Interview with Samit Malkani, Creative Director at Jack In The Box

Married.  Deadly with a pen.  Digital adman. Social networker. Speedreader. Blogger  here and here.
Wannabe author. Cricket + F1 + Gadget fan. Sachin + Schumi worshipper. Bartender. Google/Android fan. Cracks bad jokes without warning.

Why are you into Advertising?
Well, I’ve always been a good writer, even while studying for my B.Sc. in Mathematics. Sometime during those three years, I realised I didn’t want to be a Software Engineer or a Marketing Manager. I wanted to turn my hobby – writing –  into a career. I picked advertising because it was the only industry where you can get paid well to write jokes for millions of people to laugh at; and then show off to your friends about it as well!

Did you attend school for fine art or design or Communications?
I studied Communication Management at Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication, Pune.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
The usual suspects: Sunil Gavaskar, Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar. And, because I’m a bookworm, authors like Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Advertising?
There are two, actually. Amer Jaleel and Vasudha Narayanan, from Lowe. They hired me and groomed me tremendously. Amer taught me my advertising philosophy, and what a Big Idea is; Vasudha gave me the confidence to succeed. Both are brilliant creative people and lovely human beings, and will always remain my mentors.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
Stories – books, movies, blogs, news. Culture. Music. I guess that adds up to People, in a sense.

Tell us something about the work environment at Jack In The Box…
It’s a very positive, very young and very noisy atmosphere! There’s a bunch of young people from different backgrounds – all of whom are keen to learn and passionate to do. They’re a close-knit bunch, and it’s a terrific place to be.

Do you have any kind of a program to nurture and train young talent?
Not a structured programme, no, though that’s in the works. We work alternate Saturdays, which are mostly dedicated to learning and grooming.

Tell us about your biggest challenge as the Creative Director of JITB…
The biggest challenge is to channel raw passion and wild ideas into brilliant pieces of content for brands.

What about new and young film makers/photographers? Do you consciously keep looking for newer talent and try someone completely new?
Absolutely. There are very few people who can avoid stagnating, or getting typecast. New talent and new techniques play a huge part in making content viral.

What do you think of the state of Print advertising right now. At least here in India, the released work is most often too sad? Why do you think it  has lost the shine? Why are the younger lot more interested in TV?
I believe there are two reasons print advertising in India is in a bad state right now. Firstly, clients push agencies to develop print ads that are adapts of the TVC. Secondly, agencies comply. Part of it is due to the wider reach of TV – when a client pays more importance to it, it’s hard for an agency not to. When the senior creative leadership is so focused on TV, it’s natural that the younger lot will also aspire to doing the TVC, at the cost of all else. After all, they’re being appraised on the number and quality of their TVCs; it’s tough to expect them to try for a promotion on the basis of a great print ad. Lots of average TVCs will outgun a great print ad in our industry.

More and more young people are web savvy and want to work on the internet or on more entrepreneurial ventures. Has that affected the quality of people advertising has been getting?
It has. The sad truth is that ad agencies don’t pay their junior and middle-level people well. Younger people are more impatient. They want their millions and they want them now. The result – agencies aren’t picky about who they hire. And this wasn’t the case even 8 years ago.

Do you think brands whose advertising wins awards, do well in the market?
Yes. It’s been proved over and over again in research. Of course, this doesn’t apply to scam ads.

What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals?
Be passionate about what you do and never stop learning. But above all, focus on the journey and the goal will fulfil itself.

Pick and tell us about one of all your past campaigns, your personal favourite…
This was a poster campaign for Chai Unchai, the retail venture by Tata Tea. The idea was that at Chai Unchai you can be your true self, whoever that person was. So we did posters of icons like Che Guevarra, Bob Marley, Charlie Chaplin and Elvis Presley, did a cutout of the faces and pasted them on mirrors. When you looked in the mirrors, you saw yourself as one of these famous characters, any of whom could be your real personality – rebellious, cool, funny or sexy.

What is your dream project?
To work on an integrated campaign for Volkswagen.

Mac or PC?
PC.

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
Jennifer Aniston, my longtime crush.

What’s on your iPod?
I don’t have an iPod, but I’m currently listening to a mix of stuff from Maroon 5, Pitbull, Rihanna, Daft Punk, Lady Gaga and the soundtrack of Sucker Punch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fubiz Awards – Interviews

A l’occasion du dernier jour de vote des Fubiz Awards 2012, nous vous proposons de retrouver les interviews des différents nominés. Découvrez les anecdotes et les réponses de ses artistes et retrouvez le nom des lauréats Fubiz Awards dès le lundi 13 février 2012.



Interview : Woodkid – Iron

woodkid

Interview : Nabil Elderkin – Bon Iver – Holocene

nabil

Interview : Léo Verrier – Dripped Animation

leoverrier

Interview : Evan Owen Dennis – N.Y.Adorned – Tradition

ewanovendennis

Interview : Amid Moradganjeh – Rimino Concept Phone

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Interview : Colin Rich – L.A. Light

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Interview : Robert Majkut – Whaletone

whaletone

Interview : Céline Desrumaux – Countdown Animation

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Interview : Jonathan Brechignac – Carpet with Bic Pencils

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Interview : Hideaki Hamada – Haru & Mina Photography

harumina

Interview : Jérémie Perin – DYE – Fantasy

jeperin

Interview : David Wilson – Metronomy – The Bay

wilson

Interview : Edouard Salier – Justice – Civilization

salier

Interview : FLA – The Loner

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Interview : Keita Sagaki – Pen and Ink Drawings

penandink

Interview : Irina Werning – Back to the future series

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Interview : Zecc Architects – Redisential Church XL

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Interview : Alexander Gellner – One Minute Puberty

puberty

Interview : Physical Fiction – Lego Letterpress

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Interview : Level Architects – House With Slide

housewithslide

Interview : Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre – Ruins of Detroit

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Interview : Olivier Campagne & Vivien Balzi – Paris Underwater

underwater

Interview : Fleur & Manu – M83 – Midnight City

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Interview : Benoît Paillé – Rainbow Gathering

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Interview : Doriane Favre – Post-it Watches

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Previously on Fubiz

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Rishi Chanana : Interview

Rishi JK Chanana (full name). Just a regular guy from Chandigarh, Punjab who left home to romance with advertising. Fortunately, that relationship has lasted and its been my most successful relationship till date. Have worked at Ogilvy Delhi, TBWA Dubai, Rediffusion Y&R and am now with TBWA India.
I’m a Punjabi at heart and a proud one too. Want to catch me in a crowd? Just look for the guy wearing all black (always).

Why are you into Advertising?
Because I can’t crack mathematical and scientific equations.

Did you attend school for fine art or design or Communications?
Yup. Bunked classes at College of Art, Chandigarh.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
Kapil Dev, Gurdas Mann & my Dad obviously.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Advertising?
Rohit Devgun (now Sr. CD @ McCann Erickson)

Where do you get your inspiration from?
My own self (and I say that at the cost of sounding pompous). I think all of us are born with the capability of questioning and analyzing things around us, and it is all about recognizing that quality and working with it. I am constantly in a dialogue with myself, and I keep challenging my own ideas all the time.

Tell us something about the work environment at TBWA Gurgaon.
Well, its been around 20 months for me at the Gurgaon office. Its a young outfit with loads of young talent and potential. The past year has been great especially with all those awards coming our way. Soon, I’ll be moving to their Mumbai office, looking to bring home some more precious cutlery (smiles)

Do you have any kind of a program to nurture and train young talent?
Not exactly. Being happy at, and true to, one’s work is the key to finding success in whatever we do. On a technical level, the ability to judge one’s own work without being partial is what I encourage them to develop.

Tell us about your biggest challenge as the Creative Director of TBWA.
I joined TBWA in April 2010, at a time when there was less exposure for their creative work to International award shows. We (senior management and myself) took this as a challenge. Today, TBWA India stands proudly at the top of all award rankings, featuring in almost every respected award book. And this has motivated the creatives across TBWA India who are now looking forward to the coming award seasons with greater enthusiasm and passion.

What about new and young film makers/photographers? Do you consciously keep looking for newer talent and try someone completely new?
It depends actually. Sometimes experiments works better than experiences.

What do you think of the state of Print advertising right now. At least here in India, the released work is most often too sad? Why do you think it has lost the shine? Why are the younger lot more interested in TV?
I think its about educating the clients about brand perception and the impact of advertising, instead of getting educated from them about his perspective. Its a constant tussle – the client wants to play safe and get the message through while the agency is always out to prove their creative metal. Its just a matter of meeting somewhere in the middle.

More and more young people are web savvy and want to work on the internet or on more entrepreneurial ventures. Has that affected the quality of people advertising has been getting?
No, I don’t think so. On the contrary, the new medium provides instant gratification to creative guys and this has led to increased interest in advertising and similar creative fields.

Do you think brands whose advertising wins awards, do well in the market?
Well, at least they are perceived to be doing well (laughs). And frankly, that’s our job – to positively influence perceptions and create the right noise around the brand so that it helps the marketeers.

What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals?
Advertising is not a job, its a way of life. Treat your initial days as the first few dates and then decide whether you want to get married or go shopping for a new partner. This is probably my only advice for aspiring creative minds. Here, you have to be a natural fit and if you are you’ll always be happy while you’re in it. Just be happy doing your work because it is one thing that you cannot earn, but have to find within yourself. Always be true to yourself and your work.

Pick and tell us about one of all your past campaigns, your personal favorite.
Yatra.com calendar (at TBWA in 2011), Airtel broadband (at Rediffusion), Pedigree and Nissan campaigns (for TBWA Middle East), Fanta (at Ogilvy Delhi) are some that I rate among my better works so far. As a creative guy, the endeavor is to never be satisfied and constantly produce work that sets a new benchmark.

What is your dream project?
There is so much to do that it is little difficult to say right now.

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
My family.

What’s on your iPod?
Punjabi Folk.

Mac or PC?
Apple…always.

 

 

 

 

Interview with Anusheela Saha, CD, Equus Red Cell

Working as CD with Equus Red Cell. The ‘boing’ start-up sound of Mac is a must for my mornings. Hate to be detached from my scribble note pad for too long. Need to learn one new thing everyday. Last did a small jig inside the closed door of my cabin when my work earned a place in the Communication Arts Design Annual 2011.

