New interactions as you travel…

Love to travel, and love to gaze at all the wonderful imagery that happens outside the car… and to be able to interact with it? Ooh, would love to!

This is a concept still and there’s only a working prototype, but a great one at that.  Developed by Toyota, in collaboration Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design, Toyota’s concept cars feature ‘Windows to the World’ that allows interactivity when one is sitting at the back.

This is a window with several touchscreen functionality. It can be used to obtain information about objects outside, such as the distance of a house, or to entertain children with games, design software, digital zoom and so on. Besides giving children the ability to draw on the windows using only their fingers, Windows to the World could also include a pinch-and-zoom feature to enlarge far-away objects, show the distance between the car and various objects, and display the names of things zooming by the window in the tongue of the local residents. They even have plans for the sunroof, saying it could be used to display virtual constellations, complete with detailed information about the stars.

 

 

 

 

Drawing in motion allows passengers to use their fingers to “draw” on the rear windows. The image traced by your fingers then will move along the window as the image is moving away from the car.

Zooming into captured moments in time allows you to  pinch and zoom-in on outside objects. It’s like zooming-in an image on your iPhone or Android.

Translating the world in a local language gives users the ability to designate names of objects outside the window to be translated into the local language.

Augmented distances will allow the curious-minded to display the distance from the window to an object outside.

Virtual constellations utilize the vehicle’s panoramic roof to display virtual constellations and display information about them.

Watch the video:

 

 

And yet another interesting concept.

The next time you go to buy a Cadillac, you may get a chance to experience the new interactive window sticker created by Fusion92.

Using a new touch-sensitive translucent film technology, the design and development team of Fusion92  built a working prototype of an interactive window sticker. At first glance, it looks like any ordinary window sticker displaying price, features, fuel economy and such, but when a customer walks by the car the window comes to life, making the glass a fully interactive touch-screen kiosk. Users can customize all the features of the car, see the updated price, calculate loan payments, watch videos, share the car on Facebook and Twitter and sign up for more information.

Love this exciting phase of digital technology and interaction media that allows us to connect differently and experience another side of the experience.

So next time, you may want to leave the driving to someone else.

The new rupee

The 2 Rupee coin

The latest coins issued by the Government of India have the new symbol of the Rupee.  Overall, I do think the composition of the entire graphic face of the coin is rather uncluttered, simple and pretty effective. The design also showcases the national flower of India- the lotus.

And the new symbol is clear for all to see, thereby popularising it for sure.

Most of the times, we as humans prefer the visual experience. A successful design stems from this basis that ‘form does follow function but is appealing too by its own merit’. Good graphics communicate far more than words can ever, especially if one wants to reach out to a larger and inclusive audience.

The new rupee coin is a good example of this thought process- only where the graphics are concerned on the coin.

Sometimes though, the form also ensures or indicates the function. And good design means looking at the entire picture and then finding solutions. Here the new range of coins has failed. The size of the coin has been made a size smaller… the new 2 rupees coin is of the size the earlier 1 rupee coin was, which in turn looks like the earlier 50p coin.

Not just confusing, but this is a visual disadvantage that has been created. People are used to a certain size now, and associate that size with the amount of money given out.  And chances are that people are going to miss some more money than intended. Which is not a small or trivial issue for those who have to literally save for a tomorrow.

I feel the new coins should have remained the same size as the earlier ones or should have got a different colour- like the gold and steel finish that the 10rupees coins have been given. Then the size would not have been such an issue, as people would easily bracket these coins in the ‘new’ segment and also remain aware of the size.

Size does matter and how… more importantly, design matters.

Older version of the 10 rupee coin

10 rupee coin with new symbol

Heritage callings…

If I had not become an architect, I would have perhaps been an archaeologist.  I have a huge fascination for history and am constantly eager to know more. Because of which, in the past year or two, I have been enrolling in various workshops and courses on history, archaeology, architecture and heritage.

One such course that I am currently doing is a four-day workshop at the Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth (TMV) . Conducted and organised by Manjiri Bhalerao and Saili Palande-Datar for TMV and  Samvidya Institute of Cultural studies, this short exercise is being carried over two weekends, for the entire day. Called ‘Olakh Pune ani Parisarachi’ , this intense course is on Pune and its Environs, and tries to reveal different facets of Pune and its Environs, such as Geograpy, Biodiversity, Archaeology, Ancient and Medieval History, Traditions of Art; Architecture and Sanskrit Studies, Traditions of  Literature; Music; Theatre; Dance and Films, Pune in 19th Century, Independence Movement, Post Independence Pune, etc.  Many eminent experts from various fields have been brought together to lecture at this course.

Rangoli pic courtesy Manjiri & Saili

I have completed the first weekend and although have read and known about many of the aspects talked here, I have got a new insight and discovered many other facts unknown to me before. And it is a beautiful process this, to be able to keep learning and relearning. In the next post, I will share with you some of the interesting points I learnt.

I look at the history of thousands of years and I see the need of preservation and conservation of the tangible (built) and the untangible (natural, cultural to others) aspects of heritage, and at the same time I know that in 50 years into the future, what will be termed as heritage will also be the legacy we leave behind- based on our actions now.  Are we prepared for that? Or will we wait for time to tell?

The I-mark

new logo

Over the past few weeks, a lot has been talked about the latest winning design of the I-mark on online groups and social networks. In short: The earlier design that was chosen by the Indian Design Council (IDC) was rejected by designers at large. But, coincidentally the new logo is not very different from the older version. Designers again have raised their voices against it. And the IDC has put its foot down saying this is what it is.

The IDC plans to confer the marking on certain products, services, objects and works that conform to the process and standards set by it to ‘define good in the concept of good design’. So, when there is a debate on whether the design of the mark itself is ‘good’ or not, it makes one wonder on the processes and standards thus defined to elevate good design. Something the IDC should consider.

Also, look at it from a global perspective. An I-mark is officially launched globally at the inauguration of the Japanese Good Design Exhibition at the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), in March 2011, and is raved about by the jury and IDC members. YET, back home, another competition is set up because of dissent from the design community in India. And the eventual result is not very different from the earlier version, creating more angst amongst the designers, who have been openly critical about the design and the jury.

Whether the criticism is right or not is not the question, nor is the process of selection the important factor here. What is important is that the image of India and Indian designers gets across as a very confused or controversial entity thanks to this back-n-forth movement. And do we need this bad publicity?

The second point to ponder upon is ‘Why is there a dissent?’.  It’s not that the design community has anything against competitions or people winning those competitions. Nor is there any disrespect to the idea of the I-mark and the IDC members. Yet the furore. Why?

Perhaps the designers could have been more participative in the competition, but then why did they not? There were only 200 entries received.  Was there was no proper communication and outreach? The amount of comments after the launch of the I-mark is a good indicator of the interest the designers have in this competition.  Therefore, the lack of participation needs to be explored by the IDC.

Amongst the shortlisted 13, the winning design is the best, no doubt of it. But this only when you compare the shortlisted entries. 

The IDC could have worked along side a body like ADI, which represents designers from India and put together the competition for the I-mark – this would have surely gotten in more entries, and a good representation from the design industry. And also less criticism. More importantly, this would have come across as an inclusive exercise that every designer would have wanted to be part of and have pride in working for.  After all, an I-mark is not something that can come top down, but has to come from within the design community to succeed.

And if the designers seem to have a problem with the I-mark design and the competition, then perhaps it is because of an underlying current of non-transparency, exclusiveness and no real connect between the IDC and the designers- a fact that the IDC should realise and act towards, especially if it wants this mark be treated and accepted as the stamp of good design.

- Darpana Athale.

‘Design Challenges in Indian Cities’ – a panel discussion.

ADI_Pune Chapter is launched.

Varied panelists, 60+ attendees and a very participative discussion.

The celebrations of World Industrial Designers Day in Pune and the launch of the Pune chapter of  the Association of Designers of India (ADI) , was followed by a serious discussion on how design can and should change, add value and be integral to a city. Designers, architects, urban planners, people heading NGOs all stepped up to give their views on the topic ‘Design Challenges in Indian Cities’.

On the panel were renowned Architect & Designer Shrikant Nivasarkar, who was chairing the discussion, Textile designer Chandrashekar Bheda, who had from Delhi to be part of this session; Architect and industrial designer Anand Belhe; Janwaani Director Kishori Gadre, Industrial Designer Pankaj Sapkal and Architect Shirish Kembhavi. Their discussions were further given another perspective by Industrial designer Satish Gokhale; and Satish Khot, President-NSCC, Pune.  Designer Nachiket Thakur was co-ordinating the entire session.

The panelists

IIID_Pune Regional Chapter supported the event, because of which there were many architects and interior designers present in the audience leading to different viewpoints from fields apart from Industrial Design.

Viewpoints of the Panelists:
Shrikant Nivasarkar:

• It is important to form a collaborative team and take the design activities further.
• Design, planning, interventions….all of this or rather design should come from within if we want to do something for the city- a sense of participation and ownership is required.
• When we talk of ‘creating an image of a city’… globalisation will bring dynamic changes in emerging cities, is design or are designers ready for these changes?
• Quoting Kumar Vyas, “Chandigarh and NID were good initiatives and great intentions, but went on different tracks- they never came together”.  How do we safeguard or work towards sustaining great initiatives?
• India’ strength lies in its diversity. How do we maintain that diversity/individuality?
• Context to People and Context of Environment- both are key issues for designers.

Kishori Gadre:

• Design interventions are needed for different projects and places within the social fabric of the city. And these interventions are required right from the household level to that of the urban scale.
• Case study – Garbage disposal, zero garbage zones which required industrial design help, provided by Onio Design.
• In cities, the ‘pain’ is divided into large numbers and therefore no one knows what they want.
• Designers need to come forward and work on different issues.

Shirish Kembhavi:

• There is ‘design’ at every step in an urban environment or space, but does it really contribute?
• A space can be turned into a place only thru design interventions.
• There is a need to demonstrate a ‘design value’.
• Housing is very important…can we create a house that costs under a lakh of rupees?

Pankaj Sapkal:

• Awareness needs to be created foremost.
• Some systems cannot be changed easily- change needs to start at individual levels.
• A food and water crisis is being predicted and is imminent and that we need to prepare for it right now, at the individual level.

Chandrashekhar Bheda:

• Regional identity is being forgotten.
• People are working in isolation, macro level thinking and working needs to be done.
• Newer idioms can be formed through collaborative efforts.
• We are in a hurry to become ‘global’,  but we are forgetting to be local or regional.

Anand Belhe:

• What makes a city?
• Mixed usage of city areas/Migration/Systems/Planning
• Adaptability/ Flexibility to change
• Human scale- is it comfortable?
• No planned approch – all individuals are looking at their own work.
• Permeability within a city?
• Is the city for cars or for people?
• Carbon foot prints? -Ac environments everywhere, causing more damage- and this is only because of architects.
• There is a disparity between the rich and the poor.
• Growing local food is a necessity. – Half of the food going to Mumbai is wasted. Why? Is it bad transportation or packaging?
• How is the movement in a city?
• Can we standardise certain elements to improve productivity and economic conditions? China is a good example of standardisation.
• Design and architecture are basically very similar, with same principles.

