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Project If I were sky, If I were story by CERTAD Studio Project Facilitators Kavita Arvind Srivi Kalyan ‘4th Cross 11th Main’ Diploma Project, 2015
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If I were Sky, If I were Story
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Project Immersion .......................................... Old Market What is a story? .......................................... Let’s practice a short story book! ..........................................
Contents
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Phase 1 Bengaluru Research Seminar 1 The Proposal
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Phase 2 Photo Walks Narrative Content Development Title Visual Explorations Form Exploration
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Phase 3 Production User Testing 4th Cross, 11th Main
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Learning
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Resources
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Acknowledgement
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IF I WERE SKY, IF I WERE STORY
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Overview of the Project The aim of the project was to create and co-create localized, contextually relevant informal educational artefacts, awareness programs and experiences for and with children and young adults. Locations and contexts offered were Goa, Andaman Island and Bengaluru. A student could chose any one of the contexts and conceptualize his/her project around it. The students had freedom to choose their audience and create their own projects based of the place of inspiration. 7
Project Immersion
Old market, Malleshwaram During the first week of the project, the entire class spent a Friday morning in Old Market, Malleshwaram. We were asked to simply observe through all our senses and later take another round of the market to sketch, take photographs, collect textures, talk etc. This market that is primarily for flowers and vegetables, happened to be much more than that for me. I noticed the different inorganic forms that occur among all the organic things we see first hand. There was immense order among the chaos. Some sounds and smells tingled memories. There was movement between all the stillness. This is what I have captured in my illustration. It moves from the organic (bottom) to all the inorganic man-made forms (top) and “jugaad� as it is called in Hindi. 8
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What is a story?
Understanding some nuances of a ‘story’.
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A super fun story-telling session for 6-8 year old children in SFS, Yelahanka helped us in understanding the kind of stories, expressions, illustrations that these children reciprocate to, their likes and dislikes and what goes into story telling. 12
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Let’s practice a short story book! Working on a problem statement and converting it into a short fictional storybook for children.
The story: “Sanika, wear your clean green slippers inside the house.” “Sanika, wear your fuzzy purple slippers inside the bathroom” “Sanika, wear your rubber blue slippers outside the house.” I have two feet, and so many slippers! My friend Namitha, lives at a construction site near my house. She has two feet too, but no slippers. Me. Namitha. (Sanika shares one of her slippers with Namitha)
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1
PHASE
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BENGALURU
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Out of the three contexts that were given to us to work with, I chose Bengaluru. Bengaluru has been a home for me since the past four years. This city has given me explorations and experiences much more than even my hometown, Delhi as a city has. It has a very eclectic mix of modern and classic elements, that have been encapsulated into this city. Therefore, I chose Bengaluru as a context for my project to explore and understand further, one of these mixes. I wanted to go back in time a little and relive my relationship with this city; the various stories that it has given me and stories that we have built together.
I thought about different aspects of Bengaluru that interested me and mind mapped them. I walked around the city and wondered, what was that one thing that I was always drawn to. What was that one moment that had given me a story to remember for life? What was that one element that captured an essence of this city? The food, temples, IT culture, dance, music, art, monuments? And then it struck me. It was the directional street signage of Bengaluru. A sign that has led multiple journeys into the city for me. And this became the story that I wanted to tell.
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Research As part of research on the signage, I refered to the internet and looked at alot of books to understand signage in general. I then discussed experiences with signage and navigation in Bengaluru with various kinds of people and age groups. Our faculty suggested a small exercise called “Starting out Questions� that helped form a base for what I wish to question or explore further. I also designed three quick exercises that I did with about 8-10 people each, in order to understand how they navigate in the city.
