Frequency of India. Studio One Documentation.

Page 1

PROJECT

STUDENT

GUIDE

STUDIO 1 SEMESTER 2 6 WEEKS

AKSHAN ISH S1101106 PGDPD ‘11 GRAPHIC DESIGN

RUPESH VYAS

PROJECT DOCUMENTATION

FREQUENCY OF INDIA Reintroducing Folk Music to an Urban Audience



FREQUENCY OF INDIA Reintroducing Folk Music to an Urban Audience

PROJECT DOCUMENTATION www.frequencyofindia.wordpress.com

AKSHAN ISH S1101106 PGDPD ‘11 GRAPHIC DESIGN E akshan.i@nid.edu T +91 846 901 7051


COLOPHON Typeface, Vista Sans & Caecillia LT Std Paper, 100 GSM SS Inside 250 GSM Matt Cover Document dimensions, 8.5” x 11”


INDEX

INTRODUCTION 2 PROJECT THEME 4 PROJECT PROPOSAL

INFORMATION COLLECTION 8 10 11 13 17

BACKGROUND RESEARCH INTERVIEWS LITERATURE STUDY WEB SOURCES VISITS

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT 38 44 46 50 51 56 62 72 73 74

CONCEPT GENERATION REDEFINED BRIEF CASE STUDY CONTENT FOR THE PACKAGE THE STRUCTURE VISUAL LANGUAGE POSTER/OUTER PACKAGE INFORMATION BOOKLET CD SLEEVE SOCIOCULTURAL INFOGRAPHIC

ANALYSIS & SYNTHESIS 24 26 28 30 32 34

MIND MAP SYSTEM MAPPING STAKEHOLDER STUDY CASE STUDY IDENTIFICATION OF PROBLEM AREAS DEFINING THE BRIEF

DESIGN EXECUTION 78 80 84 86 88 92

OUTER PACKAGE/POSTER INFORMATION BOOKLET CD SLEEVE SOCIOCULTURAL INFOGRAPHIC MOCK-UPS & PROTOTYPE COSTING

CONCLUSION 96 97 98 99

FUTURE SCOPE LEARNING BIBLIOGRAPHY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS



STARTING OUT

INTRODUCTION PROJECT THEME PROJECT PROPOSAL


2 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION INTRODUCTION PROJECT THEME

INTRODUCTION

PROJECT THEME We were introduced to our first studio project by Dr. Tridha Gajjar, faculty of Graphic Design at NID. The basic structure of a classroom project at the post-graduate level was explained to us. A brief outline of the design process that we were expected to follow was chalked out, and project guides and their interest areas were introduced. The entire class was to select a common theme, around which our projects would be based.

After some discussion, we narrowed down two themes — Travel and Environment. This was followed by a number of group and individual brainstorming sessions which helped us identify broad topics that we would like to work on. We were constantly looking for problems or areas that required communication design interventions within the broad spectrum of travel and environment.


3

The project coordinator asked me to dig deeper into the topic to figure out what it is exactly that could be done in this domain. On further research, I found that India has become a major hub for music festivals in the recent past, and has become a spot After some initial research and discussions for music tourists to discover new music. The cultural richness of India adds to with batch mates and faculty, I decided to the experience. Although a part of urban elaborately look at travel and music — the India’s music scene has gained exposure, emergence of music festivals in India as a local music has been neglected and not growing source for tourism. duly recognized, even within the country. Making connections between problems that required design interventions and topics that I was interested in, I wrote down a few ideas that could potentially be converted to project briefs.

TRAVEL

TOURISM

MUSIC

MUSIC TOURISM URBAN MUSICIANS

MUSIC FESTIVALS

BRIDGE

FOLK MUSICIANS

How can we make use of the emerging alternative music scenario in India to provide a platform for folk musicians to be heard by people in towns and cities?


4 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION INTRODUCTION PROJECT PROPOSAL

INTRODUCTION

PROJECT PROPOSAL PROJECT BACKGROUND In a country like India with its magnificently diverse cultures, landscapes and demographics, it is only inevitable for a new breed of music to take birth which touches the hearts of millions. This is bridging the divide between the urban and the rural, the western and the folk by propagating a movement where these varied artists from all across our country come together to share ideas, experiences and sounds to create music, which is taking Indian independent music to a whole new level. The explosion of the new Indian music scenario has taken a global route and is rapidly making its way worldwide through online radio stations, social media and music festivals which have recently become a rage across the country attracting thousands of foreign as well as domestic music tourists, who are on a journey to discover music as it exists in various cultures. Music Tourism is about the seeking out of the parameters of music, exploring its boundaries without letting the constraints of geography come in the way, and India has now become one of the most enriching destinations for a music tourist because of its beautiful people, beautiful diversity, and beautiful music.

OBJECTIVE To explore and determine how the growing alternative music scenario, with respect to music festivals in India, is catering to tourism and to visualise this information to bring clarity and perspective to the situation in order to reach out to people and encourage the movement.

SCOPE During the course of this project, I hope to understand the subject thoroughly, learn to collect and analyse data, make connections in the data, conceive information from the data, visualise that information to make it more meaningful and easier to understand in order to present a perspective on the issue.


5

METHODOLOGY + TIMELINE Inbound and Domestic Tourism Music Festivals Benefactors (Hotel/Food) Emotive Response Indian performances abroad Revenue Generation Govt. Taxes Sponsorships Social Media Online Hits Organisational Structure Employment Generation Environmental Concerns

PHASE OF PROJECT

PARTICULAR PHASE AS A RESULT OF ANOTHER

Data Visualisation Visual Language Infographics Publication

DOCUMENTATION

EXECUTION

CONCEPT GENERATION

RESEARCH VISITS

Revolving around independent music and for raising awareness

INFORMATION COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

WRITING PROJECT BRIEF

Festival Organizers Delhi/Mumbai

SELECTION OF PROJECT

0

1

2

3

4

5

Frequency of India is an attempt to understand the influence of folk music on the new breed of Indian music which is being played and heard all across Urban India, and to facilitate the exchange of ideas and coming together of cultures and expressions.

6



PHASE ONE

CONTEXTUAL STUDY BACKGROUND RESEARCH INTERVIEWS LITERATURE WEB SOURCES VISITS


8 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION CONTEXTUAL STUDY BACKGROUND RESEARCH

CONTEXTUAL STUDY

BACKGROUND RESEARCH After submitting the proposal, I set out to understand what music tourism is actually all about. How does music add to the tourism of a country, and what pros and cons it brings with itself. Wikipedia says that Music tourism is the act of visiting a city or town, in order to see a music festival or other music performances. This sort of tourism is particularly important to small villages such as Glastonbury, as well as large cities like Glasgow. There are a large number of music festivals held around the world, usually annually, that attract non-local visitors. The self-proclaimed largest music festival in the world is Summerfest, an 11-day event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with an annual attendance of nearly 1,000,000 people.

There has been an explosion in the alternate (nonBollywood) music festival scene in India. A report in the Guardian, UK says “India has a smattering of music festivals, but these are mostly traditional events or trance affairs aimed at tourists unable to wait for their Ibiza kicks. NH7 is an attempt to create a Glastonbury, or perhaps more precisely, Lovebox-style event in India. India’s middle class is now estimated at more than 300 million people – that’s a lot of folk with disposable income, internet access, and perhaps an interest in exploring nontraditional culture.” The NH7 Weekender sold all 7,000 tickets for the Saturday and Sunday, and says it has made a profit in its second year, something completely unheard of in the UK festival market. India has become a spot for music enthusiasts from all over, to come together to listen to some diverse music. This movement opens the floodgates for musicians across the country by giving them a platform to be heard by thousands and even more, over the internet and social media.

