Today we’d like to introduce you to Pavithra Aravindan.
Hi Pavithra, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Growing up, I was always interested in art and crafts more than anything else. I would choose to sketch something or build something out of scraps than play outside or watch TV. I also enjoy reading and writing when am not crafting. But, coming from India where art wasn’t a mainstream career 15 years back, I got into an engineering school.
But, I couldn’t leave my passion for art and writing behind, so I became an editor for my college newsletter and also designed posters for events. When I was nearing the end of college and had to choose my career path, I realized I didn’t want to do anything but art. And, with the support and encouragement of my friends and parents, I applied for Game design and Animation at Texas A&M University in the US and got accepted. I spent my two best years there learning all forms of art and design and in my 2nd year chose to do interaction and experience design. Along with my amazing thesis professor, I built a haptic product for children with Autism which gave me an opportunity to experience their life and build something meaningful from my learnings. And, this prompted me to become a UX Designer and I spent the next five years designing experiences for tech companies in Dallas and Bay Area.
And since the past year, I have been at Amazon building products for Amazon sellers. And since the pandemic, I have also developed a passion for cooking and experimenting in the kitchen. I think it comes from me watching my mom cook all those incredible dishes growing up and my sister and dad setting up their very first restaurant business in India. So, now I have a food blog with over 50,000 followers where I post my mom’s recipes while talking about my experience as an immigrant and my experiments of teaching myself to make a dish from every country. I am also engaged to my wonderful fiance and we’re very excited to tie the knot this December.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It wasn’t always easy considering art wasn’t a mainstream career option in India like I mentioned earlier. So no one I knew was getting into art or knew anything about it. But, with some research and help from friends exploring career options, I learnt about animation and game design. It was also scary for my parents considering they didn’t know anyone that chose this path and I was going to do it 10,000 miles away from them. But, they were still incredibly positive and hopeful. And, I had some really helpful professors and mentors at Texas A&M. It was also tough getting a job because unlike people who did their undergrad in art, I only had two years of art experience in my bag and I was one of the few art students who was an immigrant, so there’s always the issue of work visa. But, what helped me throughout the journey was reaching out to people and building a network who helped me a great deal to get to where I am today.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a UX Designer at Amazon and I design experiences for Amazon sellers. I am really good at balancing customer needs and business requirements when building and shipping products.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I love the podcast, ‘How I built this’, it motivates me. I also love food and lifestyle blogs, it inspires me. And, I learn something new everyday from my fiance as he is always reading or listening to podcasts. This really helps me create content for my blogs or shape my thinking while designing experiences.
Contact Info:
- Email: paviarav4@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pavsandpepper/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@pavsandpepper
