Meet Khushboo Nayak | Khushboo Uday Nayak: Graphic Designer & Lettering Artist

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

Hi Khushboo, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Hello everyone, thank you, Shoutout Atlanta, 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.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
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 form 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, I 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 2years, I have won several national and international awards for my projects, and I hope to continue adding many more.

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.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
As I am relatively new here myself, I may explore this beautiful country of the USA with my friend, go to museums national parks, Art galleries, new restaurants or maybe even drive cross-country to get a feel of what this country has to offer. However, If my best friend or my friends from the USA visit me in India, then a week won’t suffice as there is so much to see and absorb in India. From its culture, vibrant colors, beautiful cities, tasty Indian cuisine, and World heritage sites, there is so much I would want them to experience. But most importantly, the warmth of Indian people. If it was only for a week, then me being a Mumbai girl, I would surely take them around the beautiful coastal city of Mumbai. I would show them the Gateway of India, let them experience the nightlife in the city that never sleeps, makes them travel with me in the famous local trains of Mumbai, show them a Bollywood movie or even take them to the film studio and then bring them home to my family and serve them some homemade Indian food.

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?
Yes, and I completely agree with that. I am a firm believer that whatever I have achieved so far in my life, be it small or something 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, and my brother have always been my rock and in some sense my very first mentors. You can hone your skills and learn to be an artist but my family taught me to be a nice human being first. Growing up, I had many mentors. Outside my family, my school drawing and crafts teacher Mrs. Chitra Paradkar, my art mentors’ Mr. Dixit and Mr. Inamdar literally taught me how to hold a brush, taught me the concept of colors, taught me how to work on my strokes while working on the canvas and basically taught me how to love this beautiful art and appreciate it. During my 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. Each of every other person I have mentioned here is the reason for Khushboo Uday Nayak being Graphic designer Khushboo Uday Nayak today.

Website: https://www.khushbooudaynayak.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creative_adda07/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khushboo-nayak-470130142/

Other: https://www.behance.net/Khushbooudaynayak

Image Credits
Khushboo Uday Nayak designs and applications