WEAVE MARCH 2023 | Beyond Dimensions

COVER CONCEPT

Highlighting the linkage of multiple domains in and around design was the idea. Here, every torus stands for a specific domain and their point of convergence, hence making a chain of process, which, in turns shows how design plays an important role in approaching users.

-By Deepak Roshan

A Word from the Editors

“Going beyond what we know” is a concept rooted in curiosity that makes humans prosper. Diving into the interdisciplinary design from the current possibilities and limitations into concepts further than one’s domain of work sits at the highlight of this edition. With “Beyond Dimensions”, we see each domain of industry as a dimension. Through careful analysis, we hoped to uncover the connections between seemingly unrelated topics, helping to further our understanding of the underlying principles of design. Edition 4 is an archive of such cross-sections between dimensions.

The edition is filled with thought-provoking and inspiring topics that expand our knowledge and awareness. In a discussion with our feature, Janine Benyus, the founder of Biomimcry 3.8, we go through her story of coining the term ‘Biomimicry’. Speaking of stories, we have Vivek Raju charting a map far further from design. Julian Curi, creator of Righteous Robot presents his 2.5D animation and shares how narrations are brought to life. Nitzan Zilberman, Head of Curation at Oxman takes us around the edges of art, human, and biology through her study of “freeports”. Further, Haribaabu Naatesan, founder of FOSSILSS has shed light on rethinking materials and the process of creation and Namrata Jain is aligning the tables of psychology and game design. Converting Indic heritage into tangible products, Sunil Jalihal is sharing his biggest inspiration “India’’. Lastly, giving a glimpse into the ever-changing design education system in India we have Lolita Dutta.

Surpassing Weave’s regulars, we are stoked to add a new section showcasing industry projects by Yash Pradhan and Aditi Anuj as the first in the lineup. This edition, we also bring in some amazing works and articles curated from our talented students here at MIT ID Indore.

We hope the flip beyond this page gets you curious to travel dimensions.

Ishita Neema

Samridhi Samal

Feature : Janine Benyus

(Founder- Biomimicry 3.8, Co-founderThe Biomimicry Institute)

What’s Beyond Nature?

Thought Leadership : Julian Curi

(Founder of Righteous Robot)

Curi Tales

Interview : Haribabu Natesaan

(Founder of FOSSILSS)

Fossilss for Future

Industry Project : Yash Pradhan

(Graphic Designer | Illustrator)

GAP x Yash Pradhan

How To : Nitzan Zilberman

Architect

The Abundance Paradigm

Thought Leadership : Namrata Jain

(Founder of Out Aloud)

The Psychology of Game Design

Personal Project : Samiksha Banka

Midsommar- End Credits

Thought Leadership : Lolita Dutta

(Design Educator, Speaker, Writer)

Evolving With the Roots

Thought Leadership : Vivek Raju

(Senior Experience Designer at Designit)

What Lies Beyond

Personal Project : Shardul Badave

LinkedIn | The Love Campaign

Industry Project : Aditi Anuj

(Founder of Adigami and Origami Artist)

Personal Project : Abhay Sharma

If Apple had a lamp?

Infocus : Sunil Jalihal

(CEO and Founder of Indic Inspiration)

India’s Cultural Stories in Products

Student Article: Ishita Neema

Views Through Views

Illustrations: Lubaina Mizwan

Two Halves Full

Team Weave

Special Thanks

WHAT'S BEYOND NATURE?

Janine Benyus

Founder- Biomimicry 3.8, Co-founder - The Biomimicry Institute

Janine Benyus introduced the term Biomimicry, piquing the curiosity of engineers and designers all around the world. Benyus has consulted with companies such as Boeing, Colgate-Palmolive, Nike, and Levi’s to name a few to help them design products and processes that are sustainable and benefit humanity. She is a sought-after speaker, known for her passion and enthusiasm for using biomimicry to create a better future.

The global trend we are experiencing is that biomimicry is here to stay, with nature serving as our mentor rather than a repository of products. What was your most enlightening experience when researching biomimicry?

