Scads Of Talent

Chaaya Prabhat finds that working independently allows her to make best use of her distinct illustrative style

Drawn to design

I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember, and have always been passionate about it. As I became more and more interested in digital art and typography, I knew I wanted to pursue illustration and design in a professional capacity. I went on to pursue an MA in Graphic Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design’s campus in Hong Kong. SCAD really helped shape my overall design and illustrative style and my approach to project work.

Before I joined SCAD I knew how to draw but didn’t have a definite style. I also didn’t have a lot of experience or knowledge in applying it to professional work. I was lucky to have professors who pushed me out of my comfort zone. During my time at SCAD, I worked on a typography project for which my professor encouraged me to experiment with hand-lettering and it was then that I discovered that hand-lettering was something I really enjoyed. I published that project in 2015 and it still attracts a lot of queries for professional hand-lettering related work.

Hong Kong hues

Hong Kong is an incredibly inspirational city for a creative person. From the outside, it appears to be a largely financial city with skyscrapers and bankers, but there’s also a thriving creative community within Hong Kong that’s very encouraging of art and design.