Ipshita Krishan: Passion Isn't Found, It's Built
/ Identity & Brand Designer
by Elizabeth Lavis | 23 Oct 2026
"The human touch and connection are very important for our industry"
Ipshita Krishan, designer, vibe curator, concept system executioner, and SaaS queen, believes that passion isn’t found; it’s built. “We are often told to find our passion, and I have a hard time with that,” she says. “There is no one thing that motivates me every day. Being a creative can’t be a streamlined process, and “finding” a passion can take years, without ever knowing if it’s truly found.” Krishan’s personal philosophy is that passion must be built and that something that makes you happy to work hard on is your passion. “It’s something that you want to be consistent with, even on days when you think you’re doing the worst work possible. You’re doing it simply because you’re glad to have worked hard at it. Passion is built each day through tiny actions.”
Krishan is also a fan of the gift of gab, and her top tip for aspiring designers is that talking is their biggest superpower. “Never go somewhere and don’t talk,” she says. “Ask other people what you do, share something cool, or ask for feedback. Any interaction you have with people is going to help you in your career, because designing cannot happen in isolation. The human touch and connection are very important for our industry.”
She was born and raised in India, where color is celebrated. “Color is seen as a native language,” Krishan says. “Nothing is ever 'too much,' and there’s always room for one more shade. I grew up in a visual culture that communicates emotion through every surface: insignias, flyers, billboards; everything is loud and more. Color is the first thing that hits the audience and almost always gets through, universally. It’s the design element with the highest survival rate, and that’s why it’s so important in my work.”
Krishan sees design as a way to find a visual solution to a communication problem, and she approaches it by questioning the problem from any angle. “I like to ask why something needs to exist, what it’s trying to say, and who it needs to exist for,” Krishan says. “I find that challenging the problem itself leads to interesting and thoughtful outcomes.” Next comes research, and then play, where she explores form, tension, story, and color. “Another big part of my process is conversation,” Krishan says. “Explaining your idea to someone who knows nothing about the project can be incredibly clarifying. Talking it through helps find holes and make it stronger.”
Krishan finds inspiration in music and fashion and says that pairing the right music to match the energy of her work can channel what she’s envisioning in her mind and often amplify it. “There is beauty in a lot of the music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s where words are used masterfully to convey an idea,” she says. When she was working on her award-winning work, Sunburn, Krishan had a dedicated playlist designed to maintain the vibe.
When she’s not designing, Krishan finds comfort in guilty pleasures like black out Brooklyn cake, chai, a documentary, and a fluffy blanket.
Sunburn Festival Rebrand