Five Years, Four Cities, Infinite Impact: The Story of Rock Paper Scissors Studio

On a balmy evening in Goa in 2020, two friends and life companions huddled over laptops and coffee mugs, sketching out a dream. The world outside was still reeling from the pandemic, but inside that small room, there was clarity – “work should never be a place that kills creativity.”  “I had seen how politics, egos, and micromanagement suffocate ideas before they even take shape,” remembers Shivendra Singh, Founder & CEO, Rock Paper Scissors Studio (RPS). “RPS was born out of a simple promise — no politics, no micromanagement, no egos. Just a space where creativity thrives.”  That conviction wasn’t just about culture. It became the seed of a design studio that, five years later, is making its presence felt from fintech corridors to government platforms, and from bustling metros to remote corners of India.

Most startups fear launching in a downturn. RPS did it anyway.  The pandemic tested every organisation’s limit but RPS leaned on a principle that had guided them from day one — discipline. “With a lean model, sharp processes, and value-for-money offerings, we adapted faster than most,” says Chandni Chadha, Co-founder and COO, Rock Paper Scissors Studio (RPS). While others struggled to stay afloat, RPS kept delivering.  It was resilience, but also a message that design, when built on clarity and efficiency, can outlast uncertainty.

In a country where design is often mistaken for aesthetics, RPS chose a different lens. For them, design wasn’t about pretty screens — it was about impact.  Take their accessible UPI solutions for the visually impaired. Or a digital platform built to empower children on the autism spectrum. These weren’t glamorous projects, but they embodied what RPS believed design should be - human, inclusive, and transformative.  “Our mantra is to solve real problems, create real change with our UX/UI designs,” says Shivendra.

Ask Shivendra about the future, and he doesn’t talk in vague aspirations. He talks in geometry.  “Our vision is to be the ‘Pentagon of Design’ in India,” he says with a smile. “It’s about strength, scale, and solving the toughest challenges in customer experience design.”  This ambition places RPS, the UI/UX design studio India, in a space where very few dare to enter - enterprise-level design in India, where customer journeys are still underexplored but desperately in need of innovation.

Long before remote work became a trend, RPS embraced it. But they quickly realised that remote success requires more than flexible logins. It needs trust, process, and accountability.  “Daily standups, transparent communication, and structured workflows soon became our second nature,” says Chandni. Whether in Noida, Bengaluru, Mumbai, or Goa, the team operated like one cohesive unit.  This approach also helped them find talent beyond the metros. Designers, animators and creators joined from different parts of India, united not just by skills but by a shared culture of collaboration. Today, 80% of the team is made up of creative talent, supported by a lean operations backbone.

For many, AI has been a disruption. For RPS, it was an ally.  By offloading repetitive work, AI gave the team what they value most – “time to think.” Time for strategy, storytelling, and innovation. Far from replacing humans, AI-powered design workflow has helped the team elevate their creativity, sharpening the edge that defines their work.

Among all industries RPS has touched, fintech is the one that keeps returning to the conversation.  “As the backbone of India’s economy, fintech isn’t just about transactions. It’s about trust, inclusion, and scale,” Shivendra explains. “Every fintech design decision here affects millions of people, sometimes in ways they don’t even realise.”  It’s a responsibility RPS doesn’t take lightly. For them, designing fintech journeys isn’t just about smoother onboarding or faster payments. It’s about dignity, access, and building confidence in how people interact with money.