Interviews

Chaiti Mehta Designs

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Chaiti Mehta, founder of Chaiti Mehta Design (CMD) in 2009, discovered herself in the world of design when she began communicating a message both visually and conceptually. Calling herself as purely a designer, she creates forms and patterns out of brands, our of love, out of passion.
Her work spans brand identity and development, art direction, packaging, printed matter, interactive, art-projects and exhibitions. With her clientele in India, New York, London, and Dubai, she works closely and collaboratively with them who want their brands to speak. She allows a direct thought-process, approaching design holistically.

Her work has been awarded and published by curated design publication; Book of the Year, Volume Four (Praquin, France), Asia Pacific Design No. 7 (Sandu Cultural Media Co.,Ltd. Hongkong/Guangzhou/Beijing and Design 360°- Concept and Design Magazine). Featured on the front cover of India’s noted design magazine, The Kyoorius Design Magazine 7 and The Kyoorius Design Showcase 2011-12.

Why are you a Graphic Designer?
I usually stumble at being called a Graphic Designer and come up with all sorts of complicated explanations and words. I’m purely a designer. One who can define a color, a type and a form. The kind of graphic design majority of people relate to is not only about brochures, catalogs, logos and all of that. It’s about a Process. It’s how it works. Knowing the real power of holistic design and experiencing its maximum. In short every piece needs to have an Understanding of Design, a perception and experimentation. Hence I chose this path.
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Kavita Arvind: Illustrations

Illustration, Interviews8 comments



Kavita Arvind’s work ranges from commissioned works for individuals or organisations with a leaning towards the social perspective to art for children’s literature.
After a decade of juggling deadlines and being juggled in local trains working for mainstream television and later teaching basic design at her Alma mater, she is now breathing in lung fulls of turpentine and linseed oil in her little home studio in Bangalore. Her areas of interest are social and gender communication.
She loves cinema and bakes a killer muffin!
You can see more of her work at Chidiya Udd.

Why are you an artist?
Because it gives me such a kick every morning to get up and look at my canvas and the riot of colours on it! Because what I create is evocative, even poignant and transports so many people to the most snug memories of childhood making them want to curl up with a cup of hot chocolate. Being an artist is liberating, I am working for myself, doing something I love, and I have an audience…

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Rohit Gandhi Photography

Interviews, Photographers, , 2 comments

Rohit is an artist by choice where the medium does not matter. From colors to film, the medium may have changed; the imagination to perceive has not. Always looking forward to a take that is fresh and energetic has moved him, and motion for the interactive market is not far behind. Educated at Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Arts, Mumbai, with majors in photography and assistantship with Jatin Kampani and Israr Qureshi in 2002 – 2003 made it sure what he has always been looking for.

Why are you a photographer?
It is a perfect blend of art and technology. As much as I am in love with art of creating pictures, the technology that can raise the bar of imagery is equally motivating. The physics of light and shadow and how it can be brought alive is very exciting. A lot runs through your mind and unless it takes shape in reality, the justice has not been done. It’s imperative to express and show what you really feel and share it with the world. Happiness comes when you share it with the world and find a connection.
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Interview with Sunandini Banerjee

Illustration, Interviews5 comments


Sunandini Banerjee completed her Masters in English Literature from Jadavpur University, Calcutta, in 2000 and joined Seagull Books as an editorial assistant. It was her first encounter with the world of publishing and with the world of computers. Along with proofreading and copyediting, she began to explore page layouts and pagesetting and then, gradually, cover designs for Seagull Books titles. Unable to draw in real life, she found the combination of scanner and Photoshop and QuarkXpress a hugely liberating experience. In 2003 she designed her first Seagull Books catalogue, a showcase of not only Seagull’s titles but also an ambassador of its belief in great design and high quality production. She is now both Senior Editor and Senior Graphic Designer, and designs all of Seagull’s books, book covers and catalogues. This is her second exhibition. Works from her first show, The Art of the Book, are available online here.

Why are you an artist?
I am not an ‘artist’ in the sense of waking up every morning and painting or creating something because that is what I do as a career. I don’t. I come to work. And my work happens to be very close to play. I am very rooted in the books. I was an editor and translator first. Then a designer. (Now, I’m all of them simultaneously and boy, are some days rough!) All of this creativity is happening from the books. From the language. From the text. One book may make me explode into six collages, another into three. Each of the collages is sourced from a book or a text to which I responded. I am as attracted to language as I am to pictures. Both are my passion. And my art lets me bring the two together into some semblance of beauty.
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Nitesh Tiwari – Execuive Creative Director, Leo Burnett, Mumbai

Interviews, TV Spots26 comments

An engineering graduate from the prestigious IIT Bombay, Nitesh chose advertising purely for the love of it. And he has enjoyed every bit of it for the last 14 years. He is currently working with Leo Burnett, Mumbai as an Executive Creative Director. Over years, he has worked on a wide range of clients. Tide, Heinz Foods, Sony Entertainment Television, Reliance Mobile, McDonald’s, Perfetti Van Melle, Bajaj Electricals, Axe Deodorants, Castrol, Amul, Ceat Tyres, just to name a few. Also he has just finished writing and directing a full length feature film with UTV, a well known Indian production house.
As a writer and creative director, he and his team have bagged numerous metals at international as well local Indian award shows like Cannes, Asia Pacific Adfest, Media Spikes, New York Festival, Abbys and Goafest India.
He was a print jury member at Asia Pacific Adfest, Pattaya in 2006. And a radio jury member at New York Festivals in 2009.

Why are you into Advertising?

