This AAPI Heritage Month (APAHM), we’re proud to be placing creative leaders of Asian and Pacific Islander descent at the forefront of our community channels. Today, we invite you to meet Khyati Trehan, an Indian graphic designer and visual artist based in New Delhi. 

Khyati Trehan specializes in playful 3D renderings, rooting her work in texture, emotion, and copious amounts of research. Trehan is an independent graphic designer and 3D visual artist who cuts across many disciplines. Trehan believes that all things both physical and digital are connected through invisible strings, and her job as a designer is to discover those threads, drawing out such connections that may otherwise go unseen.

Trehan’s expertise has led her to create work for the Oscars, New York Times, New Yorker Magazine, Apple, Adobe, Absolut, Deepmind, Instagram, and Snapchat. In 2017, she was recognized by Print Magazine’s 15 New Visual Artists Under 30, was chosen as the Artistry Creator of the Year at Adweek’s Creator Visionary Awards, and won the ADC Young Guns 19. If that weren’t enough, she made it onto the 2022 Forbes 30 Under 30 list in India. 

You can check out more of their work here on Creatively and @hellocreatively on Instagram. 

What is the first creative project you remember? 

My sister and I remixed a nursery rhyme into a very very bad pop song. It was from the series Poldy and friends, a group made of a scarecrow and three birds, which is hilarious in retrospect. I still remember my rap bit in it.

Describe your aesthetic in three words.

Emotive, playful, optimistic.

What was the most fulfilling collaboration you’ve worked on?

Having worked in several companies, it always felt like I had to make a choice: either I’d be doing high level, strategic, discovery-rich, research-heavy work, or I’d live in the granular world, carefully crafting the details. I found the sweet spot in collaborating with Karin Fyhrie and her design collective, Sovereign Objects. The work spans from strategy, building brands, and image-making to expanding beyond marketing, logos, and worldbuilding missions. 

What’s one creative project that taught you something fundamental about yourself?

My college classroom project “The Beauty of Scientific Diagrams” taught me that ideas are really about discovering patterns and finding relationships between seemingly unrelated things; as if every object, person, and concept on the planet is connected by invisible strings. My job as a designer is to do detective work and hunt for the string. Since this project, my design practice has been a lot about drawing parallels and hunting for invisible connections that others don’t see until you show them.

Do you think creativity is something you’re born with, or something you’re taught?

Definitely taught. I believe every trait is conditional. Creativity is a habit, it’s something that can be practiced, requires an open mindset, and takes a lot of work.

What’s the last dream you had?

I swear I remembered it this morning but it’s vanished now. So annoying when that happens!

One hundred years from now, what do you hope people write about your work?

I hope people say my work makes them feel something, communicates more than words ever could, and lingers in people’s minds long after their eyes have moved elsewhere.

Follow @khyatitrehan on Creatively

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