Musings of a Design Yatri
“If you are authentic to the process, the means will lead you to the end.” - Ambrish Arora, CEO, Design Principal, Lotus
“We get in the habit of trying to find the idea that we don’t have yet.” – Michael Gough, Vice President, Experience Design, Adobe
“Don’t wait for the big idea, just start playing.” - Nic Roope, Founder & ECD, Poke UK
Being listened to, really listened to, is probably one of the greatest joys in the world. Or is it being able to listen perhaps, to the tales of those who have made a difference, who have changed the way we see things and who have realized the power of a creative mind and harnessed it to its entirety. The disarmingly charming world of creativity leaves us with myriad questions which sometimes deserve more than just a simple answer.
” Obsess the why; You have the tools that can show you what the future could be; The web is what you make of it” – Robert Wong, Chief Creative Officer, Google Creative Lab.
The above mentioned quotes are extracts from the ever-inspiring talks I recently had the proud privilege to ‘listen’ to, delivered by some of the most uniquely creative minds from around the world at Kyoorius Designyatra. And I have to admit, the creative bingeing has provided me with a serious hangover, the only realistic remedy for which is a radical detox by sharing my consistently evolving thoughts here, with you.
Good designs are a product of authentic practices and conscious processes, defined by what we forbid than what we permit. Designyatra 2012 was aimed at creating a fresh understanding of the issues dividing the creative output of the industry. The speakers indeed gave significantly new uses, connotations and inflections to the theme, i.e. “Divide”, and while doing so have managed to shed light on what goes on behind the scenes of some of their most successful projects, what drives them to do what they do and what fuels their creative yatra.
Yatra translates as journey in the English language. Now isn’t that one of the most vibrant words in the dictionary. Speaking of which, design itself is a journey. A journey from experimentation to realization, from the familiar to the exceptional, and more realistically, from ideation to process to the end product. As stated by Ambrish Arora of LOTUS, if you are authentic to the process, the means will lead you to the end. And boy wasn’t that evident in his presentation!
“Lotus works on the principles of Conscious design – an approach that celebrates local resources, cultural influences and a keen sensitivity to the impact of the project and process on all stakeholders.” – Designyatra
A great work of design commands equal respect for the process of creating and the creation itself. Karl Heiselman, CEO, Wolff Olins, suggested the idea of having a positive impact by bringing together various aspects of the process of designing instead of taking them apart.
An honest and conscious thought process is the next best tool a designer has. Bill Lunderman’s talk reinstated similar ideas.
The last and one of my personal favorite ideas was put forth by Nic Roope of Poke UK. Roope, the magic man of design, as I see him now, makes you look at design through rose-tinted glasses; like we weren’t smitten already. “Don’t wait for the big idea, just start playing”, says Roope. The fundamental idea that he imbibes in our minds is nothing but simplicity and “taking it easy”.
“Creativity: Envisioning things that don’t exist.” – Nic Roope, Founder & ECD, Poke UK
Final verdict? Just have some fun! Do not let your design philosophy dwell on the divide between the limitations of function and the ambitions of art. Blend the two, unite and conquer, harness the divide.
This article was written during the Design Writing Workshop, an initiative by British Council in association with Kyoorius, which was held at Designyatra 2012.
Kyoorius Designyatra is an annual 3-day conference featuring lectures by prominent speakers, small-group seminars, hands-on workshops, exhibitions and demos. The conference offers a wide array of creative perspectives, immense amount of knowledge for both designers and non-designers and some lovely side events that are hard to miss.
A loud applause for the entire team of Kyoorius for such a stellar job done! From the venue, to branding, the design of the passes, the goodie bags, to the range of Speakers, every bit spelled perfection.
There was much more to absorb at the event, than can be put down in just one post. We’ll hopefully be back soon with further insights on some more of our favorite speakers at this year’s conference.
For more snapshots from the event, visit our Facebook page here.
All images and text are © Surbhi Sethi, 2012. Please do not distribute without permission.
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