Harshal Duddalwar on Internships and Design Identity

Designer Harshal Duddalwar reflects on how internships shape a designer's identity gradually through exposure to environments, conversations, and ways of working. He interned at studios including 2x4, Pentagram, The New York Times, and Microsoft, both in India and internationally. Duddalwar notes that early internships focused on exploration across disciplines like branding, illustration, product, and systems, while later experiences refined recurring interests in systems, structure, and simplicity. He emphasizes that portfolios reflect thinking, but a point of view develops slower through experience and understanding constraints. In studios like Pentagram and 2x4, interns were treated as active contributors involved in sketching and discussions, not just execution. Duddalwar's personal projects—Ponder, Manhattan Mumbai, People Are Like Shapes—became more intentional during his MFA at RISD, where he explored identity, memory, and belonging. He argues that being busy is productive, but being formed involves developing judgment and understanding reasoning behind decisions. Working internationally, especially in New York, expanded his definition of design to consider how it operates, influences, and extends. He stresses that clarity of thought and communication are as important as execution, and he would redesign internships to emphasize presentation and articulation. The article is authored by Nitin Tiwari, Editor-in-chief at Creative Gaga.