friends

Shivani Parasnis is a typographer / graphic designer from Mumbai, India, and currently works as a designer at Spotify, from her quaint little bedroom-studio in Baltimore. After making the switch from Biotechnology to Graphic Design in 2018, Parasnis has been constantly exploring new and exciting ways of expressing, designing and exploring letters, illustrations and print media.

Her work is heavily influenced by her physical and emotional environments, and she enjoys melding influences of the east and west in her practice. Her design thinking is grounded in typography, illustration, vibrancy and culture.

"Friends" is a visual representation of some clay sculptures I handmade during the lockdown, that kept me company on lonely weekends when I couldn't visit my family back in India, or see my friends here in Baltimore. These imaginary creatures/objects/beings celebrate the beauty of creating with your own hands and the imperfection it brings with it. It is somewhat like being a child again, and not worrying about the outcome of the things you do! Coincidentally, the Korean word for 'friends' is pronounced as 'Chingoo', a nickname that my parents call me till date!

"Friends" thus brings together a feeling of small joys, imperfection and carefreeness that is personal yet relatable at the same time. :)

Though 2020 was a tough year for most of us, I am very grateful for a lot of people, opportunities and some really compelling work. Amongst everything, I am most excited about creating new work that drives me to connect more with the folks around me. Like a lot of my fellow designers, I realised how wonderful it is to create meaningful collaborations, and I cannot wait to work with the people whose work I admire, and actualise at least one big personal project! Apart from that, I am obviously excited about the world going back to normal(ish) and so that we can all hang, eat delicious food and have a good time—without the masks. :) Until then, stay safe (and stay home!)