Five design studios redefine the American Dream through global heritage

Wallpaper* profiles five US-based design studios whose founders bring diverse cultural backgrounds to their work. The studios include Soft-Geometry (Utharaa Zacharias and Palaash Chaudhary, from India), Dominik Tarabański (from Poland), Vy Voi (Steffany Tran, Vietnamese-American), Minjae Kim (from South Korea), and Kawabi (Aaron and Irisa Chan-Kawabi, Chinese-American). Each designer integrates their heritage into contemporary design: Soft-Geometry combines Indian influences; Tarabański explores synthetic-organic intersections in large-scale photographs; Tran revives Vietnamese craft; Kim reinterprets Western typologies; and Kawabi reimagines Chinese lanterns. All are Wallpaper* US400 honorees. The article highlights how these creators shape American design while maintaining ties to their roots.