So what does music tourism for a country like India mean? Does it really boost economy and help in preserving the traditional art forms or is it taking away all that India as a country stood for? It is important to understand the demographics of India here. We are a country of diverse cultures, languages and traditions. Arts and culture have always thrived in this nation. With globalization and liberalization, there has been a heavy influx of western culture that urban Indians now relate to. Therefore, we see students in schools and colleges more inclined towards guitars and drums that would have not been the case earlier. Raghu Dixit performing at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi


9

The other side of the story is that although we seem to be making a shift from nonBollywood to independent music, classical, folk and traditional music seem to be fast fading away from our memories. T.K. Ramachandran, a classical musician in his article says “Gen FB is so busy ‘globalizing’ (which is confused with westernising), learning French, Salsa and playing the guitar, that it is happy to remain ignorant about our cultural heritage. This ignorance of our cultural past and our musical and dance traditions among the elite is shared by the disadvantaged sections who are equally at sea but for a different reason: they rarely have opportunities to listen to, learn or appreciate our music. This, I think, is the real tragedy: the lack of awareness about our rich cultural heritage in general, and music, in particular. And the reason is that we don’t take pride in our heritage as much as we ought to. And we don’t expose children and teenagers to the joys of our classical traditions.”

Fireflies festival, Bangalore

It is important to note that these alternative music festivals provide a platform for both urban musicians and folk artists. Fusion music has begun to enjoy its own place amongst most other popular genres. Musicians from the cities are slowly turning back to their roots to find inspiration, in pursuit of creating something new and fresh — a sound that has not been heard before. I see these festivals as a medium to connect urban audiences and musicians with the traditional and folk artists. There are already musicians like Raghu Dixit and Swarathma who are trying to connect their audiences with their traditional roots. It could be called a gimmick, perhaps, only a way to sell their own music. The way I see it though, is that this new breed of musicians, with their folk culture inspired outfits and songs, is telling people that this is us as well. They are telling people you can sing in any other regional language and get noticed. They are telling people it is okay to wear lungis. If people start listening to each other and start relating to each other’s music and start enjoying it, the gap dwindles. Put smiles on a few faces, and it might bring a feeling of acceptance and belonging.


10 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION CONTEXTUAL STUDY INTERVIEW

CONTEXTUAL STUDY

INTERVIEW WITH MR. RAHUL GHAI Mr. Rahul Ghai is a folk music enthusiast and has been working on the rehabilitation of folk music artists, restoration of their dignity and livelihood. He concentrates on creating forums for folk musicians and artists so they can stand up for their rights.

Rajasthan: An Oral History by Rustom Bharucha

We discussed at length about the various factors that come into play when looking at the folk music scenario in India, the various issues, and the various organizations that play a vital role in protecting this heritage of ours.

He emphasized that a study of the whole scenario is required from a macro level for this kind of an approach. The IGNCA (Indira Gandhi National Centre of the Arts), UNESCO and NFSC (National Folklore Support Centre) have been working in similar directions.

His main concern was that private tourism is hampering the oral traditions of folk musicians in Rajasthan. By selling the tradition as something exotic, the spirit is being disintegrated into something highly materialistic. It is necessary to recognize the artists, because the art form is a means of living for them, not something they chose to pursue.

The challenge remains to empower the folk musicians, to restore their dignity, encourage them and to connect them with an audience who are eager to be exposed to and understand such music but have not had the means to.

There are government-aided schemes which are trying to facilitate the growth of folk music, and protecting the artists. The UNDP and UNESCO are also running programs with the same interests. He believes that folk music might end up in a museum twenty years from now. Therefore, it becomes even more important to create archives that are accessible to those interested as well as the coming generations of professional hereditary caste musicians.

He also gave me the book, Rajasthan: An Oral History by Rustom Bharucha which is an account of the author’s conversations with Komal Kothari, the founder of Rupayan Sansthan — the organization that has been documenting oral traditions and folklore in Rajasthan since 1960. This book gave me a fundamental understanding of oral culture, folklore, and most importantly, how the professional hereditary caste system functions in the musician communities.


11 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION CONTEXTUAL STUDY

Folk music comes from the environment and the roots, so one cannot take the musicians out of their environment. Tourism eventually comes down to money. It is mostly capitalist in nature. Music cannot be read, it has to be heard and felt. Since folk music is an oral tradition, it is difficult to document. Folk singing and music also undergoes changes, and is mostly sung in a social & cultural context.

I went through a book called Folk Music & Mass Media, written by Shyam Parmar in 1977, during the time when the All India Radio had just begun to capture and connect the entire nation. This book gave me a basic understanding of the scenario back then. The basic aspects of folk music and traditions remain the same to this date. A folk song composes itself and they are always community songs. Collective singing is a prominent feature of folk music. The songs represent the emotional nuances of the community. They provide opportunity for constant making, remaking and recreating – imbibing all the changes and variations due to changing social norms. Folk Music is a channel of communication, and an expression against social/cultural oppressive traditions and practices. They have no definite audience, hence are not documented. As old traditions mix with new and social values change rapidly, so do the nature of the songs. It is not an art which is learned, but is inherited. Migration of labourers to cities, displacement and their moving on to different means of livelihood is disintegrating the music. There is a definite need to improve the methods of recording folk songs. Creating a repertoire of community songs is practically the best way of promoting folk music. Continuity is the fundamental characteristic of regional music forms.

LITERATURE


12 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION CONTEXTUAL STUDY INTERVIEW

CONTEXTUAL STUDY

INTERVIEW WITH AARTHI PARTHASARATHY Aarthi Parthasarathy is a project team member at the Kabir Project. They have been involved in documenting folk music across India, creating an archive of folk songs, organising yatras, travelling with artists and creating support groups, to name a few of their activities. In a brief telephonic interview with Aarthi, she pointed out key points from her experiences while working with folk musicians. While documenting music, researchers always face a problem trying to understand the colloquial language. Translation and transliteration of the songs also becomes an issue, as the song text keeps evolving, and none of the original text is documented.

Spread from Malwa Mein Kabir

Another problem she pointed out was that since there is no ownership of a folk song, it is difficult to represent or reproduce that particular song. It leads to jealousy among the community, since there is no clear ownership of an individual. The same happens when a particular individual or group is given a platform or an opportunity; the rest of the community feels neglected and cheated.


13 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION CONTEXTUAL STUDY WEB SOURCES

CONTEXTUAL STUDY

is there a need to redesign the journal?

SANGEET NATAK AKADEMI The Sangeet Natak Akademi - India’s national academy for music, dance and drama - is the first National Academy of the arts setup by the Republic of India. The Akademi carries a part www.sangeetnatak.org of the responsibilities of the state for fostering cultural contacts between various regions in India, and between India and the world. The Akademi is the biggest archive of arts and culture in the country. I visited their website for information on folk music, looking for communities and compilations. I found that the archive was extremely difficult to navigate and the content was almost inaccessible. The Akademi publishes a print journal called the Sangeet Natak which provides an account of the arts and cultural happenings in the country with articles and reports. Sangeet Natak Journal

can the archives be made more easily accessible ?

Sangeet Natak Akademi CD/DVD Collection


14 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION CONTEXTUAL STUDY WEB SOURCES

CONTEXTUAL STUDY

UNESCO INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE www.unesco.org Cultural heritage does not end at monuments and

collections of objects. It also includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe, or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts. Mr. Rahul Ghai had suggested that I try to understand the issue from a macro perspective. So I looked at reports from the Ministry of Culture, UNESCO, NFSC and other organizations that were dealing with the same. Going through UNESCO’s report titled Cultural Mapping Of India, I found that although they are not directly involved with any of the facilitation programs, they had created a culture map of India in association with the IGNCA, which brought to light the various arts and crafts from different parts of India. It also briefly describes each art and craft, the region it comes from, its sociocultural relevance, and samples of the craft in some cases.

The report did not recognize a lot of folk musician communities, and the only program that UNESCO was spearheading in terms of folk music was with a musician tribe in Kerala. They provide funding and resources to other organizations such as the India Foundation of the Arts (IFA), which are directly involved with promoting and rehabilitating folk musicians.