Expert comments:
Satish Gokhale:

• Sometimes design may work successfully as a stand-alone product, but might fail when taken in consideration with a larger context.
• We need to create products keeping in mind the larger picture and who/what/how it affects our immediate environment.

Satish Khot:

• It is important to create awareness of design at the general public level.
• Can we create something aesthetic that allows every homemaker to create a zero-garbage disposal system at home itself? Perhaps a planter which can also recycle all the waste into manure.

The audiences’ viewpoints:

• This is a good initiative, and perhaps ADI can be a body that solves issues at the common man’s level.
• Why can’t designers be on the administrative levels in a city? When we can have city engineers, why not a city architect or designer?
• There is a lot of work that is being done at an individual level, which needs to be acknowledged, learnt from and also shared.
• Issues like garbage disposal do not always require Industrial design. If we can come out with solutions wherein the garbage does not leave the society but gets converted into useful manure, then the process of having these garbage bags collected to bringing them into a truck and then offloading can be deleted.
• An identity of a city can be created through simple means also- eg: Jodhpur, with an all-white scheme for its housing.
• Need to educate people on design.
• It is time that design is not looked as something that needs to come as an afterthought or at the end of a product cycle or for finding a solution to a single problem.  Design needs to come at the beginning, especially for social and city-level projects.
• There is a strong builder lobby in Pune- they need to come for such forums and together proposals should be created for the city. Ditto for administrative personnel.
• Need to increase public utility services and come together to work on finding solutions for the city.
• Case studies need to be created that demonstrate design values, which could be showcased to create awareness. Start small so we can learn from the experience.

One of the highlights of this Panel discussion was the fact that Shrikant Nivasarkar, who is also the President of the Pune Construction Engineering Research Foundation (PCERF) has offered a space for design and good case studies, in the interest of the city, to be showcased during the CONSTRO exhibition in January 2012, in Pune.

The audience and the panelists took back a lot from this event- great insights, motivation to think, to do and make it happen, understanding the need for collaboration and identifying areas to work in… apart from an interesting bookmark in stainless steel from the ‘oneliner’ range by Sarvasva Designs, books from CMYK and an event sponsored by LUXUS.
Compiled and written by Darpana Athale, Sarvasva Designs.

Launching the Pune Chapter of ADI

On the occasion of the World Industrial Design Day (WID) on 29th June 2011, the Association of Designers of India (ADI) will be launching their first chapter in Pune.

The event will also see a panel discussion on ‘Design Challenges in Indian Cities’, an initiative that will call upon solutions for some key questions. Such as:

1. What role can industrial designers play in improving Indian cities ?
2. Are there any avenues in your opinion where Industrial Design skills will play a critical role in defining better living in cities ?

The panel discussion will conclude by short-listing design challenges.

And the evening will be closed with the screening of ‘Objectified’, a documentary film by Gary Hustwit; about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them.

So what happens to the short-listed design challenges?

These would then be proposed for further resolution, within a defined time frame. Professionals and students from the design community would then be asked to participate (even compete) for coming up with constructive solutions meeting these challenges. The best of the solutions identified out of this program would be recognized as winners and would be taken up for implementation (the competition details would be worked out once the key challenges are agreed on).

Small steps towards great initiatives….

Simplify.

I often wonder if we live according to the way we design.

Simplify through design is Sarvasva’s byline. When we are designing a product or a system or even a process, the aim is always to simplify the end result for it to be understood, and to make it interactive/communicative – basically to connect. We look at complex ideas and break it down to something that is easier to comprehend.

In fact most of the great designs of the world have always been simple, or at least seem simple at first appearance.

Then, do we designers live as simply as we design or think? So often, in relationships, in public and social life, we as humans within a society tend to do just the opposite- make a simple aspect into a complex web of ideas and thoughts. Compounded further by our feelings. And most often than not, this only adds to complex issues, competitiveness, negativity.

Our professional and personal lives are not really mirror images of each other. Is it not time to de-stress ourselves and go for simplification?

- Darpana Athale.

The ADI is waiting for you.

The Association of Designers of India (ADI) is finally set up. With its National Executive Body in place, and few Chapters within the country being set up, ADI is all geared to take in memberships.

What is the ADI?
ADI is the first official body for all Indian origin professional designers and related people, educators and the Industry. ADI is a group is for all Indian design professionals who desire a cohesive effort at elevating the standards of design practice in India, who are keen on promoting Indian design practice and who are interested in networking, learning and sharing with other design related professionals and industry.

How does it work?
ADI is committed to promoting best practices in the profession of design in India by strengthening and promoting the capabilities of the Indian design profession, as well as amplifying and presenting a unified voice to influence public policy, shape the industry and benefit the people at large.

The ADI is managed by the National Executive Committee (NEC) who are elected biennially by members. The National Executive Committee is responsible for running ADI, creating regional chapters and elected local Managing Committees, formulating policies and initiating projects to promote design and the interests of its members.

Benefits to Members:
The ADI raises the profile of design and of its practitioners – our members. We are creating a platform and building knowledge that help employers & clients of design business acknowledge the value that your design adds. And when we do that, we add value to your business and career.

Membership in the ADI means that you see the value of a pluralistic design industry and confirms your status as a qualified, credible and ethical practicing professional.

As a member, you will gain access to an extensive network of designers both locally and internationally. Valuable insights from experienced practitioners on design issues, professional practices and management of business & career opportunities can broaden your design thinking.

No matter where you are in your career–a design student, recent graduate, educator, manager or seasoned professional–there’s an ADI membership level for you.

Join ADI to take advantage of exclusive member benefits from India’s only active professional body for Designers.

DO JOIN! To know more and avail of the membership, go the ADI website: http://adi.org.in/

Rahe amar yeh chitra katha…

The past few days, I have been seeing many comments, posts, messages and heartfelt sadness on the passing away of Uncle Pai (aka Anant Pai), the creator of Amar Chitra Katha(ACK) and Tinkle.

I actually doubt how many Indians really know they owe their childhood to this man. And how many designers who are now into animation and graphics ever connected the dots to the one of the oldest comic books from this country. These comics and their stories allowed generations to imagine Indian mythology and their characters, a feat still to be surpassed by any animator or TV serial or movie.

So this is not just a loss of a visualiser or an entrepreneur. This is a loss of an icon who’s art was storytelling. An icon of innovation, and icon of design. Uncle Pai was someone who put India on to the global cultural map through his comics, way before the fads or fascination with India began in the West. These comics also never let us forget India while we went exploring Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree…

Some interesting facts about this journey of ACK and Tinkle (courtesy Wikipedia):
1. Amar Chitra Katha is one of India’s largest selling comic book series, with more than 90 million copies sold in 20 Indian languages.
2. Founded in 1967 by Anant Pai, the imprint has more than 400 titles that retell stories from the great Indian epics, mythology, history, folklore, and fables in a comic book format.
3. ACK was an attempt to teach Indian children about their cultural heritage. Pai was shocked that Indian students could answer questions on Greek and Roman mythology, but were ignorant of their own history, mythology and folklore. It so happened that a quiz contest aired on Doordarshan in February 1967, in which participants could easily answer questions pertaining to Greek mythology, but were unable to reply to the question “In the Ramayana, who was Rama’s mother?”
4.The original printings of Amar Chitra were not in full colour—because of budgetary constraints, the panels were printed using yellow, blue and green. Subsequent issues, however, changed to full colour.
5. There are special editions of the epics like the Mahabharata which is available in a 3 volume 1300+ pages set.The illustrations which seem to be quite Raja Ravi Varma’s style have only added to the overall appeal.
6. At the height of its popularity, in the mid-eighties, it had been translated into Bengali, Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Sanskrit and Urdu and selling half a million copies a month. Some titles were also translated into French, Spanish, German, Swahili, Fijian, Indonesian, and Serbo-Croat. This success inspired other publishing houses who launched their own series on their own themes: Dreamland Publications and Diamond Comics at New Delhi, and Jaico Publishing House at Mumbai.
7. For most, Indian history, a jumble of names and dates, came alive as stories. The detailed research of architecture, costumes, regional flavours and facts ensured that the comics were widely accepted into the mainstream, both parents and teachers using them as educational aids.
8. Tinkle was India’s first comic book for children! Characters like Suppandi, Shikhari Shambhu and Kaalia are household names…
9. To an extent, these books, with their homogenized and unbiased character descriptions went a long way in promoting national integration and increasing inter-provincial awareness throughout the country.

This last point itself talks of how simple graphics can bind a nation.

The comic book history of India dates back to the early 1900s. Most of these were comic strips. One of earliest attempts is by comic magazine Chandamama, which has been published in more than 5 languages since 1947. It developed from the adaptations of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata in the 1960s, to educational comics for children, caricatures in print media, and adaptations of American superheroes. What with stories from the Puranas, Indian Mythology like Ramayana, Popular Folk tales like King Vikramaditya and the Vetal, etc Chandamama is in a class of its own. Their illustrations and artwork were totally different and very interesting to see.

Indrajal Comics was a series launched by the publisher of The Times of India, Bennet, Coleman & Co in March 1964. The first 32 issues contained Lee Falk’s The Phantom stories, but thereafter, the title alternated between various King Features characters, including Lee Falk’s Mandrake, Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon, Rip Kirby and Phil Corrigan, Roy Crane’s Buz Sawyer, Allen Saunders’ Mike Nomad and Kerry Drake and Steve Dowling’s Garth. Later it also published Bahadur, an Indian comic hero created by Aabid Surti.

The cover artwork for the first 50 or so issues of Indrajal Comics was done by B.Govind, with the back cover featuring a pin-up poster. Govind’s painted covers are highly regarded amongst Indian Phantom fans, and are on par with those of George Wilson for the Gold Key series and the Avon novels from the USA. He was the creator of India’s superhero Bahadur.

[Govind Brahmania is no more among us. He passed away on 9th December, 2009. It is more sad because not even a single newspaper published a single news about this great creator. Not even TOI , the publication group for whom he worked for years.]

Pran Kumar Sharma created numerous strips, like Shrimatiji, Pinki, Billoo and the popular Chacha Chaudhary in the 1970s.

In the 1980s, Target, a children and youth magazine published two page comics. Detective Moochwala by Ajit Ninan and Gardhab Das, the singing donkey, by Neelabh & Jayanto, were its most popular characters.

Target magazine was an innovator as its artwork was original and of a high quality for its time. Manjula Padmanabhan, one of the few Indian female comic authors, did illustrations for Target. She also created a female comic character called Suki which was serialized in Sunday Observer in the 1980s.

Another notable Indian comic publishing house is Raj Comics, home of characters such as Nagraj, (a superhero who has subsequently made the transition to television), Doga, Super Commando Dhruva, Parmanu and various others. In Tamil Nadu, Alagar comics is the most famous one. Its available in both English and Tamil.

