An interview with Moksha Rao — Creative Designer — “Made in India and Exported to the USA”

We caught up with Moksha Rao to hear her story of travelling from Mumbai, India to follow her creative passion into Graphic Design in the USA.

Hi Moksha, could you introduce yourself please? Tell us a bit about who you are and your interests.

I’m a graduate student pursuing my Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) in Graphic Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta.

I was born and raised in Mumbai city, India and I moved to the United States in 2016. I am a graphic designer by day and an illustrator by night! I have worked at Ogilvy & Mather and free-lanced for a couple of other companies. When I’m not my usual workaholic self, one can usually find me immersed in a Tarantino film accompanied by a cup of coffee.

I am also trained in the Indian classical dance form Bharatanatyam and have given performances for the past twelve years under the tutelage of my Guru Rajee Narayan. I have travelled a lot around the world, I love trekking and the outdoors, and I ran two half-marathons in 2016.

I live and breathe dance and design, and feel that both are imperative components of my personality.

What got you into the creative arts? Have you always been interested since a young age?

I hail from a family of artists. My parents own a branding firm in Mumbai, which they have run together for the past thirty years. My mother herself is also an accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer and she continues practicing the dance form to this very day.

Yes, I developed this interest when I was very young; I was admitted into my first dance lesson at the age of five. My mother is South Indian and Bharatanatyam is a classical dance form that originates from the Southern state of Tamil Nadu.

I am very influenced by my culture, but brought up in a metropolitan city like Mumbai has diversified my interests. I am a big collector of 90s music, and I’d cite Pearl Jam as my favourite band. I am also a jazz music aficionado, which I play whilst working.

You mention that you’re “Made in India and Exported to the USA”, do you draw creative flair from both countries?

There is most definitely a contrast in both cultures and I am finding it challenging to adapt to a new place. It is a work in progress.

I find my Indian roots firmly embedded in my design aesthetic and hence, extremely helpful in furthering my creative drive. It is interesting to bring my Indian background and apply it to the American sensibilities whilst working on a design project.

Graphic design is a distinctive field, which is always open to interpretation and is all about communicating with the audience.

I feel my Indian background has given me a firm foundation. Indian values have helped mould me into the person I am today. My design sense and personality is highly influenced by my culture.

I am proud to say that I am not only familiar but also proficient in such an old revered traditional dance form that dates back centuries. Both design and dance form are indispensable parts of my personality and I strongly believe that both inspire me to push my creativity further. The performing arts helps introverts like me express that which cannot be conveyed in words.

What are a few key lessons that you’d give other aspiring artists and dancers?

1. Keep your eyes and ears open. Having scope for improvement at all times goes a long way
2. An open mind is key
3. And last but certainly not the least,

Have confidence in your art. [But] It’s a learning process, it doesn’t happen overnight.

Art is subjective and open to interpretation. Your work might not appeal to a certain set of people, but there are always going to be those who find it undoubtedly appealing. This also leads me to question whether the whole concept of ‘validation’ is even required?!

In all honesty, I’m not a confident person. Gaining confidence is something I struggle with every day. This sometimes affects my design but since I am aware of it, I have been constantly working on developing my self-belief [in my work] bit by bit.

It is a learning process, it doesn’t happen overnight. Because in a creative field like mine, a disturbed state of mind can cause a lot more harm than good. Another thing is to never wait for someone else to validate your work. If you yourself believe in it, don’t let any external factors convince you otherwise. Trust comes from within, and so should confidence. I learnt this the hard way!

Are there any artists that you draw inspiration from or admire? What is it about them that you find interesting or useful?

I admire Paula Scher, the Goddess of Graphic Design. She is a real inspiration to aspiring designers such as myself. Her work highlights an intricately woven part of her personality which leads to such meaningful design that has changed the face of branding as we know it.

I admire her attention to detail and her creation of meaningful typography based on basic shapes and objects. Simplicity is key in graphic design and she is definitely an advocate of the bold.

I admire my dance teacher Guru Rajee Narayan, who is one of the few female “vagyekaras”, which means that she not only composes a song for a dance piece, but she also choreographs, writes, sings and sets it to music. At 85 years of age, her passion for the art form and her perennial drive to continue teaching is something that never fails to impress. I would love to have her spark at such an old age. She is tough and takes each day as it comes.

Which online tools do you use to explore or learn more about your interests, are there people you connect with to learn more?

I always had the good fortune of learning dance directly from my dance teacher, so I never felt the need to use any other channels.

For graphic design, I feel like I learn something new every day. My professors at the Savannah College of Art and Design are brilliantly talented and masters in their respective fields, which is a huge help to students such as myself.

For graphic design, I feel like I learn something new every day. My professors at the Savannah College of Art and Design are brilliantly talented and are all masters in their respective fields, which is a huge help to students such as myself.

I derive inspiration from all sorts of uncanny sources. I use online sites like Designspiration when I work on projects. I am a big movie buff, especially a fan of films directed by Quentin Tarantino and Alfred Hitchcock.

Hitchcock is a visionary. He was the first director to use top angle shots. He was also the first director to use kinetic typography in his famous opening sequences. The whole notion of ‘thinking outside the box’ was instilled by him because he dared to attempt something that nobody else had ever dreamed of doing, or even approved of for that matter. His movie themes are somewhat bizarre, but that is what adds novelty to it. Either you love his work or completely dislike it.

The same applies for Tarantino. Pulp Fiction, for example, is so much more than what meets the eye. It is a real masterpiece and served as inspiration for a publishing project I worked on where I had to render the screenplay of the movie only through typography.

What have you found useful searching for ways to get into the creative industry?

Since I am still a graduate student, I am still figuring my way into the world, one project at a time, on pretty much zero sleep!

But networking is definitely something I would recommend as you never know which who could lead you towards a potential client.

Although I am an introvert, it pays to slowly get out of my shell and explore the world of design.

What’s the goal for 2017?

Don’t we all learn something new everyday?

I am hoping to land a graphic design internship here in the USA. I would also love to travel to Mexico sometime soon since as I’ve always wanted to go there. And not to mention, begin working on my MFA thesis, which is going to be the most challenging thing I’ve ever done!

I hope to hone my skills as a Graphic Designer and expand my knowledge on this subject as much as possible, which is why I decided to pursue my graduate studies in the first place. The minute you think you know it all, that’s when it becomes clear that you’re definitely on the wrong path. Don’t we all learn something new everyday?

We love a good quote on our Insta page — what would you say is one of your favourite quotes and why?

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed” — Michael Jordan

As someone who needs to work on her patience, I have always found this particular quote, by one of my idols, truly inspiring. Mistakes are part of the learning process. The trick is to learn from them instead of letting them bring you down.

And of course, when you’re completely at despair, coffee almost always helps!

Check out Moksha’s website and follow her on Instagram