As a biologist, I assumed that a designer would consult a botanist, and understand how photosynthesis and leaves work if they were going to design a solar cell. After all, we are surrounded by the largest energy system in the world, one that converts sunlight into chemistry. I started looking for the account of the meeting between the maker of solar cells and the botanist, but I was unable to locate it. I realised that our solar cells were ‘completely out’ of physics and science but they were not out of biology and a leaf uses umpteen amounts of physics and quantum mechanics that might be going on, allowing it to capture those photons, nearly two photons have to be captured within femtoseconds of each other.

Be life-friendly.

As a living thing, a leaf can’t undergo any process that might harm it and that was when I began to look at how differently we do things than the

rest of the natural world. Another “aha” moment was when I went to a material science research meeting and was surrounded by thousands of people who make materials that designers use such as fibres, plastics, polymers and so on. Those people had a saying ‘Heat, Beat and Treat’. They said that’s the way they make things- they heat them, put them under high pressure and treat them with toxic chemicals in sulphuric acid baths and what not. So there was this idea that the only way to create something new was through toxic, dangerous and industrial processes.

Later on, I realised, not everyone uses the ‘Heat, Beat, and Treat’ method. In a material symposium I visited, they were amazed by nature and used it to its full potential. Spinning spider silk from flies and crickets in water at life-friendly temperatures, making hard ceramics that were two times tougher than our high-tech ceramics that we have in our engines and yet being made in seawater. That’s how far it has come in 25 years.

What would nature do in this situation, you might ask as you begin your design process, is what is meant by the term “biomimicry.”

and dealing with nature’s hidden geniuses. What inspired you to create a book about biomimicry? How has this field evolved since the book’s publication?

People from the east are very different from the ones in the west. They believe that nature is a more obvious place to look for guidance. While it wasn’t difficult in the west, there was a lot more human arrogance about how we knew better than nature. With the growth of western industrial culture, we drew more and further away from nature, hoping to escape our link and become independent of it.

I ended up with a cabinet full of research papers after trying to find people who were studying nature in a similar context, only to discover that it was a field with no name. What would nature do in this situation, you might ask as you begin your design process, is what is meant by the term “biomimicry.” It was time to put all of this within the covers of a book. The idea is that after 250 years of western study, these folks sat still, opened their books, and learned from the natural world. And saying ‘how can I emulate you?’. That was something new in the history of science and technology with a new methodology. It inspired me to write and further understand what it meant culturally.

Biomimicry represents us returning to the natural world, going back into our watersheds, back to Earth and saying we have tried to do these technologies on our own and now we are suffering unintended consequences, emergencies of our own making and we are now ready to listen again, emulate what has been here for 3.8 billion years. That stance of humility, seeing nature as a model and mentor has renewed again. It represented such a big change for us culturally.

Biomimicry represented us returning to the natural world, going back into our watersheds, back to Earth and saying we have tried to do these technologies on our own and now we are suffering unintended consequences.

Your institute, while trying to address key environmental and societal challenges, also encourages nature-inspired start-ups to present their work. How did your organisation decide on the Ray of Hope Prize?

Biomimicry 3.8, our consultancy, works with both small startups and large corporations like Microsoft, Nike, and Interface to bring biology to the design table. Meanwhile, small startups are licensing their innovations to these large corporations, making the field of biomimicry more practical. To further support start-ups across the world, we came up with the Ray of Hope Prize.

We began accepting applications from existing businesses about 4 years ago, and now we get around 200-300 applicants annually. It’s fantastic to see what individuals can actually create, especially since these people are doing what I was writing about. They’re taking the science behind surfaces like the lotus leaf or the anti-reflective moth eye and turning it into real-world applications. One such interesting example is that of Green Pod Laboratories. They examined plant chemistry in India and discovered the pattern by which plants signal one other, resulting in the invention of bio-inspired packaging that releases plant-based volatiles to activate the built-in defence mechanism in fruits and vegetables.

It’s remarkable to see how far biotechnologies have come since 1998. Tina, my business partner at the time and a PhD student, approached me and I told her that people kept calling me, designers and that inventors who needed a biologist. They imagined I had a team of biologists who could teach them about life. Tina suggested we become that company of biologists and teach people.

When biomimicry 3.8 was founded as a consultancy, the term “biomimicry” was concise; nevertheless, it has now become a buzzword. What effect has it had? How do biomimicry and innovators interact? Is it possible for businesses to adopt biomimicry, or is it still a niche?