Why are you into Advertising?
Always had an intuition that my carreer would be in an industry associated with art. So advertising it is.

??Did you attend school for fine art or design or Communications?
Self taught and was mentored by Anurag Hira.

??Tell us about  your recent work campaign?
We recently finished a very tactical and factual campaign for Matrix SIM cards on data usage costs. The challenge was to make them look interesting and easy to interpret in spite of some extremely heavy info. The campaign’s look and feel was ‘infographical’, a style that is not used in too many print ads here.We had fun doing it and the client is rather pleased with the outcome.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up? 
Hergé had a big influence on me, his ability to detail every little comic box is something that is very inspiring. I remember spending a lot of time just looking at some of his bigger illustrations, depicting some chaotic scene of Tintin’s adventures. And hey! as a kid I always wanted to pack a punch like Rocky Balboa. Does that count too?

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Advertising?
Can’t really point out one person or factor that influenced my career, but Swapan Seth did play a big role by endowing me with a large responsibility at a fairly young age.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
From everyday things, currently obsessed with typography and flower motifs on ‘Bengali sweet boxes’ had bigger obsessions with truck art and kitsch match boxes before. Also the works Hanoch Piven, Michael Perry and David Shrigley never cease to surprise me.

Tell us something about the Equus Red Cell work environment.
We are a very small team who loving briefs as much as we  love crushing beer cans ! But honestly, the current team is the most hardworking lot that I have ever worked in Equus with.

Tell us about your first job in Advertising.
It was in Contract, Kolkata. People were extremely helpful and everybody was very eager to teach me. This is where I learnt the importance of typography from my mentor, he could distinguish between fonts by just looking at a comma!

What do you think of the state of Print advertising right now. At least ?here in India, the released work is most often too sad.

Some work are but not all. I feel its still the most challenging medium to create work for. Moreover in today’s day its best if brands have their fingers dipped in other mediums of media as well, digital, integrated, innovative etc

Do you think brands who’s advertising wins awards, do well in the market???
Yes, I do.

What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals???

Ditch the mouse when you are thinking, grab your scribble pad instead!

Your dream project?
Would love to a work on an integrated campaign for Google Chrome!

Your upcoming campaigns, if you can talk about it :)
Currently working on a very interesting brand re launch of a movie-rating portal called Desimartini.com, run by HT Media. The product differentiator is that the site showcases the Public’s Verdict on latest movie releases (primarily Bollywood) and that enables us to pick a flick!

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
Hmmm… the delectable Mr. Johnny Depp

What’s on your iPod?
Adele, Adele and Adele…with a little bit of Snow Patrol

Mac or PC?
Mac, always.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kaushik Iyer : Interview


“I am a professional copywriter by day and an amateur masked vigilante by night. In the time that I find between the two, I write sports articles for various publications and poetry for no one in particular. I live in Mumbai, just above the poverty line.”

?Why are you into Advertising?
Low self esteem and a lower attention span. Joking. What brought me here? Don’t know actually. I wanted to be in advertising because it sounded cool, I guess. I didn’t know too much of what my plans were then, when I joined it. Heck, I was a servicing person for a little time before switching over to copy.


?Did you attend school for fine art or design or Communications?
I did my PGDBA in Communications, which it turns out, was a waste. Could’ve hung around as an intern for those 2 years in an agency, and still picked up more about advertising, than any course.

?Tell us something about your recent work?
A print ad for the Times Classifieds, and a film for TOI Chennai.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Advertising?
There are many. My first bosses when I joined the creative department of JWT- two rockstar gentlemen by the names of Vispy and Debu. Two of the nicest bosses anyone could ask for. Vispy’s style was to coax you into bettering yourself. ‘Write, my friend, write. And you will get better’, he’d say. Debu used to say ‘Mooh main petrol daal aur g****d ke neeche lighter rakh, dekh kaise ideas aate hain’. Contrasting ideals, but both work.
Two other guys named who I worked with later in JWT – Ram and Sandy. They were more of friends, than ‘superiors’. They turned the fan off when shit was about to hit it. Or at least bought me beer if all else failed.
And lastly, Aggi and Paddy. They have the experience of NCDs and the enthusiasm of an intern. Even now, if you were to give them a boring brief with 15 minutes to go, they won’t just make it work. They’ll make it sing.

?Where do you get your inspiration from?
I want to say a bunch of cool stuff here, like everyday life, or the books I read, or the people I talk to, but I’m not entirely sure that’s the case. The truth is, I don’t know where my inspiration comes from. Because if I did, I’d have unreasonable expectations of it to keep feeding me everytime. Although, when all else fails, I look for inspiration at the bottom of an Old Monk bottle. I think it works. Anyone who’s seen my work after that, disagrees.

?Tell us something about the Taproot environment.
Let me tell you something about what sort of people working at Taproot. If you leave Aggi, Paddy and Manan(the Servicing Head)aside , I am the oldest at Taproot. And I’m only 27. So the environment is exactly what it should be when you put a few 20 odd year olds in the same place. More keedas than qualms. More daring than doubting. More ‘F*** Yourself’, less ‘Yours truly’.

Tell us about your 1st work as a copywriter in the field of advertising
My first campaign in Advertising was for PCRA Petroleum Conservation Research Association of India. I thought it was a depressing brief until the servicing person told me that Alyque Padamsee was a consultant with them and would be seeing the work. I worked my ass off, got a campaign approved and proudly stood in front of him, in a room full of 20 people. This was my moment. I thrust the layouts in his face. He paused mid-sentence and saw them, muttered an ‘All Right’, and continued talking. I quietly left the room. And removed his name from my will that day.

What do you think of the state of Print advertising right now? At least here in India, the released work is most often too sad?
I genuinely think the situation would be better if two things happened:
If clients understood that print advertising, or any advertising for that matter, is not about salesmanship anymore, it’s about entertainment.
Everyone’s a thinker. Everyone’s creative. But writers need to know how to write. It doesn’t have to be prose, it doesn’t have to be poetry, but enough to string an argument.

Do you think brands who’s advertising wins awards, do well in the market?
Not many. In fact, very few do. But the ones that do, give us hope. The Old Spice Campaign abroad. The Times of India does it here. As does Vodafone. And hopefully, it will get better.

What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals?
Deadlines are like women. You may not understand them, but you have to accept them. And do your best.

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
Someone who foots the bill.

What’s on your iPod?
Don’t have one. But the Winamp on my computer (Yes, I still use it), has a liberal spread of Pearl Jam, White Stripes, Green Day, Bob Dylan, U2, etc.

Your upcoming campaigns if any?
A bunch of web films that we’re doing for Airtel. Shot with low budgets and high expectations. I hope they work.

Mac or PC?
I have a PC. But prefer a Mac. It makes me look arty.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pranav Bhide, Art Director

Pranav is an Art director and freelance illustrator based in Mumbai. He started his career at McCann Erickson as a trainee, worked at O&M for a year and currently working at Taproot India as an Art director.

A little about yourself:
If only walking years of my lifetime are measured, I’ve spent most of them from home to school, school to college, college to a job and then back home. Some years are spent walking hand in hand, some on a treadmill, some on trying moonwalking. Now I want to sleepwalk once.

Why are you into Advertising?
Though advertising pays less it gives me other perks like loads of freedom and fun while ‘working’. Maybe luck would side with us sometime and allow us ‘official’ access to all porn sites while we try to crack ideas for a condom brand. :P
As an art director, I feel advertising is the only field that allows a creative person to work on different fronts like photography, typography, illustration, films, animation and what not.

Did you attend school for fine art or design or Communications?
Yes. I’ve finished my applied art from L.S. Raheja, Bandra.

Tell us about the metals under your belt?
Clio, Spikes Asia, a few ABBYs, a shortlist at “Cannes Lions”, “One Show” Merit and recognition in books like The Work, Lurzers Archive and Campaign Brief.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
No, no one in particular. But different people have played different roles at various phases in my life.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Advertising?
My bosses, Santosh Padhi and Agnello Dias.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
Anything I’ve observed for a while can end up inspiring me. So I mostly try not to forget things I see.

Tell us something about the Taproot work environment. We know lots of creatives would love to work with Taproot.
Well, work wise Taproot’s blog speaks a lot, but otherwise apart from an amazing view of the sea-link, our bosses have filled the place with bean bags, so we can brainstorm comfortably. Though, I’ve seen people sleeping on them during office hours (including myself). But we have sleeping bags too, for the hard working people who spend nights at the office and have helped Taproot accomplish so much in less than three years. So it’s cool.

What do you think of the state of Print advertising right now. At least here in India, the released work is most often too sad?
With my experience, I don’t think I can have a valid comment on the ‘entire’ state of the Indian print advertising.
Here in India we have lots of restrictions and rules on outdoor, ambient or any other lively media in advertising as compared to print. So, ideally print should become India’s strength.
But with the kind of change television medium has brought here 10-15 years back, it seems like people have started giving up on print ads too easily.
Then again, I think everyone deals with the change. I thrive on it, unless I don’t have clean underwear.

Do you think brands who’s advertising wins awards, do well in the market?
There are plenty of brands that haven’t won any awards and are doing well in the market. For me, a great ad is a great ad. I feel awards matter more to agencies and their creatives. And which client won’t wish to hire an award winning agency?

What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals?
The world really likes India and Indian art forms. Everyone should try and explore it instead of aping the West.

Mac or PC?
Both.

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
Natalie Portman.

What’s on your iPod?
Currently Kolavari Di :P

 

 

 

 

 

Rahul Mathew

Why are you into Advertising?
It’s the closest I come to being an artist, without knowing how to draw. It’s the closest I come to being a writer, without the patience of writing a book. It’s the closest I get to being many people, without being a schizophrenic.

Did you attend school for fine art or design or Communications?
Advertising was nowhere on the radar while I was growing up, and writing even lesser so. I was a science student at school, who went on to pursue a bachelor’s in business studies. And after a series of career misfires I found myself holding a pen and scratching my head over a brief. So the only formal training I’ve had is on the job.

