Life & Work with Sudeshna Pantham

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sudeshna Pantham.

Sudeshna, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born and raised in India, in a world where creativity was everywhere but a career in creativity was not an option. It was already too late for me and my sister who had our stubborn little hearts set on pursuing a life in different creative fields. With the help of my extremely supportive dad, we defied all family “traditions” and set out to start our creative adventures.

I started by pursuing a Bachelor’s in Product Design and slowly realized I had a keen interest in graphic design and how you can visualize and communicate in creative and engaging ways. Then, I decided to pursue my Masters in Graphic Design and then realized I was interested in the human aspect of it as much as I was interested in the communicative and experiential piece. From there, I started over a decade long career in User Experience Design working at places like eBay, Amazon and Saatchi & Saatchi. When I’m not at my day job, I’m pursuing my curiosity around experimental forms of visual communication & experiences. At my day job, I’m knee deep in UX/ UI, research, branding, strategy, mentoring designers and more. After work, I’m lost in the world of patterns, projection mapping, letterpress, sculpting, laser cutting, printing and anything else that sets off a creative spark.

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?
Compared to a lot of artists who have had to overcome really hard challenges, I think my path has been relatively manageable, which I am very grateful for. There’s always the little bursts of rejection, self-doubt and identity crisis but two things have helped me get through any rough patch. First is my incredible support system, who I am eternally grateful for and second is perseverance, that thing that makes us humans get up and try again no matter how many times we get knocked down.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Over the past ten years, I’ve been focused on creating user-centric products for a variety of clients. I’ve had the privilege to work with some amazing companies like Amazon, eBay, Saatchi & Saatchi, Toyota, and Anonyome Labs. Having worked at startups, tech giants, agencies, and with independent artists, I have experience working with a large variety of design approaches – designing fast, slow, product strategy, UX/ UI design, style guides, building brand guidelines, and research. I’ve found that I’m able to translate my love for analytical thinking and creative problem solving to any project that I get my hands on. One thing that’s really important to me is being part of a team of individuals who all appreciate the power of good design, creative collaborations and who understand that powerful work comes from powerful teams. Collaborating with like-minded people who are curious, hardworking, empathetic, and who lead with their hearts is something that I really cherish.

If the projects give us an opportunity to have a strong social impact and create lasting change, even better. When I’m not flexing my UX design and leadership skills, I’m experimenting with grids, patterns, print and projection mapping. I’m a strong believer in the power of creativity and I continue to explore that in experimental projects. Since 2008 I’ve been creating calendars that try to break out of the norm and utilize different production techniques. I like to take the traditional and reincarnate it in different ways. I co-founded NotWork Creative Workshops where we bring groups together and facilitate creativity sessions that help people exercise their creative muscles while having tons of fun and creating a stronger bond. I love what I do and the people I get to meet and work within the process. I can’t imagine doing anything else!

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My dad deserves all the credit in the world. He always wanted to pursue a creative career (and he is so talented!) but he was not allowed to. He was forced to take a job he did not like and spent his entire career just saving money for his daughters. He wanted us to have what he couldn’t so he used all his money and fought every battle to help us get to where we are today. I would have a very different story if it wasn’t for him. My sister and my husband are also my biggest supporters, who constantly encourage, guide and advocate for me every step of the way.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://sudeshnapantham.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/feteful/