To democratise biomimicry and give people opportunities to practice it, we founded the institute in 2006. We established a for-profit consultancy in 1998 before founding the institute. We sought to create tools and opportunities, like “Ask Nature,” and design challenges for people of all ages and backgrounds to showcase their work and create a portrait of the biomimicry community. Young people, including university students and start-up businesses, were targeted by the challenges because they had brilliant ideas but lacked the resources.

Ask Nature was founded to help designers, who are not taught biology to obtain the biological information they need while they are creating and ask themselves ‘What would nature do here? How would nature accomplish the function I am trying to accomplish here?’

After all these years, we now know that biomimicry is best carried out with a partner who assists you in gathering data from research papers and connecting it to the needs of the designer to determine how the same effect may be achieved by humans, its end-of-life processes. That, in my opinion, would be biomimicry’s future trajectory.

And so is visible, the number of grants and papers has been growing year after year; yeah, it is a buzzword, but people are genuinely attempting it, and it is working. During the Pandemic, our company unexpectedly boomed. It implies that there was a tipping moment at which firms began to look to us for consulting, particularly for projects involving generous or positive design; nature positive design.

To be effective change agents, designers must consider both their work’s immediate and indirect consequences. A business could be a positive influence. And the growth of new-age firms prepares the way for the birth of a completely new breed of entrepreneur. So, how might businesses function more like (life-sustaining) ecosystems?

A really important tool used in our business is called ‘Life’s Principles’, which is linked with cooperative relationships. We take that seriously and collaborate with companies. There’s a task team in our consultancy that checks whether we are looking at Life Principles or not to ensure creating additions producing to life. For instance, if we know that life works in cycles, we also understand rest and renewal is a really important part of that cycle and hence for the organisation too. They don’t go at full speed all the time, they’ve got periods of dormancy too. We have one day a month marked as a ‘paid renewal day’ which is time off with the only need that you go outdoors for renewal and then tell us. We aim to be more than just carbon neutral; we try to be positive because life does way more than just net zero, life is generously giving away ecosystem services all the time, so coming from that abundant perspective leads us in so many directions!

Biomimicry 3.8 ends up working with multiple companies, while you are a biologist this company would have designers too. How are you able to traverse with them to make sure that your idea is being brought out the best way so they can design the best?

There’s a different working style for various kinds of designers and engineers. Communicating biology is best done visually, it is best done by going outside so we often take people out and run workshops. During workshops we learn about their issues, what they are trying to design, what they need their design to do and what are the operating conditions of their design because that allows us to look at what habitats we should search in the natural world.

We don’t dive deep into what they do exactly, designers are great at painting the picture of their design brief and its function. We simply go ahead and find out what they are already thinking about, look at biology and then deliver them ‘leads’- information that is eligible in person, showing them that biology gives them an opportunity to play with it and grasp the biological phenomenon and then start to design. How do we do it? By introducing a lot of visuals and prototyping, we bring artefacts, like shells and ethers, things that people can get their hands on. Our science communication is very different from what we’re taught. We have learnt what works today and that’s how it’s best done, it’s this iterative process.

Written by Sudiksha Kapa, Ananya Gupta & Suchira Biswas.

We try to be positive because life does way more than just net zero. ”

”

CURI TALES

Julian Curi

Founder of Righteous Robot

The director of Righteous Robot, writer, and an actor - Julian Curi, tries to find new forms of expression that he can learn to entertain others. He brings life to paper on camera through his films. He has brought many stories to life in liveaction, like “The Last Leg” or “Looks Like a Fool”; but it his newfound blend of puppetry and animation that makes his upcoming paper-cut short film “Gruff” stand out from the rest. He aspires to tell stories and help others tell theirs with craftsmanship and imagination.

Tell-Tale Signs

I wasn’t always a paper-cut artist. I’ve hardly been one. My professional life to date resembles an anthology more than a portfolio where the only constant was curiosity: a longing to seek out and master skill sets, to find new forms of expression, and of course to entertain. They are the “many loves” of my professional journey and I have never replaced one with another. Whether selling caricature portraits as a boy, pursuing an acting career in film and television, painting holy images for churches, filming, directing, and editing films, and now bringing paper to life on camera, all these loves dance together in the medium of film. And for the time being, that is the medium I call home.

