Hasta La Creative!

Sneha Suresh, 23, founder of Tucksac, has always been interested in the way that visual communication can push people to look at things in a different way. She takes her morning cup of coffee very seriously, loves indulging in a jar of Nutella and her Instagram feed suggests that she dreams in shades of turquoise. Much of her work is inspired by nature, history, oral traditions and art forms. Her immense love for colour and pattern reflects in her work.

“I am a visual communicator, illustrator and printmaker born and raised in Goa. I have a penchant for colour, pattern and hands-on work. I enjoy working with surface pattern design, illustrations, brand identity, layouts and typography for print media and textiles. I graduated with a B.Des in Visual Communication and Strategic Branding from Srishti Institute of Art,
Design & Technology, Bangalore in July ‘18 after which I worked as a visual communication designer for 7 months. I am currently based out of Goa, freelancing while also working on a brand that I started 5 years ago called Tucksac. My thesis and pre-thesis work in addition to self initiated projects that I’ve been working on in the past few months reflects my love for exploring different mediums, hands-on work and my passion for
working closely with culture, history, communities and their oral traditions and practices.

I love coffee, a clean/colourful workspace, enjoy playing badminton and practicing yoga, listening to music, spending time with my family and friends.”

Why are you an Illustrator?
With a penchant for colour, texture, pattern and text and image, I illustrate with the intention of using visuals to tell a story that looks at particular theme through a different lens. Since what moves people in every case is the unknown, I like telling stories through visuals that open doors for imagination in addition to creating awareness about a certain topic.

Did you attend school for fine art or design?
Yes, I did my graduation at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore with a specialisation in Visual Communication and Strategic Branding.

You have been working on some interesting projects, like the Endangered Musical Instruments etc. Can you tell us a bit about those?
A year ago, my father visited his boarding school decades later where he found and re-united with his tabla after 48 whole years. The sheer joy on his face while holding an instrument that he played 48 years ago inspired me to work with Indian musical instruments that are lost in time.

This series of illustrations is a playful re-interpretation of lesser known Indian musical instruments that are either forgotten or on the verge of extinction. The purpose of this series is to preserve and pay tribute to these instruments and give them a new life through illustrations while keeping the essence of the old intact. Each illustration is a tribute to one such instrument with an aim to push people to think, wonder, imagine and perhaps even create.

This October I decided to take a few prompts from the #inktober2019 challenge and use them as cues to re-imagine and illustrate certain instruments that are on the verge of extinction. In each of the illustrations, the re-imagined instrument is painted in black and gold.

I’m hugely inspired by Indian history, oral traditions, art forms and my cultural roots. Now that I think about it, this probably started when I was little. I was always drawn towards images of seals from the Indus Valley Civilization that featured in my school. Over the years, my love for people, conversations, communities and their practices continued to grow and that led me to dig a little deeper. While I also get inspired by our ‘everyday’, different cultures and traditions and all that we’re surrounded with here in India, my quest for narratives from the past continues to grow.

2 projects that I worked on prior to this series are: ‘Prajne’ which was A Tribute to Ancient Artefacts and the Hand-made and ‘Inaipu’ which looked at Giving the Oral Tradition of Tamil Proverbs a Tangible Form through Re-imagined Tamil Letterforms.

Tell us something about your own brand ‘Tucksac’.
In October 2014, I accidentally stumbled upon entrepreneurship when I got multiple orders for ‘roll-up stationery pouches’ that I had actually made for myself and my art professor to use. I was 18 back then, in my first year of Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology and decided to take my first baby steps into the world of entrepreneurship when I founded Tucksac. All that I new back then was that I was passionate about textiles and wanted to avoid the use of leather and plastic while getting my products made.

Today, Tucksac works towards making certain narratives from the past more accessible while offering quality products for artists/designers. Tucksac also takes up commissions related to Branding, Surface Pattern Design, Wall Art for Commercial Spaces. You can find @tucksac on Instagram

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
My parents and my sister. My sister and I are almost 8 years apart and I’ve always looked up to her in every aspect.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Illustrations?
Wilson D’Souza, an art professor based out of Goa. I went to him for classes for 2 years before joining Srishti. My parents and elder sister also played a huge role in encouraging me to pursue my passion.

What made you decide to become a freelance illustrator? When did you start freelancing? Do you illustrate for advertising?
I started freelancing during my 2nd year at design school. But my freelance work didn’t include illustration. I haven’t illustrated for advertising yet but would like to someday.

Are many advertising agencies getting illustrations made these days? Do you work more with agencies or publishers?
Yes there are some really interesting collaborations between illustrators and advertising agencies happening. Most of the illustration work I have done so far has been part of self initiated projects. Besides that I illustrated for cover pages of a monthly finance magazine called ‘Capital Market’ during an internship in Mumbai.

Was there any time when you wanted to quit Illustrations?
Nopee! This is just the beginning and I’m excited about continuing to explore the medium.

Have you considered turning your illustrations into toys?
Not toys exactly but I’ve particularly considered tactile illustrations on games. The thought first occurred during research prior to designing a game for visually impaired children.

Any other Indian Illustrators who you admire?
Chaaya Prabhat, Lokesh Karekar and Mira Malhotra to name a few.

Do you have any favorite fellow illustrators or resources relating to your fields?
All time favourite – my roommate Srishti Garg who came up with a very cool illustrated roommate series.

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? Is it paying well enough?
I’ve just started off and I’m still learning. In terms of pay, I think it really does depend on a lot of factors which include – your illustration style / how easily you’re able to adapt your style of work to fulfil the needs of the industries that you’re aiming to do work for.

I’d just say – take one little step at a time, enjoy the process and don’t look back.

What’s your dream project?
To collaborate with a designer from another field and work on a series of “well paid” revival projects which require us to travel around the world, spend time interacting with different communities / understanding local crafts

Mac or PC?
Mac

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
The Colour Queen – Sophie Robinson

What’s on your iPod’/Spotify/Music you are listening to?
Landon Pig, Owl City, Flora Cash

Whats your Twitter Handle? Instagram?
Instagram: @snehasuresh30
@tucksac

You can also find her work on Bechance.