Sanchana Ramakrishnan I Lifestyle Accessory Design Portfolio
SANCHANA RAMAKRISHNAN Lifestyle Accessory Design
About Me I am a graduate from Unitedworld Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, specializing in Lifestyle Accessory Design. I am very fond of design as it sets me free from all the boundaries and lets me express myself in a way I have never before. I feel that there is this thing about design that it never ages. It just refines and gets younger day by day. My passion lies in exploring new crafts, materials, mediums and artisans. I have always strived to follow the saying “less is more�, especially when it comes to executing a design that is in my mind. Sustainability is a subject that always enthralls me as there is nothing more important than working towards a better future full of happy people and less wastage. I am inspired by every little emotion that people tend to overlook. For me, usability and connect is more important. I strive to make others experience the same and engage and interact with my designs. My area of interest lies in Jewellery and Home Decor. Both the fields are vast and come with a lot of challenges which excites me and drives me to know every single detail related to it. With a broad range of creative skills, I have the ability to adapt quickly, work efficiently and liaise confidently as part of a team or on my own.
C ONT E N T S
VallĂŠe Des Fleurs
The Almighty Collection
Kutchi Lac Sil-Batta
Pleated Gold Potpourri
Candy Crush Collaboration
Logo Design
V a l l ée D es Fleur s
Design Brief I did this project during my Graduation Project under Mrinalini Chandra Label. The aim was to design a line of jewellery inspired by five different Indian flowers that can be worn for pre-wedding functions like Sangeet, Mehendi, Haldi and small gatherings by the brides as well as her friends, family and bridesmaids. This line of jewellery is inspired by the flowers that are ardently close to any Indian with all the nostalgia and aura it brings with it. Gulmohar (Hibiscus), Genda (Marigold), Firangi Pani (Plumeria), Gulaab (Rose), Bella (Jasmine) are the flowers that are in and around a Bride throughout the wedding, which is why this line of jewellery takes direct inspiration from these flowers.
Mood
Sketches During form generation, I feel that the forms should never be as delicate and minimalistic as it eventually turns out to be. I like to experiment while generating forms. The simplest and the most efficient ideas come once we have gone through the abstract ones. I never jump on to a delicate form right away, I let it evolve eventually, just like the inspiration, “Flowers�.
Explorations After sketching, I had taken the selected ones onto corel for precise measurements and to create varieties of a single design. This range of jewellery is aimed at youth and middle-aged, working class women who are in tune with nature and who love to explore everything that comes their way. They fall under the upper middle class category and love to go dramatic and unique.
Final Designs Indian Flower Range is a new approach to combine traditional motifs with modern contemporary forms. The rich enameling work along with the elegant floral forms add a burst of colours and vibrancy to the collections. Designed to resemble petals in bloom, these jewellery pieces are impeccably handcrafted from specially customized metal alloys with gold plating and the very traditional and age-old craft of Jaipuri Meenakari.
T h e A lmig hty Co llec tion
Design Brief I did this project during my Summer Internship under Pallavi Foley Boutique Jewels. The Almighty Collection was a client based project, and the manufacturing technique used was electroforming. I worked on electroformed modern 3d forms with figures of Indian Gods, especially Lord Ganesha, by taking inspiration from various 3d forms inspired by natural, geometrical and sculptural forms and combining it with figures of Lord Ganesha. The collection is an amalgamation of temple jewellery of India and contemporary 3d forms and silhouette.
Explorations During this project I had made a lot of sculptural forms after research and I had came up with ideas that had layers, textures and depths so that when I had to place the figure of a god inside, it would be the highlight. The process of making these forms was interesting as many forms were derived on manipulating a single form.
Selected Ideas The Almighty collection is inspired mainly by electroformed modern 3D forms which include natural, geometrical, sculptural forms. The technique ‘granulation’ is also used in the forms. The designs are intricate with heavy look but will be very light in weight as they will be produced by electroforming process.
Explorations A necklace was also to be designed for an NRI client who was 26 years old, a lawyer and model by profession. She preferred a design which was an amalgamation of the contemporary elements and traditional aspects of South Indian wedding jewellery. After a thorough research and observation, I got inspired from Dravidian temple architecture and rich Indian traditional patterns and motifs of textiles.
Selected Design I got inspired by Dravidian temple architecture and rich Indian traditional patterns and motifs of textiles and incorporated these arts with South Indian elements like Rudraksh beads, coins, temple lock, chain of beads, etc. to enhance the beauty of the collection. Jewellery was made out of 18k gold, studded with Polki diamonds and rubies, with a tinge of traditional enamel work.
Kut c h i L ac S il-Ba tta
The Craft Study In India, there are very limited craftsmen who have continued to practice their craft and earn a living out it due to Industrial Revolution. Crafts reflect the history of our culture and tradition which is why the craft communities in India still practice traditional techniques of creating products. The craft that I chose to know about and document during my second year was Lacquer work from Bhuj.
Lacquer Work Of Bhuj Lac is a resinous pigment which is the secretion of insects hosting on a tree. Lac has various properties which makes it easy to use for various crafts. Currently this craft is practiced by the Wadha community in Nirona Village of Kutch. I had designed a set of Mortar and Pestle and containers to store spices. The lac colours used here are natural and the wood used for these lac-ware products is neem wood.
Kutchi Lac Sil-Batta A set of three spice containers along with mortar and pestle with a base would add some colour to the kitchen. Each piece has been handcrafted by artisans from Kutch using the traditional lacquer ware turning technique The craftsmen cater to consumers through NGO’s, craft exhibitions and also directly when tourists visits their craft cluster. My main aim was to design a product that is mostly used by everyone in their household but has never been given much importance.
P le a t ed- Go ld Po tpo urr i
Design Brief The aim was to design potpourri holders that were stylishly luxurious yet elegant to be given as corporate gifts at Hyatt Regency Hotels on the occasion of Diwali. The platters are a new way to add an extra element to the home decor and it takes its inspiration from 70’s when the rich class used to keep scents and flowers for aromatic purpose.
Inspiration
Explorations
Paper Mock-ups
Making
Potpourri Holders The pleated-gold potpourri is a set of three potpourri holders consisting of a potpourri platter and two potpourri bowls of different sizes. My inspiration comes from pleats and folds that are found in nature. I tried to simplify the pleats keeping in mind the material I had to use. I started with making paper mockups and then moved onto making them with metal. All the pieces were handcrafted in copper and were gold plated with minimal rough texture to retain the raw look of the metal.
C a nd y C rus h Co llabo r ation
Design Brief I did this project during my Graduation Project under Mrinalini Chandra Label. To create an exquisite, creative, cutting-edge, unconventional and innovative collection inspired by all the elements of Candy Crush. The collection is designed in such a way that it reflects all the fun elements of Candy Crush. It not only serves as a blend of modern design aesthetic with an Indian touch, but also exhibits the art, style and quirk that Atelier Mrinalini Chandra is famous for.
My Contribution My contribution to this project was extensive research including Mood Boards, Inspiration Boards, Material and Technique Board, Brand presentations, designing Banners and working on initial concepts for jewellery. This experience was enthralling for me as the brand that we collaborated with is such a playful and entertaining brand, so even the process that we followed while working for this collaboration was as fun as it looks.
L o g o D es ign
Design Brief I did this project during my Graduation Project under Mrinalini Chandra Label. The aim was to design a logo that was a perfect marriage of complementary contradictions — old school yet modern, vintage yet eclectic, trendy yet timeless. The brand never fails to showcase the love for delicate and intricate handcrafted artworks in it’s jewellery pieces, which were now to be turned into a logo that represents the brand.
Explorations Working on the illustrative units was fun as these units had been the elements that were prominent throughout her work from Leaping Monkeys, Bunch of Parrots, Hummingbirds, Moths, Butterflies, Flowers, Fishes, Mathematics, Ghungroo and Chairs.
Logo Jewellery The brand uses ample amount of Rava Dori, Meenakari, Nakaashi and Jaali cutwork techniques while designing a jewellery piece which were kept in mind while designing the logo and the logo jewellery. While designing the logo I had to simultaneously think on how it would function if turned into a jewellery piece.