15

Cultural Map of India, UNESCO


16 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION CONTEXTUAL STUDY WEB SOURCES

CONTEXTUAL STUDY

SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS www.folkways.si.edu Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is the

non-profit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, the national museum of the United States. They are dedicated to supporting cultural diversity and increased understanding among peoples through the documentation, preservation, and dissemination of sound. Browsing through the Smithsonian Folkways website, I found categorized recordings of the Rajasthani Communities, compiled into sets community-wise. These songs were recorded by the Rupayan Sansthan which was founded by Komal Kothari, and are now owned by the Archives and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology (ARCE), which is part of the American Institute of Indian Studies. These recordings can be bought from the website directly as a set of mp3 files. Information regarding the songs and the

can adequate information about the musicians be provided along with the music?

Smithsonian Folkways website

musicians is provided in an excel sheet. No packaging or liner notes were available. I was intrigued as to how their huge repositories of folk music and archives can be used to streamline folk music towards the young urban audience in a way that proves beneficial for the folk musicians. The pros of using the Smithsonian and AIIS repositories is that they have a global outreach and provide a much bigger platform for the musicians as well as the audience to connect on.


17 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION CONTEXTUAL STUDY VISIT

CONTEXTUAL STUDY

can folklore be visualized and illustrated to create interest among people?

VISIT TO ARCHIVES & RESEARCH CENTRE FOR ETHNOMUSICOLOGY www.indiastudies.org

The Archives and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology (ARCE) houses extensive collections of recordings of Indian music and oral traditions. These have all been meticulously documented, and are complemented by a library that includes books, journals, and dissertations relevant to the field of ethnomusicology in general and with a particular focus on India. Shubha Chaudhuri I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Shubha Chaudhari, Director of the Archives and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology, who has written the book Bards, Ballads and Boundaries on Rajasthani Folk Music traditions, to talk about the current scenario in Rajasthan, their culture and traditions, and the role that ARCE plays in documenting and propagating the music.

Bards, Ballads and Boundaries by Shubha Chaudhuri

most important of them all was creating a web based archive of the musicians, communities, recordings and material that the archive has, for easy access and reference. This would enable people from across the world to pull out information based on their preferences, or liking.

I had a chance to browse through their vast library, and was specifically referred She was of the opinion that the musicians to The Living Music of Rajasthan by Vijay themselves are realising the importance of Verma and Monograph on Langas by archiving and have played an active part Komal Kothari. This trip provided me with in a recent three-year-long Archives and immense information about the Langa Communities Partnership project. and Manganiyar musician communities of the Western Rajasthan region, that was There is a concentrated attempt to not available on the Smithsonian Folkways create community archives to enable the website. I was also provided with song musicians to document and archive the texts and transliterations which gave me music themselves, and capitalize on the an understanding of the context in which local reach to connect with their audiences the songs were sung as well the concerns in the villages. She elaborated on various of the musicians. projects that they were working on. The


18 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION CONTEXTUAL STUDY VISIT

CONTEXTUAL STUDY

VISIT TO RUPAYAN SANSTHAN, JODHPUR Rupayan Sansthan, an institute of folklore, was established in 1960 to collect, preserve and disseminate the oral tradition of Rajasthan. Since its inception, Rupayan has expanded its scope from research and archiving, to educating Rajasthanis on traditional livelihoods and cultures and working with performing arts communities on development issues.

Kuldeep Kothari

I got in touch with Rupayan Sansthan and met Mr. Kuldeep Kothari (s/o Shri. Komal Kothari) in Jodhpur, who was very kind to set up a meeting with Hayat Khan Langa, one of the musicians of the Sarangiya Langa. We went to his house to meet him and spoke to him in length, and he had the children perform a few songs for us which was an absolute delight. Hayat spoke about a wide range of issues. He explained the meanings of a lot of songs, spoke about performing abroad, recognition abroad versus recognition in the country. Folk musicians get awards, but not support from the government. A significant amount of outreach within the country is needed. He stressed on the

The challenge is to depict, understand and make sense out of oral traditions, so people in the cities and those otherwise deprived of this knowledge can learn; and so it enables people to understand and sensitize themselves to oral history.

Hayat Khan Langa

fact that oral traditions need to be kept in tact. Illiteracy is a problem for them, since they are often cheated and they do not understand much about copyrights and ownership. It is not possible since the music is a society/community affair and not solely and individual’s creation. He asked to be given the status of an artist, not just a person who comes to sing at wedding functions. Succeeding the visit to Hayat Khan Langa’s house, Mr. Kuldeep Kothari showed us Arna Jharna, The Desert Museum, that they have been working on. This museum is completely dedicated to preserving and showcasing arts, crafts and the way of living that arises from the desert conditions. Attractions include a puppetry section, a section on the various musical instruments of Rajasthan, and an exhibit showcasing all the different kinds of brooms that are used inside and outside the houses. It gave me an idea of what the arid desert conditions are capable of producing, and the visual culture of the place was also very well documented.


19

Children practicing at Hayat Khan Langa’s house

Wasim playing morchang

Sarangi at Rupayan Sanshtan


20 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION CONTEXTUAL STUDY

The question is, how do we facilitate the folk musicians? How do we keep up their dignity, and not let their music die out? How can we use the appreciation for fusion and world music to help the folk musicians in propagating and continuing their musical practice? How can we bring them to a point


21

where they can document their own music and promote it? How do we give them the same opportunities that urban artists have? Is there a way they can connect with the urban audience directly and reap full benefits rather than going through a whole range of mediators and channels?



PHASE TWO

ANALYSIS & SYNTHESIS MIND MAP SYSTEM MAPPING STAKEHOLDER STUDY CASE STUDY IDENTIFICATION OF PROBLEM AREAS DEFINING THE BRIEF


24 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION ANALYSIS & SYNTHESIS MINDMAP

LIVELIHOOD

WANT RECOGNITION

POOR DOCUMENTATION

TRADITIONS

MUSICIANS

NEED EXPOSURE

FOLK MUSIC MONEY

ARCHIVES

PERFORMANCE

LIMITED AUDIENCE TOURISM

ACCESS

PLATFORM

EXOTICISM

ATTRACTION


25

INDIAN ROOTS

DISPOSABLE INCOME

EXPERIMENTAL

NEW SOUND

WESTERN INFLUENCES

URBAN ARTISTS

LARGE AUDIENCE

ALTERNATIVE MUSIC SCENE INDEPENDENT

OBLIVIOUS TO TRADITIONAL MUSIC

SOCIAL MEDIA SHARING COLLABORATIVE

LACK OF EXPOSURE

LARGE SCALE DOCUMENTATION

THE DIVIDE BRIDGING THE GAP


26 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION ANALYSIS & SYNTHESIS SYSTEM MAPPING

Mapping the sociocultural system of the musician communities in Rajasthan


27

Understanding the traditions and customs of the Langas, a folk musician community from Rajasthan


28 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION ANALYSIS & SYNTHESIS STAKEHOLDER STUDY

NEEDS

DIGNITY RESPECT RECOGNITION FINANCIAL STABILITY OPPORTUNITY SUBSTITUTE TO PATRONAGE SYSTEM PLATFORM TO BE HEARD

NATURE

ILLITERATE — NO UNDERSTANDING OF BUSINESS LOOKING FOR DIFFERENT MEANS TO EARN LIVELIHOOD MOVING AWAY FROM TRADITIONAL REPERTOIRE FALLS PREY TO FAME & INCENTIVE

FOLK MUSICIAN


29

WANTS

TO CONNECT WITH MUSICIANS TO CONNECT WITH OWN ROOTS & STORIES TO EXPERIENCE DIFFERENT CULTURES TO SHARE EXPERIENCES

NATURE

EXTREMELY BRAND-CONSCIOUS HEAVY DISPOSABLE INCOME EXPERIMENTAL ACTIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA LIKE TO TRAVEL AESTHETICS ARE VITAL

URBAN AUDIENCE


30 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION ANALYSIS & SYNTHESIS CASE STUDY

ANALYSIS & SYNTHESIS

CASE STUDY: SOUND TRAVELS www.soundtravelsltd.com

Sound Travels exists to connect music lovers, travellers, musicologists, producers and musicians with the amazing wealth of art in the Indian subcontinent. They also curate interactive musical evenings, gigs and workshops in the UK and India. Sound Travels is an excellent initiative for people who want to experience the music and lifestyle first-hand. It gives people the chance to interact with the musicians and camp with them. It becomes the medium or the ice-breaker between travellers and musicians. However, this initiative has not been able to generate interest amongst audiences in the cities. It mostly attracts foreign

Sound Travels Program for October 2012

tourists, and a few select enthusiasts who already are extremely keen to understand the traditions and customs of folk communities. It acts as the second step, bridging the gap between the musician and traveller if he wishes to. The good thing about Sound Travels is that it takes the audience to the musician, and not the other way around. This way, the folk musician remains in his environment which is natural to him.


