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



C
OLLECTIONS:

Yukti V. Agarwal Collection, John Hay Library
Period (Note) Pads, The Fleet Library
The Woman’s Way, The Fleet Library
Oral History Project, Pembroke Center



NEWS:
Brown, RISD Students Launch New England’s First Publication for South Asian Diaspora, (Print Issue), Brown Daily Herald
20 Unmissable Exhibitions at Milan Design Week, Dezeen
At Milan Design Week, the Power is in the Collection, The New York Times
RISD’s Exhibition Offered a Woozy Vision for Our Domestic Future, Sight Unseen
A Constellation of Innovations, Stir World
SPUR-Funded RISD Student Research Advances Sustainability and Social Equity, RISD News
RISD Makes a Splash at Milan Design Week, RISD News

SPUR-Funded Research Underway, RISD News
Launching New England’s First Publication for the South Asian Diaspora, RISD 1877
Post by RISD’s President, Crystal Williams
Brown-RISD Dual Degree students hold ‘fantastical’ art exhibition, Brown Daily Herald
2022 Emerging Creatives Students Summit Recap, The Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities

RISD Textiles Students Weave Personal Narratives, RISD News
Students Make Marvelous Books, RISD News
6th and 7th Baker & Whitehill Student Artist’s Book Content 2021, RISD News