A brand new focus

While his work at a German marketing agency allows Pragun Agarwal to hone his design skills, his passion for typography has helped them further evolve

What role has formal design education played in your career?

PA: Growing up, I always had an affinity towards drawing and painting, which led me to discover the field of design. Of course, at that impressionable age, one carries a very vague idea of how one could channelize these interests into a profession. My design education at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, opened my mind up to the possibilities, and more importantly, gave me context into how I should approach design problems and the importance of who you are designing for. My master’s education at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Baltimore solidified a lot of these learnings, and widened my understanding of my discipline.

How do you balance professional commitments with your creative pursuits?

PA: Having a personal outlet to my practice is extremely important to me as a creative. So, doing my own passion projects on one hand and my professional commitments on the other forms a perfect synergy and helps me evolve my work further. It is not so much of an effort anymore, as much as it has now become a habit. This personal space gives me a tremendous amount of freedom to experiment without any kind of constraint.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your design domain?

PA: As a creative, the pandemic has made me realize the worth of physical interactions and collaborations. Working remotely can be extremely challenging, and we all had to adapt and reflect on how we could make our digital interactions more enriching. It has pushed us to use digital tools and platforms that allow us to not only brainstorm or create but also critique, provide feedback, encourage or even celebrate at times. On the other hand, the pandemic has also made me realize that working remotely is definitely possible. We can work efficiently in this digital environment, even though it might seem challenging at times. I think it has made us question how much physical interaction we actually need rather than taking it for granted. The workflow, office spaces and even client meetings will all be looked at from a fresh perspective in the post-pandemic era.

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