A LITTLE MORE ABOUT ME

Hello,
I’m Nika.

Nika smiling with a camera
NIKA JAHANKHAH / LONDON

I was born and raised in London, and I’m proud to be a Londoner. I’m rarely interested in just one thing at a time. I’m drawn to art, music and the way people make sense of the world. I like getting beneath the surface of things, asking another question and finding my own way into a subject.

Say helloA little of my story

01 / OUTSIDE THE OBVIOUS

More than
one interest.

My interests range from art and music to finding new ways to test myself. I play piano and violin, I’ve swum in the Thames, and I’ve been kayaking. In the gym, weightlifting keeps me disciplined. My leg press best is 120 kg, which I’ve yet to beat, so there’s some unfinished business there.

“Jack of all trades, master of none” has never felt like much of a warning to me. I’d rather be a polymath: explore widely, then develop real depth in the things I love, especially art and computer science. Having different interests gives me more ways to think, notice and make connections. I want to be accomplished in a few things without having to stop being curious about everything else.

02 / CULTURE & BELONGING

Between cultures,
in my own words.

My Iranian and Pakistani heritage is a big part of how I see the world. I love exploring diaspora: what we carry with us, what changes across generations and places, and how we make something our own. I’m interested in the everyday details that hold those stories, from language and typography to the things we choose to make, wear and share.

03 / MAKING IT PERSONAL

An idea
of my own.

PERSAHOLIC gives that interest a home. It brings together my love of Persian culture, memory and contemporary design, and gives me the freedom to develop an idea in my own voice. Building something of my own matters to me. I want a hand in shaping its identity, making the decisions and figuring out how to bring it into the world.

Visit PERSAHOLIC
Nika as a child with her dad at a computer
Me and my dad. Software engineer since day one.

04 / AN EARLY CHAPTER

A familiar scene.

Computers entered the picture early, as the photograph of me and my dad suggests. These days, I’m pursuing a BSc in Computer Science and an unofficial PhD in following my curiosity. I enjoy the precision of technical thinking, but I also want room for interpretation, experimentation and a strong opinion about the typography.

That combination is probably the clearest thread through my interests. I can get absorbed in how something works and care just as much about how it feels, what it communicates and who gets to use it. I like having enough independence to take an idea beyond the conversation.

05 / STILL EXPLORING

Room for
what comes next.

Writing gives me another way to explore those questions. So do research, design and entrepreneurship. I’m fascinated by how people think and the way technology shapes everyday life. I like ideas that need both careful thought and a point of view.

I’m ambitious about building a life with room for that breadth. I want to make thoughtful things, develop ideas with substance and stay open to interests I haven’t discovered yet. There is a common thread, even if my browser tabs occasionally suggest otherwise.

SAY HELLO

Enough about me.
What’s on your mind?

A thoughtful conversation, a good question or an idea with somewhere to go. I’d love to hear it.

Let’s talknika@hamid.com