Tell us about your recent campaign?
The last piece of work that made it watchful idea of research is a commercial for Pears Soap. It’s on air at the moment. Quite a charming little story about a little girl who catches a sunbeam and wants to put it in a safe place.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
I’ve been a sports buff all my life. So growing up my walls have been plastered with posters of Michael Jordan, Pete Sampras, Gianfranco Zola, Sachin & Azhar. But while they may not have had any influence in my life, sport sure has had. I owe a lot of my mental make-up and my resilience to sports.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Advertising?
I think the guy who sacked me from account management. That’s when I crossed over to the creative department.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
I wish I knew. Life would be so much easier. But since I don’t know, I look everywhere for it. In books, in music, on the net, on tv, in people, in conversations, in my travels. Anywhere and everywhere.

Tell us something about the McCann environment.
If you look at other network agencies, McCann Erickson is a very young agency. And today it can say the same for the age of its employees as well. The senior management of the Mumbai office is in the age bracket of 33-38 years. Our Creative Directors are younger still. And that is today our greatest strength; we are younger, gutsier, hungrier and more nimble, both in our thinking and our attitude. And testimony to this is the fact that the Mumbai office has been one of the more awarded offices in India this year.

Tell us about your 1st work as a creative director in the field of advertising?.
I don’t remember my first piece of work as a Creative Director, but I do remember my first really significant piece as a Creative Director. I did it during my stint as the Creative Head of Y&R, Malaysia. It was a radio innovation for Colgate 360 toothbrushes. We replaced the beep that radio stations use to blot of profanities/obscenities with the sound of brushing. Followed by the message ‘Colgate 360 toothbrush. Get the filth out of your mouth’, at the end of every song that needed censoring.
It win Y&R it’s first Grand Prix at the Asia Pacific AdFest, along with metals and honours at every major award show. It also helped Colgate win the client of the year at Malaysia’s local award show – a first for the client.
What do you think of the state of Print advertising right now. At least?here in India, the released work is most often too sad?
Well for starters it’s not just in India. Print advertising the world over sucks at the moment. And I think for this one the clients need to stand up and take responsibility. Print is now only a glorified brochure. Loaded with everything, except interest.

Do you think brands who’s advertising wins awards, do well in the market??
Good work that does well in the market can surely win awards. As for not-so-good work that does well in the market. Well imagine how much better it could have done if it was good work. Not to forget, it could also go on to win awards.
I’m not saying it’s important to win awards, but it’s very important to do good work. Let’s not just be satisfied with the market shares.

What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals?
Don’t try to be the next Anybody. Instead be the first You. It’s what you do best. And it may just be what the industry is missing.

Mac or PC?
At the risk of sounding like a stereotypical creative person… out and out Mac person.

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
Am a complete foodie, so this question would be a lot more exciting if I change the Who to What. Right now some sushi, along with some unagi and rice would really hit the spot. And of course some sake to wash it down.

What’s on your iPod?
My iPod has fallen behind the times. It still croons far too many oldies. Am still listening to RHCP, Pearl Jam, AC/DC, Metallica and Dave Matthews. But have been tuning into a lot of radio off late. Bollywood music has developed a serious rock accent of late. And am loving it.

Your upcoming campaigns if any?
We have a rather interesting on-ground activity coming up, for Parachute Advanced, that’ll find its culmination in social media. It’ll help the brand embrace the youth in a big way.

 

 

 

 

 

Priti Kapur : DesiCreative in Delhi

Why are you into Advertising?
Because I love ideas, and in advertising, art, writing, film and commerce all come together to create great ideas.

??Did you attend school for fine art or design or Communications?
No. I have am MBA from IIM Kolkata. Which is if no use when it comes to understanding clients.

?Tell us about  your recent work campaign?
A recent campaign for Nokia Smartphones that talks to 18 year olds. Here we see teenage problems, like what to wear or where to hangout, which might seem trivial to us but are a big deal to the teenager, dramatized in a way that’s funny but still tongue-in-cheek true.

??Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
I started my career under Mohammed Khan and yes he was pretty much God and he told us so every day.

??Who was the most influential personality on your career in Advertising?
I think in advertising, as in life, every good creative you work with, senior or junior, shapes your career.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
Movies, TV shows, art, stand up comedy, people.??Tell us something about the  JWT, Delhi  environment.
It’s like Alibaba’s Cave for a creative. Every brand you can want to work on is right there. ??tell us about your 1st work as a creative director in the field of advertising

I am a freshly-minted ECD and have been one for only about two and a half years now, so all recent work is ECD-type work.

What do you think of the state of Print advertising right now. At least?here in India, the released work is most often too sad?
Print seems to be dying all over the world. It is a challenge because it is the purest form of advertising and if you can do print, you can do anything, really.

??Do you think brands who’s advertising wins awards, do well in the market?
Yes. There is research that shows that ads that won awards performed 12 times better than those that did not.

What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals??
Push yourself.

?Mac or PC?
Mac, of course.

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
Louis CK, stand up comic.

What’s on your iPod?
Music uploaded by my art director – Pink Martini, Michael Buble, Indipop.

Your upcoming campaigns if any?
We’re working on stuff for Nokia, Airtel Digital Cable and Boost.








Interview with Manu Gupta

Manu spent his childhood in a huge joint family with no one from advertising or art or music or any creative background and his parents worked hard as teachers in government schools, saving all they could to give their 2 young boys a good future in an English medium school, St. Mary’s. He always wanted to be a doctor. But never took his studies seriously after class 8th. He had been a DU student for 5 years without a degree in B.Sc. Mathematical Sciences. Manu, in spite of his father telling him that he will never get through IIT Entrance exam, prepared for it, but never got through it. He used to do sketches and banner designs in school, but it never occurred to him or his folks that he could have a good career in something he enjoyed … art. He kept discovering. From working in an internet cafe to get free access to internet and downloading fonts for Rs.1000 a month, to an event management agency to a web development company, to a DM firm to a media house at KG Marg and then to advertising…it’s been a road of discovery for him. He loves well written long copy advertisements, typography, photography, home cooked food and has a very high level of tolerance.


Why are you into Advertising?
Going with the flow. Wherever life takes me. I never wanted to do anything particular in life or be somebody great. I am just following where it takes me and wants me to be. If life wants me to be in advertising then I am enjoying the ride it takes you on to. A ride of a lifetime.

Did you attend school for fine art or design or Communications?
No.

You have won your own set of awards. How has that impacted your career?
Not much. Because I don’t have much of them :) . Awards do have a long term impact on ones career and others around. They do give you confidence to do what you want to do and you can take those risks too. They could be dangerous as there are a lot of expectations. Which may or may not turn out to be as expected.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
My childhood was a waste. I used to follow my younger brother’s classmates who were much more talented and creative than anybody around…Robert of Mad – a famous show on Pogo and Rohit ‘Badmash’ Thakur. Later when I was in college, my friends were my role models.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Advertising?
Here are some of them:
Naved Akhtar / Freddy Birdy
Erik Vervroegen.
David Droga: He is the most admired and hard working guy on the planet.
Erik Vervroegen: He makes brands out of teams working for him.
Viral Pandey: He still works with the enthusiasm of a newbie.
Jaideep Mahajan (JD): Fantastic creative director, brilliant and hard-working.
Ajay Ahluwalia: One of the most polished writers/thinkers and a “dude”.
Daniel Upputuru: One of the very few talented and well read art directors with style.
Dushyant Pal Singh: The best copywriter around, today.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
Books, typography and design websites, talented/hardworking people and myself.

Tell us something about the work environment at Leo Burnett…
It’s fun environment. It’s like a fun ‘n’ food village. The whole culture is about converting work into fun. Some of the industry’s most talented and creative people hungry for good work are being ably led by terrific creative head – Sainath Saraban. This place rocks. It is, I think, the only place which makes you feel that you are in advertising and not a call centre. The culture flows down from Pops ( KV Sridhar ), who, being the oldest, is the youngest of all the people working at Leo Burnett.

Do you have any kind of a program to nurture and train young talent?
A “program” cannot help in any way to “nurture” and train young talent. Young talent needs help and guidance and not a fixed set of rules. They need to be understood and advised. Not told.

What about new and young film makers/photographers? Do you consciously keep looking for newer talent and try someone completely new?
My favourite question. “Young” doesn’t necessarily mean “new”. Sometimes “olds” can come up with something so amazing and new that it becomes difficult for the young to digest. I do look out for talented film makers and photographers and love to experiment against some rules set by others. Well most of the times it is difficult for people to see things in a new light or from a new angle and open up their minds. They like to see and depend on what they have been trained/programmed on “how to do” all their lives that they refuse to accept new and original. They compare with what has been done in the past to come to a conclusion, which they think is “safe”.

What do you think of the state of Print advertising right now. At least here in India, the released work is most often too sad?
Two things:
1: It is sad and it will remain sad if we keep doing headlines meant to be in Hindi, in English. We can do “award winning work in English” only. If there’s a brief for a Hindi press ad, we try to pass it onto some junior with no experience whatsoever. We make fun of our regional language press ads. What are we doing? Did Piyush Pandey write “Miley sur mera tumhara” in English? He would not have been in advertising this long! Get my drift?

2: Lack of good writing. How many copywriters can actually write? Most of the copywriters think that the art director will do some magic to their lousy written copy full of grammatical errors.

Why do you think it has lost the shine? Why are the younger lot more interested in TV?
Because having more films in one’s folio will get him/her more money and a faster designation rise than having more press ads and mainline work. When one goes for an interview, the interviewer wants to see more “width” in ones work than just print work or AV’s or posters. That’s why more and more youngsters are writing less, actually they don’t even know how to write a line, forget long copy ads…and concentrating more on films/TV as they can escalate themselves to a higher ground without much/any effort.