31

ANALYSIS & SYNTHESIS

CASE STUDY: KABIR PROJECT www.kabirproject.org

The Kabir Project brings together the experiences of a series of ongoing journeys in quest of this 15th century north Indian mystic poet as well as other Bhakti and Sufi poets in our contemporary worlds. Started in 2003, these journeys inquire into the spiritual and sociopolitical resonances of Kabir’s poetry through songs, images and conversations. The Kabir Project has grown into a holistic entity, with documentation of music in the current time, a festival that boasts of a steadily growing audience every year, and publications in the form of books and CDs for people to read and connect with. It concentrates primarily on representations of Kabir’s poetry. A similar initiative is required for other communities. Their films, illustrated books and music recordings have been generating interest among audiences of

Books & CDs The Kabir Project

all age groups. The project’s collaborative nature has encouraged a lot of young enthusiasts to do their bit, and also spread the word. They have used digital and print media optimally to get people involved. The project has an interesting visual language which merges photographic elements with illustrations and calligraphy. The books that accompany the music are bilingual — original dialect and english translations. The visual depictions are very personal to the artist and vary with every book.


32 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION ANALYSIS & SYNTHESIS IDENTIFYING PROBLEM AREAS

ANALYSIS & SYNTHESIS

WHERE DOES THE PROBLEM LIE?

TRADITIONS

DOCUMENTATION

Present and future generations of the folk musician communities are turning away from their own traditions in search for better livelihoods. Migration to cities to take up jobs in the construction business or as drivers has lead to disintegration of the traditional music system of the folk communities.

Documentation is a major challenge when it comes to folk music, as traditionally, these songs are sung to either while away leisure time or formally only during specific functions for the patrons of the communities. Also, the audience for these songs was the community itself. This being the primary reason for the music to have remained local.

It becomes extremely important in this scenario to preserve and propagate the knowledge possessed by these musician communities. They hold centuries worth of knowledge, with each musician having a repertoire of three to four hundred folk songs and ballads.

Herculean efforts have been made by various organizations to document, archive and annotate folk music from across the country. Due to lack of good recording equipment, and shortage of resources in the past, a lot is still unexplored and undocumented.


33

ACCESS & INTEREST

THE DIVIDE

Although a lot of folklore and songs have been documented, they have not been made accessible for people, let alone be popularized. Most of the material finds its place in huge basements with thousands of spools and written material, none of which ever gets to come out into the open.

The younger generation growing up in cities is often blamed for not showing any interest in traditional and classical forms of art and music. This is majorly because they have not been exposed to such forms of art. The television has made sure that youngsters are highly exposed to western music and culture.

This is also due to the fact that not much interest has been shown by audiences in general towards traditional forms of music. Bollywood music has become synonymous with Indian music, and the value of traditional and classical forms of music have been long forgotten.

There is also a lack of exposure to, and subsequently a lack of understanding of traditional culture. Most people remain oblivious to the fact that such customs and art forms exist. The stories behind them are also seldom told. This is the reason why most people in the cities are unable to relate to their own roots, hence creating the divide.


34 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION ANALYSIS & SYNTHESIS DEFINING THE BRIEF

ANALYSIS & SYNTHESIS

DEFINING THE BRIEF This is an account of my understanding of the entire scenario, and what issues could be addressed from a communication point of view. It was necessary to appreciate the ongoing efforts of other organizations and individuals working in the same domain, and at the same time, add value or devise a solution which was in the best interest of the musicians as well as the audience.

platform to connect folk musicians with urban audiences

design intervention must focus on preserving and propagating oral culture

To create a platform for facilitating folk musicians and propagating their oral culture, taking advantage of the alternative music culture without hindering their growth and livelihood.

livelihood of the musician communities should only benefit from any design intervention

use music festivals and artists willing to collaborate to bridge the gap between folk musicians and urban audiences


35

EXPOSURE

DOCUMENTATION

ORAL CULTURE

FOLK MUSICIAN

LIVELIHOOD

ACCESS

INTEREST

URBAN AUDIENCE



PHASE THREE

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT GENERATION CASE STUDY CONTENT FOR THE PACKAGE THE STRUCTURE VISUAL LANGUAGE POSTER/OUTER PACKAGE INFORMATION BOOKLET CD SLEEVE SOCIOCULTURAL INFOGRAPHIC


38 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT GENERATION

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

APPROACH 1: ONLINE PLATFORM FOR PEOPLE’S MUSIC

COMMON PLATFORM

All the information collection and analysis brought to light one major issue of documentation. There is a need for documenting various oral cultures and traditions from across the country, but this is not possible for organizations or individuals to do on their own.

UPLOAD

SHOOT

REALIZATIONS Folk music grows from its surroundings and environment.

to document folk music, work with the musicians and organize yatras but they are facing issues like jealousy among Folk means of the people. the communities because folk music is a community affair and no single person can There is a need to document folk music in be given credit. Not being able to reach out order to preserve the traditions and music, to a lot of places in india, and requirement but it is an oral tradition so documenting of manpower to reach out to different it is a major task. parts of the country are some other problems faced by them. There are more than 300 types of folk music, as of 1977, in India, so that’s a vast Folk music is essentially like craft. If landscape we are dealing with. promoted too much, people start wanting it, which leads to commercialization of the music like craft. And if not promoted, it There are projects like the Kabir Project dies out slowly. and Nirvana Nomads who are attempting


39

THE CONCEPT Create an online platform where people can upload their videos and photographs and reviews, essentially like a flickr for Indian folk. This concept would entail motivating people to document music across the nation – their cities, streets, hometowns, from their holiday trips, and music festivals. Simple guidelines would be provided on documenting. There was a wave when the DSLR became available in the market and everyone picked up digital cameras and became photographers. Instagram has further heightened that experience.

Similarly, this would be like motivating people to pick up their cameras and shoot and upload to a common platform. Hence it becomes a platform of the people’s music, contributed to by people themselves. This platform can be linked to other projects working in the same domain to increase accessibility and databases and catalogue the music/video clips, so it becomes a library of sorts where one knows one can find sounds from across India transcending its various diverse cultures.

WHAT THIS WOULD DO

DRAWBACKS

Bring folk music from across India to urban audiences and create accessibility.

The videos and material uploaded on the platform would require stringent moderation for content.

Give exposure to the artists without taking them out of their environment, hence retaining the essence of their music & traditional culture. Promote Responsible Tourism to these parts of the country rich in folklore. Eliminate the need for organizations to reach every nook and corner of India to document folk music. Involve people in becoming part of a nation-wide music culture.

Quality of material uploaded may not be of very high standard, and delivering low-quality material would not justify the purpose. This approach would require a much longer time span, with a group of people working towards this objective, and it may be possible to gather a lot of quality content and put it in one place for easy accessibility. Misuse of content is also possible. Technical issues such as space, security and accessibility would require additional specialists to work on them.


40 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT GENERATION

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

APPROACH 2: THE SANGEET NATAK JOURNAL Focussing on the aspect of accessibility of material, I was looking for publications and recordings on Indian folk music, and went through the Sangeet Natak Akademi and Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts libraries and online repositories. Both these institutions have a huge collection of recordings and publications. Most of this material is available only at the centres themselves, and for educational/research purposes. It was quite interesting to see that all this material is only accessible to the seekers, and in this time and age, most things do not survive unless they are blatantly put forth.

