We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Khushboo Nayak. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Khushboo below.
Khushboo, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
Hello everyone, thank you, Canvas Rebel, for giving me this opportunity to speak about my creative career and passion and share my story with you all.
An inquisitive mind and a keen eye for details are what define me as an artist. Ever since I started appreciating colors, I have been passionate about drawing and painting. It pretty much shaped my childhood with colorful memories, and it was probably since then that I desired to be an artist for the rest of my life. Apart from my family and friends who appreciated my art from a very tender age, the real recognition came in my 8th grade, when I stood 7th at a State level drawing competition among some thousand other students. The encouragement and the admiration that I received then still pushes me to better myself with each and every other endeavor I pursue. I always had a special eye for designs, then it be any form of an object, abstract, or just varying forms of alphabets or numbers, it always intrigued me. Right then, I decided to further develop my liking, hobby, and talent into a life-long career. And what better than to pursue your hobby that makes you happy every day. Art, or creative art, empowers me and gives me a platform to present my thoughts and emotions and showcase my personality to others.
Khushboo, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Khushboo Uday Nayak, I am a passionate and an experienced Graphic Designer with a special interest and skills in typography, hand lettering, branding, publication design, conceptualization, and art direction. With a Master’s qualification and over 3 years of industry and freelance experience, my objective is to create a unique identity and a niche for myself and utilize my skills, talent, and knowledge to carve out a career as a graphic designer. I feel my journey is very interesting as on each step I learn, I fall, I stand up again, and start walking to achieve my goal. I never give up on my goals and rather no one should ever give up on things that they dream of. I feel what sets me apart from others is what I bring to the table as an artist or as a designer. I feel I am the perfect mix of “East meets West”. With a very strong Indian traditional and cultural heritage that has shaped my design aesthetics and understanding of colors to my knowledge of Westernized art forms and design history, I call myself a global artist. While I am rooted in tradition and fascinated by old art forms, I have molded myself as an artist of the 21st century who is new, refreshing, and vibrant. As an artist, my strong pursuit has always been my passion for typography, calligraphy, and hand lettering. Today, I use all these skills and apply them on a digital platform for print media, ad campaigns, product branding, etc. I feel it is for this very reason that in just a little span of 3years, I have won several national and international awards for my projects, and I hope to continue adding many more.
Currently, I am working as a Designer at BCG Design Studio. I am so happy that I am part of this design family where everyone are so supportive and warm that makes my journey comfortable and gives me that strength to learn and grow from the best people. I love to explore and challenge my creativity by exploring different styles and skills and make sure to use these skills to push my creativity with my passion for Lettering and Typography. During my journey as Bachelor’s in India and Master’s here at SCAD, Atlanta, I was blessed to learn from the experts. I can’t thank enough all my professors, Dean Prof. Santosh Kshirsagar, Prof. Shubhanand Jog, Prof. Peter Wong, Prof. Melissa Kuperminc, Prof. Holly Quarzo, and Prof. Sam Eckersley, for teaching me the nuances of being a good artist, a good graphic designer. I would also like to mention my first creative head, Designer Sandeep Bomble, under whom I learned what a professional graphic designer meant and the art of honoring professional commitments. My mentors, my friends who supported me in each and every step. Every other person I have mentioned here is why Khushboo Uday Nayak is a Graphic designer Khushboo Uday Nayak today. I firmly believe that whatever I have achieved so far in my life, whether small or big, is incomplete without my family and their constant support. More than their support, I feel their confidence in me drives me to be a better artist with each and every passing day. My mom, my dad, my brother, and my fiance have always been my rock and, in some sense, my very first mentors and my support system. You can hone your skills and learn to be an artist, but my family taught me to be a nice human being first.
Throughout my roller coaster journey, I have learned, “Never give up and be Curious in whatever work you do.” And to live up to this thinking makes me proud of my achievements today and even motivates me more to do new things by using my skills.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Every person is a creator of their own life. But artists and creatives have some magic that makes this creation of their life in a more beautiful manner. For me everything is rewarding being an artist, being a creative we have that space and flexibility of doing certain things in a specific manner. In this sense, we create our own uniqueness which is different from others. As an artist, it is never easy. You have to keep re-inventing yourself time and again and keep yourself updated with what’s relevant in the field. You are as good as your last project is also true for a graphic designer like me. It is extremely hard for an artist to create something that is liked by everyone because it is very subjective. So, you are constantly on your toes and are never satisfied. Also, being an international student, you have to deal with struggles which has nothing to do with your art or talent but there is simply no running away from that and as a young individual, you just have to hope for the best with each passing day. But having said that, I would like to be remembered as a passionate young designer from India who is leaving no stone unturned to make a mark for herself and create a niche for herself as a global graphic designer. Through my story, I would like to encourage other upcoming artists. I would want them to remain curious, put in that hard work, and not shy away from trying something new because you never know when an opportunity will come knocking at your door.
Is there a mission driving your creative journey?
The only goal that makes me always motivated on my creative journey is to never give up and always opt for ways to keep going. I am a firm believer that if you truly love what you do in you in your profession, that makes your journey passionate but at the same time motivational to keep going further. So for me, I just do what my heart really wants to do and I follow that mission in my creative journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.khushbooudaynayak.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creative_adda07/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khushboo-nayak-470130142/
Image Credits
Khushboo Uday Nayak designs