Meet Mehul Malhotra | Transportation Planner, Designer & Researcher

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

Hi Mehul, where are you from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I grew up in the city of Bangalore, located in southern state of Karnataka in India. My family is from the state of Punjab in North India so, I’m sort of a hybrid of North and South Indian cultures. My ‘hometown’ of Bangalore (popularly regarded as the ‘Silicon Valley of India’) is a hub for the Information Technology (IT) Sector and a haven for startups, with a growing number of related prestigious educational institutions. Thus, it creates a magnetic migratory pull for people from other cities in India as well as other nearby parts of the world. Growing up in Bangalore, I was surrounded by a variety of people from different Indian cultures that created an intriguing space for learning as a child. I come from an extremely close-knit and loving family that left no stone unturned to give me the best childhood I could have asked for. One of the most important personality traits that my family instilled in me was the pursuit of passion. Whether it was playing basketball in high school and college, or pursuing a career in design, my family’s belief in me helped me pursue my dreams. Today it translates into almost everything I do whether it’s how I picked my graduate thesis work on informal transportation systems that I’ve grown up using in India (titled, “Into the Informality Diorama”), my current job in the public sector at LA Metro, or even the football rec league team I play for every weekend. I believe we all have our own biases based on our backgrounds and experiences in life that we continue to discover as we grow up. We use these biases to our benefit as well as detriment in different situations, but I think the most important part is to be aware of our biases. I’m thankful to my parents for always being in my corner and helping me get the right education whilst allowing me to follow my passions; ultimately, I think that has led me to where I am today. I’m privileged to say that I’m passionate about what I do every day.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
From a very young age I had quite a keen eye and fascination with automobiles. Whenever my family would drive out somewhere, I’d unmistakably be found looking out of the back of our car naming every car I could see, usually for the entirety of the journey. Over the years, this love for cars developed into a passion and desire for being able to design cars one day.

My journey to a creative career started by deciding to pursue a Bachelor’s in Automobile Engineering to build a foundation in how cars truly function and why. During my 4 years at college, I tried my hand at a variety of things whilst learning how to engineer cars; I started sketching cars every other day and even completed a 3-month online diploma in car design; I briefly experimented with joining my college’s Formula Student team in the Aerodynamics Subsystem; I interned at a startup working on smart automotive solutions for two and four wheelers, where I was the only designer on the team. After I graduated, I finally decided to apply to Masters programs at design schools in Europe and the United States. The program at ArtCenter stood out to me because of it’s Systems-Centric Approach to Transportation Design that Geoff Wardle, Director of the Graduate Transportation Program, shed light on in one of my interviews with him. I was still fascinated by cars and had a keen interest in learning how to design them, but Geoff’s more holistic view of Transportation Design excited me and made me forego other masters programs in Italy that centered on traditional ‘car-styling’.

My definition of a creative career evolved constantly as I made my way through high school, college and graduate school. I went from a young kid who just loved the way cars looked, felt and sounded to a young man who’s excited by the idea of researching, designing and improving transportation systems for the public, that aim to help people exercise their freedom of mobility. Today, I’m working as a Transportation Planner at the Office of Strategic Innovation (OSI) at LA Metro (more formally known as the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority) and I’m excited to see how my creative career continues to evolve in the future!

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.
LA is quite the diverse collection of spaces and places, so I think it would involve an exploration of all of the various landscapes it offers! On day one, we’d start by getting a light breakfast at a little cafe called The Trails, at the bottom of Firebreak Trail to Griffith Observatory. After breakfast we’d hike up to Griffith, visit the observatory, enjoy the views of LA below alongside views of the world above and then, continue on to hike up to the Hollywood Sign. We’d spend sometime at one of the best viewpoints in LA and then hike back down to end the day with an optional tourist-y visit to the Walk-of-Fame. Day two would be Santa Monica Pier and cycling to Venice Beach that could include some basketball and football, but would definitely include walking by the beach. Day three would be a relaxing day walking around Old Town Pasadena, eating some incredible food and maybe catching a movie at the theater to slow down after two physically taxing days of fun. Day four would be Downtown LA, most probably the Arts District and Little Tokyo. I’d call all my close friends to a Karaoke Bar there followed by a night at Sunset Strip possibly catching a gig at Whiskey-a-go-go. Finally, day five could be a drive up and down the Pacific Coast Highway along stopping at some beautiful beaches in Malibu!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’ve had a lot of mentors, inspirations and supporters along my journey that have helped get to where I am today. My family of course, encouraged me from a very young age to pursue my passions and always supported all my endeavors. I’d also like to shoutout all my professors at the Graduate Transportation Systems and Design program at ArtCenter College of Design for helping me develop a unique mindset of criticality and systems-thinking. I’d specifically like to shoutout my graduate thesis advisors; Prof. John Britton, Prof. Candice-Leigh Baumgardner and Prof. Richard Pelletier for accompanying me on an incredible journey of exploration over the last two years that turned out to be one of the most interesting projects I have ever done (thesis titled, “Into the Informality Diorama”). Finally, here’s a bit of inspiration; A few years ago, I came across an idea/principle of life that continues to inspire me today. A YouTube Channel known as ‘Yes Theory’ called it “Seek Discomfort”. My interpretation of it is that if we’re always comfortable, we aren’t challenging ourselves as such which can lead to stagnation if it’s over long periods of time. When we do something that makes us feel discomfort, we force ourselves to grow, to adapt and to have new experiences that open us up to new connections offering different ways to be a stronger and more experienced version of ourselves.

Website: https://mehulmalhotra.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mezm7.design/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mehulm29/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mehulmon