We were lucky to catch up with Devyani Pare recently and have shared our conversation below.

Devyani, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

One significant risk I took was regarding my education during my junior year of high school. A few states in the USA have a program called Running Start, which allows high school students in their junior and senior years to attend a community college and earn both high school and college credits at the same time. I started this program and took general education classes like math, science, art, and languages at a college close to my home. It was a risk initially because I had just moved to this country and had no idea what to expect from the education system or what my next steps would be. It came with its challenges, such as the increased workload that often left me feeling overwhelmed, limitations on credit transfers that made it difficult to plan my academic path, and uncertainties about my undecided college major at the time. However, I was determined to become more independent and confident in this new country. I learned a lot as I went through each day. Over time, I began to see it as an opportunity, and in the end, I was able to transfer most of my credits to a university and get my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design in just two more years. Since I had finished my undergraduate studies earlier than expected, it opened up another opportunity for me to apply to graduate school and further enhance my skills in graphic design.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve had quite an adventure getting into the graphic design industry. Growing up, my family moved a few times, so I lived in three different countries, experiencing diverse cultures and stories. My grandfather encouraged me to draw and take inspiration from things around me, which helped me develop a love for storytelling from a young age. I experimented with various art mediums like acrylics, oil paints, gouache, and digital art. After stumbling upon a video on YouTube titled “A Day in My Life as a Graphic Designer,” I became hooked on the idea of combining my art with this new field I just found out about. It led me down a rabbit hole into this world, and I decided to major in graphic design during my undergraduate and graduate studies. Going to graduate school turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made. During my two years there, I had the opportunity to expand my work in various ways, such as visual storytelling, identity systems, and conceptual explorations. The program also required a thesis, which allowed me to explore in a way I hadn’t before through motion design, large-scale installations, and paper engineering. Pushing myself into challenging situations like running start, graduate school, and learning new mediums to express my ideas has been extremely rewarding. I now collaborate with clients and work on projects to develop new identity systems, packaging design, campaigns, and conceptual work using visual storytelling.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Appreciating and prioritizing art is something society can do to foster a creative ecosystem. This can involve encouraging children to engage in more art, attending art events, and supporting local artists by purchasing their work. Another crucial aspect of creating such an environment is to avoid stolen and plagiarized artwork, and everyone should do their due diligence in that.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I highly value education, which I feel my grandfather had instilled in me ever since I was young. My grandfather used to collect books, which he would then lend to children, and eventually, it became a library. He also used to tutor children after school in various subjects. I draw a lot of inspiration from his story, and I aspire to create a similar environment and teach. To achieve this goal, I am committed to continuously learning and experiencing new things as I progress on my creative journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://devyanipare.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/devyani.pare/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devyani-pare/