Information — Yukti V. Agarwal

Yukti V. Agarwal is a multi-disciplinary creative who is excited by the challenge of problem-solving in diverse fields. With her background in design and psychology, she leverages systems-level thinking and research-driven scholarship to create immersive experiences that bridge physical and digital worlds.

ABOUT:

Yukti V. Agarwal graduates from Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design in December 2024. She specializes in interaction design, user research, and strategic thinking. She is currently exploring how multi-sensory design can inspire mindfully-aware societies and spaces.
She is obsessed with semantics, color, tactility, didactics, and the overuse of em-dashes. In her free time, she can be found collecting fallen flowers, giving unsolicited tours at her favorite museums, or teaching yoga.

Top Reads: Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh, Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

EDUCATION:

Brown | RISD Dual Degree Program, Dec 2024
Honor’s Recipient,
GPA 3.95

Dual Degree Capstone Presentation

Brown University
B.A. Psychology
B.A. Contemplative Studies

Rhode Island School of Design
B.F.A Textiles, Theory and History of Art and Design

Harvard Business School Online, 2020 Full Scholarship Recipient

CoRE: Business Analytics, Financial Accounting, and Economics for Managers

EXPERIENCE:

Research:
Research Assistant, RISD Museum
Researcher, Virtual Textiles Research Group
User Research Intern, Code and Theory
Curatorial Consultant, Jammu & Kashmir Government & UNESCO Creative Cities Network
Language Researcher, Arts and Language Center

Design and Innovation:
Knits and Sweater Intern, Ralph Lauren
Design Intern, Pavitra Rajaram Design
Innovation Intern, Yog Love
Knitting Software Teaching Assistant, Anna Gitelson-Kahn

Editorial:
Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief, desi-gned Magazine
Freelance Writer, Brown Alumni Magazine

RECOGNITION:
Honor’s Recipient, Brown | RISD, GPA 3.95, 2019–2024
Associate Member, Phi Beta Kappa, Brown University Chapter, 2024
Associate Member, Sigma Xi, Brown University Chapter, 2024
Student Exhibitior, Salone del Mobile, Milan, 2024
Representative, Alliance of the Arts in Research Universities Summit, Washington D.C., 2022

AWARDS:
Catherine Kerr Award for Best Capstone, Contemplative Studies Department, Brown University, 2024
Collaborative Work Award for the Fine Arts Division, Rhode Island School of Design, 2024
Casey Shearer Award for Creative Non-Fiction, English Department, Brown Univerisity, 2024

Special Collections Library Purchase Prize, John Hay Library, 2021
Baker & Whitfield Prize, The Fleet Library, 2020 & 2021
Academic Excellence, Bombay International School, 2019
150th Anniversary Pillo Pochkhanwala Prize, J.B. Petit Association, 2017

GRANTS:

Industrial Design Health and Wellness Fund, 2024
Barbara L. Kulhman Foundation Scholarship for the Fiber Arts, 2024
Brown Arts Institute (BAI) Student Grant, 2023
Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship Explore Grant, 2023
Research at Brown (RAB) Undergraduate Grant, 2023
Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia Grant, 2023
Pembroke Center for Teaching and Women Grant, 2023
Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice Grant, 2023
History of Art and Architecture Grant, 2023
Student Provisional Ubiquitous Research Grant, RISD Research, 2021
Global Brown Fellowship, Brown University, 2021

PUBLICATIONS:

desi-gned, Issue 1

Tactile Texts—Sensory Speculations, desi-gned, Issue 2

Sensory Silhouettes, RISD Museum

The Anthropophagic Effect, Garment no. 1, RISD Museum

How To Pretend To Be Dead (A Manual), The College Hill Independent

Proximity, The College Hill Independent

In our focus on viruses, we underestimate the risk of the deadly bacteria, Brown Daily Herald

Why I Love Art: My Nani’s Tijori, Museum of Art & Photography

Why Are My Country’s Treasures Sitting In Your Glass Cases?, The College Hill Independent

COLLECTIONS:

Yukti V. Agarwal Collection, John Hay Library

Period (Note) Pads, The Fleet Library