This question gets answered in parts along with other questions.
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Manish Bhatt : Scarecrow

Creative, Interviews6 comments

‘It was in my third standard (of primary school) that the village I lived in, in Gujarat, got its electricity. I remember staring at lights, bulbs and fans for the first time. I consider it fortunate that I could experience living in a variety of units of habitation – from that village of 2000 people to Mumbai, and several in between. These varied habitats ensured that my experiences were colorful.
The first professional turning point in my life happened after I joined work in a construction company that was building roads in the Gujarat State Fertilizer plant, after completing my Civil Engineering like my elder brother. I was expected to follow my brother’s footsteps and become an engineer. I instinctively and subliminally realized that this was not the career for me. It could not be my ultimate destination. While I knew that this wasn’t my final destination, I could not identify what was. My knowledge of options was limited.’

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Santosh Padhi : CCO/Chairman/Partner: Taproot India

Creative, Interviews13 comments

Why are you into Advertising?
To explore my creative skills which eventually should push the brands ahead in the market place, and there is a huge vacum these days as more and more clients want to experiment with innovative ways to remain ahead.

Did you attend school for fine art or design or Communications?
ya I did my degree in fine art, from Sir J J Institute of Applied Art, Mumbai, which was a 5 year course then.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
Army, navy, defense was where  always wanted to get into, as my dad was from that background, so I wanted to dedicate my life to defense when I was a kid, which I kept on trying till my 2nd year of art school and finally gave up when I was asked for a bribe during a naval interview.
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Shailesh Chaturvedi : CEO Tommy Hilfiger India

Interviews33 comments

Tommy Hilfiger was first launched in India in April 2004. Tommy Hilfiger Apparel, Handbag and Footwear collections are marketed by Arvind Murjani Brands Pvt. Ltd, a joint venture between the Murjani Group and Arvind Brands Pvt. Ltd . Today, the brand is available in over 1000 select points of sale covering over 98 cities across the country and, is known as the leading international lifestyle brand present in the country. Tommy Hilfiger has been a pioneer in India, bringing international concepts into the country ahead of its competitors. The brand’s persona is all about ‘Classic, American and Cool!’

What is Tommy Hilfiger’s positioning and marketing strategy for India?
We bring the international shopping experience to India. The same collection, the same store look, the same service standards as you see in any big city in the world; the same experience is brought to any Indian city  by Tommy Hilfiger. We are a very high quality, premium brand for very stylish and cool people. We bring international fashion right on the home turf now! You wouldn’t need to wait to go abroad to pick up stuff for your kids… It’s all available here now!

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Interview: Anil Kakar

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Anil started his advertising career close to 18 years ago and has worked with agencies such as Leo Burnett, Enterprise Nexus, Ambience Publicis, SSC&B Lintas and Percept Hakuhodo. Along the way, he has helped build brands such as Canon, Panasonic, Pantaloon, Taj Hotels, FedEx, Killer Jeans, Westside, Raymond, Siyaram, The Times Of India, Femina, The Economic Times, Brand Equity, Indiatimes.com, Pierre Cardin, Thums Up, Lakme, Vicks, Nerolac Paints, Park Avenue, to name a few. Anil’s work has been featured in several award shows and advertising festivals. His work for The Times Of India was the first Indian campaign to have won the Campaign of the Year award at the Asia Pacific Adfest; the campaign also picked up the same award at the Abby Awards. His work for Vladivar Vodka and Georgia Gullini clothing was showcased in the international Archive magazine. At SSC&B, Anil’s creative work helped the agency win the ‘Most improved agency of the year’ title, moving up from Rank 52 to Rank 18 in less than a year, within the Lowe network. As Bombay Creative Head at Percept, his work helped the agency garner more than 40 awards over a span of 2 years. Anil has been a member of the jury at the New York Festivals, Goafest and the Outdoor Advertising Awards. Anil regularly contributes articles to FHM magazine and is also working on his first fiction novel.

Why are you into advertising?
When I was a kid, my father owned an ad agency. Back then, there were no computers and he used to manually cut typefaces printed on bromides. He used to cut it very carefully, with a pair of scissors set the type for each ad with his own hands. As a teenager, I couldn’t help but get fascinated by the whole process. Often, I used to help him source typefaces from Letraset and various international magazines and I think that exposed me to the wonder of advertising; unknowingly, it helped me find beauty in typography, writing and art. Thanks to him, I could tell a Bodoni from a Futura, while I was still in school. In retrospect, this went a long way in defining the future. As it turned out, a few years later, my father got a job and so we had to move out and I found myself in Bombay and that marked the turning point of my life. I remember, a long, long time ago, while I was still wet behind the ears, I visited the CAG exhibition where I happened to see the Mauritius Tourism campaign and an electric sort of feeling ran through my spine and that was when I decided, I should be in advertising.
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Nithin Kumblekar : Illustration

Illustration, Interviews8 comments

Nithin is an illustrator based in Bangalore. He does illustrations for many advertising agencies and publishers. He has also worked as an art director in leading advertising agencies. Why are you an Illustrator? It’s a fun thing for me. Even though I started my career as an art-director, becoming an illustrator was my aim. Did you attend school for fine art or design? Yes. I studied in Karnataka Chitrakala Parishad, and got BFA in applied arts. You have a distinct style of illustration. How long did it take you to develop your style? It’s hard to say how much time it takes. I’ve been sketching and painting even before I joined school. I myself didn’t realise how I got here. It’s like how DiCaprio explains in the movie Inception “you never remember where the dream begins. You just know where you are now”. (more…)