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Starting out Questions Why is the signage around us like this? What if these signs weren’t there? How does seeing a beautiful signboard with a language you don’t know change the way you think about it? Who made these structures? If we didn’t have google maps, would we know of the hidden gems tucked away in the city? Who designed them? If I knew the language written on them, would it change the way I navigate the city? What I didn’t have Google Maps and had to follow these signs only? What is the significance of these structures in Bangalore today? What significance does its resonation to a temple gopuram have? 24
Expanding my research base
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Until now, through my research I was looking at the signage as a mere structure that influences the way a person navigates in this city. The information I had, seemed to be very minimal and comprehensive. Just then one morning, my project facilitator, Mrs. Kavita Arvind found a few papers lying under her desk that she happened to read. The papers consisted of exerpts from Italo Calvino’s ‘Invisible Cities’. And that moment of sheer serendipity is just what my project needed. It changed the way I perceived the word ‘sign’ and I began to look for the invisible around the visible in the city. 26
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Research Exercises 1. Trace out a rough map of one of your favorite places in Bangalore and mark your most used landmarks of that place. You can use the stickers to mark the landmarks. 2. Could you please tell me how to get to Point B from Point A? Could you please roughly draw it out for me? Thank you. (A and B to be defined according to the location) 3. Look at the photograph. What do you think this place is? What are the indications (signs) that make you think so? Can you guess the name of this place correctly? 28
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Roughly writing as an outsider v/s a localite to help in brainstorming 30
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SEMINAR ONE
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Initial Proposal How do people navigate in the city of Bengaluru? Targetting children. Make them confident and comfortable about being lost in the city by introducing them to these street signs. Feedback Redefine proposal. Is there a problem at all? If not helping children, maybe just a visual journey? Articulate the narrative better. Personal Insight after feedback I worked on the concept further and began to look at these signs as part of the visual culture of the city. Visual culture being
the lens. On a certain level, I tried to stay true to real life experiences instead of making a fictional story out of them. The journey or the route was more important than the final destination. I stepped back and looked at the signs that surrounded a formal sign. The role of language here, the role of people and interpersonal relations, associations, meanings, memory! These terms bombarded my mind and thus, I began digging for deeper connections. Yes, everything had a connection! It was absolutely surreal.
Post Seminar One What is the purpose? It’s a peak into the city in a way. The reality of being lost. It’s an experience of stories, some told and some untold. Target People who are in-transit, be it migrants, people at the airport, in a cab or bus etc. It is suitable for a coffee table, a magazine stand, at the back of a cab. Above everything, it can serve as a guide to teach a class about cities, navigation or signs!
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THE PROPOSAL
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Project Brief The project explores directional signage in Bangalore through the lens of visual culture. “A city is redundant: It repeats itself so that something will stick in the mind. Memory is redundant: It repeats signs so that the city can begin to exist.” [1] With this thought, I inquire about the visible (formal) and invisible (informal) signs in the city of Bangalore. Both the formal and informal signs seemed to have a cultural flavor to them. In any city, we use landmarks or hand gestures, we ask, we mind map along with following the basic structural signage around us. I have constantly observed this phenomena during my stay in Bangalore. However, whatever my initial attractions were about this city, the ubiquitous street signs drew my attention the most as a new visitor. Bangalore is laid out much differently than my hometown Delhi and being new to this
city; the journey through its streets has been visually appealing yet challenging and exciting by its functionality for a non-Kannada speaker like me. These signs laid out by the Bruhat Bengaluru Managara Palike (BBMP) seemed particularly intriguing with their decorative bold structures, hand rendered Kannada type and unique concept of crosses and mains. Hence, it is also very interesting to see how the invisible and visible come together to form the ‘sign’ of a place in the city. Visual culture in the south of India retains a strong indigenous influence. The streets are filled with vivid representations of cultural themes that form an overwhelming visual collage. These range across politics, religions, commercial advertising, transport, hoardings, etc. Every surface is a panorama, every material a canvas, an opportunity for expression and communication. [2]
Thus, this project will explore the theme of visual and aesthetic culture of Bangalore, the focus being its signage, targeting both an adult and younger audience. Being raised in a family that is deeply influenced by Indian culture and religious practices, I’ve always tried to explore subjects with an influenced creative instinct. Also, my interest in geography as a subject has made me inquisitive about observing my surrounding built spaces. This personal curiosity was expanded further during the course of my internship at Leaf Design, a signage design company in Mumbai.
[1] Calvino, I. (1974). Invisible cities. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich [2] Dawson, B. (1999). Street graphics India. New York, N.Y.: Thames and Hudson.
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Examples of signage from Yelahanka, Bangalore.
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There have been a lot of books that focus on various aspects of visual culture. Some of them have formed reference points for me to better understand this theme better.
One such book is ‘Artisan Camera’ by Christopher Pinney and Suresh Punjabi. The book is a testimony to an era of hands-on studio photography, when physical materials combined with the photographer’s artistry to shape the final image. Pinney has placed these studio portraits (once an important memento) that bring out the persona of the subject, into the context of visual history. Additionally, ‘An Ideal Boy’ and ‘Baby!’ from Tara Books, are collections of classic hand painted posters of the
context same as their names, in order to document these aspects of the popular visual culture in India. ‘Moving Pictures – rickshaw art of Bangladesh’ by Kuntala Lahiri Dutt is another book that celebrates the rickshaw art across Dhaka, Bangladesh through photography. ‘Mazaar Bazaar, Design and Visual Culture in Pakistan’ by Saima Zaidi is another good reference where the visual design is broadly interpreted as communication through image and typography, also
encompassing graphics, packaging etc. However, most of these reference books use photographical representations of things. ‘Out of Eden Walk’ by Paul Salopek, on the other hand, looks at bringing together young people from around the world and making them undergo a learning journey together. It’s an online community that aims to make these clusters learn more about people and places that are not familiar to them.
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Research Questions: Does Bangalore’s formal signage have a cultural flavor to it? How does seeing an appealing signboard with a language you don’t know, change the way you think about it? Does the type then become a mere interesting image for the person?
How is it affected by or forms a part of the visual culture of the city? Do these signage structures subtly trigger invisible signs?
Who makes these structures/ hand paints them?
What are some of the typical landmarks or indications/signs to establish the sense of a certain place?
What is the origin of this signage?
Assumptions/Hypothesis
Does it form a part of Bangalore’s aesthetic? What is the significance of these structures in Bangalore today? What does the resonation of this design to temple structure signify? Are these designed keeping in mind the brand of BBMP? How do these signs influence a 40
person’s navigation experience?
Signs are not only structures; they are what we make of things repeating around us. In a language state, everything is based on relations or meanings. The meaning of any sign is affected by who is reading that sign. The logo of BBMP is the Kempegowda tower - influence on the design of these signs.
Research Approach Participatory mapping of these signs (also landmarks). Interviewing BBMP officials, city and urban planners. Interviewing natives as well as new migrants in the city. Mapping traces of visual culture in the city in general to see how the signs fit into this realm. Consulting experts in the field of signage design and city planning/mapping. Photographing various renditions of these signs across the city. Reading material on visual culture in India. Visiting the BBMP signage painters and developers.
Approach
I hope to develop a non-fiction book that documents as well as celebrates the signs in the city of Bangalore. It will consist of a collection of multimedia experiments (divided into short sections/chapters) that come together to form artworks that depict the city’s signage. This is going to fall in the broader theme of the visual culture in Bangalore. It will lead by an artistic enquiry of the subject, continue with understanding the different meanings that can be derived from sign images while also looking at what these signs reveal about the overall culture of the city. The process of the project would flow in the following manner Walking around different parts of the city to capture photographs, draw, record conversations (for example, of someone asking or giving directions), etc.
Experiment with the outcomes from the walk using techniques across various media. For example, typographical and graphic design explorations; images of landmarks of a place layered with images of its signage, digital and hand drawn renditions etc. Basically, create rough prototypes to see which styles work the best and are most effective in bringing out the characteristics of the signage. Finalize on styles and structure of the book along with the non-fictional narrative that follows along with it. Return to the places in the previous walks and start collecting final images or elements to work on the finished artworks for the book. Collate all the artworks and layout. Documenting the entire process in a visual and noted format.
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PHASE
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PHOTO WALKS
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Malleshwaram
Lal Bagh area
MG ROAD
Indira Nagar
Avenue Road
RMV Extension
Vasanth Nagar
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NARRATIVE
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History
Visible/Invisible
Communication
Signage inspired by the Kempa Gowda towers.
formal and informal signs come together to become a part of the visual culture of the city.
Visual culture is south of India retains a strong indegenous influence.
Visual - visible signs culture - invisible signs for example, landmakring, asking, direction giving, advertising etc.
visual collage is formed.
Deriving meanings out of things; mind maps
These range across politics, advertising, religions etc.
In a language state, everything is based on relations or meanings.
Public space v/s private space
Signs are not only structures, they are what we make of things repeating around us.
A sign within a sign within a sign
History, even if irrelavant now, leaves it’s symbols all over the city (keeps the history alive) Bangalore has outgrown the boundaries set by the Kempa Gowda towers. But the resonation of these towers is all over the city. The city has grown, outgrown. Personal journey - the signs have guided me to the real roots of Bangalore set by it’s creator.
“memory repeats signs so that a city can begin to exist”
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every surface is an opportunity for expression and communication.
ownership of public space
History
Visible/Invisible
Boundary
Memory
Communication
Expression
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CONTENT DEVELOPMENT
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The content of the book went through various drafts. Initially, I wanted the content to be simple and straightforward, being read mostly as captions to each of the spreads. But this text became too literal and I began to spoonfood the reader with the entire concept of the book. Gradually, after struggling with identifying a writing style, I began to wonder if I needed text at all. With a concept that had so many layers and interpretations, was there really a need for me to ‘state’ certain things? Which lead me to work on a written introduction piece which would give an overview of the concept and help the reader to immerse in the book in order to flip through its pages (without text).
The visuals would speak for themselves and would leave the reader to his/her own imagination. However, after conducting a small user test for the above content idea, I realized that it was too much of a brain scratcher and very vague for the readers. Now, one content idea was too simplified and the other was too complex, where none of them did absolute justice to the interesting concept of the book; leading me to a mind block. The second seminar took place during this time and my book fell a little weak due to the lack of ready content. Working on the visual styles and form without the content wasn’t working out either.
Post second seminar, I continued to explore the city with my camera, a pen and a journal, looking at suitable writing styles on the side. It was on one of those days that I sat exhausted near the Kempagowda Tower at Lalbagh, that words and thoughts started to flow. The web of ideas in my mind began to translate onto paper and a unique writing style, leading me to a suitable content for the book. Quite ironic that the same place that is the core beginning of the entire concept of signs in this city, became the place that gave me answers to all my questions!
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First Draft Boundary Kempe Gowda II founded and designed
This means that signs are not only
the place. Memory works like that, it
the city of Bangalore in the sixteenth
structures; they are what we make
is redundant. It sticks something in
century. He built four towers to mark
of things repeating around us. These
the mind so that another thing can
the outer most boundaries of Bangalore.
recurrences often become a part of
begin to exist. Perceptions about
These four towers geometrically
our memory and simplify the way we
places get reformed and directions
intersect the Dharmarayaswamy
perceive things.
seem simpler.
manner. The BBMP has acquired
That is how some people perceive
Bangalore, due to its people belonging
inspiration from these towers, relevant
the ‘cross’ and ‘main’, by memorizing
to varied cultural backgrounds,
to the history of this city and designed
the image formed by the Kannada
instinctively becomes a multilingual
an identity for themselves as well as
letterform of these two words. They
city informally. Asking for directions
the signage of the city.
start to make meanings out of things
is an action that is a witness of that
for themselves in order to enhance
multilingualism.
temple gopuram in an ‘X’ shaped
Today, the city has outgrown these
and abridge their navigational
boundaries predicted by Kempe
experiences. Text becomes a mere
Expression
Gowda. But the resonation of these
imagery.
Visual culture in the south of India
towers or marks is spread across
retains a strong indigenous influence.
the city in abundance through the
What do you do when you don’t
The streets are filled with vivid
signage structures. There is a symbol
know the language the signage is
representations of cultural themes
of history, been kept alive in another
written in? Does it look like popcorn
that form an overwhelming visual
form. These symbols spread
or jalebis?
collage through this signage. These
everywhere have outgrown the set
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themes range across politics, religious
boundaries too and have become a
The visible and invisible come together
celebration, commercial advertising
part of the larger and newer
to form the sign of a place.
and multipurpose usage. Every
boundaries of the city.
The signage becomes the visual
surface becomes an opportunity for
whereas the invisibility around it
expression and communication.
Memory
becomes the culture. Certain landmarks
People think that there is assumed
A city repeats itself so that something
begin to get recognized as ‘signs’
free space beyond the boundaries of
will stick in the mind whereas
of a particular place although they
their private spaces.
memory repeats signs so that the
might not be the formal signage
city can begin to exist. Similarly, in a
of the place. Sometimes, landmarks
language state, everything is based
that do not exist anymore also
on relations or meanings.
continue to form an identity/sign of
Second Draft Author’s Note
like a temple or a palace and what
hidden for further explorers of the
Bangalore - a city where the local
was written on them. One day, I
book. We come across neither a fixed
meets the national, the old meets the
asked someone for a direction on the
meaning, nor a given interpretation
new, the outsiders meet the insiders,
street. He said “Straight-aa, dead end
of visual signs, but rather a whispering
classical meets western and a city
left-aa, 4th cross, 11th main-aa.”
