How I Work: Ariana Gupta, Designer and Filmmaker
Ariana Gupta loves to dive into internet archives to find inspiration. Design by Barbara Cadorna.
Sometimes creativity comes from unexpected places. For Ariana Gupta, it comes from browsing eBay listings, or flipping the pages of children’s books, or even digging through her family’s archives to create a one-of-a-kind wardrobe piece for her mother. As a designer and filmmaker from Mumbai, India, Gupta has learned the importance of pushing creative and social boundaries to redefine what is possible.
At age 17, Gupta delivered a TED talk on why we should teach children feminism. Since then, she graduated from New York’s School of Visual Arts and embarked on internships with Sunday Afternoon and Pentagram; written and illustrated a children’s book; and won the best student film award at the New York Indie Cinema Awards for her film “Chandra.”
Here, Gupta shares how she works, including her morning chai ritual; her dream to redefine what an heirloom is; and her most recent labor of love: digging into her family’s archives to create a beautiful saree, screen printed with family photos for her mother’s 50th birthday.
Ariana Gupta’s mother wearing a saree screen-printed with family photos that Ariana Gupta made. Images courtesy of Gupta.
Rise and Shine
I usually wake up around 7:30 am and begin my day by indulging in my familial morning ritual, which includes dipping a slice of buttered bread into a hot cup of chai. I inherited this from my mother, who inherited it from her grandmother. Once I’m done with chai, I hop into the shower and then head to work. I’m working at Pentagram, which is only a 20-minute walk away. So I’ll either shuffle through my morning playlist or Facetime my family on my way to work. At 9:30 am, I’m at the office ready to begin my day.
A page in a zine that Gupta made for her mother with details of her morning chai ritual.
Work Uniform
My work uniform is relatively simple: a pair of neutral-shade pants (usually black or white) and a shirt. My mother runs a boutique in India, so I’m fortunate to have most of my clothes tailored. I like wearing patterned cotton shirts or linens to work. Now and then, I’ll wear a dress if it’s too hot for pants.
How I Structure My Day
Having predetermined office hours helps me structure my day. My work day starts at 9:30 am with several internal meetings that help me figure out my tasks. We have lunch together from 1 to 2 pm. And after lunch, I continue working until 6 pm except for a short break at 4 pm for coffee and some surgary snacks. My work-from-home days are structured the same way.
Playlist Favorites
It depends on the day, but my music taste ranges from obscure tunes from countries and eras you’ve never heard of before to indie Hindi music. I’m currently listening to the bossa nova classics on repeat.
Tools of the Trade
I use Illustrator, Indesign, Photoshop, After Effects and now even Figma daily. But I also like mixing mediums, so I need my cutting mat, charcoal pencils, camera, and screen printing set up.
Dream Studio
I often think about my dream studio, and I imagine it to be a large loft with sunshine pouring through the tall windows. My cats are sitting on the window sill. There are more than three large bookshelves full of books and magazines that I’ve collected over the years. There is a small nook with a light and camera setup for photography. Another corner is dedicated to my screen printing setup and is just a space to be messy, cut things up and make mistakes.
One Unique Thing About My Work Process
I don’t start any project without conducting research. I’ll make an are.na channel for any new project and start adding things to it. I love diving into internet archives, going through eBay and looking for inspiration in places you’re least likely to find it. I believe in documenting and archiving; much of my work delves into my family archive and history. More than making things for myself, I enjoy making things for other people. It’s far more rewarding to talk to someone, learn about them and then make something special just for them. So I very much enjoy having conversations with people when I’m working. I also don’t like it when everything happens on the computer, so I love making proofs or approaching projects in an analogue format. I’m always looking for an opportunity to get my hands dirty, so you’ll find a lot of tests and diagrams at my desk that only I can decipher. I also love making mini to-do lists, and often I’ll write things on sticky notes and put them up, which helps me stay on track and get things done.
A project from Gupta’s portfolio.
Mantra
My only mantra in life is not my own; I borrowed it from my father. He’s a big believer in “Don’t take no for an answer.” Nothing is impossible for him. And his mindset has helped me a lot in life, especially when I don’t feel as confident about myself or my ideas. Whenever I have a sliver of doubt, I hear him say, “Well, what’s the worst that can happen?” And usually, the worst thing that can happen isn’t that bad. So I take a leap of faith, don’t take no for an answer, and keep trying.
My Brightest Idea that Never Saw the Light of Day
I don’t know if this counts because I unveiled it yesterday. But I spent the last couple of months working on a personal project. I was working on a gift for my mother’s 50th birthday. I’ve always loved making personalized gifts for friends and family. I dug into my family archive that my father had painstakingly digitized and decided to screen print selected images on a beautiful white silk saree. The selection includes pictures of my parents from their honeymoon, the first house I shared with my mother, her favorite Bengali sweets, a scan of her wedding invitation and birthday cards made by my younger sister. Since most images become abstract once the saree is draped, I decided to riso-print a zine to serve as a companion. The zine is in English and Bengali (my mother tongue). My grandmother helped me translate the text and lay it out in Bangla. I’m very grateful to her and everyone who helped me. I gave the saree to my mom when she was visiting a few months ago, and it was priceless to see her try it on. It’s a project I hold close to my heart because it allowed me to dive deeper into my family history and learn more about my mother and her past. My father was kind enough to let me read all the letters my parents had exchanged over two years when they were in a long-distance relationship in the 90s. It was a labor of love, and I had so much help, and it’s pretty rewarding to see it in my mother’s wardrobe now.
To-Do List Item That Keeps Me Up At Night
There are so many, but the one that keeps me up all night is my dream of starting my magazine. And now I’m finally at a point where I can’t take it anymore, so I’m starting to take some action. I want the magazine to be about family heirlooms and redefine what an heirloom is. I’m still trying to connect with people in the research phase, but I’ve given myself a year, so you’ll probably see the magazine in the wild sooner than later. My second dream is to make another film. I made a short film in my junior year of college and fell in love with filmmaking, which I want to do more of. So script ideas often keep me up at night.
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