Invisible "multidisciplinary" designers: Why can’t we find them in India?
Why multidisciplinary designers are rare? Is it a function of focus, money, visibility, or hunger? Know my and Umesh's take on the question in Off-grid episode # 1
I and Umesh Theratt (Co-Founder & Designer at Kubera) recently recorded our first unscripted conversation for a new ongoing series on The Gyaan Project called Off Grid. Do check out - “Why don't we have multidisciplinary designers? Off-Grid EP-1”
I’ve published a form where design and art students or early career professionals can ask any question they have around career, design philosophy, tools, skills, or anything that’s a creative roadblock in their way. This link will always be open for ongoing questions. I will be answering a few of these in long form episodes in our Off Grid episodes - so please do subscribe to the The Gyaan Project Youtube Channel.
In the first episode, we discussed a question from Bangalore posted on 8th December 2025.
The actual question was,
“We often describe ourselves as “multidisciplinary designers,” but why don’t we see more people actually living multidisciplinary careers? For instance: a product designer who works in tech during the week, and also takes paid furniture commissions or runs a ceramics studio on the side professionally, not as a hobby.”
Umesh and I tried to unpack it and came up with different ways of looking at this. We don’t have much context for the question but still tried to address it to the best of our abilities.
Context switching is tough
When you work deeply on a product, you’re thinking about it even when you’re not at your computer. Walking, taking a shower, everywhere. Only execution happens at the desk, but everything else is in your head constantly. Switching between two serious practices is genuinely hard. It’s not about time but about mental bandwidth.
We don’t see many people living truly multidisciplinary careers because serious work demands deep focus, not just time.
What is being multidisciplinary?
Most people can realistically manage only two or three major buckets in life. Work, family, and one personal pursuit maybe. Doing a job and being a mother, in my opinion, is still being multidisciplinary. We in India still have a lot of responsibilities. Physically we might have moved to become nuclear families, but emotionally we are bound by the society around us.
These days, the third bucket is often consumed by social media or recovery time. Adding a fourth bucket like furniture commissions means something else must be sacrificed. What do you think one should let go? (Let me know in the comments)
Indian economic reality
Money changes the equation. A gig worker juggles three jobs out of necessity, not passion. Artists and poets diversify because one medium rarely pays enough. But a Senior Product Designer in tech is making good money. They don’t have to do screen printing or print wedding cards on weekend.
The financial friction of starting a second professional practice isn’t worth it when one stream is already comfortable. Multidisciplinary drive usually comes from either curiosity (refusing to be boxed in) or necessity (needing multiple income streams to survive).
We see many international artists who work with glass and textile, or UI and LED lamps. That’s because if they fail, their government is not going to let them die of hunger or go without shelter. The ecosystem is designed to support art and design.
They exist. You’re just looking in the wrong places.
It’s not as bad in India as it sounds. There are people actually doing multidisciplinary work. They just aren’t loud or openly talking about it on social media platforms. Because they’re too busy actually doing the work.
Lafa Labs in Goa does material science and stationery. Rock Paper Scissors experiments with materials alongside client work. Ink & Gradient in Koramangala are architects now doing letterpress professionally. There’s a designer from Uber India who runs sold out pop up dining clubs. A guy in Singapore ran a letterpress studio while doing graphic design as his main job.
Once you get into these smaller communities, you will know how deep the rabbit hole goes. Lot of people are doing multidisciplinary work in their own ways.
To summarise
A long LinkedIn bio? Being busy in real action? Taking care of old parents? Helping kids with school assignments? Posting on social media? All are different jobs and according to me all are being multidisciplinary. There are no right answers to what one should prioritise over another or what gives them more joy. It’s best if we define what multidisciplinary means to us and become one. Hope this helps. Please let me know in the comments sections what do you think?