Meet Sunanda Vasudevan | Graphic Designer – Art Director

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

Hi Sunanda, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
“Pick a lane” is a piece of advice I’ve never fully bought into. Over time, I’ve realized that while focus matters, being curious and open to different areas has brought me opportunities and insights that sticking to one lane likely wouldn’t have. The people I admire most don’t just stay inside their expertise—they explore and bring their thinking into different fields, and that ability to apply themselves to other places is what makes them truly interesting. The world is changing so fast these days, and being able to adapt and connect ideas across different spaces has become almost essential. Moving beyond a single focus has also kept my work fresh and helped me avoid burnouts and remain inspired. It’s less about choosing one lane and more about finding a balance between focus and openness – I think that’s where real growth happens.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a multidisciplinary visual designer and art director with a background in architecture. My practice spans branding, campaigns, and data-driven visuals to public art and playful objects. On the side, I love crafting cakes, gifts, parties, wedding invites, and cozy family homes—things that bring small moments of joy and big moments of meaning to people’s lives.


What sets me apart is my ability to balance big-picture thinking—often shaped by business goals—with nuanced, intentional execution across print, digital, social, and web. I’m able to zoom in and out fluidly, keeping both the detail and the broader vision in view. This, combined with my restless curiosity and multi-passionate drive, helps me seek out impact and meaning in projects across applications and media.


I’m naturally idealistic, but also emotionally perceptive and grounded. I thrive on research and a kind of creative thinking that’s a little bit wild—fueled by the thrill of new briefs, tight deadlines, and packed to-do lists. At work, I live for the “Okay, let’s try it” that follows the “You must be kidding.”


Since graduating with an MFA from SCAD in late 2024, I’ve created objects, games, campaigns, and digital experiences for brands and causes while doing an internship in the art direction of educational games. I’m currently seeking a full-time role at a creative studio where I can work with a team of designers across disciplines. Eventually, I hope to design things people add to their wishlists, write a book, and teach a design class.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Having recently moved to the North East, Savannah, Georgia—where I graduated art school not long ago is still the home thats mine to show people around. A four-hour drive from Atlanta, the city invites you to slow down and remember what it feels like to have nowhere to be but here. It’s not about checking off a list—or really, about writing one at all. Heads up: you’ll easily track 20,000 steps a day—but with all there is to take in around you, you won’t even notice.

Here’s what I miss when I miss Savannah:

1. Lazing around Forsyth Park Fountain as the city wakes up
2. A morning at Farmer’s Market on a Saturday
3. Outdoor time in the city squares (Chippewa, especially)
4. Every chance to walk through Jones Street
5. Mindless wandering at City Market and Ellis Square
6. Popping in and out of stores on Broughton Street
7. Losing track of time between the shelves at cats at E. Shavers Booksellers
8. Keeping coffee-drinking friends company at Gallery Espresso and Savannah Coffee Roasters
9. A late morning brunch (and fries) at Collins
10. Brown butter cookies from Byrd’s
11. Rice and Thai Green Curry at PJ’s Thai
12. Pizza from Vinnie Van Go-Go’s
13. Coliflor Tacos, Chips and Queso at Taco and Tequila
14. Ice cream and fudge from Leopold’s Ice cream – Just because.
15. Open studios and art shows at SCAD buildings – watch out for those open to public
16. Watching people Ooh and Aah through SCADstory
17. Any excuse to be at Trustees or Lucas Theater
18. Never getting enough of the river – walking along, sitting across or riding a ferry
19. Walking across Cotton Exchange Building, Love Lock bridge at Emmett Square, and the cobble tram tracks onto River Street
20. And with some time to spare – A Drive out to Tybee Island for a beach day.

Everyone that has lived in Savannah lives this life on the daily, and wake up wanting to do it all again. So find the people who truly love this city to do it all with. I know I would, a hundred times over.

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?
As designers, we’re constantly surrounded by remarkable work that puts us in a loop of awe, admiration, self-doubt, and the restless urge to catch up. But every now and then, certain people transcend that cycle and become the quiet voices in your head – urging you to keep going. For me, three such voices are Michael Bierut, Ellen Lupton, and Giorgia Lupi.

I had spent years reading Bierut’s essays – marking pages, quoting him in conversations, and discussing them with peers. So when I got the rare opportunity to have lunch with him during his visit to SCAD, the weight of that moment was mine alone to fully grasp. They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes, but Bierut proved an exception. His genuine curiosity and the way he engaged with student projects as keenly as he would with high-profile client work was defining. It reflected what I had always sensed from his writing: design always matters, even when no one seems to notice. His writing is my reminder of that when I forget and really need it.

Ellen Lupton is a major reason I hope to teach one day. She makes me believe that someone deeply invested in their craft can not only make great work, but also inspire others to want to as well. As someone who genuinely enjoys helping peers and juniors find joy in the process of design thinking and creation, I find deep purpose in her writing. Her approach to design as both practice and play, and her use of imaginative, accessible methods to teach key graphic design concepts, continue to shape how I think about learning and sharing design. She is who makes me seek out the right mentors, and grab every opportunity to be one to someone with the creative drive.

Giorgia Lupi, on the other hand, has had a more direct influence. Her ability to transform her everyday – captured in data – into poetic visual narratives is deeply moving. The clarity in her story and confidence in the tools she uses to tell it rejects all forms of pretense. Her visual tools – often just dots, lines, and shapes – have appeared everywhere from newspapers to couture, journals to brand campaigns. I’m constantly inspired by her ability to breathe something small and personal into something expansive and beautiful. That’s the kind of design I aspire to create.

Website: https://sunandavasudevan.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stoporipies.bysunanda/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunandavasudevan/