Today we’d like to introduce you to Manasa Krishnan
Hi Manasa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My creative journey began in 2016 when I enrolled in the National Institute of Design (NID), India’s oldest design institute to explore my creative interests and pursue a career in Graphic Design. During my time there, I had a chance to study at the Willem de Kooning Academy in the Netherlands as part of the student exchange program. It was an enriching experience as I was exposed to Dutch graphic design which was highly experimental in its approach, contrary to the structured and methodical approach of the Bauhaus that I was learning back at NID.
Upon graduation, I worked at an agency where I discovered my interest in branding and identity systems. Eventually, I moved to an in-house role at Ather, India’s first smart electric scooter brand. While I enjoyed the deep dive into brand-building, I wanted to expand my skillsets further and find a voice for myself as a designer which led me to pursue my graduate studies at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). During my graduate studies, I explored different ways of storytelling through typography like creative coding, lettering and image making. I realized that I enjoy working with wit and I actively seek to incorporate language as a hook in my work.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Learning is an uncomfortable process, and it is rarely ever a smooth road. The subjective nature of design adds to its complexity. It’s been challenging to understand how to receive and give feedback as it is a crucial part of the design process. While it is natural to feel attached to your ideas, it is important to take a step back and hear other perspectives to evaluate your judgment. Every stage of my journey involved unlearning things that I was familiar with and adapting to new ways of thinking and making.
Working professionally presented a new set of challenges that included collaborating with stakeholders who were not limited to designers and working with them to leverage their skill sets to strengthen the work I was making. Having a point of view was a new muscle to build as it made the work stand out amongst the plethora of work that exists out there. Another challenge was to find my voice as a designer and discover aspects of my work that make it relevant and novel.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My work delves into branding, strategy and creating visual systems. In a nutshell, I enjoy visual storytelling through different mediums such as editorial, brand design, animation, illustration and typography. I’m curious about emerging mediums such as creative coding and I seek new ways to combine it with my existing skillsets. Puns, humor and wit are something that I love to explore through different projects.
A project that I’m fond of is an identity system and a set of illustrations that I created for a movie revival series at the Senator–a historic theatre in Baltimore. I created custom typography and illustrations inspired by the work of the legendary Saul Bass and extended the visual system to other paraphernalia. I enjoy creating work that is memorable, fun and relatable. I hope for people to find the easter eggs in my work and engage in the wit. This approach makes the work stand out as it stays with the audience for longer.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
A lot of designers strive to find their niche early on but it’s ok to try out different things and test the waters before figuring out your strengths and practicing something that you’re specifically known for. It’s really helpful to put your work out there, social media has a powerful reach in today’s times. Networking can uplift your career in surprising ways, reaching out to people whose work you admire can lead to interesting conversations and maybe even open doors to new opportunities. I often found myself being held back and not utilizing my potential because of perfectionism and the fear of failure, I wish I knew that it’s ok to try something out of your comfort zone and fail rather than not give it a shot at all.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://manasakrishnan.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manasa_krishnan/
