Brand Experience Strategist helping founders and innovators build brands people feel.

Aqil (ah-keel) partners with startups and organizations to translate visionary ideas into human-centred, values-aligned experiences. Working at the intersection of well-being, culture, & technology, he co-creates experiences that inspire, build trust, and move the heart. Based in Toronto, working globally.

empathy through co-creation

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inclusion at the core

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play as a superpower

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empathy through co-creation + inclusion at the core + play as a superpower +

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Design Services

  • Partnering with founders and teams to turn vision into brands people feel connected to, Aqil crafts cohesive identities that express purpose, emotion, and clarity across every touchpoint.

  • Aqil leads dynamic workshops that align teams, spark imagination, and move ideas into action. His play-driven facilitation turns shared insight into clarity and creative momentum.

  • Aqil helps founders define strategy, refine products, and craft stories that resonate. He turns early-stage ideas into ventures people believe in.

  • Aqil partners with organizations to reimagine how they serve people—mapping journeys, uncovering opportunities, and designing experiences that build trust and care.

  • Aqil turns research and data into stories people get. By transforming complexity into clarity, his visuals drive better decisions and spark deeper understanding.

Select Projects

  • Collection of branding and marketing materials for Chipp, including a logo, brand playbook pages, product images, icons, character illustrations, and sample merchandise, all featuring a yellow cartoon AI character with a cheerful expression.

    Bringing AI to Everyone

    Work for Chipp.AI

    Learn more
  • Dark background with an abstract pattern of curved, bright green and blue neon lines

    Designing More Human Services

    Consulting for Bridgeable

    Learn more
  • Title that reads 'The Empowerful Project' over a background of teal balloons arranged in a circular pattern.

    Making Mental Healing Possible

    Building Empowerful from the ground up

    Learn more
  • Close-up of a product label on a box of Lychee Tea, featuring geometric blue and teal patterns, and text highlighting the tea's health benefits like vitamin D and balanced pH.

    Crafting Fresh Oral Wellness

    Work for DoseBiome

    Learn more

Recent Achievements

Got a bold idea that deserves great design?

Let’s craft a brand experience that reflects your values, resonates with your audience, and moves your mission forward.

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From the Journal

Blog
How EQ3 Can Make Modern Feel Close to Home
Rebrand Reflections
How EQ3 Can Make Modern Feel Close to Home
Rebrand Reflections

EQ3’s rebrand with Wedge Studio brought clarity and confidence to the brand; the next step is warmth. This reflection is both an appreciation and a personal exploration of how EQ3 can keep making modern feel like home: not just Canadian by design, but Canadian by heart.

Read More →
Rebrand Reflections
The Wicked Makeup Brush Set That Could’ve Existed
Design Daydreams
The Wicked Makeup Brush Set That Could’ve Existed
Design Daydreams

Introducing The Wicked Makeup Brush Set — a fanmade collection inspired by the essence of Glinda and Elphaba. This project started as a simple “what if?” and reminded me why I fell in love with design in the first place — to bring imagination into the real world — with a story I’ve loved since forever.

Read More →
Design Daydreams
Why the CQCC Rebrand Missed Its Strategic Moment
Rebrand Reflections
Why the CQCC Rebrand Missed Its Strategic Moment
Rebrand Reflections

Rebrands like this always make me pause not because “Queer” isn’t the right direction (it absolutely is), but because it feels like the thinking stopped there.

Read More →
Rebrand Reflections

 

good news

🗞️

good news 🗞️

October 8 2025

Aqil received the Integrated Branding Award at the 2025 International RGD Branding Awards

“🎉 Studio Whippy Wins the 2025 RGD International Branding Award!

This Thanksgiving, we’re grateful to share that out of 390 submissions, our work has been selected to win the Integrated Award - Rebrand/Refresh, recognized by the Association of Registered Graphic Designers (RGD).

As a boutique, queer, and BIPOC-led studio, this recognition means a lot. A huge thank you to the Chipp founding crew for believing in our process and the RGD community for championing it. Here’s to continuing to design with intention (and a little bit of whimsy).”

An award ceremony stage with a large screen displaying the name CHIPP, awards, and logos, with people sitting and standing in the audience.
Exhibition display panels in an airport or conference center, featuring a large poster for the 2025 RGD Branding Awards, with information about judges and various display boards in the background.
Man smiling, wearing glasses and a black and gold patterned shirt, holding a red award trophy, standing in front of a backdrop with the words supporting, connecting, inspiring, and promoting designers.

In the Media

October 14 2025

RGD

Screenshot of the website 'RGD' featuring a section with cartoon yellow characters, speech bubbles, and the text 'AI 4 A.I.' on a black background.

May 20 2025

Teachers Life

Group of diverse young adults standing outdoors and smiling in a line, with a cloudy sky and marina in the background.

April 9 2025

Betakit

A person wearing a purple T-shirt with 'QUERTECH' printed on the back, standing in a room filled with people attending a conference or event.

April 3 2025

Humber River Health Foundation

A colorful illustration of a human head profile filled with abstract shapes, leaves, and a dove. To the right, a man stands in a room with a large screen displaying 'Humber River Health' and a seating area with a table.

May 17 2024

OCAD University

Event webpage for 'Starting a creative business for newcomers' hosted by OCAD University on May 17, 2024, from 1-3 PM, located at CEAD, 115 McCaul, 3rd Floor, with speakers Suharu Ogawa, Jasmine Cardenas, and Pedro Suing.

September 13 2024

Financial Post

Screenshot of a news article titled 'Press Start CoLab 2024 Awards $77,000 to Support Nine Innovative Youth-led Mental Health Projects Across Canada,' published by GlobeNewswire on September 13, 2024. The article discusses funding for young entrepreneurs tackling mental health in Canada, accompanied by a green banner with white text.'

October 19 2016

BlogTO

An illustrated donut map of Toronto, titled 'The Inner Tour List,' features various donut icons. The map is on a booklet with a pink background.

March 30 2016

Business Insider

A cluttered desk with a MacBook, water bottle, papers, notebooks, and a brown hammock underneath the desk

Interested in working together?

Let’s imagine what’s possible through design that moves hearts. Fill out some info and Aqil will be in touch shortly.