The Modern ventures and Graphic Novels:
In 2006, a partnership between Richard Branson’s Virgin group, and India’s Gotham Comics, led to a new company, Virgin Comics, geared towards creating new lines of comics rooted in Indian mythology and Indian history. The first series of comics were published in 2006, to mixed critical reviews. The main icon of Virgin Comics was the superhero Devi, but other series included a fantasy adaptation of the ancient Ramayana epic, a series based on the life of a supernaturally adept Sadhu.

Fluid Friction Comics are an International comics company with an Indian partner who have taken Indian mythology as the inspiration for their comic series. Their premier series DevaShard is an embellishment on the life of Karna and their future titles will be based around other integral characters from the Mahabharata. All stories are based in a fictional world based on a mythological idea of the Earth 7,000 years ago named Bhumi. The artwork in the comics has been produced by a truly international team featuring artists from both the Eastern & Western hemispheres. DevaShard launched for the first time in India just before Diwali in October 2008.

Illustrated Orchids is a comic book company that is operated by the Indian Singaporean diaspora. The company has creative studios in India, and is led by creative director Sudhir Sehgal.

In 2009, an ambitious new company entered the graphic novel market. Based in New Delhi, India, Campfire Graphic Novels has a distribution network with several major publishing houses around the world.

Although the idea of comic books are being replaced by graphic novels, the fact of the matter is that what people like Uncle Pai and others of his time started then in order to promote the ‘Indianess’, has now become an USP for most publishing houses. People want to read about India and comics from India. What better legacy could these stalwarts leave behind…

ps: India unfortunately never duly acknowledged people like Uncle Pai; and it will be a shame if we let others who have contributed to building our culture through comics pass by us unsung.
I think we should put together all these graphic artists’ works in a museum for teaching all new budding designers.

pps: I have been contemplating to start a comic library for the past 2-3 years, never got to doing it. But soon… will update as and when that happens.

Ganpati Bappa Morya!!!

Since we moved to Pune, we’ve installed a permanent Ganpati idol at home, and every year I make a small idol that we pray to and submerge (in a bucket outside the door). Being environment conscious, our Ganpati idols have always been ‘green’ and made of clay, wheat flour,etc. This year, we have consciously decided to use all the ‘raddi’ (old newspapers) and make a recyled Ganpati.

The only thing used in this Ganpati, apart from the newspapers and a little bit of water, is glue to stick the various parts. We have made many of these to give out to our guests who come home for the darshan.

Design in ‘Spare Time’???

Saw this poster and many of these actually, in the streets and bylanes of Pune. Makes me wonder if Design is now relegated to a ‘housewife’s hobby’ that one can learn and do during their spare time?!

(c) Darpana Athale, 2008.

DESIGN RESPONSE TO TERROR.

Design Response to Terror PDF08:
System Design and Strategy Formulation – Session 1

A very recent initiative of the PDF, in lieu with the terrorist attacks on Mumbai on 26th November 2008.

Mukund Athale of Sarvasva Designs made a presentation and introduced a new project that we are working on, which can help tack people’s movements.

Aims

During this workshop participants will seek to answer the following questions:

• What are the problems we identify in the current scenario?
• How can design contribute to create meaningful intervention in such a situation?
• What formats can be explored?
• What are the design solutions we intend to seek?

Format of Workshop

10 – 12 pm : ‘My response to terror as a designer’- a 3-5 minute presentation by members (preferably 10 slides or less)

12 – 1 pm: Identification of problems and design intervention areas

1 – 1:45 pm : Lunch

1:45 – 3 pm : Participants will form groups and work out action plan for design response/ project scoping

3 – 4 pm : A concise action plan with milestones/ expected outcome

Initiated on December 4th, 2008 at Symbiosis Institute of Design, Pune.

Architect Darpana Athale’s ‘Pune Walks’ programme will introduce Puneites and tourists to the magnificent heritage of the citySar

India Design Festival

The Pune Design Festival became a larger platform called the ‘India Design Festival’  this year.

Apart from giving a presentation and help in organising, Sarvasva also had come up with an installation called ‘chaos theory’, for the overall theme of ‘Environment and Design’, wherein we collected discarded bottles and paper every day at the Festival to show how much waste the designers themselves generate, in a matter of a week.

We also got the ‘Polar Bear’ down from Mumbai. Our friend and artist Hetal Shukla, and the creator of this car, was here too.

And some of the highlights for us was the participation on the panel discussion on design, with  CNBC (to be broadcasted soon), the very interesting talk by Prasoon Pandey, the various new friends we made and the great learning experience.

‘White is the new green’ innovations.

Courtesy TrendHunter.com

100 'White Is The New Green' Innovations (CLUSTER)

(TREND HUNTER) White is pure, nature is pure, nature is green, hence white is green… It sounds like a logic argument gone wrong; or maybe not.
Artists and inventors around the world are embracing the purity of the color… [More]





History in the making for Indian Design

Dear All,

Last evening, 30th May ’09 saw a group of designers getting together to initiate and form the first national body of designers of India. It was just a preliminary meeting, but one that will consequently set the precedence for any action that will be taken in this regard.

This initiative has been taken by the Pune Design Foundation (PDF) and the Association of Indian Design Industry (AIDI).

We had Shrikant Nivasarkar, President IFI, who joined in as friend and advisor.

Will keep you all updated as we progress.
Warm regards,
Darpana.

DNA Pune_ interview. 3rd June 2009

Twitter on…

Mukund and I just joined Twitter recently, and simply love the format. It’s so easy to connect to everybody and be updated on not just people, but even happenings, events, companies and more. With just a line, you are in touch with someone, somewhere.

I think ‘making connections’ is the key to everything in the future.

At Sarvasva, we believe in this future and have therefore taken up many initiatives towards it. The very talked about ‘Pecha Kucha’ is one such event. Just yesterday, the Indian Express newspaper carried an article on the same and our initiative of getting it to Pune. http://epaper.indianexpress.com/IE/IEH/2009/07/02/INDEX.SHTML

‘Design Intersect’ is another such event. Aimed to be a ‘people to design’ connect, the idea is to throw open design to public through various installations, exhibitions and A/V presentations. This is not to preach or lecture about design, but just to let it be stimulated into the senses. A lot of people in India are not aware of what ‘Design’ is, or how it can affect our everyday lives. And very few designers even bother to push it beyond the realm of the office and client space. But design has been and is about social impact. And if we cannot think to make that connection with the public realm, we are missing out on the key element to design.

Connecting alumni from college is another interesting exercise we have got into. Our college, the Academy of Architecture, is 52 years old and we never had an alumni reunion, leave aside an alumni association. Thanks to great connectors like Facebook and Orkut, we were able to get in touch with 300+ ex-students of the college and organised a grand reunion party for all batches. The power of connection, Jai ho!

Coming back to Twitter. If you just read through the many tweets, especially of responses to a particular tweet, it’s crazy how much information is within your reach and also how you suddenly get updated and are also in the global scene of things, all within minutes. Its as if the future is unfolding around you, and you are a part of that important moment.

You can reach me on http://twitter.com/DarpanaSarvasva to know more on what Sarvasva is upto.

Cheers,
Darpana.

Smart Ads

For the past few days I have been looking at the Idea ‘Walk when you talk’ ad and have been suitably impressed. At first, I was not really impressed with it, but then when Mukund pointed out a small detail, which is actually very big, I realised what this ad can do.

Apart from connecting on an emotional level, wherein the customer is made to think about his/her health and so walk, it also goes to say ‘walk the talk’. But the biggest USP of this ad is not what it gives to the customers, but what it gives to the client. If one actually realises and observes, one tends to talk more when we walk. So more talk time results in more money for the company! What an idea, Sir ji!

There is another ad that has rightly caught on the undercurrent of moods and emotions of the working class of this country. The Cadbury’s ad of “pehli taarik”. It encourages people to have a sweet (in this case, chocolate) because it is the first of the month. Yes, all of us look forward to this day, because we get our salaries. And what better way to celebrate this moment of having some cash in hand during this recession period, than a nice ‘sweet’. In India, it is tradition that we give/take sweets on every small/big joyous occasion, and this ad has managed catching that emotion really well.

Smart Ads are not just those that are effective and unique enough to catch your eye and make you take notice of them. They go beyond the idea of selling a brand to actually make the customer buy the product.

- Darpana.

RIP Anant Raje.

I met Anant Raje many years ago- I was writing an article on his works and had gone to Ahmedabad to meet him. Not sure what I was expecting, but I did not expect to see this nice, warm old man walking towards me. Very humble and down-to-earth, with a twinkle in his eyes. Sort of a Santa Claus, I thought. And so unlike a stalwart in his field.

He took me around the campus and gave me a personal tour of the IIM building, and explained the structure to philosophy of the architecture- it was an astounding lecture. One I can still visualise. Which is why whenever I have gone to IIM after that (once with Bimal Patel), I somehow always land up seeing the place with Anant Raje in it.

As time passed, and I could not keep up with the correspondence as I had earlier done, unfortunately Anant Raje became just a memory and a name in my list of works. And as I left the magazine and started my own firm, there was no interaction at all. Which is why I did not hear of his passing away till two days ago.

As I am sitting down writing this post, with the rain falling outside my window, I can see his smiling face. And its one that brings a lot of sunshine amidst the grey memories.

Dear Prof. Anant Raje, RIP.

- Darpana.

Redesigning Indian Transport

I slipped forward along with the seat, when the car braked. Then I adjusted myself, pushed the seat back in place and sat into an upright position, until the brakes were pressed again. By the end of the journey, I had a vague sense of my backbone and lower back becoming a single unit. The pain that followed left me with no sense of either in place.

Dislodged seats are not the only problem. Broken handles, lumpy seats, smelly interiors, rickety-almost-touching the floor- floor base, jammed windows, and of course not to forget, the faulty, incorrect meters. Mumbai’s taxis are slowly getting from bad to worse. Come rains, the problem just gets worse.

The past few days I have been reading a lot about Mumbai’s taxi problem… pre-paid vs private cabs, state of the yellow and blacks and so on. And since I have been travelling very frequently in most of the cabs- private(Meru, one of the better private taxi services, popular in Mumbai, Delhi & Bangalore) / cool cabs/ yellow-blacks, I find myself a inadvertent participant in this talk. And here are my two-bits.

Over the past few weeks, I have found that for me taking a late night ride is safer in a Meru. And also since the whole set up is digitalised, and on GPRS, tracking a cab is easier. As is coming out with a relatively correct meter. It is also very comfortable what with all Meru cabs being a Renault Logan. But it is too expensive a ride. And too much by standards of a regular citizen travelling from one end of this linearly built city to another. So the options for me are buses, ricks, trains juxtaposed with a ride in the yellow-black cab when needed, which is more often because I like to look presentable in a meeting and all other times, and a cab is the only option that allows me that, saving me from the grime and pollution of the traffic and people. The train, a close second.

I have often found it very surprising that no one till date has tried to model the typical Fiat taxi we have. Give a designer a chance to remodel any transport vehicle, and the rick wins hands down, followed by the bus. Of course, now the cabs come in all forms and makes of cars, but it would be nice for our crucial much needed vehicles to be of some standard.

