We learned a great deal when we met with Kanthi Kadayam Ananthagopal. She’s an amazing multi-faceted, multi-talented, multi-task designer from India. Listening to her talk about how her world of architecture matriculated into a Master’s Degree from the famous California Institute of the Arts which then catapulted her into the entertainment industry and the metaverse is spellbinding. We can see the passion in her eyes as she describes architecture as giving her the foundation to leap into design and how that passion happily intensifies as she describes her time at Cal Arts as being her biggest growth period along with shaping her into a well-rounded human being.
Kanthi and her highly creative and disciplined architectural skill set came all the way from India to seek out a place in the entertainment industry where she could create and develop immersive experiences for brands in the Metaverse. Her focus is on bridging the gap between virtual and reality, while pushing the boundaries in terms of producing moments that are not available anywhere else. Her approach is wholly selfless: She is aiming to achieve the best user experience and the maximum level of engagement for audiences. She sees the entertainment industry paradigm changing and she is totally excited to be part of the system that is bringing in that change!
Her current work as a Designer at MODE Studios, which is at the forefront of design innovation for themed entertainment, encompasses projects from Music Festivals and Immersive Experiences to Corporate Events and Shows. In a day and age where nothing is certain and we don’t always get to call our passion, our job, Kanthi realizes that she is very fortunate to have been able to make a transition in careers and she sees the pitfalls of doubting one’s abilities when starting out in a new profession. She has learned a great deal about making mistakes and about learning from the mistakes she has made. She feels consistency is the key to success. She goes into each new moment on a project with the intention of learning something from it. What helped her the most in the beginning was that she would never shy away from asking questions. She is very thankful for all of those experiences, especially for the mentors she gained in the process. She would say “Yes” to any opportunity and looking back, she sees that her work on those projects definitely made her expand as an artist. She wouldn’t be where she is today, she says, if she had let fear of failure hold her back.