From The Outset

I will come clean to you, the logo and the company name for Righteous Robot came before their meaning. But while their meaning came second, the fact it was discovered rather than formulated connects me more to it. We are all programmed in some way, be it through upbringing, socio-political environment, religion, art, culture, or geography. Exclusively living into our programming is not always a bad thing, but it can be. “Righteousness” is not a word often associated with a robot. So, I like to imagine that a righteous robot can see beyond its programming, and welcome the wonder of what’s beyond it. That, after all, is the purpose of art, I think. To invite people out of their programming into a new space with new ideas and wonder. It can challenge assumptions, or offer a delightful escape. And I seek to do both in my work.

All these loves dance together in the medium of film. And for the time being, that is the medium I call home. ”

A tale of a storyteller following his passion and experimenting with a variety of mediums in film.

The Glory In His Story

To me, the story of my film always comes first. That’s been true in any medium I’ve attempted. “What journey is taking place in this piece? What adventure can I take you on?” When that is completed (in script form if we’re talking about the film) I proceed to the storyboarding stage. That is the process of sketching all the shots and angles of the film. This is thoroughly important in my paper animation form, as it dictates what and how much I have to build from scratch. It is also the second layer of storytelling, as what angles and images one chooses to show affect the relationship between the viewer and the story. Then comes the build: cutting, painting, glueing, and assembling every piece seen on the screen. I bring my puppets to the set and puppeteer them live in camera several times till I feel I’ve captured the right performance. The most laborious process for me is digitally removing the puppeteering rods. But that process, along with further colour correcting, and visual effects, are essential processes in creating the illusion of a hand-drawn film existing in a 3-dimensional space. I like to call it “2.5D animation”.

Exclusively living into our programming is not always a bad thing, but it can be.

No Stalling His Calling

I am a planner. Few elements, if any, are improvised or left to chance in any of my films. Script-writing process and storyboarding together, are the roadmap to what will someday be an emotional journey for an audience member.

“Be Kind” was one of my first experiments in storytelling with paper on film. Adobe and Marshmello put on a contest in conjunction with the release of a Halsey x Marshmello song called “Be Kind”. However, this was at the peak of the pandemic and lockdowns across the US. So my options on what to film were limited. I had a box of paper buildings and other set pieces from my first foray into paper filmmaking stored in the basement. My wife and I talked out a throughline of a yellow flower (a stand-in for kindness in our concept) passed from person to person in various stations of life, and then returned in an adapted way to its original maker. But the figures in “Be Kind” never moved, never spoke, and were black silhouettes against a white set. So with a win under our belts, I knew it was time to iterate. And that’s where GRUFF was born.

GRUFF is a personal short film about how to love someone who doesn’t outwardly show love. It’s about my late father, and now I wish I had loved him back when he was still around. The film is in full colour, its characters can articulate, emote, speak, and blink. It’s a fully experimental film where 2D illustrations come to life in 3D environments. At the suggestion of both fans and friends, I began a crowdfunding campaign to help cover costs while I finished the film for a few months.

With that incredible encouragement, I’ve set aside the next months to iterate, experiment, and further the art form. Most importantly, I aim to craft an honest, personal story that can offer others the closure and solace I so deeply sought when starting this adventure.

Script-writing process and storyboarding together, are the roadmap to what will someday be an emotional journey for an audience member. ”

”

FOSSILSS FOR FUTURE

Haribaabu Naatesan Founder of FOSSILSS

Haribaabu Naatesan, the founder of FOSSILSS, is well-known for his passionate work on purposeful repurposing. To highlight a few, his work has been featured by Volkswagen, Deloitte, and Viacom18. He has previously worked on animation projects for Reliance, BBC, and other organisations. His studio is full of metal tools clinging to a magnetic and new plot, and his life revolves around discovery, ideas, and media that can be welded and woven together to bring his stories to life.

Making crucial decisions about one’s career can be challenging, but Naatesan’s passion gave him the courage to leave his job in animation and focus fully on his art. Although it wasn’t a well-ironed cloth, some wrinkles came along the way but his unwavering belief in himself and his work eventually led to his recognition. During our conversation about his works, he offered tips to aspiring artists, emphasising that success does not happen in six months. Time and a great deal of patience serve as building blocks to help you build a structured path towards your goals. Haribaabu struggled to find opportunities to showcase his work at the start of his career, but he feels that true art is not just about making money, as it is with design, where practical issues such as budget must be taken into account. He said, “I embrace my struggle, as I am living my life pursuing my passion”.