THE CONCEPT Redesigning the Sangeet Natak Journal taking into account the current scenario while preserving the essence of the journal. What interested me the most was the Sangeet Natak, the Akademi’s quarterly journal. The beautiful imagery on the covers of the journals on the website grabbed my attention immediately. But as soon as I opened the preview, my heart sank. The journal’s current layout and information architecture definitely requires some looking into and rethinking, and the look and feel needs to justify the content.

Cover of the Sangeet Natak Journal, 2006 issue

I had a friend pick up a few of these journals from the Akademi in Delhi, and what I realized is that there was no change in the layout or the design of the magazine for the past 20 years. Part of the reason why the rock scene in India grew is the circulation of magazines such as the Rock Street Journal and Rolling Stone. The potential Sangeet Natak has as a journal to reach out to the younger audiences and make a positive impact on folk culture is immense.


41

Spreads from various issues of the Sangeet Natak Journal

WHAT THIS WOULD DO

DRAWBACKS

Generate interest amongst the youth and increase accessibility.

Creating content for the magazine would require writers and collaborators, which is beyond the scope of this project.

Put all the information in one place, where readers can get updates about happenings and events on a regular basis. Increase revenue for the Akademi.

All the content would not focus on folk music. Sangeet Natak Akademi looks at various forms of performing arts.


42 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT GENERATION

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

APPROACH 3: RECORDINGS OF MUSICIAN COMMUNITIES FROM RAJASTHAN Browsing through the Smithsonian Folkways website, I found categorized recordings of the Rajasthani Communities, compiled into sets community-wise. These songs were recorded by the Rupayan Sansthan which was founded by Komal Kothari, and are now owned by the Archives and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology (ARCE), which is part of the American Institute of Indian Studies. These recordings can be bought from the website directly. These recordings are not packaged, unlike other compilations curated by Smithsonian Folkways.

Cover for a compilation from the Folkways library

THE CONCEPT Content creation and music packaging for compilations of the Musician Communities of Rajasthan, owned by ARCE. Firstly, I had to search for these recordings for weeks to get to the Smithsonian website, from which I could buy them. Secondly, there is not much information available about the recordings, the artists, nor the origins of the sound. These recordings are not even available on a CD format. A few other compilations which are available on CD formats have covers and liner notes designed in the 1950s.

To reach out to the people in the current day, to revive folk music, and to use the urban audience as a channel to preserve folk music, these compilations need to be packaged to promote and circulate the music. Captivating or iconic cover art can make a band instantly recognizable, which increases sales, which in turn boosts airplay and subsequently demand for the music. Mainstream marketing is rarely this attractive, and CD cover art makes browsing CDs an enjoyable experience that reaches far beyond the music.


43

Examples of existing folk music CD packaging

CD PACKAGING CD packaging can also be used as a medium to give out information on the origin of the music, and where one can go to discover more such music, and promoting responsible tourism to these places. It can also be connected to an online catalogue or applications to further enhance the experience. Since CD packaging is closest to the music, it proves to be the most effective point of information dissemination.

These packages could be disseminated at music festivals where a huge number of music enthusiasts come especially looking for music.

WHAT THIS WOULD DO

DRAWBACKS

Capitalize on the growing interest of the audience and musicians, and give them an experience to take home and share with friends and family.

Physical CD sales have gone down in the digital era.

Provide information and sensitize audiences about the social systems of the musician communities. Act as a trigger to spin off further interest and open up newer avenues for the musicians. Promotion and circulation of music becomes much easier for the archives and musicians.

They could also be sold in the market, or directly from the archives, and also a portion could be given back to the communities for their own archives.

A digital platform would have to be created which is connected to the physical package to maintain consistency and give information to those who are interested.


44 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT REDEFINED BRIEF

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

REDEFINED BRIEF After much deliberation, I decided to take this approach forward, since it provided maximum scope for making folk music accessible to all and could prove as a pilot project to set guidelines for a similar approach to be taken for other folk musician communities.

set visual language, and tone of communication to be followed for all musician communities

Design a package template for the compilations of the Musician Communities of Rajasthan, giving out information about the oral culture and sociocultural systems of the communities.

concentrating on how the song text is passed on orally, from generation to generation

sensitizing people about the unique tradition and culture of the musician communities


45

ARCHIVES RECORDINGS

MUSICIAN COMMUNITIES

COMPILATIONS

COMPILATION PACKAGE WITH INFORMATION ON ORAL CULTURE & SOCIOCULTURAL SYSTEMS

GENERATE INTEREST & SENSITIZE THE AUDIENCE

MUSIC FESTIVALS

COMPILATIONS PACKAGED WITH INFORMATION

URBAN AUDIENCE


46 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT CASE STUDY

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

CASE STUDY: REAL WORLD RECORDS www.realworldrecords.com

Real World Records was founded by WOMAD and Peter Gabriel to provide talented artists from around the world with access to stateof-the-art recording facilities and audiences beyond their geographic region. I had the opportunity to meet Martha Ladly, who has extensively worked with Real World Records as Head of Communication and has designed many of the record label’s album artwork and has been instrumental in creating a brand image for Real World Records. Real World Records works on the philosophy of connecting artists and enthusiasts across geographic borders. Their album artwork is usually photographic or illustrative, but gives a strong sense of where the music comes from. The imagery is stark and iconic. This particular series of records does not have any typography on the covers. Martha said that this was because they wanted to connect with a worldwide audience and did not want to communicate in any one language, which would restrict the audience the record would cater to. Instead, they had devised a colour coding system which represents the geographical origin of the music.

Real World Records cover for Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s album

This is an interesting approach to connect audiences from across the world, but not providing any information on the cover may not work when trying to communicate with an audience that has no clue of what the music is all about or who the artist is.


47

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

CASE STUDY: EDITION OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC www.ecmrecords.com

Founded by producer Manfred Eicher in 1969, ECM has to date issued more than 1,200 albums spanning many idioms. After establishing an early reputation with standard-setting jazz recordings, ECM began to include contemporary composition. The book Windfall Light focuses on the visual language of ECM, which has been stark and astoundingly experiential. The visual language of ECM follows a distinctively objective nature, where it has absolutely nothing to do with the music or the artists. It is completely experiential, and an art piece in itself. Influenced by the modernist philosophy of objectivity, it is abstraction at its finest. It gives the audience complete room to interpret the artwork, providing only subtle visual cues as to what the message is. Most of their covers feature photographs of textures and natural themes, with simple typography that does not distract the viewer one bit. The imagery is intriguing and makes the viewer think, much like the music which captivates the listener. Such visual language has been used by other designers for album artwork that focuses primarily on creating experiences for the viewer. The compilations enjoy a high status, and are meant for an audience that is highly literate and has an appreciation for such music.

ECM cover for the Bobo Stenson Quartet


48 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT CASE STUDY

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

CASE STUDY: MANNEQUINS MONSTER CAT http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2011/10/25/ monster-cat-mannequins-cd-pack.html

Alternative Folk Rock band Monster Cat’s album titled Mannequins was designed by Izyanti Asa’ari and Alison Schooling. It ‘reflects the fragile tension within consciousness and existence’ says Alison. They wanted to create an object that despite its delicacy, was thoroughly physical in its experience. The Mannequins CD Pack is a loose assembly of items that falls apart once the paper wrapping is undone. Its design elements compliment the album’s haunting and introspective tone.

Monster Cat Cover

The package comes in a drawstring bag with all the elements loosely kept in it. It uses only paper for the entire set. The usage of photographs with vectors emulate the mood of the songs. The subtlety of the imagery, along with bold typography works really well for this kind of music. The way the entire package is put together greatly inspired me. This is an example of an organic and free flowing structure, which allows the user to interact with various elements of the package. All the elements come together to create a memorable experience to support the music.

The entire package with posters, album artwork, and song text


49

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

CASE STUDY: I LIVED IN TREES MARK FRY http://www.hardformat.org/7359/mark-fry-ilived-in-trees/

I Lived in Trees by Mark Fry is a Lambent Folk album that was released by the label, Second Language. It is a compilation of numerous elements coming together to create an experience that lingers on. The package comes in a art card case which includes the CD inside a foldout with lyrics, and inlay cards. The foldout has an illustration of a tree trunk with branches which opens out into a full fledged tree with various living and nonliving things on one side and the lyrics to the songs on the other side.

