I was born in Mumbai, India, and grew up in Jakarta, Indonesia. After growing up in two of the largest global metropolises, I set off to rural Iowa in the US for university. I studied sociology & global development studies at Grinnell College and loved every minute of my liberal arts education.

As an insatiably curious human, I’ve always been drawn to opportunities to learn more about the world and have been fascinated by how people learn. That was what took me to the Harvard Graduate School of Education where I got my master’s in education, with a focus on technology, innovation, and education.

I began my career in higher educational publishing, at Pearson Education, designing mobile apps for nursing students and interactive math tutorials for students studying carpentry. I loved translating the stories people shared about their struggles into creative product solutions.

I then worked at Google for over a decade. I worked on a variety of teams and projects, collaborating with folks from across the globe and across the organization. As an instructional designer, I designed learning programs for 150,000+ people. From new hire onboarding, to leadership development programs, to technical troubleshooting training for customer support representatives, to assessment design and facilitating workshops… I learned a great deal and got to work on some incredible pieces of work with some of my favorite collaborators.

How then did I go from this corporate career to illustrating animals?

Simply put: I was ready for a change. The common theme running through my life had been how much I loved creating things: whether it was hand painting greeting cards for friends and family, building websites, producing short films, or designing large scale learning programs.

After a six month sabbatical and some much needed rest and soul searching, I decided I wanted to go all in on my childhood dream: spending my days making art. And that’s how Studio Sunanda was born.

Studio Sunanda celebrates life milestones that don’t come with a gift registry. I design greeting cards and stationery that focus on all the life milestones that don’t usually get enough attention: running your first 5k, finalizing a divorce, finally quitting a job, getting a new pet.

Alongside developing stationery that makes me smile, I’m always open to taking on commissions for custom work and I’m excited to explore collaboration and licensing opportunities down the line, as I continue to grow in my illustration career.