We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Paridhi Chawla a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Paridhi, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

My parents like to say my journey in interior design began the day I took a crayon to their living room wall—but in truth, it officially started during my undergraduate studies in interior design at Pratt Institute in 2019.

Interior design is fundamentally about shaping the spaces where humans spend most of their lives. Whether it’s a restaurant, a home, or a healthcare facility, the goal is to create environments that people can inhabit safely, comfortably, and beautifully. Understanding that the spaces I design influence not only how people move, behave, and feel, but also how our built environment impacts the planet, has impacted my commitment to designing and planning for all people—of every ability, background, and need. To me, inclusivity and sustainability are not stylistic choices; they are essential responsibilities of this profession.

One of the greatest challenges we face as interior designers is articulating the full scope of what our work truly entails. Despite being a historically women-dominated field, interior design has often been minimised or misunderstood, and its profound role in shaping human experience has been overlooked. Yet, we design the physical narratives and experiences people live inside every day—and that is both a privilege and a responsibility I take seriously.

Paridhi, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an interior designer and an illustrator, and for as long as I can remember, I knew my path would lead me into a creative field. My creative sensibilities, along with early fascination for how humans interact with the spaces around them, guided me toward a career in interior design. Throughout my journey, I’ve been driven by a desire to understand the intersection of people, place, and design, and how thoughtful environments can genuinely shape human experience.

Professionally, I’ve had the opportunity to work across a wide range of sectors—from healthcare to workplace design—and each has taught me something unique about how different communities move, behave, and experience space. Recently, I’ve been focusing on honing my skills within the retail sector, a field that combines storytelling, human behavior, and spatial strategy directly aligned with the consumer economy. Interior design is inherently human-centric, and that same lens of empathy, culture, and narrative carries into my illustration practice as well.

While I deeply value my work as both a designer and an artist, one of the most meaningful roles I hold is serving as the VP of Student Development for the IIDA NY Chapter. It has truly been one of the greatest honors of my young career. As someone who was a student not that long ago, I have the rare advantage of seeing both sides of the professional journey. This perspective allows me to support emerging designers through challenges I navigated myself just a few years earlier, and to advocate for resources, conversations, and opportunities that can genuinely shape their careers.
Being able to contribute to the next generation of designers—and to create a small but real impact on our community—continues to keep me going every day.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Yes—my creative journey is driven by a clear mission: to design spaces and create work that center sustainability, inclusivity, and human well-being. I believe that interior design is far more than shaping attractive environments; it is about shaping ethical and equitable experiences. Every decision—from material selection to spatial planning—has the power to influence both people and the planet, and I want to ensure that impact is always a positive one.

As a designer and illustrator, I’m committed to telling stories that reflect diverse human experiences and to advocating for design practices that reduce environmental harm. My goal is to contribute to a future where sustainable choices are standard, not exceptional, and where every individual feels considered and supported by the spaces they inhabit.

This mission also guides my work within the design community, especially in my role as VP of Student Development at IIDA NY. I want to create pathways, conversations, and opportunities that empower emerging designers to see sustainability and inclusivity not as trends, but as essential responsibilities. The greatest impact I can make is to help shape a generation of designers who approach their craft with empathy, awareness, and a sense of purpose.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I am still early in my career, and I know there are many more chapters ahead that will continue to shape and test my resilience. But one experience that stands out is the period right after graduation, when I was navigating an exceptionally difficult job market. Like many emerging designers at the time, I found myself pivoting into design marketing, merchandising, and a handful of odd jobs, basically anything that allowed me to stay connected to creativity while continuing to build the skills I needed for the role I wanted.

What made this time particularly challenging was that, alongside the uncertainty of employment, I was also trying to secure stable housing in New York City, a task that feels like a full-time job on its own. For several months, I balanced job applications and interviews with couch-surfing, packing and repacking my life into bags, and trying to maintain a sense of direction and purpose amid constant movement.

That period taught me more about perseverance than any classroom or studio ever could. It showed me the value of adaptability, humility, and determination, and it reminded me that resilience isn’t always loud. It often looks like quietly chipping away every day, even when circumstances feel temporary or unpredictable. Looking back, that chapter shaped the person I am today, and it continues to encourage me to show up for communities where others feel supported, stable, and seen.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.iidany.org/
• Instagram: @thatailingartist
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paridhi-chawla-304430199/

Image Credits

Event images: Ximena Hoyos