Package for I lived in Trees by Mark Fry

Typography is very subtle and emphasis is given on the illustrations. The consistency of the concept is maintained throughout. The illustration style is very geometric, where sea waves and mountains are represented as triangles and the sun is a perfect circle. The tree bark texture used on the CD is iconic and a personal favorite. The imagery does a brilliant job of showing the interaction between living things and nature, which is the theme of the album.

CD artwork


50 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT CONTENT FOR THE PACKAGE

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

CONTENT FOR THE PACKAGE I had decided to design the package for a compilation of the Sarangiya Langa — a musician community from Rajasthan. I now had to fix what content needed to go into the package. It was important to get this figured out because it would dictate the structure of the package, and help me decide the different media that would need to be designed. After reading through the Monograph on the Langas, and understanding the traditions of the musician communities of Rajasthan, I was intrigued by their sociocultural systems and the reason they made music. These are professional hereditary caste musician communities who sing and make music for a living. They have no other means of livelihood, and they do not make music by choice. I felt that this aspect needed to be communicated and people should be made aware of these traditions.

An infographic on the sociocultural systems of the Langas An information booklet on their way of life, traditions, customs and instruments Song text, translations and transliterations Information on Rupayan Sansthan & ARCE

Deciding the contents of the package

Most of the content would come from the Monograph on the Langas and literature provided by Rupayan Sansthan & ARCE. I had gone through their archives and selected photographs that I would require for the package.


51 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT THE STRUCTURE

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

THE STRUCTURE Like sand slipping between the fingers, And the open mindedness of the people; The nomadic tendencies, open to influence And evolving on their journey. The music is the document, The companion in the desert. Let us quench our thirst with tunes From a barren landscape, From the lives and hearts of people Who paint the desert with their vivid And captivating narratives. I wrote this poem to help me put down Kaavad what I felt about the music of the Langas, and the communities from Rajasthan. This immediately set the tone for the package. I wanted the structure to be organic and free-flowing like the sand in the desert. I started off by taking inspiration from the objects and materials found in Rajasthan. Looking at things like the kaavad, which is a wooden structure with multiple doors used as a storytelling device, to drawstring bags made of jute. Many of these seemed impractical for mass production in order to disseminate information at a large Drawstring bag scale. I needed something more durable and which could be easily produced, keeping cost and transportation in mind. It then occurred to me that the package could be such that it is easily doable by anybody. Inspired by the do-ityourself nature of the people from these communities who work mostly with their hands, be it pottery or puppetry, I decided to explore some explorations with paper for DIY packaging.

Cloth Roll Bag


52 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT THE STRUCTURE

EXPLORATION 1

This exploration was made out of a square cut from an A3 paper. It gives a contemporary look to the package and has prominent creases which give it a certain rawness. The problem, however, is that I wanted the package to fold out

1

2

3

4

5

6

into a poster, and a square poster would not be aesthetically pleasing. It would also reduce the amount of information I could place on the package. The back side of the package was crisscrossed and it would be difficult to place song listing.


53

EXPLORATION 2 1

2

3

4

5

This exploration was made out of a complete A3 paper. It has a cut in between and can be folded to form a booklet and opened up to form a poster. Additional space would have to be made to put the CD and there is no locking

mechanism to hold the entire package together. Also, it has a rigid structure which I did not want the package to have.


54 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT THE STRUCTURE

EXPLORATION 3 1

2

3

4

5

This exploration was also made out of a square cut from an A3 paper. I made one extra fold on an A3 instead of cutting it into a square and then triangles were folded from the corners of the square twice to create the package. The CD sleeve and booklet can be kept in the centre and the package could be opened up into a double-sided poster.

The multiple folds gave a feeling of opening the package layer by layer. The structure also governs the way in which certain elements of the artwork would need to be designed. The package would thus become an assemblage of elements. This was an interesting structure which served the purpose.


55

11.69 in

5.90 in

5.90 in

16.535 in

4.825 in


56 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT VISUAL LANGUAGE

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

VISUAL LANGUAGE The visual language for the entire package was based on trying to break away from the stereotypes associated with folk music and rural crafts. I tried to adapt a contemporary visual style into my workflow, keeping in mind the target audience.

WHAT WORKS

WHAT DOESN’T

Based on my analysis of the target audience (urban audiences between the age of 18 to 35), I found that they respond to a visual language that is intriguing, giving them space to engage with the visual. They want to relate to the musicians, and connect with the environment; hence, photographic elements or a stylized interpretation of reality become necessary. Thoughtful usage of patterns and motifs can give the audience a sense of the lifestyle of the people.

Visual elements that are direct in nature do not engage the audience. Clutter in layouts and unecessary usage of kitsch elements are a put off. Artworks using a collage of elements which are loud in nature, also would not work for this target audience.

The attention span of the audience is minimal, hence information needs to be laid out in a logical fashion, allowing them to quickly browse through and drive through the essential points. Typography should be clean, and not hinder the reading experience.

It is mandatory that the visuals convey a strong message at the first instant to involve the audience.


57

MOODBOARD


58 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT VISUAL LANGUAGE

IMAGERY The artwork for the poster needed to be stark and iconic. Since it would also form the central element for the front cover of the package, that part of the poster needed to attract most attention. The songs on the compilation were recorded in 1972. I wanted to maintain the nostalgia and vintage feeling associated with those recordings. All the photographs chosen are either in action, or expressive in nature. I wanted to concentrate on the people, and bring the diversity into limelight. There are a few photographs that are used to give a hint of the environment that this music comes from. Hence, the photographs used for the booklet and on the poster are duotone, slightly faded with a golden tint on them. They were all given a rough border in accordance with the visual language of the poster.


59

COLOUR PALETTE Beauty lies in distortion; in the harsh and brutal force of nature. The sandunes sing their myths. Wanting to find beauty in a barren and desolate landscape, I find an explosion of colour in the middle of nothingness. It takes a song to capture the beauty of a desolate landscape. Was it the song that painted the desert, or was it the desert that gave us the tunes? - Rephrased from The Dewarists (Changing World) For the colour palette, I required warm and earthy colours to recreate the warmth and barrennes of the desert, and an accent to capture the vibrance of the people. I chose cream, yellow, deep purple, red and brown inspired from the lehariya patterns found in Rajasthan. This gave me a palette that was diverse and gave me a wide variety of options to use colour for the artwork and to create hierarchy of information in all subsequent communication material.

Lehariya Pattern

C=10 M=20 Y=45 K=0

C=5 M=65 Y=90 K=0 Wedding scene

C=5 M=65 Y=90 K=50

C=5 M=25 Y=90 K=0

C=60 M=75 Y=45 K=30


60 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT VISUAL LANGUAGE

TYPOGRAPHY I needed a typeface for the entire package that was classy, had an Indian feel to it and had a relatively large family since there was a lot of information hierarchy that had to be brought about. It also needed to be readable at small sizes. I also needed a script typeface which had a distinct character to it, and would complement the primary typeface in order to highlight important information and provide a necessary flair to the package.

