Shreya Dhawan

One thing about my service design degree from SCAD is that I see how I can apply it to mapping my life. If there’s an outcome that I’m trying to achieve a number of years down the line, I can work backwards from there and design it for myself.

Professional service designer Shreya Dhawan earned her bachelor’s degree in industrial design at Symbiosis Institute of Design in Pune, before coming to SCAD Savannah in 2015 to earn her M.F.A. in service design, with a thesis focussed on “curating organisational culture change in service-transformed organizations.” She now works as a service designer in Atlanta, Georgia, at Harmonic Design Inc. where she created the company’s internship program and has been managing the same with upwards of 100 applicants this year.

“At SCAD I was able to really learn the challenges clients face, and how to deliver the solutions they’re looking for,” Shreya says. At SCAD, Shreya worked on SCAD-pro projects for Philips Healthcare and Delta Airlines. “Those were valuable experiences for me, where I acquired skills that I have been able to translate from the academic environment to the real world.”

“One thing about my service design degree from SCAD is that I see how I can apply it to mapping my life. If there’s an outcome that I’m trying to achieve a number of years down the line, I can work backwards from there and design it for myself.”

For Shreya, Akshay and an increasing number of students from India, designing successful lives means attending SCAD.