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Ajay Gupta pg 24 | Photographed by Avinash Aggarwal Surabhi Khanna 02 Ruchita Madhok and Aditya Palsule 10 Rashmi Ranade 16 Aman Khanna 38 Neha Puri 44 Raghav Sethi 52 Mrunal Save 56
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Editor in Chief | sudhir@indidesign.in
February 2015 | # 56
Our new office in Pune is next to a hill. INDI organised a ten-day challenge of climbing the hill everyday after office
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Ajay Gupta pg 24
www.indipool.com
| Photographed by Avinash Aggarwal
Surabhi Khanna 02 Ruchita Madhok and Aditya Palsule 10 Rashmi Ranade 16 Aman Khanna 38 Neha Puri 44 Raghav Sethi 52 Mrunal Save 56
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Designindia was founded in 2002. It was started as a platform for interaction for the design community in India and abroad. Over the years it has grown into a forum spread over many social and professional networking domains, linking design professionals into an active, interactive and thought leading community.
Ideas to Execute We are always thinking of ideas for everything. I recently read that we do not take action on almost 70% of the ideas that we detail out. Of the 30% that we do take action on, 70% are bad ideas and fail because of inadequate execution plans; 30% survive to reach some level of execution. So only 30% of 30% get executed...and that is all we see around us. As consumers, society, and community we reject many of these as trash. Execution has become so important that it gets rated higher than idea capabilities. That explains the rise of the 'MBA' concept. I feel it is quite justified. A good idea is worthless if it is not executed. The corporate world, so that it can show growth, is happy with whatever changes execution (of even bad ideas) can bring, and relies on people who can do things. They may not necessarily have good ideas. This is why we have bad packaging on market shelves, we see uninspired identities, and we tolerate products that are sub standard. Companies believe execution will show up better on balance sheets than a quality idea that will have demanded investment and time for execution.
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As designers we should see to it that good ideas don't become a part of the 70% that fail; we need to show that good ideas with good execution is possible. Don't leave ideas at the idea stage, work on them a bit further.
International Design Media Network Participant
The battle is half won if you just 'start'. Sudhir
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publication design
CITYSPEAK Ruchita Madhok and Aditya Palsule believe that cities tell fascinating stories through their museums, architecture and people, if only we’d stop to notice
How often do you notice the clock tower in your city or a heritage building hidden behind masses of ugly hoardings? Do you ever stop to wonder about the history of your neighborhood or the provenance of the neglected creeper covered lamp posts buried under the onslaught of modern life? Most of us city-dwellers tend to take our cities for granted, scarcely pausing to think beyond the next traffic light on our way to work or whatever preoccupation takes up our daily lives. In Mumbai, Ruchita Madhok and Aditya Palsule, designers with an eye for more than the obvious, have launched a unique project with the aim of inspiring people
to become more involved in the cultural ecology of their cities. The Storycity project is an initiative by the two designers who run Kahani Designworks, a communication design practice. “Since we do a lot of work with cultural organizations, we found that we were sitting on a considerable amount of content about Mumbai city. Through our own personal interests too, we had collected trivia, histories and word-of-mouth stories that rarely find mention in conventional publications. With Storycity our aim is to make these shared narratives accessible to people through thoughtfully designed, wellresearched books, maps and pamphlets. We want to get more people excited about our cultural heritage and encourage audiences to think about history in creative ways,” says the duo. The project required the team to visit museums and historical sites, read books about Mumbai, keep an eye out for interesting articles in the papers, and read innumerable blogs in an effort to conduct thorough research. “When we started the project, we didn’t have a goal or a format in mind for the publications. We just had these amazing stories we had heard and wanted to explore all the possibilities of translating
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cover story
THROWING HIS HAT INTO THE RING
Ajay Gupta, Founder Director of Firstouch Solutions (Pvt) Ltd., combines his mechanical engineering background with a well-honed design thinking process to successfully carry out his roles of consultant and entrepreneur
How is a design businessman different from any other? AG: A designer will always be interested in design, but a businessman’s concern will be profits. It’s challenging to be a designer and a businessman at the same time. Even if you are your own boss, you still have to take care of a lot of things and a lot of people as well. As a design businessman, you are no longer handling the responsibility of designing but wearing multiple hats. It’s like any other business where a technical person handles the complete business from strategy to collections. There are so many functions I had to undertake which were non-creative. The commercial tasks, taxation, finance management, investments, HR, marketing – all these functions are non-design activities. One must have the inclination to handle all 24 POOL #56
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textiles
THE FABRIC OF LIFE Neha Puri’s striking textile art brings together luxurious fabrics and ancient craft techniques