We don’t really think of changing or remodelling how this city’s transport vehicles should look like or function for this country or city in particular. Vis-a-vis, the transport system. We get rejects from the international markets and happily make them the ‘newly designed’ train or bus, but never stop to pause and see if these really suit us.

None of the public transport is ‘cushioned’ against bumpy potholed roads, water filled tracks, splashes of puddles or scorching heat or even a huge population explosion within it. And the drivers of these vehicles have it even worse, yet manage really well to do a great job.

Of course the transport system is another debatable topic totally, unfortunately marred further due to the dirty politics and ignorant politicians as well as unconcerned citizens who only complain when things go wrong at their end.

But this post today is talking about design. And redesigning our transport to suit us, instead of the other way round. What if we can have well-designed public vehicles that do not cost a bomb to ride on, and which can be a solution to also ease traffic congestion. Coupled with better roads, they will be every city’s ideal dream infrastructure come true. Any takers?

- Darpana.

AEC Online Expo

Dear All,

It is 12.10 am, Aug 1st now and I am in Mumbai for the official launch of the first ever digitalised, online experience expo: The AEC Online Expo .
This is a quantum leap in India’s design world to have a ‘E’xperience that is virtual- a platform to inform and inspire the AEC Industry about how Technology Virtually creates the Real in its Realm!

Check http:www.aecworldexpo.com
Cheers!
Darpana.

A new resurgence of the internet.

At the beginning of the month I had talked about the first ever online exposition in the world- the AEC World Expo, brought out by the leading Indian architecture and design magazine- IA&B. I happened to be one of the fortunate ones to not only have been invited for the launch party of this unique site (no,not just virtually), but also to have participated in one of their technical seminars, again online. See www.aecworldexpo.com to know more.

Few days ago, I was also invited to be part of the INDEX Awards 2009; which is being ‘telecast’ in the virtual world- a first of its kind event. Today, on 28th August 2009, the INDEX Awards will be telecast from Copenhagen, 8pm onwards. And one can view the same on http://www.designtoimprovelife.dk/index.php

So an architecture and design expo with workshops, seminars, talks and more; and also a design award…both the first-of-their kind products and both online. Also both happen to be design related. Which just goes to show design does make a difference and leads the world into innovation.

And when I thought that was all, today’s local paper talked about India’s first ever web serial. Now web serials have been on since the nineties, but this is the first time that India has jumped on the bandwagon.

Creativity does make a difference. And design does matter. More than people estimate. Now, sit back and enjoy the experience, virtually!

Darpana.

Copy C’ad’?

I had just been to a design conference recently where there was a lot of good work being shown by designers from the partner country, the Netherlands. And some showed a films of their projects. Few, into the graphic and communication design field, showcased ads they had helped create…
One such ad was that for a leather jacket company. The idea was to show that leather a sexy piece of clothing as well as tough. Well, here it is…

This ad was made about 3 years ago I think…

And now, look at a new ad- freshly made in India. This hit the screen just few days ago, for a deo… ‘simply inspired’?!

some new gadgets in India

1. The Citi ‘Tap and Pay’ Card

- Was seeing a program on TV and saw this come up- a credit card that can be paid by simply tapping your mobile phone at the checkout point. Currently launched only in Bengaluru (Bangalore) two months ago, one needs a Citibank credit card, a Nokia phone and Vodafone number.

How does Citi Tap and Pay work?*
Citi Tap and Pay works on a cutting-edge new technology called NFC: Near Field Communication. NFC is a wireless communication technology that works on mobile phones, it allows data transfer between 2 NFC enabled devices, and even allows financial transactions like payments. Citi Tap and Pay complies with the latest security standards. The wallet on your phone is secured by a 4-digit password – so only you can use it to make payments. Unlike conventional Credit Card transactions, where you hand over your Card to a person at a retail counter, with Citi Tap and Pay you hold on to your Credit Card at all times, as it has been transferred to your mobile phone.
(This info was taken from the Citibank site)

And although I found this very exciting, it remains to be seen as to how secure this mode of payment will be. Because, while they were showing a live example on tv, I managed getting a glimpse of his 4-digit number. So imagine if someone sees you tapping your 4-digit code, and manages stealing the phone, they not only have a good phone in hand, but a credit card too! And one that is easy to use.

2. HTC Android powered cell phone

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HTC has announced the launch of the Android-powered HTC Hero in India, right now for Airtel users only. The HTC Hero is equipped with an anti-fingerprint screen coating for improved smudge resistance and a longer lasting, clearer display. The white HTC Hero includes an industry-first, Teflon coating, resulting in an improved, durable white surface. The HTC Hero comes equipped with access to the Android Market, where users can search and download applications to personalize and customize the phone.With a 3.2-inch HVGA display, the HTC Hero boasts a broad variety of hardware features including a GPS, gravity-sensor, 3.5mm stereo headset jack, a 5 mega-pixel autofocus camera and expandable MicroSD memory.
The phone will cost Rs 34,600 in Maharashtra and Rs 31,990 in the rest of India.

3. Transcend PF700 digital photo frame

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Storage and multimedia products maker Transcend has launched a new full-featured digital photo frame, the PF700. Apart from its display features, the PF700 can also function as a video player, an MP3 player, an attractive desktop clock, or an electronic calendar with important-date scheduling and reminders. This 7-inch photo frame features a 16:9 aspect ratio screen with a display resolution of 480 x 234 pixels. It measures 205 143 29mm and has a 0.5W speaker. The frame works with most mainstream SD/SDHC/ MMC/MS memory cards as well as USB Flash Drives.

When connected with a storage device, the frame automatically searches for JPEG images. Users can choose to view photos one at a time, in customizable slideshows, or in a convenient tiled thumbnail view.
Cost : Approx. Rs.6,000/- (Source Techtree.com)

4.

And of course my fave, the SONY Walkman for almost Rs.5000/- only!

Food and Design…a great combination.

An advertising agency has come up with a nice campaign to promote international food and the Sydney International Food Festival: flags made from food typical of each country….I’ve posted the flag of India…see more pics in the link below.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinkpicturegalleries/6231304/An-advertising-agency-has-come-up-with-a-campaign-to-promote-a-forthcoming-food-festival.html

Brands- the rise and fall.

I teach at two architecture colleges in Pune and Mumbai- subjects being Design and Architecture Journalism, the latter being a course set up by me about 6 years back, and I think as of now I am still the only one teaching this subject in the country. Anyway, this post is not about what I teach, but what we discussed in class.

As my discussion was on, the guy from the canteen came up with a cup of tea for me. And while going out, this young lad of about 15 or so was talking to the peon about his cell phone. And he said, “Main ab to chaar hazaar ka Nokia phone lene waala hoon!” (I am going to buy a Nokia phone worth Rs.4000). And I immediately told my students, “Now this is a brand. The fact that even a non-literate young boy knows not only the product but the name of the company so well.”

And our discussion went to brands. We talked about Nokia vs Sony, Motorola, LG, Samsung etc; especially how Nokia has even managed to do so well against the Apple iphone. One of the reasons, as we discussed, could be that Nokia is very smart looking, and comes in affordable ranges too. Then again, a Nokia phone is very user friendly. Ask me, I tried a LG and seen Mukund try a Motorola…but no matter how good those cell phones look, a Nokia is the one I went back to. So is it function? “Form follows function” – a great principle in architecture, and one that Nokia actually includes in their design thinking. But its also, ‘Great service backing great form and function’ that sets Nokia apart. What matters is also what happens after one buys the cell phone. To top it off, it’s also how a Nokia phone makes one feel… ‘innovative, smart, sexy, connected…’ – everything that boy of 15 would like to be at his age.

So brands are all about how they make you feel. And also about being popular. And I got Bisleri and Xerox as two examples being given by my students. And I almost said ‘Yes,of course!’. Almost.

The reason for that, as I explained to the class too, was the fact that these two companies set out as the first of their kind and hence were really popular. And they got so well known, that the brand got diluted. Today, in India, if you say Bisleri, they’ll give you any packaged water- be it a Kinley, Oxyrich, Himalayan, Kingfisher…or even a Bisleri, the original name of the brand. Well,Bisleri did want to stand for packaged water, but today what they have got is not brand Bisleri, but being relegated to just ‘packaged water’. Similarly with Xerox. If one has to buy a ‘Xerox’ machine in India, one does not look at the original brand, but ‘a’ xerox machine which can be from Canon or any other company.

As we talked further, we realised that what we consider brands are so because of the consumer/client loyalty. But with the fast changing pace of life, a ‘brand’ today has a shelf life of hardly few months or years; as compared to what they used to be.

For example, a Godrej steel cupboard was something that was used for many years, probably generations too. Our parents used it, still do, and nothing can shake their belief in feeling the security that the Godrej cupboard can give. Not even other well-designed, customised, modern cupboards from other companies.

But in these new times, nothing can last more than few years. We change our phones, houses, clothes, shoes, watches, accessories, appliances, furniture and more with a snap of a finger. We are attached but don’t really love ‘our brands’. No longer are we so ‘brand conscious’ that we commit ourselves to any particular brand. If what we want is not available with brand A, we can and do opt for brands B, C, D…

Of course, we know our brands well. But keep hopping from one onto the next in the race of being better, stronger and smarter. All that matters is having/owning a branded item, not the brand itself anymore.

If you look around, there is very little commitment given to a particular brand. The minute another product comes that is fancier, richer and gives us that edge over another person, we immediately tend to pick that product up. It’s a world that is more and more becoming materialistic without actually caring for it either. This is something that holds true in all sectors and not just consumer appliances. Look at Fashion, furniture, sports…and more- they all are facing the same comatose point where they can hook a customer, but need not necessarily manage keeping him to themselves.

So, is this the era of the fall of brands? Are we going to see the popularity of branded items vs. brands themselves? Sometimes, in the race of being the biggest, largest and most popular, we tend to forget on being the best. Which is why there is a big difference on being famous, and being a brand. And maybe somewhere down the line some companies have managed balancing them all. Which is why a Nokia is popular, but has managed to retain its identity. Ditto an Apple Mac. No matter how many other computers come into the market.

Which comes down to a basic question. What is a ‘brand’ in today’s context? Is it something that is popular? Or unique? Or has the largest sales turnover? Or one that keeps changing with times to bring out something new? Or is it one that manages to touch hearts and connect?

It’s quite interesting to note that if we actually apply the above questions to our own design firms, then we can also understand and re-establish what makes or does not make our firms a brand.

An afterword.
The discussion then went on to architecture in India, and we were looking at architects who are popular, well-known/famous, great personality etc but yet cannot be called as ‘Brands’ of Modern Indian Architecture. But what we did conclude was that they were all brand ambassadors. Just like all of us could be- for the cities we build and design in. And it is the power of architecture to affect and effect that makes it such a great tool to brand-build a city or a nation. But like good old Spiderman’s uncle quoted, “With great power comes great responsibility.” And maybe being a brand in today’s context is that: being responsible.

- Darpana.

Spreading good design.

A person’s passion, dedication and greatness can be often seen and need not be spoken for. In fact the respect that is seen for someone is more evident when that person need not shout to be heard, need not speak to be asked, and need not order to get things going.

I have the privilege of knowing few such people. And also having met some great masters who were similar – Geoffrey Bawa and Laurie Baker. And what a coincidence that today’s presentation was done by one such person, who also happened to show work done by Bawa.

In fact, I was invited for two presentations today. One by a person for whom I have tremendous respect, which keeps growing by the day. I’m talking of Shrikant Nivasarkar, who was wonderful enough to invite me to come see his presentation and that of Ambrish Arora’s (the second presenter). I consider myself lucky to be at an event which was closed doors and for select people only.

Over the past few years that I have known Shrikant, I have only learnt and kept learning. One can sit and listen to him for hours, because he makes so much sense, and has such tremendous knowledge on most subjects. Whether it has been at project meetings, Pune Design Foundation events, IIID programs or general interactions, we’ve (and I speak for Mukund too) got great insight into architecture and design through him.

At heart, he’s a furniture designer. And a very good one at that. But he’s more renowned as the first Indian to be the President of the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI) and Executive Board Member of International Design Alliance (IDA); also the Immediate Past President of the IIID, India.

In many ways, he’s an idealist. But someone also who is ready to be in a system, understand it well and then try to change it if need be in his own soft spoken way. For a long time, he has been propogating that all design disciplines must come together on one platform, and not be so disconnected as they are here in India. And I believe in some parts of the world too. In fact, he has been the strongest propogator of good design, and one that is complete in all ways. One that comes from the core of the person, and as a responsible response to people’s need. And I very strongly believe that Shrikant is one such person who has actually understood design in its true form. And who is also ready to share it with whoever is ready to listen.

He talked today of reworking and thinking long term for the education system in India. But what he presented also applies to designers and design firms. He spoke of humanising spaces, and in this ‘space’ means the context or environment, rather than the physical space itself.

His respect for the field was evident, when he kept emphasising on how the profession we are in is a never ending journey of service to people. He quotes, ” Our profession is a service. We should never forget that. And that’s when our focus changes…we can never be careful enough in understanding the needs of people. And it is through design that one expresses this service- to people and to society. Development of society depends on our value-based approach to work.”

As he rightly pointed, “New materials and technology will always impact our profession. And this will further complicate the different kinds of design disciplines around. What we do is a responsible service to society, and we (architects/interior designers/product designers) are but one part of the entire canvas; there are other fields also working at the same time. And we should never forget that.”

I’ll briefly touch upon what he spoke today.
1. Understanding of total space: Understanding of inter dependency and inter connectivity of different disciplines in spaceto emotion
2. Relationships of Space to Life: Understanding the relationships of physical & emotional space of various kinds of people in various situations.
3. Hands on Experience: Developing knowledge of materials, technology and skills.
4. Lack of observation skills: Need to align exercises with active participation. Developing the ability to observe, in order to develop the ability to analyse.
5. Have a ‘Research Attitude’ : need to encourage working on multiple options to design solutions.
6. Values : Appropriateness of exercises and assignments.
7. Communication skills: Methods of making detailed drawings. Also understanding differences of scales of various design disciplines.
8. Management: Need to understand value of man hours spent on project and the management.
9. Methods: Process driven working methodology. Rational and Intuitive.
10. Action needed: Understanding of context, resources, technology and responsible design.
11. Context of education: Need to envision big and long term.
12. Content & Methodology: Larger understanding of a creative profession. And project evaluation. Catering to pyschological and emotional needs.

Again going back to what I had mentioned earlier – the spreading of good design. It is so important to be able to share your knowledge and understanding of certain ideas, values, systems and even fields in order to spread the word in the correct method. And in order to promote the growth of good design, values, people and society.
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And since I did mention I was fortunate to see two good presentations, let me also talk about Ambrish Arora; whose work I have followed through the years.

He presented about 12 projects of his… each very different from the other, except for the underlying commitment to think beyond the brief and to be totally dedicated to the project and its context. And if this meant persistently bulldozing clients to see reason, or spending one’s own money to make prototypes and experiment; then hey, that is part and parcel of the work. And it was a brilliant showcase of work.

I liked a line in his presentation. It read, “… designing a space offers the opportunities to build in layers.” And for many of us doing everything in a space and not being able to tell someone what it is that we ‘exactly do’; because they might think we do not ‘have focus’, this is a great line to use. Like I always tell people who ask me, “We provide solutions through design- and these solutions differ according to context and space.” We live in a world that is going back to where design started of, being holistic; when each architect was also a designer, an engineer and an artist. Where the potential to design is tremendous and varied. So why be stuck with a label?!

Anyway, back to Ambrish. Like Shrikant, Ambrish’s passion for his work and field shines on his face. And the fact that in each of his project he’s tried to come out with wonderful, innovative solutions through use of limited and local materials and technology is what sets his work apart. It’s a classic case of conserving the old by using it, and also changing or developing it to suit modern contexts, bringing out a new defined vocabulary. It’s not about being modern for the sake of it. But being able to understand the context, the material, the technique, the need of that particular project, client’s brief and being able to balance them all with our own design sensibility and knowledge.

What was most important, in both presentations, was the understanding and acceptance of who they really are. And also to be able to be afraid, make mistakes and rise above them. It is this honesty that showed through their work and made these two presentations so worth watching.

PS:
When Ambrish’s presentation ended, most people were spellbound and astounded. And began asking questions and commenting. That’s when I was surprised. Because the kind of questions or comments that came forth were from architects and designers alright, but who also, it seemed, had not stepped out on a site for years. For most of them, what was shown was something they had either never seen or never considered as a design option.

And then came the sad realisation that we expect our young generation to know and use new technologies, practices and methodologies, and also to grow to become responsible designers… but we fail in the very basics of teaching them because we are not learning/ empowering ourselves first. We cannot teach them wrongly and then condemn them when they go wrong, because the fault lies with us to begin with.

Termites In The Woodwork

The government has accused top officers at the COA, India’s apex architectural body, of criminal misconduct. BRIJESH PANDEY tracks the issues as the CBI investigates.

IN A move that could change the face of the study and practice of architecture in India, the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) has recommended a CBI probe against the president, registrar and four members of the executive committee of the Council of Architecture (COA). The COA is a regulatory body constituted by the Architects Act of 1972, which accredits and licenses educational institutions to teach architecture in India. Moreover, every architect working in India has to be registered with the COA.

In a letter to the CBI dated August 27, 2009 (DO No. C-1301168/2009-Vig) — from the Joint Secretary and Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of the MHRD, Sunil Kumar — requested the investigation of six top officials of the COA, namely, the President, Vijay Sohoni, the Registrar, Vinod Kumar and four members of the Executive Committee: KB Mohapatra, Uday C Godkari, IJS Bakhsi and Prakash Deshmukh. In the letter (a copy of which is with TEHELKA) the Joint Secretary alleges that:

• People at the helm of affairs of the COA are misusing the authority of the Council to levy fees that are not authorised by the Architects Act.

• Institutions that refuse to pay the unauthorised fees are being threatened with de-recognition.

• Council memberships and COA executive committee memberships are being manipulated and members are being allowed to continue beyond their terms.

• Prestigious institutions such as the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), NIT Patna, the Lucknow College of Architecture and the Chandigarh College of Architecture are singled out for punishment, while private Institutes such as Chitkara Institute in Punjab and the Piloo Mody College of Architecture in Orissa are given preferential treatment by these individuals despite having inferior facilities and fewer, less qualified faculty.

The letter states bluntly that the preferential treatment of private institutes suggests that bribes have been paid to those named above. Letters written by Anjali Bhawar, vice-chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (GNDU) and Kamal Singh Chahal, head of GNDU’s Department of Architecture to the MHRD seem to corroborate this. Bhawar writes that while an expert committee of the COA had allowed GNDU to admit 40 students to the architecture course, the Executive Committee of the same Council refused to accept the recommendation of its own expert committee. Chahal’s letter reveals that while GNDU had declared 14 faculty members in the prescribed form submitted to the COA, that figure was mysteriously reduced to 10 in the COA’s report. The Joint Secretary states that this was done “perhaps to show private institutes that if the COA wasn’t sparing government institutions, private institutions had better fall in line and cough up money” to avoid de-recognition.

THE HEADS of the department of two premier architectural institutes stated on condition of anonymity that the Council uses frequent inspections and the threat of de-recognition to extort and intimidate. On top of that, institutes have been charged exorbitant fees by the COA for inspections and for periodic extensions of recognition. The prestigious Jamia Millia Islamia, for example, was charged a whopping Rs 40,000 for a three-day inspection in 2008. While the law provides for an inspection once in five years (without permitting the COA to charge for them), several premier institutes faced yearly COA inspections, while, for arbitrary reasons, other institutes escaped. After several complaints to the MHRD, Deputy Secretary Harvinder Singh admitted on March 16, 2009 that the COA could not take money for inspections or for the extension of recognition and asked the COA to adhere to the five-year interval between inspections. Significantly, former COA Vice-President Vijay Uppal wrote in October 2005 to the MHRD, objecting against Sohoni’s role in appointing inspectors and approving their reports, but to no avail.

And where did all this money go? Shockingly, according to Prof SM Akhtar, the HoD of Architecture, Jamia Millia Islamia, “There has never been an audit of the funds of the COA.” The Architects Act clearly states that the COA has to go through an annual audit.

Another instance which has had universities and the COA at loggerheads is the National Aptitude Test for Architecture (NATA). The COA declared that from 2007, the NATA would not only be mandatory for all institutes, but exclusive as well. In other words, institutes would be forced to discontinue any other entrance examinations or procedures they had in place and accept candidates who passed the NATA. Significantly, the NATA is a computer-based test, a fact which would have made the manipulation of results extremely easy to commit and difficult to detect. Premier institutes such as the SPA, the JJ College of Arts, Mumbai, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Roorkee, Jamia Millia Islamia and Jadavpur University were up in arms at this, claiming that forcing them to use the NATA alone would dilute their high entrance standards. Unfazed, the COA asked the MHRD to de-recognise the SPA and 19 other premier institutes. When TEHELKA spoke to Vijay Sohoni about this, he said, “I had to act only because these so-called premier institutes have an abysmal studentteacher ratio. We look at facts and figures rather than the prestige of the institution.” After a fierce legal battle, the de-recognition of the institutes was lifted and the NATA no longer made an exclusive entrance test.

COA FUNCTIONS

REGULATE THE EDUCATION IN AND PRACTICE OF ARCHITECTURE
MAINTAIN A LIST OF ACCREDITED ARCHITECTS
ENSURE MINIMUM EDUCATIONAL STANDARD OF ARCHITECTURE
RECOMMEND OFFICIAL RECOGNITION AND DE-RECOGNITION OF ARCHITECTURAL INSTITUTES

COA DYSFUNCTION

PRESTIGIOUS INSTITUTES THREATENED WITH DE-RECOGNITION
UNAUTHORISED DEMANDS WORTH CRORES FROM EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTES
COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP/TENURE MANIPULATED
ALLEGATIONS OF CRIMINAL MISCONDUCT MADE AGAINST PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

UNAUTHORISED FEES WOULD BE CHARGED BY THE COA FOR INSPECTIONS AND RECOGNITION

For a stickler for rules and someone so seemingly particular about de-recognition, Sohoni is curiously lax when it comes to himself. One of the most damning allegations in Kumar’s letter to the CBI is that while the Vidya Vardhan Institute of Design Environment and Architecture, Goa, of which Sohoni is the president, is shown on the COA’s website as an institute affiliated to the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), the Vice-Chancellor of IGNOU has categorically denied any such affiliation. Kumar states bluntly that this amounts to cheating the public. The letter states that since “Sohoni is fleecing the students by collecting fees though the college is not recognised as per the Architects Act, the position of the President of the COA is thus being misused by him with criminal intent.”

However, when confronted with these allegations by TEHELKA, Sohoni denied them all. He rubbished charges of financial irregularity and stated, “I haven’t even received any complaint. The mandate of the COA is to ensure that there should be no compromise on the quality of architectural education, regardless of the name and fame of the institute. We take action only when there is a fall in the mandated student-faculty ratio. If the ministry has received any complaint, they should come to us, but sadly, this was not done.”

Ever since the CBI began its investigation into the case in the first week of September, there is a huge sense of relief among architects and at various schools of architecture. They believe that this investigation will ensure that instead of being focused on placating a rampant COA, they can now concentrate on architecture in India.

Original article here.

* Article first read in Arzan’s blog: http://urbanarchitecture.in/

Pune’s first Pecha Kucha Night

Sarvasva Designs welcomes all to attend the first Pecha Kucha Night in Pune. We have a wonderful mix of designers, artists, architects, journalists, environmentalists and more… making this night one full of great insights, inspirations and interactions!

To know more, see the link or write to pknpune@gmail.com; and also see http://www.pecha-kucha.org/night/pune/1/

`Pecha Kucha’ or PKN as it is better known as, is a presentation format in which creative work can be easily and informally shown by any individual. The name is derived from a Japanese term for the sound of conversation or ‘chit-chat’. The idea here is to say or show something interesting or our experience in a creative way. PKN is currently held in over 250 cities across the world.

The first Pune PKN brings together architects, artists, designers,entrepreneurs, journalists and more, on a single platform.
DATE : 23rd October 2009, TIME : 08:20 pm to 10.30 pm
VENUE : `India House’,
Christopher Charles Benninger Architects Pvt. Ltd. (CCBA)
53, Sopanbaug Society, Opp.Bharatiya Vidyapeeth School,
Balewadi, Pune 411 045

KINDLY RSVP on pknpune@gmail.com

‘Devised and shared by Klein Dytham Architecture’
‘Organised by Sarvasva Designs, Pune’

Pune Pecha Kucha Night- vol 1

The Indian Express paper carried a review of the Pune Pecha Kucha Night -vol 1. The first article in the papers today…. the captions are a bit mixed up, and the paper is carrying an apology for the same. Nevertheless, the article carries the essence of the event very well.

Indian Express, October 26,2009

The Pune Mirror too carried a note… here’s the link:

Pecha Kucha Night, Pune. Vol- 1. A review.

Pecha Kucha Night Pune – Vol 1.

Couple of hours to go before the first Pecha Kucha Night in Pune, and all of us at Sarvasva Designs were going crazy over looping all presentations and checking, rechecking the same. Mukund, my co-Director at Sarvasva was at the venue with Manasi and setting up the screen, checking the sound system and getting the venue ready.

I for one, had not been nervous till the D-day had dawned. We had everything in control, or so I thought, completely focusing only on the presentations, while my team ran around working on the rest of the event details. Of course, later on, my excitement and nervousness combined became a potential time bomb ready to explode.

We had a surprise guest that day, an experienced Pecha Kucha Nighter… all the way from UK – and who had his presentation ready to showcase again. So we thought, why not?! Let’s begin with his presentation as a prelude to the actual Pune PKN. Which is why, Supriya from our office, was on her way to pick up the presentation. All of this, just few hours before 20:20pm, the scheduled time.

When we reached the venue, we were actually pleasantly surprised that people were on time. In India, we joke about the IST (Indian Standard Time), which can differ from a mere 5 minutes to couple of hours from the actual scheduled time. In this case, things were on time. So began our first PKN in Pune.

Our basic round of introduction was short and sweet because Mark and Astrid and the Tokyo team had created a wonderful video on PKN that made my job easier. And what was lovely was the personalized touch. It had “Hello Pune!” all over it, making us very welcomed, and very much part of the large family PKN is.

The prelude of course began with our surprise guest of the evening- Sunand Prasad. A well-known architect and founder of Penoyre & Prasad, UK; Sunand is also the ex-President of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and we were glad to have him present because it set precedence for the next 11 presenters, of how to actually speak in 6m.40seconds. His presentation was that of an ingenious concept he had thought of – the recreating and setting up of the now non-existent, but still famous Crystal Palace.

We then officially declared the first volume of Pecha Kucha Night –Pune as begun.

Taking the cue from Sunand, next spoke Shrikant Nivasarkar- one of the most influential architect and designer from India, and also the first Indian to become the President of the IFI (International Federation of Interior Architect / Designers). He talked about the process of creating an ergonomic and eco-friendly chair through his topic, ‘The Story of a Chair’. His in-depth knowledge and also passion for furniture design came across through his brilliant work.

Our third presenter for the evening, and arguably one of the most atypical kinds of personalities we had that evening was Pankaj Sapkal. An industrial designer by profession, Pankaj has great know-how of many things under the sun…one of which he shared with us. His topic being ‘Diet & Creativity’, which had the audience hooked on, amused as well as curious.

Falguni Gokhale, our next presenter, is a well-known graphic designer. But she is an equally good or better painter. And her presentation took us through her journey as a painter, amidst various colours, textures, styles of painting…one better than the other. She didn’t speak, she didn’t have to- her paintings spoke more than enough.

Completely different in nature of topic was that of our next presenter. Suhas Deo, an architect, left the audience spell bound through his presentation on ‘Orchids’. One would never have thought that there could be such a large variety, and growing right here in India. And Suhas’ love for the plant shone through, allowing us all to be absorbed in that magic.

Our first poetry session began with Nidheesh Tyagi, editor of a well-known local newspaper. His timing was accurate- just three seconds before the allotted time limit, Nidheesh finished the last of his poems- which he had dedicated to his daughter.

Another senior journalist, and senior editor of a renowned newspaper, Sunanda Mehta took us along with her on her journey to ‘Greenland’. It was wonderful seeing the beautiful icescapes, the small little witty notes that Sunanda had posted about her trip, and the overall beauty of a country very different from our own.

BEEEEEEEEEEEER BREAK! Which was opposed by many- but we told them that we had to break- we must follow rules! So we had a short ten minute break to allow people to relieve their legs and whatever else, meet up and interact and also check out the venue and drinks (which incidentally was not beer).

But as quickly as they had dispersed, the audience was back on their seats to take some more of Pecha Kucha. Which started off with an interesting presentation on ‘Chinese Gardens’ by Varsha Gavandi, a landscape designer. Details of materials, planning, water bodies and more were introduced during this talk.

The next presentation was a splash of colour, text styles and great Indian music. Sanjeev Joshi, architect and artist, showed his calligraphy and water colour paintings, on the soundtrack of Vande Mataram by A.R.Rahman. It had the crowd going oohing and aahing and asking Sanjeev to take workshops.

Priya Sarukkai Chabria is a poet and novelist, and also was our ninth presenter of the Pune PKN (not including Sunand). She recited few of her poems before putting on a soundtrack of a beautiful poem called ‘Spirit of Water’, which had music playing in the background of the poetry recitation. There was a complete hush in the venue as this track was played, creating a very ethereal and uplifting feeling to the evening.

Our host of the evening was Christopher Charles Benninger, a renowned and extremely respected architect in India. It was his office courtyard that was turned to become the venue of our PKN. We had actually gone to invite him to be one of the presenters, and a talk on venues, or lack of them, with Ram, the Managing Director at CCBA- Christopher’s firm, got us this beautiful space as the very befitting venue for the first PKN in Pune.

Christopher was the next presenter, after Priya. And he showed a very crisp film on building a ‘green’ and sustainable architecture, city and life.

Our last presenter or rather presenters, as there were two of them, were young Kathak exponents- Kaveri Agashe and Sheetal Kolwalkar. Kaveri spoke about the nuances of the dance and then they both gave a brilliant performance, marking the end of the night with a big bang.

When I thanked the audience for coming and bid them goodnight, I could sense the imperceptible disappointment of the crowd because the night was over. But overriding that was the buzz of anticipation for the next PKN, as well as the joy of experiencing the first here in Pune as well as the variety of topics.

And finally, that was all we wanted… for everybody to enjoy this first PKN and support us for all the next ones to come- which was evident through the comments left by the guests… Yeh Dil Maange More! (This heart wants more… )

PKN Pune-vol2 : A great experience!

With the first volume of Pune’s PKN seeing about 100 people, it came as no surprise to see almost double that number for the second PKN here in Pune, held on 22nd Jan 2010.

A cozy venue of the Sawai Gandharva Auditorium ensured that people could interact, be comfortably seated as well as hear and see the presentations well.

What is interesting about the venue is that its foundation has been laid by Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, one of the doyens of classical music in India, and a guru for most music lovers. And a simple rule of keeping footwear outside the auditorium, to ensure the sanctity of the space and performance, makes this place even more endearing and informal.

Which set the pace for the second PKN in Pune.

People came in early, almost an hour early to get good seats. And as the clock struck 20:20, the 200 seater auditorium was nearly full.

The mix of presenters was very good, the topics were varied and actually showed a completely different aspect of that speaker, not usually seen in their professional lives.

Topics ranged from caricatures, sculpture, music, art, photography & poetry to community services, other aspects of medicine and even childhood memories. The presentations were a mixture of humour, seriousness, indepth thoughts and connected well with the audience. Which made the evening extremely entertaining, inspiring and informative- something that all PKNs aspire for.

The most rewarding aspect being that many of the audience categorically said they will not miss any PKN anymore, and also quite a few mentioned and wrote to us saying that they were inspired to get more creative and go back to that childhood hobby or talent that was now hiding.

Hurrah! Here’s to many more PKNs in Pune, which should keep getting bigger and better…
A big big thanks to Mukund and Team Sarvasva who have helped organised it all.
And to all those who helped us, encouraged us and presented for us.

Warmest,
Darpana Athale.
PKN-Pune.
——————–
pknpune@gmail.com
www.pecha-kucha.org

Organised by Sarvasva Designs Pvt Ltd, Pune.
Shared and devised by Klein Dytham architecture, Tokyo.

The speaker list and topics for PKN Pune-vol 2 were as follows:
1. Ravi Gadre – ‘Caricatures’
2. Max Babi- ‘Music- Food for soul’
3. Ruchi Singhal – ‘ Sculpture & Anatomy’
4. Darpana Athale – ‘Moments. Memories. Meanings’ A Photo-poetry essay on the people of Pune.
5. Maitreyi Doshi – Trash Can community project, Baltimore, USA
6. Milind Mullick – ‘Watercolour paintings’
7. Dinesh Katre – ‘Memories of my childhood in Satara’
8. Dr.Parag Mankeekar – ‘Caterpillar…exodus beyond medicine’

The next PKN is on March 5th, 2010 – as part of the ‘Design Fest ’10′ – the annual design fest in Pune, organised by a group of design firms. Sarvasva Designs is the co-organiser of this Festival.

Lunkad Skystation

Sarvasva Designs recently worked on a project of ‘bringing life’ to a newly built corporate building- Lunkad Skystation. Although the building’s design is very functional and suited to house the many offices in it, it also came across as very sombre structure.

We were called in for the signage, as well as graphic and communication design. We used colour to create that contrast within the overall space with the help of graphics, centrally placed, yet covering the service ducts. And also large quotes on team building, etc made in Stainless steel.

Graphic on the duct door

Large quotes in Stainless Steel broke the monotonous expanse of the lift wall, which spans 7 floors.

This subtle change created a tremendous impact on the overall space.
All the pictures shown here are during the installation.

Another graphic in corridor.

Quote in SS at fourth floor level.

This quote is on the 6th floor level. Harnesses and scaffolding were used to fix the quotes.

Working on the graphic in the basement

A 3D cut-out welcomes one from the parking into the office space.

Beam up Scottie!

Just got back from seeing the works of legend Richard Meier, showcased at the JJ College of Architecture, Mumbai. The exhibition and lecture was organised and got to India by Indian Architect & Builder (IA&B), the leading architecture and design magazine in India. With Essar Steel being the patrons.

Exhibition Hall at JJ.

Exhibition poster

Wall of Projects timeline.

The work exhibited, though less in quantum, was well displayed and what I loved especially were the neatly finished models in the precisely made acrylic boxes. Talk of great finish!

Jublilee Church Model

Even the inner seats of the Church were made in the model

Neugebauer House details

Getty Center Model

Getty Centre model1

Also the sketches… I love seeing sketches made by master architects- there’s a certain quality that awes even through a scribble.

Getty Center Sketch

Sketch of Jubilee Church

On a personal note, I prefer Richard Meier’s older work as compared to the newer ones. There’s a definite sense of composition, play of light and inter-relation of mass and void. Like my friend Ruta and I were discussing, whilst in college we liked the work, but never really looked at it as having that wow factor. But now, as professionals, when we see the work, we can sense the way the mind thought then; in a deliberate and focused yet seemingly casual attempt at creating architecture.

Where the design is clear and also minimal, but great thought has gone behind even the slight angle of a certain mass, or the placing of the different elements, which then sets the structure apart from its contemporaries. Every dot, line and shape has been carefully worked out in context with each other. Nothing is without thought, or clarity of thought… Seeing the work took me back to college days and basic design, wherein we were taught the fundamentals of composition.

I especially liked the Jubilee Church. And the way light filters in from all over, especially behind the main altar. Would love to experience that space!

Jubilee Church

Altar inside Jubilee Church

The other interesting projects were the Arp Musuem and the houses- Neugebauer and Malibu. And of course, the Getty Centre.

Arp Museum wrt the Station building in front.

Neugebauer House

Neugebauer House

Malibu Beach House

Malibu House

Getty Center

Getty Center

The lecture:
Since Richard Meier was not able to come thanks to a surgery, his partner from New York, Scott Johnson took over the presentation. He was introduced on stage by Shekhar Ghanti, an architect who has been working with Meier for the past 11 years.

Ghanti recounted few anecdotes that gave a good insight to Meier as a man, architect and boss. And it would have been great if the presentation was also given by Ghanti… Scott Johnson was either too nervous or was in a hurry to get some place, because he rambled through the entire presentation of works, with a continuous clicking of the ‘forward’ button which didn’t give us much chance to even see the slides properly. He unfortunately tried to show a entire life’s work in an hour… which obviously failed to get through to the audience.

With Meier not being in town, and hordes of people coming from all over to actually hear him, it would have made sense for Johnson to show limited works and explain them in depth. So that we understood the process of the thinking, the persona of the man and the details of the project, which would have softened Meier’s absence to a great deal. What Johnson spoke was something we could pick from magazines or online. What was very crucial was the fact we didn’t get a chance to know Richard Meier, expect for the few stories told by Ghanti.

And I really felt like saying, ‘Beam up Scottie or beam me up!’ But beam he should, because the work that has gone into the display as well as the general feedback, inspite of a rather lacklustre talk, has been great! Most people, including me, went back home feeling very slightly disappointed, but more happy to have experienced this event nevertheless.

So Richard Meier, hope you recuperate very soon. And come to India when possible so that we can have that chance and honour of seeing a legend live in action. À votre santé!

Have an Earth Day!

National Geographic showed a very interesting program – Earth Hour, in lieu of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day today- April 22nd.

Some interesting facts:
- Mumbai uses 10million plastic bags everyday- which means 2500 tons of CO2.
- Even 2% reduction of fuel consumption means reducing Rs7400crore for India.
- India’s first Plastic waste road has been built in Bengaluru.

And there were some tips for us all to make our presence felt and this world better. Most of the points were from the program, some I have added.

Save Electricity

* Keep the oven clean as it reflects better heat and uses less energy.
* Turn off the electric burners or stove gas five minutes before the food is ready to take advantage of the residual heat.
* Keep the detergent and salt containers full while using the dishwasher, as this cuts down on electricity when washing and drying.
* While using the washing machine, fully load the dryer to save electricity.
* Keep the inside of the microwave clean, because pieces of food can cause increased electricity consumption.
* In the refrigerator keep food well-covered as this will prevent moisture from escaping, thereby preventing excessive power demands on the compressor.
* Remove the toaster’s plug from the outlet, to prevent the toaster from using energy when switched off.
* Turn the ironing machine / press off the iron before finishing the ironing of clothes, as it is safer and saves energy.
* Turn the television off when not using it.
* Use fluorescent light tubes & bulbs if you need to leave the light on for a long period of time. They last long than conventional light bulbs, and they use only one-quarter of the energy.
* Video-conference instead of travelling and flying.
* Use Solar and Wind powered products as much as possible.
* Switch off lights, fans of rooms; when not in use.

How to Save 50,000 lts of water?
* Take shorter showers or use a bucket
* Do not let the faucets drip/leak. Change the faucets immediately, in case this happens. This will save millions of litres of water everyday.
* Place a brick in the water tank of your toilet. It will save millions of litres of water every day.
* Use a watering can to water your plants in the garden. Do not use a hose. This will save a lot of water.
*Don’t use a hose to wash your car, use a bucket of water.
*Don’t dump trash in wetlands.

Save Paper
* Recycle or reuse paper and newspaper by using them to wrap gifts and show friends and family your love for the environment!
* Do not take print outs or photocopies, unless necessary.
* Remove yourself from the mailing lists of companies who send you junk mail by post and save tonnes of paper
* Next time ask your bank to send you e-statements. Also, start making payments online.
*Ask your office to stock brands of recycled paper that are certified and made from 100 percent post-consumer-recycled content.
* Reuse/ Recyle:
– Switch to jute bags or reuse plastic bags when going shopping, as
manufacturing a plastic bag releases around 63 kg of carbon.
– Use both sides of the paper for printing
– Reuse old envelopes for posting your letters.
– Use old newspapers to wrap gifts and other things
– Use recycled products and stationery.

Reduce Carbon Footprints.

* Efficiently segregate and manage wet and dry waste.
* Turn waste of your house into compost for trees.
* Use cloth or jute bags instead of plastic bags when shopping.
* Carpool, use public transports as much as possible.
* Switch off at traffic signals, drive at 50 km/hr.
* Offset the emissions by planting trees.
* Ride a bike to work and to shop. Encourage your kids to bike to school.
* Don’t overfertilize your lawn. Leave clippings on grass instead.

What we do counts. Let us Save Earth to save ourselves.

ps: Check out these cool videos on Nat Geo:
Save Paper. Save Trees.

Every drop counts. Save Water.

Unplug

Staple Diet

Car Pool

Sahara Pune Warriors _ Logo Design & Name.

The Pune IPLT20 team finally was launched, amidst much fanfare, with approximately 25,000 people attending the launch (or so it was quoted in the Times).

I was very eager to see the logo design, as being a designer one tends to think of such things first. So, when the launch was announced in the papers, the first thing I tried to find was the logo. And I will say ‘find’ because all I saw was a silhouette of Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj riding a horse and with a spear. With the words ‘Sahara Pune Warriors’ written next to it. And to my disappointment, I found out that it this shadow that is the logo.

Quite frankly, I did not like the name ‘Sahara Pune Warriors’ itself. A pathetic plug by the Sahara Group. Even Vijay Mallya has refrained from using the Kingfisher or UB Group title for the team name. But, he has very smartly used the name, logo and colours of one of his very popular whiskeys, the Royal Challenge and made it into the team ‘The Royal Challengers Bangalore’. And he really knows how to market everything he has in style.

Perhaps, Subroto Roy could have left it at ‘Pune Warriors’ or even tried ‘Pune Peshwas’, to reach out to the local Punekars. And plugged his group a bit subtly.

Coming back to the logo. What a disappointment. One fails to understand if a graphic design team was even approached at all, or someone from the Sahara group has come up with some in-house experiment. If it’s the latter, then Subroto Roy missed the chance of leading through Design and especially because the city boasts of being at the top end of the design segment in the country.

There are many reasons as to why the logo fails for me:

1. Basic identity :
A logo should be able to represent a company’s thoughts or values to an extent. It should visually communicate. Especially for a sports team, the logo should exude power and strength. It should have an undeniable presence of character (which is coming right now only from the popular figure on the horse), and should be memorable. The Pune Warriors logo has none of the before mentioned attributes. There’s no freshness, an element of the new, and/or excitement in this logo. Neither does it seem able to build a positive, strong and long lasting impression. As a concept on paper, this logo may work. But when it comes to execution and final artwork, it does not. At all.

All I see is the copy-paste of the Sahara logo in text (with the orange, green and white of the national flag there like some misprint), adding of text ‘Pune Warriors’ to that and a dash of a ‘concept of national and regional has been added by putting a silhouette of Shivaji Maharaj against the tri-colours of the national flag. Seems more like a political way of reaching out to masses for a vote bank.

2. Scale:
I wonder if it can be seen clearly when scaled down. I think it will look like a blob.

3. Colours: Apparently the logo has been designed using the tri-colours of the Country’s flag. But can those be the corporate colours of a regional team? Frankly on a small scale, I could not make out the colours on the logo at all- it all looked yellow (text) with a dirty washed out background. The shadows and color gradients are a big no-no. Makes the logo look faded, and without any consistency. And, I wish there was some originality in terms of concept of building an identity than (mis)using the national colours.
And then again, will this logo work in Black & White? Hmm, it may- but perhaps only in B/W.

4. Font:
No exploration here. The same font as the Sahara logo has been used. Making this more a Sahara team than a Pune team. Then again, this may be deliberate.

5. Relation:
The logo was ‘decided keeping the Marathi people in mind and because Pune is the land of Maratha warriors’. I don’t think this logo relates either to Pune or the Peshwas or Cricket or even the Sahara Group. It’s an artificial attempt to reach out to the common man with a very bad copy-paste of different elements.

