Meet Aishwarya Subramanian | Production Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aishwarya Subramanian and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aishwarya, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I think Risk taking is the whole definition of my professional life. I was never the one for normal life. I always wanted to do something different from others and wanted to make my own identity in the world. I chose to change my career path because I wasn’t happy with it. Since my personal satisfaction with my life was more valuable for me, it led me to pursue a career as a Production designer/ Art Director in the entertainment industry.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Let me start by introducing myself then, I am Aishwarya Subramanian and I work in the Art Department in the entertainment industry as Production Designer/ Art Director. I have been able to work in an array of films, both feature and short. Being on the set and able to collaborate with different creative people makes me really happy and excited about my work.

Arts, stories, music etc., has always been a big part of my life ever since I was a little girl. I remember when I was young, my mother used to tell me and my brother bedtime stories. I would have these elaborate scenes running in my mind as the story progresses as if I was watching a movie. I was always keen to explore through different styles of art from painting to music throughout my life.That was also the time when my younger brother used to be part of theatre in high school. I used to go to watch his performances and was completely captivated by the whole process of putting together a show. Through these experiences was how I found my inclination towards designing for spaces and eventually leading me to pursue production design.

As a designer, now I try to keep showing the essence of the character and the storyline through the spaces in which the story takes place. I try to put together a collection of images for spaces based on my initial feeling and understanding of the story and characters. Which is then later modified and perfected based on multiple discussions and creative ideas by the people involved in the team. I really enjoy the process of how the look evolves from the initial idea to the final product and how it carries multiple layers of depth to highlight the story and characters.
Having said that, I still face few challenges along the way. One of the biggest challenges that I face till now is with networking and being able to connect with people. Being a person who generally keeps to herself, it wasn’t easy for me to meet people. It took a lot of practice and effort to be able to get out of my comfort zone and approach people. I am slowly getting better at it now though.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I don’t think planning the trip has ever gone my way because sometimes we get carried away by the moment or the space and lose track of time. Moreover, I am also new to the city and am still exploring the place myself. As far as I have seen, Atlanta is a very lively place and has a lot of events taking place all over the city almost every weekend, so it is hard to make a list beforehand. But I do have a list of places that I would love to take my friend to.

I would definitely like to take her to hang out at Piedmont Park. It is a very calm and huge place where I can spend an entire day. There is a café called Sean heart of the park which I would love her to try, especially their milkshakes. The next would be Six flags, Art museums, Historic places etc. Some of the other activities would be to go for Karaoke, food explorations and cycling. One of the eating places I would like to take my friend would be the Harue V2 in Doraville. They have really good Korean Chicken and other snacks. Hopefully, by the time my friends actually come to visit me, I will have a better list of places and activities.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My biggest shoutout would be to my family, who have constantly supported me and helped me move forward in my career. Without their encouragement, I would not have the courage to continue in my career path. The next would be to my professors and friends in SCAD, who have given me the opportunity learn and grow both professionally and personally.

Instagram: https://instagram.com/aishsub104?igshid=ZDdkNTZiNTM=

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/aishsub

Other: https://www.behance.net/gallery/158816675/Portfolio/modules/896087985