Maneuvering Materials

He develops ideas for his creative works of art by collecting or receiving things from friends, family, and acquaintances all over India. The nature of the project alone defines how the idea should be conceived. When working on a client project, he ensures that the material is replaced if it doesn’t meet his requirements and follows a sustainable path by using 100% recycled materials for his personal work.

With no set plan in mind, ideas evolve into concepts. He begins separating the components to reassemble them in the way that he sees fit while picturing the form in his head. He mentioned that identifying the internal components of waste is often surprising.

Time and a great deal of patience serve as building blocks to help you build a structured path towards your goals.

Sediments

Have you ever wondered what fossils will look like in 200 hundred years?

Haribaabu established his studio under the name “Fossilss” to exhibit his work, after imagining a future in which archaeologists excavate landfills to uncover rusty electronics that have fossilised as a result of all the electrical garbage we are currently producing.

The most obvious approach is to reduce waste generation, but preaching this to others will not help until we follow the rules ourselves by making small efforts like Haribaabu. For example, he teaches children how to properly dispose of wrappers so that they can be appropriately recycled. Despite his efforts to reduce his carbon footprint, he considers plastic still a beneficial substance because it has decreased the number of trees that would have been destroyed to manufacture countless products if it did not exist.

I embrace my struggles, as I am living my life pursuing my passion.

Think Blue

His passion and relentless work ethic for sustainability got him a project at Volkswagen when recycling art was not well known. His work piqued the company’s interest, and they believed he was the ideal candidate for their campaign to help them go eco-friendly. This initiative resulted in the creation of the ‘Think Blue’ Beetle car, which was made from 2805 spare pieces he collected. The frame was built first, and then the components were added. Later, specific elements were added to make it resemble an actual car. He combined e-waste, cans, plugs, and an old set of speakers to construct the entire car.

Connecting Perceptions

He is glad that people nowadays are experimenting with materials rather than simply following traditional work. He is delighted that recycling art is gaining popularity and that his work is frequently being discussed, even if he believes that not all locations are appropriate for showing his work.

In a recent exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery, he unintentionally overheard a conversation between a toddler and his mother. The young kid asked his mother about old cassettes. As she explained it to her toddler, her emotional attachment to cassettes was apparent. At that moment, he realised that his art can be perceived differently by different people and it simply depends on how one perceives their surroundings and nature. This is why he prefers to exhibit his work in public galleries. Everyone has the right to see his work and have their own perception of it.

Art can be perceived differently by different people and it simply depends upon how one perceives their surroundings and nature.

GAP X YASH PRADHAN

Yash Pradhan

Freelancing Graphic Designer and Illustrator

Originating from Bombay with over six years in his career, Yash Pradhan is a man who doodled his way in the industry by working and collaborating with companies such as Adidas, Levi’s, Netflix, One Plus, BoAt Lifestyle, Omnikon, Wolves, Bhavishyavani Future Sounds, etc. In his work, he yearns to create his observations of everyday life in different forms and illustrate them through his unique perception. From playing with fonts and denim to playing with augmented reality, he has shown his diverse portfolio to many and yet aspires to explore more.

The idea was to showcase the design elements specific to India in an optimistic and visually-interesting manner.

The illustrations on the patch designs come in various forms and sizes with a wide range of compositions inspired by Indian arches, rikshaws, Bollywood movies and music, cutting chai and more.

Therefore, each patch comprises a mix of Indian culture, fluid design shapes and forms representing individuality, inclusivity, creativity, simplicity, optimism, and doing good, which are GAP’s core beliefs.

The following five designs showcase the same in the GAP’s Spring colour palette so that they can be adapted over GAP merch to showcase this collaboration of Culture and Modern American Optimism.

THE ABUNDANCE PARADIGM

Nitzan Zilberman

Trained as an architect, Nitzan Zilberman specializes in curation, design strategy, and the creative synthesis of knowledge—past and future, text and image. She is Head of Curation at Oxman, a design studio and R&D lab that practices Nature-centric design. Nitzan is enthusiastic about exploring the intersection of design, technology, and science through the lens of biodiversity, aiming to address the issue of resource abundance in our society.