More and more young people are web savvy and want to work on the internet or on more entrepreneurial ventures. Has that affected the quality of people advertising has been getting?
Web is easy. Click here. Click there. Like this. Share that. Spend all the time in the world by reading what others have to say or what others are showing off. Is this all we know of digital advertising? Is Facebook the start and end of digital campaigns? I don’t think young people want to work on the internet, but yes they would love to head for more adventurous entrepreneurial ventures on the web. The quality of people in advertising has been affected and it’s not because of the internet. It’s because we try to become who we are not. We, as an advertising agency try to be a direct marketing agency, an event agency, a 3D design house, a digital hot shop….
Instead of hiring good people with independent thinking and new ways of working, we hire people who would listen to us and do what we tell them to do. There are people who feel insecure, and they in turn make more people insecure.

Do you think brands whose advertising wins awards, do well in the market?
Some of them certainly do well in their respective markets, both nationally and internationally. But, yes, most of the work that wins looks like a scam, executed beautifully to fit the requirements of the award shows.

What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals?
Dream, work hard and be brave.

What is your dream project?
To design the Indian currency.

Mac or PC?
I don’t like any. No, seriously. It doesn’t matter what gadgets or tools or machines you use. They are just small things people love to show-off. What matters is what you create using any! Both are equally good and powerful.

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
Diana Hayden.

What’s on your iPod?
Autechre, Best of Beatles, Coldplay-X&Y, David Guetta, Lynyrd Skynyrd- God&Guns, Morning Ragas, Olafur Arnalds-Found songs, Best of Skid Row, Ted Talks, Osho, Kasabian-Velociraptor

 

 

 

 

Chaiti Mehta Designs

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.

Did you attend school for fine art or design?
Attended a four year intensive training in a design school at Rachana Sansad College of Applied Art & Crafts, Mumbai brought in basic fundamentals of Design and prepares one to pursue that path. What I gathered learning in design school are the basic concepts like rhythm and balance. The education gave me a direction and opened several avenues. Education is useful. Training and practice is more important.

You have a distinct style of Design. How long did it take you to develop your style?
I don’t think I try coming up with a style but come up with something that has a logic underneath it. I take myself into a whole new experience everytime I think of something. If you see my work, it’s always emerging into different interests. I don’t draw from any inspiration, influence or reference material. It’s the thought of creating something unique and identifiable. I have a very strong kind of look, and what people see is a reflection of myself, my own personality and I simply love what I do.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
I’m still young, still evolving in my career. There are yet lot of people I would like to work with or rather say collaborate with. But there’s one person who has opened my eye and showed me the true world of design is Salil Awchat, art director of Awchat & Olsen Design. A hard-core design experience and freedom to work on projects giving it everything that I could create, it’s rare to find a mentor like him. I hope he agrees.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in graphic design?
Where I stand today, I owe it to Salil Awchat, art-director of Awchat & Olsen Design, an award winning design studio based in Mumbai and Oslo. I have worked under him for two and a half years when I just graduated and was difficult for a fresher to jump into a graphic design studio with zero experience. A few were confused, some got married, majority entered the big world of Advertising. I was sure that it’s got to be design and I was stubborn at it. A&O opened many avenues. As a designer, I was exposed to all stages of the design process from pitching to finished artwork and print production. Their belief in me started growing, solidifying and together I delved into my work as if nothing ever mattered more than this.

When did you start freelancing?
June 2009, I took the plunge to create my own individuality. Life has meaning only in the struggle. It’s been over two years and still evolving.

Was there any time when you wanted to quit graphic design?
Design is what I love to do. To keep practicing and do good work in a meaningful way. I am constantly trying to open myself to explore design in different perspectives. There’s always a desire to keep getting better but it only comes through practice, practice and practice!

Are many advertising agencies hiring graphic designers? Do you work more with agencies or clients/publishers?
A lot of agencies need graphic designers. But I work wholly with individual clients who want their brands to speak.

Do you have clients who give you steady work or do you advertise for new clients often?
My clients come to me. My relationship with my clients has been so far long-term. There is a commitment that I add to their work that makes them come back with larger and more creative opportunities. It’s all a process.

Any other Indian graphic designers who you admire?
Miti Desai, Ishan Khosla, Alok Nanda, Tania Singh Khosla, Sameer Kulavoor, Lokesh Kareker are the very few whose work I admire. They are exceptional and hence do very different and unique work. It’s logical and level-headed.
Recently met Manjiri Rajopadhye over a chat. There is so much to learn from her. A true designer, she has mastered her skill and is so true to herself which reflects in her work. I had taken a class with Miti Desai, a very remarkable course on design. It was an experience of a lifetime. She’s an incredible lady, so Indian, so real. A designer & dancer, her aim is at encouraging the students to feel and experience design, to achieve both professional and personal goals. Every second was worth it.

Some other design contemporaries whose work you admire?
Shigeru Ban – his approach is methodical, unorthodox and ingeniously pragmatic.
Subhash Awchat – he builds a beautiful relationship with himself and the canvas. Sabir Khan – acclaimed sarangi maestro. Heard him at The Dewarists show and his music just flows around the groove so meticulously.

What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals? Would you advise them to take on graphic design as a career option?
Practice, practice and practice! If you don’t go all out, how would you succeed?
There are tons of talented artists and these are the ones who apply real talent, dedication and put their soul into their work. Be passionate. Love what you do. Create something crazy. There are no boundaries in design! Be approachable, stand out from the crowd and don’t be complacent. The passionate innovating ones, yes this would a great career. You need to be a skilled ‘looker’. Struggle is the core part here, and laziness definitely doesn’t take you anywhere. Having an early design exposure makes one aware of the design profession to transform analytical materials to visual ideas. A graduation design program shows depth in the process of design. Design can be a long term career choice since it completes
personal interest as well as earning a living and exploring yourself.

Do you think Clients are opening up to keeping aside a decent respectable budget for design work?
Do you think clients are understanding that they need to invest in Design as a communication tool and also to cut the clutter, and that good design comes at a price?
Most of my clients, yes. Awareness and realisation has made a lot of my clients set up a budget for design work and hence it opens our creative minds to think differently.

Whats your dream project?
Brand a luxury hotel.

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
Let’s keep this personal!

What’s on your iPod?
Lounge, Spiritual

Mac or PC?
Mac

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

To view more of her works:
Visit FB Page  |  Visit Behance Page  |  Chaiti Mehta Home Page

Shailesh Chaturvedi : CEO Tommy Hilfiger India

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!


Does Tommy Hilfiger see itself shooting a campaign in India with Indian faces?
Tommy Hilfiger is a global brand, and so has a universal appeal! We, in India, use the international campaign prepared by Tommy Hilfiger plc.

Considering that Online is becoming increasingly important, what are your strategies for online marketing in India?
Tommy Hilfifer has a very loyal fan base and we wish to reach out them and create customer engagement  through Social Media Marketing. This will just strengthen our endeavors into digital marketing and we hope to establish a strong presence on the social media landscape. We have launched the brand on Facebook and Twitter and have plans to connect with parents online! Not only this, we have a lot more stuff coming up.

Who is your competition in India?
India is still a very new market as far as international fashion brands are considered. Being the first brand to enter the country, we have a substantial lead as compared to any other international brand in India. Next few years may witness the launch of many more international fashion labels here and maybe the competitive scenario then would be relevant to us. We also view competition as healthy as it only helps in growing the category in a new market.

What kind of response are you getting from B-Cities (like Jalandhar, Kanpur, Pune etc)
With the strengthening of India Consumption story, there is a swing of positivity in smaller cities in India. A new found confidence which is growing by the day. With rock solid consistent GDP growth, coupled with receipt of demographic dividend in this young country; super  premium segment has finally reached threshold energy In India. The key driver of  this surge in tier 2 business activity has been the concept of upgradation. We are seeing that with new found prosperity, higher international exposure and abundance of product options; Indian consumers are rapidly upgrading their consumption pattern. Besides clothing, one can see the same upaswing in choice of TVs, Cars, family holidays and mobile phones.

Being the first international designer wear segment international brand present nationally in India, Tommy Hilfiger has benefited with this upgradation where consumers used to buying Indian apparel brands have rapidly upgraded to Tommy Hilfiger. The brand has a unique blend of youthfulness, spirited energy  and vibrancy which appeals a lot to Indian consumers including the ones in tier 2 cities.

The key observation is that if any international brand wants to be successful here like Tommy Hilfiger brand is, it will have to provide a truly international offer to consumers. Same price, same collection and same service. The key success factor eventually is in terms of quality of execution into tier 2 cities.

Hence, we have always made it a point to offer the imported line of products which is same as what our consumers get in any global centre. Be it London or New York. We will continue to provide a unified global brand offer everywhere in India, without making any local alteration.

Indian consumers are very discerning; they travel a lot internationally and know a lot about Tommy Hilfiger brand. They expect the same international offer as they can  get in NY / London / Singapore / Dubai. Therefore, we have always made it a point to offer the latest imported line of products which is same as what our consumers get in any global centre.

Besides the wholly imported product line, we have also ensured the international standards on shop interiors, staff training and in terms of pricing.

Interview: Anil Kakar

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.

Did you attend school for fine art or design or Communications?
I did a Copywriting Course from AAAI and yes, I even graduated from the Mohammed Khan School of Advertising.

With your busy schedule as an ECD, do you have enough time left to indulge in Creative?
I follow a hands-on approach to work. I believe it’s the only way to stay focused on the creative output and the only way to keep your work fresh and contemporary. I’d be restless if I didn’t do at least an ad a week.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
I’ve had no role models but I’ve certainly had the good fortune of meeting and working with a whole lot of wonderful and incredibly talented people. Some of them include Mohammed Khan, Rajiv Agarwal,  Sharmeen Mitha, Arun Kale, Agnello Dias, Ajay Chandwani, Elsie Nanji, K V Sridhar, Prashant Godbole, Zarvan Patel, Anand Halve and Vikram Gaikwad, among many others. Since I spent years working with these people, it’s quite obvious that they’ve had an impact on my work.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Advertising?
Mohammed Khan. Without a doubt, he’s still the greatest Creative Director India has ever had. He’s easily the most honest, the most stylish, the most awe-inspiring and the most passionate advertising person I have ever met. I wish life had a rewind button and I could simply go back to the years I spent in Enterprise. Why can’t we have more creative directors like him?