of continuous possibilities that surround
that embraces its diverse
And that was the beginning of my
them. Even the organization of the
cosmopolitan culture.
endless wanderings…
book into three parts does not lead
My journey in Bangalore started four
The Introduction
years ago, when I moved here to
An ironic whimsical visual journey
In a language state, everything is
build a new home for myself; I was
through Bangalore, “4th Cross 11th
based on relations or meanings.
an outsider. I found myself in a city
Main” confounds our sense of the
This means that signs are not only
where people spoke in a language
real with the surreal forms of our
structures; they are what we make
I was remotely aware of and whose
navigational culture. Combining the
of things repeating around us. These
lifestyles seemed much different
visibility and the invisibility of a city
recurrences often become a part of
from where I came from. The city’s
through the eye of a curious outsider,
our memory and simplify the way we
ubiquitous street signs, led me
this is an account of the directional
perceive things and make associations.
to navigate my way into the city,
street signs typical of Bangalore and
On the other hand, the streets are
through these people, their language
how they have become a part of a
filled with vivid representations of
and their streets. The journey has
cultural experience. We experience
cultural themes that form an
been visually appealing yet challenging,
the flavor of the stories that encircle
overwhelming visual collage through
exciting yet overwhelming, especially
these signs, some told and the rest
this signage. Every surface becomes
for a non-Kannada speaker like me.
untold. As Italo Calvino’s Invisible
an opportunity for expression and
Cities said, “A city is redundant: It
communication. This book explores
Through my journey, I often found
repeats itself so that something will
the culture of navigation surrounding
myself at a crossroad, literally, and
stick in the mind. Memory is redun-
the signage through the realm of its
was intrigued by the directional
dant: It repeats signs so that the city
history, boundaries, associations and
street signs laid out by the BBMP
can begin to exist. The eye does not
expression.
that stood in all their glory, with their
see things, but images of things that
decorative bold structures, hand
mean other things.”
to a sound closing of the intent.
rendered Kannada lettering and unique concept of crosses and mains.
In this book, I dive into a play of
I wondered why these structures
revealing yet concealing, of showing
seemed to be inspired by something
yet letting the narrative remain
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Initial rough working
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Final Content The roads are infinite,
/sentence/
The city has grown around itself
one cannot make out where to head.
“A landmark is a sign,
more space for the signs to repeat,
The signs stand out,
one that we ourselves create.
main, cross, feet, stage
screaming to lead to a finite.
Some signs disappear,
stage, main, feet, cross
yet they happen to appear,
cross, stage, main, feet
Kannada the language of Karnataka
memory sticks the signs in the mind,
a frame to the many cities that
stands bold on these signs,
for us to way-find.“
Bengaluru greets.
Missed this one?
What is this facade?
There is no reverse
a traffic jam,
Ask, ask ask,
or any point of converse
where one’s space soon
seems like a big task!
for there is only ONE WAY.
becomes another’s space.
straight-aa
Bengaluru found
Behind a series of handbills that
go straight,
Four towers built,
suggest solutions to calm distress,
keep going,
Mekhri Circle, Halasuru,
the telling signs submerge,
straight-aa,
Lalbagh and Kempabudhi,
an inception of signs emerge.
DEAD END!
Potential boundaries of the city.
but what to do when it is not a language of mine?
Straight-aa
Till an Anna at a store nearby puts an
Every surface is an opportunity,
end to the muddle,
From 16th century to date,
Some witness, some don’t
he says,
Kempe Gowda’s old citadels have
Red, yellow, green
turned from the outer bounds to
Faster than the signal these change.
“Straight jaane ka, dead end, left”
inner monuments, the city has grown, outgrown.
landmark
Signs feel like a déjà vu. A new place,
/lan(d)ma:k/
Symbols of history once marked,
A new city,
noun
now unmarked. Yet all over the city
A sudden sense of welcome,
an object or feature of a landscape
they reflect,
A known street
or town that is easily seen or
Still directing,
A known route,
recognised from a distance,
Marking
And you begin to belong.
especially one that enables someone
And creating bounds,
to establish their location.
Reflecting in the street name signs.
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TITLE
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Through my journey in Bangalore, I have often found myself at a crossroad, staring blankly at these street signs that stood in all their glory, with their decorative bold structures and hand rendered Kannada lettering. So it has been challenging and quite overwhelming to navigate in this city through these signs, specially for a non-Kannada speaker like me. The first time I stood perplexed at a crossroad was two days before I started
interning at Daily Dump, Bangalore in 2012. I went to Indira Nagar to locate the office so that I didn’t have to find it on my first day at work, and that’s where this journey that has led me to my final year project started from. Hence, I have titled my project“4th Cross, 11th Main”, the address of Daily Dump in Indira Nagar.
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VISUAL EXPLORATIONS
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Initial Explorations Pre-Seminar Two
Charcoal + Vector
Photograph
Wax crayons + Color Pencils
Fine liner pen 59
These initial visual explorations were presented to the panel during Seminar two. The feedback received was as follows:
The visual style would develop well once the content of the book gets finalized. Take inspiration from existing artists or designers as it would help in developing a final visual style.
Digital artwork
Hand drawing + Digital additions 60
Fine liner pen
Digital iterations
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Inspiration Post-Seminar Two Two artists whose work immensely inspired me were Sameer Kulavoor and Lokesh Karekar. It was very interesting how they worked with line drawings and combined them with mostly two colors in total. Sameer’s manipulation of his photographs to combine with hand drawn work added a quirky element to his artworks. Additionally, a lot of my own work inspired me to use textures and intricate line drawings to add an earthy essence to the visuals.
BLUED book by Sameer Kulavoor
Identity for Bacardi NH7 Weekender by Sameer Kulavoor
South Bombay Odd Jobs by Sameer Kulavoor 62
Brahma (from ‘Sarvatra - a book of divine knowledge’) by Simran Monga
Aambe by Lokesh Karekar
Final Visual Style The final visual style of the book is sort of a graphic jam as it has a combination of mediums where all the spreads seem like they belong to one book as it uses a particular color pallete. The visuals have an ethnic and quirky essence to them.
In most visuals, the color yellow has been used to define a sign or the presence of it or it’s function. Whereas, in some visuals where we see a greyscale sign board, it’s because of the absence of the function of a sign or the presence of a secondary signifier. 63
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FORM EXPLORATION
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Before seminar two, I experimented with two different types of book styles that worked for the content I had then. Dummy Book 1 This book opens from the right and left (with two bindings). It has parallel stories running on either sides of the book. However, this form did not work out due to it’s functionality and the confusion that it creates in the mind of the reader. Dummy Book 2 This book is an extention of the first dummy. It has one or two flaps on either sides of the spread (only in some spreads) which one opened, have the text written on them. This was done to have keep image and text separate while also creating an interest to know what is inside the flap. But eventually, this form was not needed as per my final content. Also, the size of this book (11”x8” each side) did not do justice to the photographs that the book had.
Dummy book 1
Dummy book 2
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Final Dummy Book (3) The size of the final book is 14.3 inches by 9.5 inches. This size has been arrived at keeping in mind the proportions of the photographs that I had clicked (which were going to form a major part of the book). Additionally, the book consists of two types of textured paper, brown card paper and gateway sheet. The brown card (or craft) paper has been used to add an earthy road like texture to a suitable part of the book. Whereas, the gateways sheets have been used to show the layering and unravelling of signs, again in a suitable segment of the book. At the centre of the book, there is a folded map that opens up. This has been used to signify the scale of a certain thing. Paper used for the final book: 170 GSM Rendezvous White Matte finish paper. Brown craft paper gateway sheet. Hard cover, left side binding.
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gateway sheet (translucent)
brown card/craft paper
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PHASE
3
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PRODUCTION
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layout explorations
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original images, photographed on Avenue Road
digital drawing/trace 76
drawing of the background
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drawing
original image, photographed on 7th Cross, Malleshwaram
original image, photographed at Dairy Cross, Yelahanka
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original image, photographed in Malleshwaram
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drawing
drawing
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original image, photographed outside Lalbagh
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Previously, this spread looked very structured and linear, whereas in reality, the main roads and cross roads are at an angle when viewed on a map. Therefore, in the next iteration of this spread, I used google maps as a
reference. The final image now shows a google map and a rough hand drawing of the map to understand the placement and functioning of mains and crosses in Bengaluru.
screenshot image
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Typography With the street name signs being in bold sans serif type, I was sure that between a serif and a sans serif typeface, I would go for a sans serif typeface for the book.
