After graduating, Fili began her career as a
freelance designer of special project books at
Alfred A. Knopf from 1975 to 1976. In 1978, Fili joined
Random House as the art director at
Pantheon Books, where she rejected standard
fonts to create bespoke typographic treatments for each book jacket. Her approach extended to the physical surface treatment as well, favoring softer and more durable matte coatings over standard shiny finishes. She stated in a 2018 interview: "I was on a mission to prove that you didn’t have to shout to capture someone’s attention. The cover that I did for
The Lover, by
Marguerite Duras, was probably the best example of that." The success of her jacket for Duras' bestseller,
The Lover, in 1984 allowed her increased creative freedom at
Pantheon. Her geometric, often
Cubist-like designs show an affinity to European
Modernism, particularly the work of
Lucian Bernhard,
A.M. Cassandre,
Jean Carlu, and Italian posters of the 1930s. In 2000, she received three
James Beard Award nominations, In 2004, Fili was inducted into the
Art Directors Club Hall of Fame. Fili has authored and co-authored over twenty books, many of them with her husband, the design historian
Steven Heller. A monograph of her work,
Elegantissima, was published in 2012. In 2025, she designed the poster for the twentififth
National Book Festival. ==Personal life==