Where do you get your inspiration from?
Arty museums, seedy bars, twitter, wikipedia, coffee shops, wherever I can get it from.

Tell us something about the work environment at Percept.
Percept has had a unique culture and a unique way of working. Since I had moved to Percept with my earlier boss, Ajay Chandwani, I found it a lot easier to bring in a creative culture, so to speak. We had a lot of fun producing some good work, some of which went on to win prestigious awards at Goafest, New York Festivals, Graphis and Montreux. It was quite exciting being part of the transformation, since it was the first time Percept had won so many awards.

Do you have any kind of a program to nurture and train young talent?
Percept does have knowledge sharing sessions every weekend, wherein renowned professionals are invited from the industry to share their knowledge and help train young talent.

What about new and young film makers/photographers? Do you consciously keep looking for newer talent and try someone completely new?
It depends on the nature of the project and the skill-sets required to execute the job. Obviously, the creative output is sacrosanct and if someone younger can bring more value to the table, I’ll be open to it.

What do you think of the state of Print advertising right now. At least here in India, the released work is most often too sad? Why do you think it has lost the shine? Why are the younger lot more interested in TV? Is it because TV creative (after the script of course) is outsourced to a production house?
I think it’s really sad to see print and particularly, writing for print, die in this country. It’s equally sad to see the younger lot ignoring print completely. There was a time when we used to fight among each other to work on a print campaign, but quite apparently, all that is now history. I think it’s bullshit when they say people don’t have the time to read, I think the real reason is that quite evidently, most writers are not writing any more and most planners and juries are not supporting writing any more. A premier Indian newspaper supplement once carried an article titled ‘The Death of Copy’. Ironically, the article was over 600 words in length. The article contradicted the very premise it was based on; that people don’t read any more. Last I checked, newspapers were still on the stands, blogs are gaining more importance and we see more and more bookstores than ever.  The fact is, when you write copy that is relevant and intriguing, people will read it;  when you have fun writing an ad, someone out there will have fun reading it.

About 12 years ago, all IIM and other B-School grads had advertising as their first choice of career option. Today it does not even feature in the list. How does that reflect in the quality of non-creatives in the industry? Is that one reason why the current print work sucks?
Great advertising is born out of a collaboration between a business insight and a disruptive idea. Obviously, it would be horribly wrong to have one without the other; that would most definitely affect the quality of any creative work and not just print alone. Now, more than ever, this industry needs as many bright thinkers as it can get.

More and more young people are web savvy and want to work on the internet or on more entrepreneurial ventures. Has that affected the quality of people advertising has been getting?
On the contrary, it’s helped push the envelope. It’s always good to have young, web savvy creative talent around, considering it’s common knowledge that the internet will gain even more ground as a medium, in the days to come. It’s also refreshing to see so many creative people start out independently. I firmly believe the next big creative revolution will be digitized and more often than not, the big ideas will come from
independent creative hotshops. Traditional advertising and beliefs will undergo a massive transformation and it will be exciting to witness a paradigm shift.

Do you think brands whose advertising wins awards do well in the market?
Without a doubt. According to The Gunn Report, more than 70% of the brands which win awards go on not just meet, but exceed sales targets. Advertising which wins awards obviously stands head and shoulders above the ones which don’t, and therefore gets noticed better and therefore, results in sales. It’s quite simple, really.

What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals?
Stay hungry. Stay foolish. Never, ever waste money on an expensive portfolio case;
all your employer cares about is what’s inside.

What is your dream project?
To work on a campaign for Volkswagen.

Mac or PC?
Mac. Dead argument, innit?

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
Salman Rushdie. He’s got to be the most fascinating man on earth.

What’s on your iPod?
Jack Johnson, Pearl Jam, One Republic, The Fray, GMS and good ole’ Pink Floyd.


View on Vimeo.

David De Souza : Photography

A photographer by serendipity, happy accident. Bought a second hand camera in 1977 it had a mission and a destiny for me like a magic talisman, no one would have predicted, least of all me that I would change my profession for the third time with it.

Why are you a photographer?
I wish I could answer that, some people have profound answers, I dont think I chose it, it chose me. I sort of like being led by my nose, well……..err……let my wife not hear that.

Do you remember any decisive moment when you felt ‘I want to be a photographer’?
No there was no Road to Damascus or some bolt of lightening, sorry I know its boring, its just one of those things, after a few years of making photographs, I looked back and said – gee, I must be a photographer, because I am not gardening, or in an office or whatever. Its always by ‘default’.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
Oh yes of course, many, My Mother to begin with, and an artist friend Babla Senapati, were huge spiritual influences that I was aware of. Of course there were many more subliminal ones, like authors of classics, philosophers, literature, and spiritual gurus, India inspires me continually.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in photography?
Hard to give you one name, so allow me to give you a slew. Avedon, Bresson, Newton, Penn, Araki, Lachapelle, Cravo Neto, Recuenco, Tress, and many many many more actually.

How has photography changed over the course of the last couple of decades? Is execution/art direction more important than it used to be?
Photography sort of mirrors the times, it has become more explicit and with larger production values, of course there are so many genres of photography, so its hard to generalise, but societies values run parallel in the media. what one could not say 5 years ago one might be able to say today, generally its the other way around. here in our country its becoming more fascist. This I dont think is representative of society but political. Everyone plays one against the other, but what suffers is the art. It is becoming more a ’stylists’ domain.

What do you think of the current state of Print Advertising photography in India? Is it at par with the work done worldwide?
The standard technically is very high and comparable, but the ‘idea’, the story-line, the concept, is severely lacking, this you see in Bollywood too. We are terribly unoriginal, everyone copies.

There is a certain sense of stylization in your work. Its almost like a signature. Where do you get your inspiration?
I buy a lot of books only to know what not to do. I continue to do what I do, because I have never seen anything like it. BUt that can become its own trap, one needs to move beyond ones own self, its like a reverse shadow, that leads you and you follow.

You have also Written a few books , could you tell us a little in detail about them ?
Written’ not sure about, authored, yes, done 4 books now, shall talk mainly about the book my wife an I collaborated on, Itinerants – mumbai’s nomads. This was started 13 years ago, and was completed some 8 years ago, its a long story best read on my blog. but the upshot is that we eventually decided to self-publish, for several reasons, not least of which is that the work was being copied happily by many, so we thought, enough is enough, lets just put it out there and move on. We loved doing the book and it has motivated us to never wait, just do what  your heart dictates. Its easy to self publish now and even make a profit. See here and here.

Was there any time when you wanted to quit photography?

No never! But I cant honestly say I liked most of the advertising photography or meeting with the tribe of advertising people, felt that it was spurious, hype, spin doctoring,  fake and inflated. Prefer gardeners, architects and dancers, you can tell quickly who is good and who isn’t. No need for much talk.

Any current work in Indian Advertising that you find exciting? Especially Print?
Shucks, I actually dont go looking for it, as it has not been exciting, creative or unusual, so my exposure is extremely limited.

Whats your dream project?
Rather not talk too much about it as its likely to be plagiarized again (see how paranoid I’ve become). But its just that, I am photo-illustrating my subjects dreams. And I’ve chosen only the dark and the macabre; the bright, shiny, happy ones are the stuff of indian advertising.

Who would you want to spend a dinner with?
Mughda Ghodse, Amrita Rao and Halle berry

Whats on your iPod?
Its an eclectic mix given to me by a young german musician, he gave me eurpoean funk rock and hip hop in strange languages, mixed with classical and pavaroti.

Mac or PC?
That is not a question. there is only one kind of computer. I am a cultist, and a mac person for many  years now. Just believe in good design, dont like the prices, but think that it is a far superior product.

runjhun jain

a little about yourself:
am a rain lover.
and i love all smallcaps.

why are you an illustrator?
as a kid, my ma never stopped me from drawing on our house walls – they were covered with my scribbles till my height ?, then paper – diaries, notebooks and even chemistry assignments were littered with my art, then art school (where my professor actually failed me in illustration subject because i just wouldn’t do the done thing), followed by advertising – where i met many similar bump-heads who enjoyed and recognized my talent. basically, i’ve continued spilling my head out on all kinds of surfaces, steel cupboards included!

i find healing, expression, madness and myself in my illustrations.

did you attend school for fine art or design?
yes: college of art, delhi.

how would you define your style of illustration?
easy, quirky, honest

you have a distinct style of illustration. how long did it take you to develop your style?
my art just happens to me, its a reflection of ‘all of me’ at that moment… so i guess ‘my style’ will keep developing and changing and expanding till i am.

and thank you for the ‘you have a distinct style…’.

who was the most influential personality on your career in illustrations?
what a serious question!
here are a few influences that have helped me flow freely:
my mother (santosh jain, an artist herself), enid blyton, willie wonka and the chocolate factory (the original movie), mad comics, salvodar dali, henry matisse’, van gogh, apple products, my guru (prasad karmarkar) and the ever ready black pen. and of course, a sea of talented and crazy people out there!

am inspired and charmed by atleast one of the above at any given point of time :D

do you do commercial illustrations or are they just for yourself?
both

anything else that you do so well?
thanks, hmmm, i think i’m the best cat mom and a great bath butler.

any other contemporary indian illustrators who you admire? do you have any favorite fellow illustrators or resources relating to your fields?
www.thingsofrandomcoolness.com is one place to meet some mad, original people creating havoc.

you have worked for many years as a professional advertising person. what advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals? would you advise them to take on illustration as a career option?
take on whatever you want as a career option (or for personal expression or for that matter kitchen napkin decoration option)  – just keep creating. with truth and love.

mac or pc?
macintosh all the way!

who would you like to take out for dinner?
steve jobs.

what’s on your ipod?
loads! currently the band playing is clem snide.

what is your url? where can we see your work?

here also, find me here

Radha Ramachandran : Illustration

Hello.
I’m Radha Ramachandran, a twenty-something illustrator and print designer based in Bangalore.
Being kind of an introvert, I’m generally not a person of many words (Well, except when I’ve got my talking hat on, in which case, I’ll talk your ear off).
When I’m not illustrating (either for a client or for myself) or trying to figure stuff out, I can be found surfing the internet, watching movies, listening to music, reading books, re-reading my favourite books, generally day-dreaming and bullying my four year old Labrador, Leo.

