Speaker Pooja Venkatachalam Kumar

Pooja Venkatachalam Kumar is an Assistant Professor of Practice in Illustration & Graphic Design at the University of Arizona. Trained as a chemical engineer before earning an MFA in Illustration Practice at Maryland Institute College of Art, she integrates interdisciplinary research with design pedagogy. Her work explores typography, creative coding, and the intersections of art and science, with a particular focus on Telugu script and accessibility in type design education. She has studied under Ellen Lupton, Whitney Sherman, and Hannes Famira, whose approaches to inclusivity and critical design inform her teaching and practice. She is attending the Type@Cooper Extended Program to deepen her expertise in type design. At Arizona, she teaches students from diverse Indigenous and underrepresented backgrounds who are curious about type design, using code and experimental methods to open new paths into script education.