BEBAS
Initially, the only typefaces used in the book were ‘Bebas’ (for all titles or upper case titles) and ‘Conduit ITC Std’ (for the body text). However, after the final dummy book got printed, I realized that using an existing typeface was taking away the organic essence of the book and seemed slightly like a mismatch with the visuals.
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Therefore, I decided to try some hand lettering and block printing to replace ‘Bebas’ in the book. And it worked wonderfully!
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abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Conduit ITC STD
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block print
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hand lettering (reed pen)
hand lettering (calligraphy pen)
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USER TESTING
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Along with user-testing the final dummy, I also user tested a few spreads while they were in the making, in order to see the different meanings people were making out of them. This helped me visualize better for further spreads as well. However, during one of the user tests done among my class peers, a very important feedback came my way. The initial flow of the book’s narrative was in the following order - boundary (history), memory and expression. But reading the content in this order seemed confusing and a little boring. Hence, my peers suggested that I change the order a little and make it memory, boundary and then expression. This would also relate to my journey with this book, that is, being lost, zooming in and finding facts and zooming out, stepping back and looking at the larger picture and other layers within. 91
4th Cross 11th Main the book
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LEARNING
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With a desire to step into publication design in the future, this project allowed me to demonstrate my skills as a visual designer. It challenged me to effectively use design methodologies and principles I have learnt over the years. I stepped into a story book lab, a genre that I have never worked with before. It lead me to explore different possibilities and be open to experiementation. My constant personal instinct for creating or conceptualizing something unusual, can be
seen as a product in this project. I explored the artist within me, that clubbed together with the designer in me to think differently. This was the first project, where I had made an effort to translate my personal experiences into something larger and more meaningful. This is my gift to the city that gave me four exciting years of being lost; lost among all its beauty.
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RESOURCES
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Spaces with signage across certain areas of Bangalore. People like BBMP officials, city planners, signage designers/ painters, natives and migrants in Bangalore. Calvino, I. (1974). Invisible cities. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. CityLab, (2015). [online] Available at: http://www.citylab.com/ [Accessed 25 Feb. 2015]. Dawson, B. (1999). Street graphics India. New York, N.Y.: Thames and Hudson. De, A. (2008). Multiple city. New Delhi, India: Penguin
Books India. Lahiri-Dutt, K. and Williams, D. (2010). Moving pictures. Ocean, NJ: Grantha Corportion. Mathur, A. and Cunha, D. (2006). Deccan traverses. New Delhi: Rupa. Mirzoeff, N. (2002). The visual culture reader. London: Routledge. Outofedenwalk.com, (2015). Out of Eden Walk. [online] Available at: http://www.outofedenwalk.com/ Radio Lab, (2015). Galapagos. Zaidi, S. (2009). Mazaar, Bazaar. Karachi: Oxford University Press. 105
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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I would like to thank, Dr. Geetha Narayanan and Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology for shaping me into the person I am today and for giving me such exciting opportunities always. My project mentors, Mrs. Kavita Arvind and Ms. Srivi Kalyan for giving me the freedom to implement my ideas, for guiding me and for having faith in me at every step of the project. I have now learnt to be more organized and punctual as well! My tutor, Mr. Manjunath Butta for patiently listening to all my ideas and motivating me. Mr. Pitamber, Mr. Jayesh, Mr. Arul, Ms. Talitha, Ms. Debjani and Ms. Ayesha for their valuable feedback and support. Mr. Narendra Raghunath for always encouraging me to stay true to my skills. Mrs. Poonam Bir Kasturi, Founder - Daily Dump Compost at Home, for offering me the best internship that has led me to this project in its own ways. My fellow homo-historians, Harini, Manini, Maithili, Priyanka, Mohavi, Ancita and Chaitali for keeping the enthusiasm alive for the past six months. Barath Jayarajan, who patiently helped me with Kannada throughout. Sanika Sahasrabuddhe and Punesh Mishra for selflessly guiding me throughout and believing in my project (sometimes more than even I did). My best friends, Tanvi Ajinkya, Devangana Dash, Kopal Joshy and Shikha Nambiar for being my God-sent pillars of strength! Without your constant help and feedback, this project wouldn’t have been what it is today. Mummy, Papa, Mansha Didi and Rasagya for loving and believing in me endlessly and being my best emotional support. And the higher power that kept presenting serendipitious moments in front of me and kept my belief in my project alive. 107
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