Oh, and I’m also known as ‘Ratlion’, which is the name I blog under over at ‘Ratlion’s Den’.

Why are you an Illustrator?
‘Cos most days, illustrating doesn’t really feel like ‘work’. Even if I weren’t illustrating professionally, I’d still be illustrating for myself.

Did you attend school for fine art or design?
I have a Bachelors in Business Management, and a one year P.G.Diploma in Visual Communication.
When I decided to switch fields after graduation, I didn’t really have any definitive goals of becoming an illustrator. All I knew was that I wanted to pursue a career in art or design. I knew next to nothing about the industry and wasn’t sure if I even had the necessary skills to back my interest, so I opted to go in for some kind of formal training. But I would say that my illustration skills have more or less been self-taught. Most of what I know, I’ve learnt by simply ‘doing’.

You studied finance for some time. And now you do freelance illustrations. Would you tell us more about it?
I think one of my earliest answers to the ‘What are you going to be when you grow-up?’ question was ‘a Fashion Designer’. Mostly ‘cos it was the only ‘arty’ career known to my then younger self!

But coming from a background where art was encouraged as a hobby rather than a career, I got into commerce in Jr. College and ended up in an institute that stressed on academics above all else. My professors figured I had potential (I got pretty good grades. What can I say? I was a geek.) and were determined not to let me waste it. By the end of 2 years, I had an amazing mark sheet, a lesson in the benefits of hard work and a career goal of ‘Uh, maybe an MBA’.

The following three years of graduation, I studied Management, got good grades (except in finance), doodled in the finance lectures (that’s probably why), and fielded questions like ‘Why aren’t you studying  Art?’.

After graduation I figured my friends had a point, and realizing that what I’d wanted all along was a career in arts, enrolled myself for a one year post graduate diploma in Visual Communication.

The rest as they say, is history!

You have a distinct style of illustration. How long did it take you to develop your style?
As far as style is concerned, mine is a bit eclectic. Which is why I’ve got more than one.

In the 3 years or so since I’ve been in this field, I think my style has been continuously changing or evolving and I think it will continue to change and evolve in the future too. A change in style for me is never planned or calculated, it’s just something that happens when I discover a new way of doing something or want to incorporate something I’m inspired by into my work. I don’t think I’ve found my illustrative ‘voice’ yet and in the meantime I enjoy experimenting with styles, techniques, textures & colours.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
Not really. I think I pretty much lived in my own world growing up. I almost always had my nose buried in a book.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Illustrations?
Would the internet count as an influential personality? I think my discovery of sites like Illustration Friday and Inspire Me Thursday could definitely count as being one of my first introductions to illustration as a possible career. I started my first blog with the sole intention of participating in Illustration Friday, and all that exposure to other illustrators and their work (and realizing how much fun I was having illustrating a new concept every week) is what made me really want to give the arts field a try. I can honestly say it’s changed my life.

When did you start freelancing?
After the Vis. Comm course, I headed to Mumbai to work for a contract publisher for about 6 months. I started freelancing shortly after I returned to Bangalore. Again, it wasn’t planned or calculated. I started freelancing for my ex-employer and have been at it ever since.

Was there any time when you wanted to quit Illustrations?
I don’t think I could ever quit illustrating. Like I said, if I weren’t doing it professionally I’d still be doing it for myself (it’s fun!). But sometimes when I’m most frustrated by a job or client, I have been known to fantasize about moving to the country (with lot’s of dogs for company) and growing organic vegetables for a living. Something like that anyway.

Do you work more with agencies or publishers?
The bulk of my work so far has been in the form of editorial illustration and childrens illustration, both of which I really enjoy. I’d love to illustrate a book for children some day.

Any other Indian Illustrators who you admire?
All these years on the internet, and I can count the number of Indian illustrators I’ve come across in one hand. This is definitely changing though. I like the work of Sameer Kulavoor and Gulzar Junaid, both of whom you’ve featured here. (At one point, I actually wrote to Gulzar (we have a friend in common) with a dozen questions about the field and industry in India and he was sweet enough to write back a detailed email with sound advice!)

Do you have any favorite fellow illustrators or resources relating to your fields?
Too many to count! I’m an internet junkie, which means I’m forever surfing the net for information, knowledge, inspiration etc. and over the years I’ve accumulated quite a few bookmarks.

What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals? Would you advise them to take on Illustration as a career option?
I’m a great believer in doing what you love. If you really enjoy something, you’ll figure out how to make a living out of it. So yes, if you love illustrating and have the passion to sustain you through the ups and downs, I’d say go for it.
As for advice, I’m still in a place where I’m trying to figure stuff out for myself. My career plan so far has been to take things as they come and I still have a long way to go as far as my illustration is concerned. I’d actually be happy to take advice from the more experienced illustrators out there!
Mac or PC?
PC. It’s all I’ve ever worked on (I wouldn’t know what I’m missing when it comes to a Mac!)

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
Being a quasi-hermit I’d really be no good at taking anyone out for dinner!

Having said that, it might be nice to take friends and family who’re skeptical about ‘vegan-ism’ out for a nice all-vegan meal! (no, it’s not rabbit food and yes, it can taste great!)

(In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m currently a full-time vegetarian and part-time vegan but am definitely looking to get back to being vegan full-time!)

What’s on your iPod?
I’m one of those people who’ll fall in love with a particular song or set of songs and happily listen to it over and over in a loop till they fall in love with the next song (or set of songs). Right now one of those songs would be ‘Tu Jaane Na’ feat. Kailash Kher (love his voice).

Jitesh Patel, Illustration

ABOUT ME: Being a Indian born in England, I have two cultures to be inspired by the Indian heritage brings out vibrancy while British side of me is more considered, its definitely reflected in my work, I enjoy what I do and I work hard to create great work, I have had some great clients to work with and its always nice to build up good client artist relationships. STYLE: My illustrations are bold and strong. The pieces are carefully considered and this is evident in the composition with intricate silhouettes and designs. Colour is an prominent ingredient in my work; I choose to provoke an emotional connection with my selection of palette choice. INFLUENCES: I like to create design on a daily basis, it may be a small doodle in a sketch book, which may lead to a bigger idea and design, I feel this daily process keeps me fresh as a designer, ideas are crucial to my design process. I like to collect design which appeals to me, I never throw anything out as I believe that whatever I have will be useful in some way one day.

Why are you an Illustrator?
I enjoy working as a illustrator, I cant imagine doing anything else, its not a very traditional path for a indian to take, with most of my indian family and friends taking some sort of traditional career path as a accountant or doctor. I have always been creative from a young age and it felt natural to pursue  a creative career. I enjoy working on a creative piece which has come straight from my imagination. Its not as simple as putting a pen to paper. Its very much an equation or formula which needs answering creatively. I often spend time figuring out a design, which I most often then not enjoy doing.

Did you attend school for fine art or design?
I have studied design from when I was at school all the way through to University where I enrolled on to a degree in Graphic design. I enjoyed my experience at university where I learned alot from my tutors and friend. It was a great environment to experiment with design. It was great time to compete with my fellow classmates and it encouraged me to always produce work to a high standard something which I still believe in today. I always want to create a piece of work which is better then the last pice of work I have created. Its what keeps me fresh as a designer

You have a distinct style of illustration. How long did it take you to develop your style?
My creations are a blend of delicate, intricate forms, and a good use of colour,  composed together in a harmonizing way. It’s a matter of how I feel about the work I’m working on. If it feels right and im excited by it, I know I will be satisfied with the final piece.

I have developed a style over the years, which is constantly developing. Its clean and simple in its form. I like to create intricate, delicate work, which is essential to create a feminine touch to my illustrations. I trust in the composition and weight of my work. It’s a very thought through process and everything is placed coherently.

The lines are swooping and weaving through the design, which provide a sense of movement. These forms interact with elements in my illustration, which is very characteristic of my work.

I introduce and work with floral designs and nature, it’s a feature to my illustrations, depending on the brief. I like to overlay my work and have different layers come through which adds a fresh dimension.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
I was influenced by designers such as Neville Brody, David Carson, Vaughan Oliver, Peter Saville, Tomato, Designers Republic, They were the designers of the time while I was studying and I very much looked up to them. Although my work bears no resemblance to their style now. At they time they were of much importance to me when I was interested in graphic design. Although I am more of an illustrator I still reference their work, when I am working on something which is of a more graphical nature.

When did you start freelancing?
I started freelancing after I left working for a fashion brand which was my very first job back in 2000. It was a great launch pad for my career as it was a very well know brand. I was finding my feet at the time, and i very much jumped in at the deep end learned to swim on the job. I has been very much a steep learning curve, I have learned from my mistakes and has been a great learning experience.

Was there any time when you wanted to quit Illustrations?
There have been time when I have been strapped for cash, and thought about seeking something more secure. Its a tough industry with alot of competition and you have to always be at the top of your game, you have to love what you do while having a head fro business which is something I have now created.

Are many advertising agencies getting illustrations made these days? Do you work more with agencies or publishers?
There are many advertising agencies using illustrations. It all depends what  is in style at the time. Your style of work can be in style and then out the next. its a vicious circle which you have to get use to. I have learned to adapt my style and try new things to always be in work. you have to be adaptable and be jack of all trades to survive, Advertising is obviously more attractive as it is the industry that pays most well.

I have been lucky to have had equally amounts of work from both advertising and publishing, obviously I would prefer more adverting, because of the exposure and pay. Experience counts in the design industry A client likes to know you are professional and can deliver a quality project on time. I learned if you have a personable and approachable attitude towards your clients you more often then not receive repeat business or are revered on a recommendation bases to someone they know.

Any other Indian Illustrators who you admire?
Nishant Choksi who I share the same illustration agency i always liked his style and work.

Do you have any favorite fellow illustrators or resources relating to your fields?
You have such a wide experience as a top working professional. What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals? Would you advise them to take on Illustration as a career option?
I have to admit it is a very tough industry its a craft which you have to be good at like any career, its helps to be creative and passionate. In the beginning it can be tough to start your career, you have to preserver and not give up. you sometimes will be rejected but it only makes you stronger and encourages you to work hard. I am always working and designing, I spend time working on my ideas and my sketch books, its something which I enjoy doing and I dont see it as a job personally.