MUSICIAN COMMUNITIES OF RAJASTHAN Musician Communities Of Rajasthan

Baskerville SemiBold at 16pt and Regular at 8pt

MUSICIAN COMMUNITIES OF RAJASTHAN Musician Communities Of Rajasthan

Mrs Eaves Bold at 16pt and Regular at 8pt

musician communities of rajasthan Musician Communities Of Rajasthan

Requiem Display Small Caps at 16pt and Roman at 8pt

musician communities of rajasthan Musician Communities Of Rajasthan

Fontin Small Caps at 16pt and Regular at 8pt

MUSICIAN COMMUNITIES OF RAJASTHAN Musician Communities Of Rajasthan

Hagin Caps Medium at 16pt and Thin at 8pt

MUSICIAN COMMUNITIES OF RAJASTHAN Musician Communities Of Rajasthan

Bodoni Std Bold at 16pt and Book at 8pt


61

Musician Communities Of Rajasthan Wisdom Script at 12pt

Learning Curve Pro at 12pt

Musician Communities Of Rajasthan Sofia at 12pt

Musician Communities Of Rajasthan Seoge Script at 12pt

Musician Communities Of Rajasthan Lavenderia at 12pt

I chose Fontin as the primary typeface for the package because of its distinct feel brought to it by its loose spacing and tall x-height. It is a font designed to be used at small sizes. The Fontin family comes with both serif and sans serif typefaces, as well as gave me the flexibility to use small caps. Learning Curve Pro was chosen as the script typeface because of the contrast it provided to Fontin. It is slightly illegible at smaller sizes and hence had to be used with caution.

musician communities of rajasthan

Fontin Small Caps & Learning Curve Pro paired together


62 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT POSTER/OUTER PACKAGE

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

POSTER / OUTER PACKAGE The structure of the package was such that the outer package would open up into a A3 size poster. The central portion of the poster would be the front cover for the package and the area surrounding it would be the back side. Keeping these constraints in mind, I designed a poster that captured the sound of the Sarangi while emphasizing how essential culture and tradition are for people who live in the desert regions of India.

CONCEPT 1: SAU RANG The sound of the Sarangi is said to be as evocative as a hundred colours.

Concept Explorations


63


64 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT POSTER/OUTER PACKAGE

CONCEPT 2: NATURAL SCARCITY vs CULTURAL RICHNESS In the book, Bards, Ballads and Boundaries, Shubha Chaudhuri writes that the natural scarcity of the desert is made up for by the cultural richness of the people. I tried to portray the same in my poster.

Concept Explorations


65


66 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT POSTER/OUTER PACKAGE

CONCEPT 3: VOICE OF THE SARANGI The Sarangi is the only Indian instrument that can emulate the entire range of the human voice. I tried to visualize the sound of the Sarangi in this poster using guillochĂŠ patterns.


67

The idea of using the Sarangi as the sun towering over a barren landscape, and visualizing its sound as tangents to the soul started taking shape, and I created more explorations for the same.


68 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT POSTER/OUTER PACKAGE

CONCEPT 4: SOUL STIR

I began to put all the elements from the previous concepts together and visualized the sound of the Sarangi as one that touches the soul and leaves, much like a tangent to a circle.


69


70 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT POSTER/OUTER PACKAGE

The artwork on the right was chosen to be the one to be taken forward. The central image of the Sarangi inside the sun was iconic and could easily be adapted as the cover for the package.


71


72 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT INFORMATION BOOKLET

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

INFORMATION BOOKLET The information booklet is an edited version of the Monograph on Langas. It gives a brief account of who these musicians are and what their way of life is. It was important to make this booklet extremely attractive since I wanted the viewer to be completely engaged in reading, and to create a desire in the reader to want to know more about the musicians. Content had to be crisp and to the point. I made sure that all the various aspects were covered but only the main points were included in the booklet. This book could be made available separately. The layout of the booklet had to be such that invited the reader to engage more. Hence, the layout gave maximum emphasis to photographs and text was used only as a supporting element. Editing Content

Setting the Layout


73 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT CD SLEEVE

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

CD SLEEVE The CD sleeve would contain the CD and would be placed inside the outer paper package. This is provided so that even if the package is opened and used as a poster, this sleeve can be used to keep the CD safe.

CD Sleeve Dummy

The sleeve has been designed in such a way that the concept of the Sarangi in the sun towering above the barren landscape is continued here. It is a two fold sleeve with a slit to fit in the CD.


74 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN DEVELOPMENT SOCIOCULTURAL INFOGRAPHIC

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

SOCIOCULTURAL INFOGRAPHIC This, according to me, is the most important and relevant part of the package. It deals with visualizing the sociocultural systems of the Sarangiya Langa. This infographic would come on the reverse side of the main poster. The information that needed to go on to this graphic was immense, and needed to be simplified heavily. I first chose a gridbased approach which became too static, so I used an image of the sarangi and arranged the information against it.

Mapping the sociocultural system of the Sarangiya Langa


75

Laying out the content for the infographic

Explorations for the infographic



PHASE FOUR

DESIGN EXECUTION OUTER PACKAGE/POSTER INFORMATION BOOKLET CD SLEEVE SOCIOCULTURAL INFOGRAPHIC MOCK-UPS & PROTOTYPE COSTING


78 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN EXECUTION OUTER PACKAGE / POSTER

DESIGN EXECUTION

OUTER PACKAGE / POSTER Although the artwork was ready, type had to be set and information was to be laid out into the poster. With feedback from my guide and friends, refinement to the form was also done.

A3 size

My guide felt that the title type should be set in Devanagari to establish where the music is grounded. With the help of Rhishikesh Kedare and Akash Halankar, I was able to compose the devanagari handdrawn type into the poster.

Title type explorations

The type on the poster was to be set in such a way that it should be readable and make sense when the poster was folded and when it was opened, the type should become part of the composition of the poster. This was resolved by placing the song listing in a circular format around the cover of the package.


79

3:03 gorbandh

2:5 7

kotal

kur jan

la ghur 15 3:

ra pya 3:18 neendalri

3:11

badila vega aijo kho char 3:36

lav arji

3:27

3:16

ha papee

2:55

tora nio

musician communities of rajasthan

Sarangiya Langa

jala lo b ilala lo

ro niya sawa

3:26

do heen 3:05

hichki

3:19

This album presents a selection of twelve tracks from the repertoire of the Sarangiya Langa community of Western Rajasthan. These tracks were recorded by Rupayan Sansthan, an institute of folklore, as part of their ‘Rajasthan folk legacy’ series in 1972.

Finalized Poster

ALBUM ARTISTS

Shumar Khan Langa sindhi sarangi Noor Mohmad Langa gujratan sarangi Alladin Langa vocals

Catalog Number

Record Company

Recorded By

Place of Recording

Released In

arce00010

arce

rupayan sansthan

borunda, jodhpur, rajasthan, india

1972


80 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN EXECUTION INFORMATION BOOKLET

DESIGN EXECUTION

INFORMATION BOOKLET The booklet can be printed on 2 A3s, back to back. It has a closed size of 13.5cm x 13.5cm. It is printed on Sun 100 gsm (S017b) paper. Two A3 sheets

Preparing print ready files


81

Information Booklet in Scale


82 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN EXECUTION INFORMATION BOOKLET


83


84 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN EXECUTION CD SLEEVE

DESIGN EXECUTION

CD SLEEVE The sleeve is printed on 250 gsm coated paper.

A3 front and back

Preparing print ready files


85

Cover of the CD Sleeve

Inside of the CD Sleeve


86 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN EXECUTION SOCIOCULTURAL IINFOGRAPHIC

DESIGN EXECUTION

SOCIOCULTURAL INFOGRAPHIC Using an image of the Sarangi, information has been broken down into parts for easy navigation of the eye. A3 size

Preparing print ready files


87


88 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN EXECUTION MOCK-UPS & PROTOTYPE

DESIGN EXECUTION

MOCK-UPS & PROTOTYPE

Prototype of the package

1

2

3

4


89




92 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION DESIGN EXECUTION COSTING

DESIGN EXECUTION

COSTING POSTER & BOOKLET

CD SLEEVE

The paper for the poster had to be such that it could easily be folded three times to form the outer package and yet was durable enough for a poster. I chose a 100 GSM Matt off-white textured paper from Sun Papers for the poster and infographic, which are to be printed back to back on an A3. I used the same paper for the information booklet.

The paper chosen for the CD sleeve is 250 GSM Glossy stock. The sleeve would be printed on a back to back A3. A die would have to be made to create the slit for the CD to slide into.

