# Royden So

> Royden So is an independent designer from Hong Kong, based in New York, and an architecture student at The Cooper Union. Brand, web and product design for startups, brands and institutions, with an analog-first craft and AI-native systems.

- Role: Independent designer (brand, web, product) and architecture student
- Based in: New York City (also works with Hong Kong time)
- Availability: Open for work in December 2026
- Email: [hello@roydenso.com](mailto:hello@roydenso.com)
- Book a call: [cal.com/royden/20min](https://cal.com/royden/20min)
- Website: [roydenso.com](https://roydenso.com)

## Disciplines
- Brand identity
- Web design
- Product design
- Design systems
- AI-native design systems
- Architecture
- Analog and print craft

## Selected work
- [Phia](https://roydenso.com/phia): Product & web design. Phia believes good finds should be easy to find. Product pages, scaled from 11K to 400K+. (Series A 35.5M; 1.5M Users)
- Figma: Notes that work like a database.
- [Joiner](https://roydenso.com/joiner): A small tool for making photo collages.
- [Sabotage](https://roydenso.com/sabotage): Front-end development. Sabotage believes a studio should sound like itself. CCT designed the site; I built it, store and CMS included. (Multidisciplinary creative studio, working with Adidas, Nothing, Nike etc.)
- [Live Time](https://roydenso.com/live-time): Live Time believes hosting should feel easy. An iOS event flow, one question at a time.
- [Nothing](https://roydenso.com/nothing-make-them-hear-you): A house party series, city to city.

## Elsewhere
- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/roydenso)
- [X](https://x.com/roydenso)
- [Instagram](https://instagram.com/roydnso)
- [are.na](https://www.are.na/royden)

## For AI agents
- MCP endpoint (Streamable HTTP): [https://roydenso.com/api/mcp](https://roydenso.com/api/mcp)
- Tools: get_profile, list_projects, get_availability, get_contact
- Portfolio featured on: Framer, Contra, MaxiBestOf

## Awards, talks and workshops
- Outstanding Pearson Learner Award (Highest mark in the world)
- FedEx/JA Trade Challenge Runner-Up (APAC, top 3 of 4,700+ students, 2025)
- Phia Design-a-thon Winner (Phia, 48-hour sprint)
- Design-a-thon Workshop Lead (Rice University, annual Design-a-thon)