Mac or PC?
I have always been a mac person, and im not very PC literate to my frustration.

What’s on your iPod?
Presently i listen to a lot of the Beastie Boy tracks, I love the Blackeyed Peas. I listen to some bollywood tracks also.

Jitesh Patel can be contacted via his website here

Rajeev Alex Basu : DesiCreative in London

My name is Rajeev Basu. I live and work in London. I work across advertising, design and products. I’ve worked at Fallon London and The Brooklyn Brothers. And currently work for Saint London.

Why are you into Advertising?
I like being creative. I like the idea that you might come up with something that no-one else has ever thought of. And how it might take shape as a piece of film. Or a book. Or a product. Or sometimes even as a piece of advertising.

You went to study Economics at University. What made you come to work in advertising?
Advertising allows me to laugh just as much in the week as I do at the weekend.

Tell us something about the work and creative atmosphere at Fallon and Saint…
We were lucky to be at Fallon when it was the place to be. Cadbury Gorilla was taking off, and the place was buzzing. It was amazing. I think it was one of those rare times when it was all the right people at the right place at the right time.

I like Saint London a lot. We started here when it was really small. About 20 people or so.  It’s nice because it’s a lot more hands on. And we get to work on pretty much everything. We recently did this title sequence for the Virgin London Marathon. We used a cool animator from Philadelphia called Andy Rementer. Love his style. Think these turned out pretty neat…

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
My dad. He is the smartest person I know. My mum. She is the most selfless person I know.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Advertising?
Tony Cullingham at Watford copywriting school. You cannot describe this man in words. He has shaped so many of the most brilliant creatives around the world it’s scary. He is brilliant. And I feel privileged…

Where do you get your inspiration from?
I like funny stuff. I read and watch a lot of comedy. I like The Simpsons, Futurama… tv shows like The IT Crowd, Black Books and Father Ted. Oh, and I like the film ‘Man on the Moon’ too (it’s a film about a comedian ahead of his time).

Tell us something about your Rat Table project. What spurred this amazing thought?

I do a lot of independent projects outside of work. Rat Table is the biggest and most well known. It’s a sculpture. It’s a table that will be made entirely by rats. You can get all the info and see pictures on my site here. It’s an ongoing project. If you’d like to see how we get on, and see whether a huge number of rats can turn a big solid block of wood into a table – join the facebook group…

I’ve also recently launched my first product called Impossible Lamp. It’s a lamp made of wax that works without melting. You can read more about it here

Do you get to see some of the advertising being created in India? Anything in particular that you remember?
I still remember the Levi’s stickmen press ads that came out of India years ago. I think I saw them at the Young Guns show here in the UK.

Do you think brands whose advertising wins awards, do well in the market?
I think where awards are rewarding creativity that has demonstrated that it was genuinely effective are good.

What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals?
It’s better to be different, wrong and irrelevant than to be boring.
Go with your gut.

Mac or PC?
Mac.

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
My future wife.

What’s on your iPod?
I don’t own one.

Rajeev can be contacted via his website here

Satish-G : Illustration

A little about yourself
I’m Satish G,  illustrator and concept artist. I’m specialized in illustration, concept art and graphic designer. My passion for illustration, comics, graphic novels and all kind of visual art shaped up my professional carrier.

Why are you an Illustrator?
“Life” is such a wonderful  thing.  Everything a creature does, is because it has this life factor dwelling in it.  And every form of life looks like a miracle to me.  The facial expressions, color, the postures , the shapes of each being is so special  and I have become addicted of playing around the above factors with my imaginations and pencil for my tools. That’s why I am an illustrator.

Did you attend school for fine art or design?
It was always clear to me that I was good as an artist. So I took up my specialization in Painting as a subject.  Fortunately I was also exposed to Designing in my various work experiences.

You have a distinct style of illustration. How long did it take you to develop your style?
I always stacked to what I like best. And the style which i have right now is not at all a deliberate attempt from within. When you move on with your thoughts and way of execution you are bound to fall in a unique pattern which has our character in it that we call as style. And when you realize it and you go beyond exploring it you are really enjoying the show.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
I wish I had?.!!!

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Illustrations?
Unfortunately I did not have a guiding star in my life.  But was fortunate enough to have been blessed with parents who tried to nurture my talents in whatever way they could. Illustrations in the children?s comics and magazines have been a great help.

Was there any time when you wanted to quit Illustrations?
Everybody goes through rough patches in their lives. There were times when I felt my desire of becoming an artist will take me nowhere. But I am glad I was wrong!

Are many advertising agencies getting illustrations made these days? Do you work more with agencies or with others? If others, whom?
Well, I am not aware if many agencies are getting illustrations made these days. I have worked with agencies on and off but never felt it was much of a lucrative business for me.  I am working towards having my own line of story books for children.  I also work for the online gaming companies.

Do you do most of your stuff by hand, or are they digital?
A combination of both brings out an interesting result.  When it is a real canvas, then  it’s just my hand which takes the credit!!

Any other Indian Illustrators who you admire?
I am an ardent fan of many Indian Painters. But have not found an illustration Guru for my idol.

Do you have any favorite fellow illustrators or resources relating to your fields?

There’s so much talent to explore on web and every artist I come across amuses me in a certain way.  Observing and learning has become my nature.

You have such a wide experience as an artist. What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals? Would you advise them to take on Illustration as a career option?
I say that whatever you do, you shall do it for the love of doing it.  I am a believer of Karma and can only advice that one should do his karma with all his heart and not worry about the end result. Your efforts will work for you and there’s no ambiguity about it.

Mac or PC?
PC

What’s on your iPod?
Soundgarden, Eels, kings of leon, Nickleback, Doors & ACDC.

Itu Chaudhuri Design

Itu Chaudhuri has practiced design since 1984, when he first began to tack the word “design” after his name on his letterhead. In 1996, on his accountant’s advice, he incorporated a company under the same name, thus perpetuating that unfortunate decision. Itu Chaudhuri Design (ICD) specialises in helping clients’ businesses through design, seeking out those who believe that design can make a difference to a result, whether economic or social, and are willing to approach their project in this way.

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Why are you a Graphic Designer?
I loved to draw letters and sometimes, spaces or buildings and weird inventions, a bit like a daft boy Leonardo (da Vinci, not DiCaprio). I never saw, and still don’t truly see, different kinds of design. Architecture seemed most challenging, so I chose to study it after school. To get in, you had to give an entrance exam, which meant I could, quite respectably, hide my indifferent school performance; that was nice, too.

Today. I think differently. I’d like to be a designer first, with graphic secondary. I’d like Design to be written into the strategic script at an earlier point than it is—an execution tool, rather like a pencil. How much better if we could be aprt of the mind that moves the arm that moves the pencil!  If this makes sense…


Did you attend school for fine art or design?
How did you make the transition from SPA (School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi) to graphic design?
No art or design school. I’m a fraud! One of my first hires, a really bright NID-trained designer, seriously suggested to me that graphic designers should be licensed to practice. Looking back on our work then, you could say he had a point; luckily, he left us soon and I could breathe freely.

Aurobind Patel, the amazing publication designer and typographer (he redesigned India Today in the early 80s, and The Economist in the 1990s) encouraged me to make a shift, to marry rather than flirt around. Aurobind practices what you might call a zen method,  teaching, by not teaching; showing how to learn. Here’s how it worked. He’d open a spread of say, Muller-Brockman’s Grid Systems. He’d wait till I was hooked (usually 60 seconds). Then he’d lend it to me and a few meetings later, maybe after a month,  I’d come back to return it. “I’ve been reading it all month,” i’d offer.  “That should do it,” he’d reply. Afterwards, we might make a photostat of some lettering from another book in his fantastic collection, and pin it up on his softboard. “Gorgeous, just look at that!” he’d gush. Then he’d roll a joint and buy me lunch, while he smoked. Can it get better?

Did you ever work in anther design studio? Or did you start on your own?
On my own, every day of my life. I wish it hadn’t been so, though.

Unfortunately, the design scene in 1984 was very different from today. I’m only stating a fact when I say I have never had the sort of opportunity we offer young designers today. Around 1992, Sujatha Kesavan kindly offered me a job at the newly formed Ray & Keshavan, but the wages weren’t too good (Rs 3800, or about Rs 10,000 in today’s money).

You have a distinct style of Design. How long did it take you to develop your style?
I don’t think we have a distinct style at all. In any case, a lot of designers have contributed to it with their own strengths, not me alone. And every passing year, it’s less and less of me. We like to think we try to develop a language for every problem, rather than approach it with a style of our own. A way of thinking, yes; style, hopefully; but “a” style, well, that’s not out way.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
Aurobind Patel should have been the one if I’d specialised in typography, but once I realised I didn’t want to, I guess he’s been a mentor rather than a role model. I hope he agrees. In any case, we can’t all live in the stratosphere, what with the air being so thin and all.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in graphic design? Any other Indian graphic designers who you admire?
Whatever I’ve learnt—and nearly all my human influence, outside books—is from designers I’ve been lucky to work with. There’s Rajesh Dahiya, and Lisa Rath (now my partner for some years). Also Ankur Choksi, Aditya Pande, Dev Kabir Malik. All amazing designers, at the very top of the profession. There’s also Milan Moudgill (brielfy), Sudeep Mazumdar, a great talent.  All these have been unequal exchanges; I certainly got the better of the bargain.

Lotus (Ambrish Arora, Ankur, Siddharth Talwar and co) are a consistently brilliant interior design firm we work with occasionally and admire all the time. Akila Seshasayee teaches me a lot for sure, but what exactly? Adam Kallish, a Chicago designer, is my thinking teacher, via imaginary conversations, and a real one every year or two. Ram Sinam at trapeze, now here’s someone to admire.

