commercial visibility to humanitarian and cultural impact. In 2022, he spearheaded design direction for the PROSPECT 100 x Ukraine NFT fundraiser, a project backed by Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation. The project was amplified by Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister, on X, raising over $500k within 24 hours and becoming part of a broader $65.9M crypto relief effort in partnership with fair.xyz. Coverage in Forbes, WWD, Hypebeast, and Culted marked it as one of the first large-scale examples of Web3 design driving humanitarian aid.
Other philanthropic work has included creating visual assets for amfAR’s Global Design Competition in 2023, judged by Kate Moss, Kendall Jenner, J Balvin, Natalia Vodianova, and Peggy Gou. For the Novak Djokovic Foundation in Serbia, Sai designed the Dreamers Are Champions charitable merchandise line with Millinsky, supporting early childhood education programs. In the U.S., his collaboration with internet-native illustrator Ketnipz supported Massachusetts General Hospital for Children (MGHfC), creating a playful merch capsule that raised funds for pediatric wellness.
Left to right: Novak Djokovic Foundation merch; Ketnipz x Millinsky collection for MGHfC; PROSPECT 100 Digital Identity (All images: Courtesy Sai Narayanan)
Sai’s connection to PROSPECT 100 (now ODITI) runs deeper still. As the platform’s only Founding Designer, he shaped its brand and digital identity, design work that contributed to a successful $750,000 pre-seed funding round, noted by Tech.eu and the UK Business Angels Association.
The Thread That Connects It All
Whether it’s a sneaker drop in Milan, a music merch line shipped across continents, a gaming identity for a Fortune 500 company, or an NFT campaign for humanitarian aid, Sai’s process begins in the same place: concept.
“My work always begins with conceptual clarity,” he says. “When design serves meaning, it stitches itself into narratives and becomes inevitable. Don’t just chase relevance. Build resonance. Collaborations that create cultural and emotional impact last far longer than hype cycles.”
Sai’s career is a reminder that influence does not always need the spotlight. His visual worlds have traveled far, attached to moments, brands, and causes that millions have experienced. Some may never know the name behind them, but the resonance of his work remains unmistakable.
Presented by: APG