The poster was a double sided A3 and the booklet would be printed on two double sided A3s. On a 23” x 36” sheet, 1 poster and 1 booklet could be printed on threefourths of a sheet. Hence, 1000 posters & booklets could be printed on 1000 x 3/4 = 750 sheets. Paper - Sun Matt Off-White Textured 100 GSM Cost of 1 sheet Cost of 750 sheets

Hence, 1000 CD sleeves could be printed on 1000 / 4 = 250 sheets. Paper - Sun Coated Silver Metallic Finish 250 GSM Cost of 1 sheet Cost of 250 sheets

Rs. 25/Rs. 6,250/-

Printing cost

Rs. 8,000/-

Cost of die Cost of impression

Rs. 200/Rs. 200/-

Total cost (paper + print + die)

Rs. 14,650/-

Rs. 22/Rs. 16,500/-

CD LABEL Four colour offset printing for 1 side is Rs. 4,000/Printing cost of poster Printing cost of booklet

Rs. 8,000/Rs. 16,000/-

Labour cost per copy Cost for 1000 packages

Rs.5/Rs. 5,000/-

Total cost (paper + print + labour)

Rs. 45,500/-

The CD Label would be printed using spindle printing at Rs. 11/- per copy. Cost for 1000 CDs

Rs. 11,000/-


93

PACKAGE STICKER

TOTAL COST

The package would be sealed with a two colour circular sticker of 2� diameter.

For 1000 copies Poster & Booklet Rs. 45,500/CD Sleeve Rs. 14,650/Rs. 11,000/This would be printed on 90 GSM Royal Art CD Label Package Sticker Rs. 5,064/Paper (Chromo) which costs Rs. 1600 for 100 sheets. Total Rs. 76,214/70 stickers can be accommodated on an A3, which means 280 stickers in one sheet. Cost of 1 copy Rs. 76.214/Hence, 1000 stickers could be printed on 1000 / 280 = 4 sheets. Paper - Royal Art Paper (Chromo Finish) 90 GSM Cost of 1 sheet Cost of 4 sheets

Rs. 16/Rs. 64/-

Printing cost (2 colour)

Rs. 1,600/-

Cost of die Cost of impression

Rs. 3,000/Rs. 400/-

Total cost (paper + print + die)

Rs. 5,064/-



CONCLUSION FUTURE SCOPE LEARNING BIBLIOGRAPHY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT


96 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION CONCLUSION FUTURE SCOPE

CONCLUSION

FUTURE SCOPE This project is meant to be a pilot attempt to make information and material on the Musician Communities of Rajasthan accessible to urban audiences, in order to sensitize them towards folk music and the oral traditions of these communities. It was conceived keeping the recent explosion of the alternative music culture and music festivals across India in mind. By designing a system of communication material related to the Sarangiya Langa and using compilations from the Smithsonian Folkways library, I have attempted to define a tone of communication to address the target audience, and set a visual language which can be followed for other musician communities of Rajasthan.

During my visit to the Archives and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology, I was informed that these compilations are also given back to the community to help in building an archive for future generations of musicians. The musicians feel a sense of pride when their compilations reach them. It also gives them a standing in their immediate society.

The musician communities use specific instruments which have been passed on across generations. Each instrument is distinct and specific to a particular community. I have used this concept as the binding element for the entire package — using the silhouette of a sarangi and visualizing the sound of the sarangi to create the poster. Following the same visual langauge, and concept, the other musician communities can also be represented in a similar manner.

A similar approach may be followed for compilations of folk artists from across the country. It is necessary to present the traditions and culture, as well as the song text, in a way that appeals to people so as to generate awareness about such cultures and sensitize people about the same.

These packages can be disseminated at music festivals, and sold at music stores. The package is connected to the Smithsonian Folkways website from which a user can buy the music as well.


97 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION CONCLUSION LEARNING

CONCLUSION

LEARNING This project gave me an opportunity to engage with people from a completely different social set-up. In order to be able to devise an optimal solution, I had to understand multiple view points of the problems entailed. Working with print media, and creating a consistent image for the package was a challenge.

• •

• • • • •

Interacting with, and understanding people from different backgrounds and social set-ups. Figuring out a way to connect people from different social set-ups. Collecting information from various sources and making sense out of it all to devise an optimal solution. Letting the solution arise from the research and analysis. Generating multiple concepts before deciding on a particular approach. Working with paper and folding. Maintaining a consistent visual style across all communication material. Making photographs and illustrations work coherently.


98 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS _Rustom Bharucha. Rajasthan: An Oral History, Conversations with Komal Kothari. New Delhi. Penguin Books, 2003. _Daniel Neuman, Shubha Chaudhuri, Komal Kothari. Bards, Ballads and Boundaries: An Ethnographic Atlas of Music Traditions in West Rajasthan. New Delhi. Seagull Books, 2006. _Shyam Parmar. Folk Music and Mass Media. Communication Publications, 1978. Komal Kothari. Monograph on the Langas. Rupayan Sansthan. Borunda, Rajasthan, 1972. _Vijay Varma. The Living Music of Rajasthan. Office of The Registrar General, 1972. _PC Jain. The Magic Makers. Academy of Fine Arts and Literature, 2009. _Matt Woolman. Sonic Graphics/Seeing Sound. Thames & Hudson, 2002. _Poppy Evans. Forms, Folds and Sizes: All the Details Graphic Designers Need to Know but Can Never Find. Rockport Publishers, 2004. _Pepin Press. Basic Packaging. Pepin Press, 2010. _Charlotte Rivers. CD-Art: Innovation in CD Packaging Design. RotoVision, 2010.

WEBSITES _The Art of Memory. ECM - Various LPs (1001 to 1299) The Most Beautiful Sound Next to Silence. 4 April 2010 <http://theartofmemory.blogspot.in/2010/04/ecmvarious-lps-1001-to-1299-most.html> _T.K. Ramachandran. Sensitizing the Facebook Generation. The Hindu. 30 December 2011 <http://www.thehindu.com/arts/music/article2761384.ece> _Shubha Mudgal. Globalisation and India’s performing arts. The Hindu. 31 December 2011 <http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article2761382.ece> _Jemima Bamford. Do Music Festivals Contribute to Tourism?. Travelmole. 11 August 2009 <http://www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php?news_id=1137830>

REPORTS _Sangeet Natak Akademi. Annual Report 2008-09. www.sangeetnatak.org _Eric S. Boorstin. Music Sales in the Age of File Sharing. Princeton University. _Ministry of Culture. Annual Report 2010-11. www.indiaculture.nic.in _Indira Gandhi National Centre of the Arts. UNESCO’s Cultural Mapping of India. UNESCO’s Programme on Cultural Industries and Copyright Policies and Partnerships. www.ignca.gov.in


99 STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION CONCLUSION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CONCLUSION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Rupesh Vyas, for giving me direction, encouragement, guidance, feedback and support throughout the project Faculty & Staff of Graphic Design and NID Print Labs, for being ever ready to help Rahul Ghai & Swasti Singh, for initiating me to folk music and the professional hereditary caste systems Shubha Chaudhuri, ARCE, for realizing the cause and providing content

Mumma, Papa & Eeshana, for being the reason I’m here and much more

Kuldeep Kothari, Rupayan Sansthan, for inviting me to his house in Jodhpur and sharing with me his knowledge and expertise

Kritika, for travelling with me to Jodhpur and being extremely patient with me

Hayat Khan Langa, for explaining the song text of the folk songs and having his students play for me

Roshini, for proofreading all the content and being an excellent critic Rhishikesh, for the Devanagri lettering

Daniel Newman, for photo-documenting the sociocultural systems of the musician communities in Rajasthan

Anuj, Raghu & Mani Maran, for taking photographs of all the mock-ups

The Noun Project, for all the icons and open source goodness

Shreya and all my batchmates, for making NID memorable

Hardformat, for being a constant source of inspiration throughout this project

Akash, Mira, Anuj, Jyoti, Vallery & Mrinalini for all the genuine feedback, encouragement, caring, love and being my family away from home


STUDIO ONE DOCUMENTATION

FREQUENCY OF INDIA Reintroducing Folk Music to an Urban Audience www.frequencyofindia.wordpress.com

AKSHAN ISH S11001106 PGDPD ‘11 GRAPHIC DESIGN


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.