Today we’d like to introduce you to Jayati Sinha.
Hi Jayati, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am a multi-disciplinary designer working as a environments/ industrial designer in San Francisco.
“Design is creating the life of tomorrow; for me the most exciting profession.”
As a kid, I was inspired by a fashion designer in a Disney TV show. Designing was like being the creator of the world. To my young mind, Barbie costumes were the epitome of design. Of course, with time I realized that there is more to the world than just pretty dresses. I also started playing with new gadgets and technological things that my dad, a scientist, brought from his foreign trips. My amazement of building something from scratch grew into a desire to blend technology and mindsets to make experiences better for people. As I became curious as to why things are done and the way they are done, I started questioning the stereotypes and beliefs that inform our day to day practices. My approach as a designer is to lead from anecdotes rather than any cultural dogma. I am a model maker, but I don’t just make pretty things, I design for dialogue.
As far as my educational background is concerned, I got my undergraduate degree in lifestyle products and my master’s in environmental design. For my thesis, I explored the life stages of personality development and created some of my favorite pieces. It has been a really long journey from India to here and sometimes I pinch myself because I can’t believe that I get to work with some of the top designers in the world. Currently I work at Fuseproject, a design and innovation firm led by Yves Béhar. I have worked in various Indian craft industries with people that are less privileged. This has influenced my empathetic personality. I wish to start my own Non-profit one day.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think it has been rough in the sense that I had to sacrifice enjoyment over work. I wasn’t dating or even making friends. It might not sound much but I missed out on a lot of memories and creating long-lasting friendships which I think is a big loss and I feel that as I grow older. Now I live in California, a place that has given me so much confidence, but I do feel out of place sometimes because I am an immigrant even when the people around me have been so accepting and loving. I am still trying to find a place I call home. In India, I was “too modern” whatever that means and here I am “Indian” haha.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a T-shaped person who believes that to be innovative, you need to learn from everything around you. That is why I chose to do my master’s in Environments design.
To design an environment, you need to be aware of everything around it; even the people that are going to experience it. I call myself a multi-disciplinary designer for that reason.
Creativity is at the core of who I am— as an individual, no matter what I do. As the world is changing, professional and personal lives are getting more interwoven. Because we want work to be purposeful today, to give us a sense of identity. As Esther Perel says “the entire emotional vocabulary has now entered the workplace”.The more I experience life, the more it makes me believe that creativity is the key to not only unlocking purpose but is essential for self-expression and growth in our personal AND professional life.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
This is going to be a really short answer. Being able to make the desires of people reality may it be in my personal or professional life is my life goal and that gives me self-fulfillment.
Of course, I want to be successful so that I can have enough to give enough.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.jayati.design
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/jayatidesign
