Thirty Under 30: Malyka Abramson

Meet Malyka Abramson, one of the outstanding young professionals of NKBA’s Thirty Under 30 Class of 2021, in this exclusive series.

By Donna Heiderstadt

Malyka Abramson

Delta Faucet Co.

Indiana State

Malyka Abramson is fully immersed in the world of design. As an industrial designer at Delta Faucet Co., she loves that kitchen and bath design is essentially a “fashion industry” with new products every season. “What we make has such an aesthetic focus, which is really fun as a designer,” she says. Her preference for a minimal aesthetic has also led her to appreciate the work of Zaha Hadid and Parametricism, the data-driven movement the late architect helped spearhead. “It’s so clean, dynamic and sculptural, but there is also that biomimicry component,” Malyka says. “Nature is the ultimate source of inspiration and innovation, and I think it helps set her work apart from the rest of the world.”

“There is always going to be something that can be improved and I think it’s that kind of mentality that motivates most designers to keep working and improving.”

Describing her childhood bedroom as resembling a teenage girl’s room from a Nineties sitcom, “but with more lava lamps and a bit messier,” Malyka says she was always good at drawing and sculpting. Her true passion, however, was building and programming things. “When I found out there was a job that combined both of those worlds, I never looked back,” she says. After studying industrial design and graduating with top honors from Purdue University — where she interned at SharkNinja assisting the design team on the 2019 product lineup and also ran track — she joined Delta in 2019.

Malyka, who says the word that best describes her is “tenacious,” enjoys learning about art and design history, running, fishing, camping, sketching and binge-watching TV with her cat Saweetie, who is “11 years young, grouchy, but the best cuddler.” And yet she’s hesitant to point out a favorite design in her portfolio. “I think it’s important for designers to never be satisfied,” she explains. “There is always going to be something that can be improved and I think it’s that kind of mentality that motivates most designers to keep working and improving.”