Meet Asavari Kumar: Creative Director & Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Asavari Kumar and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Asavari, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My sister and fellow artist Shivalini Kumar and I had always talked about working together. Both of us were interested in creating something that was bigger than the sum of its parts. As each of us evolved in our individual careers, we began to crave a space that reflected our personal values and allowed us to truly thrive as multidisciplinary artists. Having had prior work experience as freelancers, it was also essential for us to retain our autonomy as artists and designers and engage with the creative field on our own terms. Creating our own studio seemed like the next natural step in both of our journeys so, in 2015, we co-founded Supernova Design. 

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Supernova Design is a Los Angeles based boutique design and animation studio that helps innovative brands and businesses tell their stories in playful and creative ways. I’m a co-founder and Creative Director at Supernova and I am based in Los Angeles. In addition to myself, our core team comprises of Art Director and co-founder Shaivalini Kumar, who is based in Copenhagen and Business Development and Marketing Manager Siddharth Zutshi, who is based in Los Angeles. As a multidisciplinary studio, Supernova has had the opportunity to work with some of the best brands in tech and entertainment like Google, Adobe, Warner Bros. Disney, and YouTube. We balance our commercial commitments with a body of award-winning personal projects including short films, comic books, and illustrations that have been showcased at film festivals and exhibition spaces all around the world. All three of us are from India and being immigrants trying to establish ourselves in a new country has posed unique logistical challenges, particularly after the 2016 presidential elections. Over the past few years, creating Supernova has also been a process of trying to build something that transcends geographical boundaries and limitations. Over time through a process of trial and error we have refined our workflow and tried to reframe some of our challenges and look at them in a more positive light. Since we are in different timezones, we are able to collaborate with an international team of womxn and POC artists that believe in the ethos of our company and bring a host of professional and cultural insight to our body of work. In building our business, we’ve found that consistency is key. We’ve been relentless in our dedication to our craft and are always looking for opportunities to learn and grow. The creative communities surrounding us have played a big role in nourishing us and supporting us in our journey. We’ve also tried to be mindful about the type of commercial work we take on and always make sure to carve out time for meaningful personal projects that allow us to tell our stories.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Soap Plant + Wacko is a great place to immerse yourself in oddness, all the hidden secret staircases in LA are charming and magical, for a bite to eat, I’d definitely recommend – Sunny Blue, Badmaash, or Udupi Palace, and The Getty Center is one of my favorite places to get lost in.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would not be where I am if it wasn’t for the consistent support and love of my parents and my family in India.

Website: www.supernovadesign.net
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supernovadesigninc/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/supernova-design-inc./
Twitter: https://twitter.com/suprnovadesign
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/supernovadesigninc/