6. And a personal reason is the misuse of Shivaji Maharaj:
One can easily make out the warrior in the logo has a turban like the great hero. Although most newspapers and sites are calling the figure as that of ‘a warrior’ or ‘a spear wielding cavalry’. And Yahoo News actually saying ‘a stallion has been chosen as the logo for the team’. Hah!
Frankly, I am tired of having Shivaji Maharaj’s name and image being used for anything and everything like it’s some cheap commodity. This does not make him popular with the crowd, but in fact is disrespectful of one of the greatest hero and king this country has ever had.

Hopefully better sense will prevail and the logo will change. Unfortunately the name won’t.

- Darpana.

A Coloured View.

Was invited to be part of the Asian Paints ColourNext Style Lead Panel few days ago, which was primarily a workshop to understand the trends in colour. There were about 16 of us who were invited, from different backgrounds of design, architecture, fashion, photography and journalism, and 11 of us finally attended.

It was a rather interesting mix of people… Dilip Chhabria (THE DC of autos), Vikram Bawa (Fashion Photographer), Abhimanyu Kulkarni (Philip Design), Shimul Kadri, Sonal Sancheti and Ajay Sethi (all architects), Mugdha Sethi (graphic designer), Nrupen Madhvani (fashion and architecture photographer), Dev (of Dev R Nil – the fashion designer duo), Mamta (Asst. Editor of Design Today) and of course, yours truly.

The entire event was organised by CKS headed by my friend and co- Pecha Kucha Night organiser from Delhi, Aditya Dev Sood. For the past five months, his team has been researching, taking market surveys, interviewing people, taking workshops for this event, and this particular workshop was the last bit to tie everything together.

It was fun. To say the least. We were all asked to work on certain themes, colour palettes and ideas, to come out with what we thought will work in home decor, for the upcoming year. It was interesting because with the rather different mix of people, the process was not just about space and home decor, but about people, consumerism and emotions, which is what the focus should always be on.

What everyone was interested in knowing is whether architects and designers do really follow these Colour Trends? And I think this is something that Asian Paints has been trying to work at for the past six years, are not yet totally successful, but perhaps may get there one day due to consistency. Still, I rather doubt they’ll ever get designers to admitting that they follow trends, considering design is all about setting trends.

The process is still on. So it’s too early to talk about what colours did well and did not. That will be showcased in December, when Asian Paints will launch their new trend setting Colour Palette.

We were asked to do a little ‘homework assignment’. Basically talk of the five design driving factors that will be be prominent in 2011. So am writing about what I thought might be the big trend setters…

1. SIMPLIFICATION = Raw look – clean lines, simple design, lack of embellishes – not really talking of minimalism here. But it’s about getting saturated with too much and trying to simplify life and hence our home/office.

2. INTERACTIVE = Textures + touch and feel +3D. With the rise in internet and hence social isolation, there is a need to get back in touch, one of the reasons why Facebook is such a hit. This also gets transformed to a more experiential and interactive decor.
Also 3D is on the rise with films being great successes, and one can see typology,graphics and animation coming very strongly as part of the design language.
In a way, going back to pt.1 of Simplification- when a look is simplified, to create accents, depth and layering, the use of textures through materials will be a strong focus.

3. EXPERIMENTS OF MATERIALS= different combinations, finishes, pushing boundaries.
Not just one medium, but different mixes of materials, finishes and styles, seem to be on the rise. Especially different combinations of materials, pushing boundaries of regular materials, recycling materials and experimenting with them to come out with something unique and innovative, creating textures, patterns, hence bringing about different styles and looks.

4.’CONTEMPNIC’= contemporary + Indian ethnic + merging the old and new.
India will never go out of Fashion, and anything Indian created in a new style gives a great Retro feel. In fact, one can see the rise of many Indian designs and handicrafts/arts being worked upon to match the new context of living, making them contemporary, hip and trendy.

5. CUSTOMISATION= valuing crafted pieces, one-off/unique, designer.
India is now opening its hearts out valuing design and the designer. And I’m not talking about Fashion Design here, because that has managed to capture its audience perfectly. But with more awareness of how things work, there is also respect and awe as well the realisation of what goes in truly creating a masterpiece by hand.
Apart from that there is a shifting trend towards DIY. So IKEA is here to stay and how.
And yet people want to be different so ideas are being generated from the quirky to the innovative, all one-off pieces solely customised for the client.

And of course… the green and sustainable is here already, as is the ‘bling’ effect, but these can also be modified, worked on, reshaped as per the above five parameters.

Would love to have some feedback on this one. Cheers!

The Power of Listening.

‘Listen. Listen. LISTEN.’
This one of the most important tool that I tell my students of architecture & design journalism to learn, and learn fast.

It’s not about the ‘hearing a little more’ aspect, but also about registering, understanding and hence being able to connect. As writers, this aspect of listening goes beyond the aural and into the other senses. It’s about observing through your eyes, touch, ears and to be able to assimilate all that mentally and emotionally with respect to feelings, actions, thoughts, interactions and context.

As designers, we need to be sensitive enough to listen. To the pulse of the people and market. To the basic need of the client/roject/. To the context of the space, time, money and ideation. To nuances, left out through actions. To silences, not heard due to the words. To words that are said and not necessarily meant, or vice versa. To a work culture, or a team effort. To our hearts and minds. As well as of others, so we can move beyond designing for the sake of doing so.

Listening is a very important tool a designer can have. And listening needs to have curiosity to know more and hence comprehend, respect for the person/events/fact and dedication for what you do.

Unfortunately what is more often seen now, and which is rapidly rising, is the hearing, more of one’s own voice and liking what one hears, obliterating the need to hear and hence listen to someone else. This being one of the reasons that most employers get frustrated, or clients feel they have not got what was expected.

Perhaps listening also amounts to sharing a responsibility, which possibly most people prefer not to have any more. Which reflects on the quality of work eventually.

Most important is the connect that listening allows for. it is that connect that sells brands, makes great team effort, brings forth an idea successfully, creates an impact and enhances expression, making an overall project work, and someone to be trusted. Eventually making for good design.

So, have you listened today?

Architecture and Design- the old and new!

Let’s start with the new beginnings…

India finally has it’s own body for the Design Industry. Called the ‘Association of Designers of India’ (ADI), the initiative of forming this body began a year ago, when the Pune Design Foundation and AIDI, Bangalore members decided to dissolve their respective local bodies and come together to create a pan-India body for Design. So history is being made and the Facebook group, within a matter of few days only, has a membership of 300+ designers, all raring to come together and work for Design and it’s promotion.

The ADI will be formally launched on February 10th, 2011 during the inauguration of the Pune Design Festival.

The Pune Design Festival or PDFest as it is more popularly known as, is in its 5th year and promises to be a wonderful collaboration between different design fields, with various events lined up.

Mukund and I from Sarvasva are proud and honoured too, to have been part of the founding body of both – the ADI and the PDFest. What glorious times we live in! And I’m sure, this is just the beginning of more to come.

Look up ADI on www.associationofdesignersofindia.com (the site is still coming up, will keep you all posted) and PDFest on www.punedesignfestival.org.

On another note, I have been doing a month’s course on Indian History/Archaeology and Architecture and have been learning so much of what makes this great country; including some of the renowned teachers who are taking time out to lecture and share their work and viewpoints. I especially wanted to do this course so that I could further supplement ‘Pune Walks’ (the heritage walks that our firm conducts) with the knowledge from experts.

And while I have been seeing the extreme passion and care being taken for projects in archaeology, I have failed to see the same happening in the heritage conservation/ restoration segment, especially here in Pune. And what is saddening more so is the huge gap between the ancient history (archaeology) and the modern times; which makes the middle segment of history/heritage all the more so important. And hence required to be respected, saved, documented, conserved, restored and maintained. Not retrofitted with the new only, or with the modernistic idea of what we think these buildings /structures should be. Because, if these structures are not going to be part of our present and future, we will in the long run have no link to our immediate past.

And the past is important for the future to exist.

- Darpana.

Hupari Silver Jewellery, a cherished experience.

Just got back from Hupari, a small village near Kolhapur, Maharashtra.

The National Institute of Design (NID), has been organising workshops for artisans and people from the handicraft sector to sensitise them towards Design; and this scheme actually helps the MSME sector get some funding from the Government. It’s a good initiative.

One such cluster of artisans are the silver jewellery makers from Hupari. Three of us from the design field- Rashmi Ranade, Surya Tikekar and I were invited to sensitise this village on Design, and how a design intervention can add value to their profession.

Well, the presentation obviously was in Marathi. So I took help of a designer friend Pankaj Sapkal to put my presentation together. And I must say, the impact was good.

A little bit of history first.
The art of making silver jewellery started in 1904 and since then, there are generations of skilled people working on this art. Today, there are about 10,000 ‘karigars’ or artisans who ‘design’ and make jewellery pieces; and they are supported by an ancillary group comprising women, youth and children in a 25km radius.
Over the years, these artisans have also made or rather invented their own tools and machinery. They have also remodelled several machines used for gold jewellery, to suit what they do.
Silver is more than just their bread and butter. These villagers may throw out or dispose or exchange gold, but never silver.
Hupari is famous for it’s ‘ghungroos’ (the tiny tinkling beads in an anklet) and is the only supplier of the same in the entire country! How about that?!
They are also famous for the ‘antique jewellery’ pieces, crafted here and sold the world over.

The extra push.
We found that these enterprising people did not really need design/ designers in that high percentage as we had thought earlier. All they needed was an extra push to come together, create a brand for themselves because the manufacture of silver jewellery actually originates here. (And other parts of India like Jaipur, Agra and Chennai get the credit and recognition.)
They also needed to know that anything is possible, and sometimes for a great cause, risks need to be taken; and it is important to get out of the comfort zone and think bigger, better and for the future. More importantly they needed to get out of the ‘individual mode’ and work towards making Hupari a landmark destination, in order to get recognition from people and government, as well as attract investors, clients and the much needed ‘appropriate money for their value’.

It’s a beginning. The NID Design Clinic plans to do a 15 day survey on the village’s needs and then have a five day workshop on design.

This was an eye-opener for me. Not only in terms of how well these people have managed to be where they are, but also because before this exercise, I did not know Hupari existed, leave aside it being the centre for silver jewellery in India. And this inspite of being a designer and an ardent silver fan.

Such exercises instills an immense sense of pride and humility at the same time. And also opens out the mind and heart to what design truly is and can be.

We are part of the WordPress Post-A-Week Challenge

We love blogging. It helps us to express and connect on a larger scale with people.

So we have decided to be part of the WordPress PostAWeek challenge all through 2011.

Which might be tough but certainly not impossible. It might be also be fun, inspiring, awesome and wonderful. Therefore I’m promising to make use of The DailyPost, and the community of other bloggers with similiar goals, to help me along the way, including asking for help when I need it and encouraging others when I can.

Would love the encouragement from you all, through comments and suggestions for topics and ideas.

Warmly,
Darpana