Most clients teach you something; some a great deal. Pankaj Agarwal at Haldiram’s taught me all I know about packaging. Sandipan Deb and Rajesh Jha at Open magazine, recently. Ashish Rajpal, at idiscoveri, an ex-client, was best of all, messianic and mentoring; Tarun Chandna and Gaurav Saklani, at Inme and Exper, are guys every business should meet if it employs people. Among quasi-clients: Omkar Goswami, economist;  Mukul Kesavan, writer (always provocative,  sometimes eye-opening views on design or anything else).

Santosh Sood, (ex Lowe/Rediff) works with us on branding and advises on everyhting; with his very individual mix of extreme smarts and sageness, will perhaps overtake the influence of everyone in the preceding paragraphs. Rahul Dewan, (Srijan Technologies) is a mentor everyone should have.

My father, Sankho, sculptor and mother Ira, studio potter. My father’s abstract work gives me faith that pure form, for its own sake, without represenational meaning, has great power, as surely as any work by Paul Rand does. My mother’s work reminds me that surface decoration is not mindless.

Was there any time when you wanted to quit graphic design?
Why wait, there’s no time like the present! This is a regular feeling, and visits me every single day. There’s a desire to do something better, practice design in a larger and more meaningful way. Perhaps the lack of achievement in the existing practice holds one back from starting something new. To burn bridges, you must build them first.

What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals? Would you advise them to take on graphic design as a career option?
Yes, a passionate yes.  From the end (I think) of James Joyce’s great novel, Ulysses:

I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.

Do you think Clients are opening up to keeping aside a decent respectable budget for design work? Do you think clients are understanding that they need to invest in Design as a communication tool and also to cut the clutter, and that good design comes at a price?
Varies greatly—-fortunately.

But I now think that it’s time for designers to stop complaining and thinking of clients as “them”—-I have. Correct thinking will lead you into the middle of the “mess”, or that part of the problem which matters most, and where value lies–to the client, or his customer or society. This value has to be communicated, and the rewards will come from the person or group to whom benefit flows—this could be the client or his clients. If you can’t say what it is, or don’t know yourself, then it’s back to the drawing board. And If there is no person or group who benefits, then why do it? I feel this is the key to thinking through design.

So a failure to get a ‘decent budget’ is, in this way of thinking, a failure to uncover that value, or a lack of imagination. This is an uncompromising view, where tangling with business and society, and uncovering the “mess” become a part of practicing design. Here’s Adam Kallish: “bringing clients, markets and design together is a  strategic act.” (something like that).

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Are you hiring? :)
Yes, we’re recruiting clients! Any client who has the right idea is welcome to join us in solving problems or finding opportunities. We offer poor pay, long hours!

Yes, designers too. Always open for good people, seniors and juniors. We look for open-minded, curious people above all, intelligent in one way or another. Good pay, good hours.

Mac or PC?
Mac for me. But to quote a famous New Yorker cartoon.”On the internet, no one knows you’re really a dog.”

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
Vidya Balan.  Ideally, for chai; dinner is too intimidating. Can you help?

What’s on your iPod?
Nothing. It’s iTunes I depend on; no iPod. I use a MacBook Pro, which has some of my music, and goes everywhere with me. I listen to music a lot, very seriously, but never when I walk or jog. At work, I simply connect desktop speakers; at home, I stream wirelessly from the MacBook. An external hard disk stores uncompressed music. The stream goes to a conventional stereo with amp and two speakers (2.0, not a 5.1 home theatre). The only truly mobile listening I do is in my car, which accepts USB input, and a little flash drive does the job. To carry ALL your music ALL the time is… I’d better shut up.

Hindustani classical, Jazz, Hindi film classics, Western classical is the order (70-10-10-10).

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Vikram Bawa : Photography

A little about Vikram, in his own words, from his website:

Have been a photographer for as long as I can remember. Though turned professional 13 years back. Photography campaigns for a broad range of products and brands from Jewelry to Cars to Airlines. Specialise in Fashion and People photography. Always try and bring an element of fashion to all my shoots. Of late celebrities and film stars seem to be in my kitty. Have worked with most magazines in India. At last count 300+ odd covers across different magazines.
Directed and shot a couple of short films.
“Yahaan Gandhi Bikta Nahin’, a short film on Gandhi in present dat has been part of a traveling exhibition to art galleries in the country.
Published a coffee table  quarterly ‘Twisted Heads’
The first photographer in India to do 3D Photography and something I call disappearing photography.
Have won approximately 7 international awards other than honorable mentions.
Just won an international award for my campaign for Skoda Automobile and another international award with acclaimed artists from our country.
Also mentioned amongst the top 5 most important people in the photography industry in India since the last 4 years.

Why are you a photographer?
This is a tough one.. My standard line to everyone generally has been that ‘ I was unemployed’ but on a serious note, I don’t think I have a reason… guess it’s in my blood. Mum and Dad were very good photographers, but casual photographers, nothing serious, though they had some beautiful images to their credit. Somewhere around 15, I discovered my love for photography, which, by the time I was 23 had become an obsession, to a point where I carried my camera to the loo and actually still sleep with it beside me, just in case I get an idea. And at 26 i got a chance to do it full time.. so here i am.

Do you remember any decisive moment when you felt ‘I want to be a photographer’?
There were many, but this moment is too long and complicated to put down on paper… but it was at the age of 20 i think, when i knew this is what i want to do for the rest of my life..

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
There were so many.. I’m a voracious reader of photography books, magazine and have been continuously been influenced by everyone from an amateur, to other professionals, life itself, movies, my parents,..

Who was the most influential personality on your career in photography?
Mum, Dad and then Preeti & Gayatri Bedi (Mitter Bedi’s daughters), for their guidance and support, and Girish Mistry for opening my eyes to see ‘light’, In recent years though David LaChapelle, Eugenio Recuenco, Herb Ritts… so many people and things around.. need to thank so many of them.

How has photography changed over the course of the last couple of decades? Is execution/art direction more important than it used to be?
From capturing the moment and capturing emotions and personalities, we’ve moved drastically into imaginative story telling.. But this is as far as the international market is concerned. In India we are still at the aping the west scenario. The art direction and creative’s we see a lot are mostly copied, scanned, mostly lifted and recreated. There is so much unnecessary emphasis on digital mixing, digital cut and paste that the work does not seem to belong to a photographer. There is no sense of personal style. Looks more like an art directors portfolio. The thing most lacking is a sense of style. I can only count on a couple of photographers in India who have a distinctly strong sense of style.
There are very few instances of actually coming up with something unique, especially india centric.. Though it has at times become easier with a clearer thought process going into shoots.

What do you think of the current state of Print Advertising photography in India? Is it at par with the work done worldwide?
Very bad!! In terms of photography and lighting we are very good. Equal to the best. But in terms of application, thought process, budgets, style we are very lacking and sadly mediocre. We do not understand that print is the pinnacle of Fashion in the world. Photography makes a brand and style statement for anything from cars, people, clothes, buildings, anything.. Can’t blame the creative’s only. It is a matter of educating the client to what can be achieved using print and the importance of it. Which most agencies are scared to push lest they lose the client. One of the reasons why MNC’s with hi end products like cars, fashion don’t shoot with us. They still prefer a foreign photographer.

There is a certain sense of stylization in your work. It’s almost like a signature. Where do you get your inspiration?
Everywhere.. I take things from life, from what I see, I hear…
Mostly I have realized that I do not want to do any mediocre work.. If I do a shoot and I cannot look at the pictures again, they were not worth wasting time over. I want to create IMAGES, every picture should be worth putting up, otherwise I’ve demeaned my art form and gift… I have many times not done a shoot because i did not agree with the clients nature, thought process, or whatever doesn’t agree with my sensibility. Though I’m not infallible. My obsession to detail before the actual shoot maybe shows at times.

Tell us something about your award winning works. Especially the wonderful work which won at PX3 Prix De La Photographie Paris.
I’ve been lucky that I have clients and friends who now understand my style and give me the freedom and choice to create images the way I want to. We have a creative partnership with Skoda, wherein I create fashion images using their product range as part of the image. They sponsor my shoots and my creativity. In return they use the pics as a showcase at Lakme Fashion Week, internally with their international counterparts and as part of their group calendar. It gives the team at Skoda and us both a chance to showcase our creativity other than the regular boring advertisements. The Runaway superhero, was one of those series which was awarded the 3rd best Automotive Campaign award.
7 years back i had done a series with superhero’s, which luckily for me is still remembered by some of my clients. The images we created were loosely created on that series. The thought process was that even a superhero uses a Skoda Superb. We put him in a modern Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge style Bollywood movie, where he is running away with the bride, making out and then dumping her finally, all using the Superb. I have been lucky to have a good team of makeup artists, stylists, designers to back me up on my shoots. One of my most fun shoots. In fact the new one is better than this.. or maybe completely different than this one.
Also have received another award from PX3 for a fashion shoot/campaign which we created for TBZ jewellery.

Was there any time when you wanted to quit photography?
Yes a few years back. I was very frustrated with the type of work that was being asked for or being done by clients/ agencies. Somewhere down the line I realized my mind cannot do the typical straight boring images. I can create complicated pictures. And I slowly moved away from the regular work that was happening and that didn’t agree with me. But i’m glad i didn’t give up.

Any current work in Indian Advertising that you find exciting? Especially Print?
Can’t remember off hand… Nothing current i guess, But there have been some in the past..

Whats your dream project?
Don’t really have ‘A’ particular dream project. For me every new good job, where i’m allowed a free hand is a dream project. My dream though is to be an art photographer, shooting for myself, what i want to, how i want to. Though i’d definitely like to work on Lavazza and the Pirelli Calendars.

Who would you want to spend a dinner with?
hmmmm.. must be the toughest question.. but would be an anticlimax actually. I live for the day. So whoever i am with is my dream dinner date..

Whats on your iPod?
Everything from rock, country, pop, world music, hyms, to love aaj kal and the likes. Not particularly a huge fan of trance or heavy metal. Anything that’s uplifting and peppy.. Has to charge me up and make me feel positive. No sad songs…

Mac or PC?
Ah!!! Mac for its interface, PC for its adaptability. Right now on the latest custom made, i7 processor based PC’s ( they are the latest. Not even with mac. 7 cores.. )

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You can reach Vikram through his website here.