What draws you to textile design? NP: I was born and brought up in the small town of Haridwar, Uttarakhand and I must admit that I had very limited exposure. My father is a retired engineer who worked in BHEL and my mother was a teacher at Kendriya Vidyalaya. My elder brother told me about NID while he was studying at School of Planning and Architecture (SPA). Frankly, I had to work very hard to get into NID. Even after a few months of foundation, I wasn’t sure which design discipline would be my calling. It was only when I visited Paithan as a part of our Environmental Perception course and I saw the intricacy and diligence with which a Paithani sari is woven that I discovered, if anything, it’s got to be textiles for me. I realized textile is the medium through which I will be able to make a difference at the grassroots level, something I always wanted to do. A desk job never fascinated me; I am a people’s person and something tangible and hands on like a fabric being woven resonates with my heart the best. After 44 POOL #56
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accessory design
BOWS TO BAGS
Raghav Sethi’s Tortus range of leather accessories aims to be as enduring and elegant as the tortoise it is named after
Tell us about ‘Tortus’. RS: Tortus is a leather accessory label we started in Mumbai in 2014. ‘Tortus’ is derived from ‘tortoise’. These reptiles are attached to their shells; similarly we have bags that we carry. Also, they live for a really long time, in fact some of them for centuries. They have a magnificent presence and they age with grace. Tortus brings the same qualities through its range of genuine leather products. What is the Tortus range of products? RS: I believe in using pure natural materials such as leather brass copper, wood, etc. I like to create an amalgam of materials that coexist in harmony with each other. Tortus currently offers a range of leather accessories which includes bags, wallets, sleeves, bow ties, etc. We take a lot of bespoke orders from our customers and create pieces to their requirements. The product line up is in vibrant colors. Tortus has a perfect balance between the masculine and the feminine with its current product line. Through its products, Tortus aims at adding a dash of eclectic sensibility to the enlightened minds of today's ever evolving youth. In time to come, we also plan to add designer stationary to our repertoire of personality driven products. What is the inspiration for your designs? RS: The reason for starting the label in the first place was that I was looking for a bag myself. I personally needed a bag that would make an impact when I carried it to work, as well as when I went to a bar, lounge or cafe, post work. But in the Indian market, I did not find anything that matched my sensibility and budget, and what surprised me even more was that there was no Indian brand at the time that was creating products for the young professionals of the country. 52 POOL #56
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illustrator
A Touch of Whimsy
Freelance graphic designer Mrunal Save finds doodling the perfect outlet for her lifelong love of drawing When did you decide on art as a career?
MS: My maternal family came from an artistic background and I spent most of my vacations learning how to sketch from my uncle. I used to love drawing as a kid. I was groomed to reach where I am today by some of the most important people in my life and I credit them for my professional success. At the age of eleven I decided I wanted to make a career in the art field. Once I finished art school (Sophia Polytechnic in Mumbai where I studied textile designing), I worked for some of the leading textile companies and export houses in Mumbai and designed for some of the best fashion and home brands across the world. I kept job-hopping and found myself getting bored. I was tired of taking directions from others and designing as per people’s choices and I decided it was my time to say what I wanted. I became a freelancer, providing branding and design solutions to small businesses. Meanwhile, I used to sketch/ scribble or paint when I got a chance between hectic work schedules, mostly nature, floral or decorative designs. Once I started freelancing I got much more free time and took up doodling more seriously. What type of commercial projects have you done? MS: I am quite new to commercial doodling projects and till recently I was not sure if I wanted to go all out commercially. My website is under construction but lately I have collaborated with a vintage car and bike restoration company and a stationery manufacturing company to make some amazing art prints and doodle products which should be in the market soon. I am looking forward to more such collaborations. I am also designing a book cover for a romantic novel. Where do you source your ideas? People and their stories inspire me. I find it restricting to make a mood board and work on a subject. Most of my compositions come 56  POOL #56
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THE EMBROIDERY OF LIFE The traditional needle craft of Kutch is a colorful contrast to a terrain that can be stunning but bleak
Amidst the barren desert landscape of the western border towns of India, smatterings of color are a representation of life, appearing as adornments on the bodies of the beautiful tribal people. Embroidery, here, is not a glorious vocation but part of the daily fabric of how a day is spent.
A Meghwal Marwat tribal woman
It isn’t uncommon to walk among the dusty hamlets here in the afternoons and see women of the house gather around to embroider clothes for the family, textiles for the cattle or, depending on their age, prepare the riches they will carry to their marital home as dowry. Embroidery introduces the bride to her new home and her relocation to her husband’s village will serve as a cultural transference of styles. Even her all-embroidered kanchali blouse worn at the wedding will be deftly combined with a brilliantly colored mashru silk and cotton skirt.
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