Today we’d like to introduce you to Nihal Bambulkar.
Hi Nihal, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My journey began when I finished undergrad with a major in advertising and experienced an existential crisis that lasted for four cold winters. School will do that to you. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I have always been in search of something I would happily do even if someone violently shook me out of sleep at 4am. That thing in my best judgment is graphic design.
During the aforementioned four cold winters, I worked as an extra on a film set, a production assistant, a writer, a cartoonist, and finally, as an art director. In retrospect, I could’ve made my life easier and stuck to one of those career opportunities but I’m just not someone that could live with a lot of ‘What ifs’. I had to find that one thing, you know the one that makes you point finger guns and say something like “That’s my jam!”. In that sense graphic design is my jam but it took a lot of trial and error before I got here.
I think all those odd jobs sort of helped me figure out this whole creative expression thing that is inherently present in all artists.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I had to get accustomed to thriving in uncertainty. When you’re trying out different jobs, it isn’t easy to put on a brave face and accept the learning curve for what it is. A lot of people say that you’ve got to trust the process but first, you’ve got to have a process to build any kind of trust.
Switching mediums was certainly a big obstacle. It was akin to painting on a canvas that is not only shaped differently each time but also has weird corners that you haven’t discovered yet.
Lastly, building a skill set and not giving up. There have been several days when I’ve felt like I’ve had no particular direction while everyone around me looked as though they knew exactly where they needed to go and what they needed to do. That only resulted in me losing confidence in myself. So, it was up to me to kick off the dust and keep going.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a multidisciplinary designer whose work primarily focuses on typography, motion, and branding. I feel deeply connected to typography, I see it everywhere on toilet paper, fire hydrants, and on the back of red chopsticks packets. A lot of my time is spent searching for typography at parks, dive bars, and local neighborhoods. It has a great influence on my work. I love creating unique custom-type units for people. It makes me feel as though I can give them a part of me. I also love working with local brands. I feel like those are the ones that need help with design. Most designers want to work with bigger brands and change the world. Working with smaller brands may not make you feel like you’re changing the world as a whole but you are in a way changing the world of a smaller brand. So, it’s safe to say that I love typography and spend a significant amount of time silently judging people’s typeface choices.
I am most proud of a project I made during my time at SCAD called FckWrk. It was made during a time when I felt like I was only pushing my creative limits when my work was backed by a grade or money or validation. So I started saying FckWrk and began creating these experimental-type units using things I found around the house and sometimes with my computer. It was a brief from me to me. I challenged myself to recreate the letters F-C-K-W-R-K in a myriad of ways using a myriad of mediums. It was just as much about getting out of my comfort zone as it was about understanding who I am as a designer. During this project, I used a lite bright, nitric acid, glow sticks, Rubik’s cube and countless other objects to create typography.
And my biggest takeaway was you could easily create logos with the things on your computer table without so much touching your computer. Besides, with rumours of AI taking over our jobs, I believe there is something to be said about creating things with our bare hands. There’s something about a human touch in our creations that transcends all technology. But, for all you know Chat GPT wrote this answer and all clients have AI to create glorious logos that snap, crackle, and pop.
The one thing that sets me apart from others is being able to not take myself too seriously and my openness to try a new medium. I am not ashamed of not knowing things. There’s a lot I don’t know. And I want to try it all. Sometimes it’s scary but most times it’s like being able to see a color you weren’t able to see before. And that’s beautiful.
How do you think about luck?
Working as a writer has played a major role in my life. Having been an introvert, it helped me gather my thoughts, dreadful, existential or otherwise and express myself better. Additionally, it became a priceless skill because there have been plenty of projects I’ve had to write copy for. Writing content has become easier. And lastly, it helped me deal with rejections and understand that both me and my work are a constant work in progress. Perfection is an illusion. An old professor once told me something that has always stayed with me “Your work doesn’t have to be amazing. It just has to be.”
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cartoonsforsquares/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nihal-bambulkar-42288299/
