Hi! I am Vanshika

And this is my story:
Before I even learned to walk, I was handed colours and paints. My parents believed that creativity wasn’t just a skill—it was a way thinking, of feeling, of being. So instead of toys, I was given brushes. Paper became my playground, and that’s where my journey truly began.

I grew, my curiosity took many forms. One of the most defining was dance. At just six years old, I was enrolled in a Bharatanatyam academy. What began as an after-school routine slowly became one of the biggest milestones of my life. Over ten years of discipline, training, and performance, I earned a degree in performing arts even before finishing high school.

But what I gained was so much more than technique. Bharatanatyam taught me confidence. It shaped the way I carry myself, the way I enter rooms, and the way I believe in my own presence. It taught me the grace to hold myself with dignity and the resilience to move through life with a rhythm of my own.

MANIFESTO

I’m still learning—with every click, sketch, and mistake. I started with curiosity, and I’m staying for the love of the process. I believe that trying matters more than getting it right the first time.

My designs are small steps in a long journey. I design because it helps me understand the world—and myself. I don’t always know where I’m going—but I show up, every day. Growth is slow, but it’s real—and I’m proud of it. I’m not here to be perfect. I’m here to be better than yesterday.

In 12th grade, I began training for design colleges—but life, as it often does, nudged me in another direction. I shifted to a BBA program, thinking maybe the creative world was something I’d left behind. But creativity always finds its way back. During course in advertising, we were asked to work with real clients. I found one who needed office stationery, and although I had no formal design experience, I ended up drawing a logo by hand. Translating that into a digital version was a struggle, but in that challenge, I discovered just how alive I felt while creating. That moment sparked something in me—and it never really left.

graduation—and in the stillness that the Covid years unexpectedly brought—I had time to breathe and think. I started learning Illustrator, Photoshop, and other design tools on my own. Those self-taught skills soon led me to a job as a junior graphic designer at a branding agency. That experience was eye-opening. I realized that design isn’t just about what you make—it’s about the thinking that comes before. The software is the easy part; the real work is in the ideas, the people, the research. That understanding shifted my entire approach.

My curiosity deepened, and it led me to Ahmedabad University, where I worked as a teaching associate in the design department. That chapter of my life gave me more than just work experience—it gave me mentors who saw potential in me and encouraged me to take my next step. And that’s how I came to DAU to pursue communication design, fully stepping into a space that had always been calling to me.

Design school changed how I think. Those things I used to wonder about—how do people create such impactful visuals? What goes into making an idea real?—those questions started finding answers. Slowly, the fog lifted, and what once felt distant became doable.

Outside of design, I’m someone who loves to keep learning. I get restless doing the same thing for too long, so I’m always looking for something new to explore. I believe shifting paths is okay—it’s part of how I grow. I embrace change when it comes to learning, though in my personal life, I like a little more stability. As a Libra, I’m famously indecisive, and I think that trait has guided many of the twists and turns in my journey so far.

I love people. I hate being alone, and I find joy in surrounding myself with company, in hearing stories, and in connecting with different kinds of minds. I believe people carry the kind of wisdom no textbook can teach. I’ve also grown to love observation. During my bachelor’s, I once watched a short film that said something that stayed with me forever: “There is no time when nothing is happening around—you just need to be focused enough to read the silence.” That line changed the way I see the world. Since then, I’ve tried to stay present, to notice the quiet details, the unspoken moments. That’s where inspiration lives. And that’s where I find myself, over and over again.