Architect

Art of Security Where Two Worlds Meet

An ecotone is the region between two different biological communities. The origin of the word comes from the marriage of ‘ecology’ in English and ‘tonos’ (tension) in Greek; thus, an ecotone is a place where two ecologies are in tension. It is referred to by biologists as an “edge effect”; a region that comprises characteristics of each one of its bordering biological communities as well as species that are not found in any of these ecologies, resulting in greater diversity of life. This increased productivity is clearly observable in nature, as mangrove ecologies (land and sea interface) and reef ecologies (coral and ocean interface) are some of the most highly productive natural systems.

In this essay, I wish to tackle this shifting of boundaries to study a peculiar form of ‘state of exception’ within a socio-political context: a place called the freeport. A freeport is a form of warehouse that offers secure and tax-free storage of fine art, among other goods. The freeport finds its historical roots in early modern times where internationally traded goods that had arrived overseas and could eventually be shipped elsewhere, would be placed in storage facilities to avoid local stamp duties and fees as they were still “in transit.” The contemporary freeport maintains these arrangements to an extent, with some key differences. Most importantly, the stored goods are no longer crops, flowers, or seeds but rather quality cigars, fine wine, expensive cars, and valuable art. One of the main reasons that freeports are emerging across the globe is due to a burgeoning class of art collectors with accumulations that are too large to hang on the walls of their homes. The business model of freeports capitalizes on this excess by offering an

The origin of the word comes from the marriage of ‘ecology’ in English and ‘tonos’ (tension) in Greek; thus, an ecotone is a place where two ecologies are in tension

upscale repository with top notch security services, climate-controlled bunkers, and 24/7 conservators who preserve the integrity of the works. The legal clauses given to objects that are officially “in transit” also offer some financial advantages to art proprietors. For these somewhat controversial reasons, freeports clients’ identities are kept anonymous and the artworks remain unseen.

Before the 1970s freeports were run by public institutions on a non-profit basis, and national legislation demanded that art that was stored within their confines could only remain there for up to four years. Since then, freeports have been taken over by for-profit private companies, and there are notimelimitations for storage, meaning that once an artwork enters the freeport there is a high chance it will never be seen in public again.

Freeports are very large, gated, structures, with no windows and most commonly one guarded entrance. These extraterritorial entities do not veil themselves from their surroundings but instead impose a dominant and often violent presence. The ‘Arcis’ (fortress in Latin) Freeport and Fine Arts Storage in Manhattan is in Harlem, a low-income neighborhood. While the neighboring buildings are constructed out of red bricks, ‘Arcis’ is a glossy architectural spaceship; its footprint is six times that of each neighboring residential building. A sign on the door reads “WARNING: This is a US foreign trade zone. Whoever maliciously enters will be fined $250,000, face ten years in prison, or most likely both”. While this sort of aesthetic might suit an airport or border, placing it in the city creates an abrupt divide between the building and the neighborhood it is situated in. The facade creates a tension between one ecology and another—a tension that creates a disturbing, intense, and incompatible relationship between the interior and exterior of the freeport. This sense of exteriority strengthens in the interior of the facility.

The Divide Between Ecologies

The few users of the Arcis building range from clients, tax consultants, art conservators, and storage workers, all of whom are watched and monitored by a high-tech surveillance system that includes cameras, key-card readers and vascular scanners that scan the blood vessels in one’s fingertip. The entire space is ventilated with air circulation and filtration systems that change the airflow in the space 3 to 6 times a day and sophistically removes bacteria to create a purified environment. Storage spaces are climate controlled to a perfect 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 50 percent humidity to protect the artwork. Each storage unit is guarded by a single lock: the keys are stored in a biometrically controlled box that is tracked by a camera —every time a key is taken out, the act is recorded (a new species born in the freeport).

This is a highly sophisticated and technological ecology; its temperature and atmosphere are in stark contrast to the sort of ecology that resides on the other side of its envelope.

Display rooms are fitted with museumstyle lighting and equipped with hooks that can carry up to 4,000 lbs. This is a highly sophisticated and technological ecology; its temperature and atmosphere are in stark contrast to the sort of ecology that resides on the other side of its envelope. The artworks in ‘Arcis’ are worth millions of dollars, while its surrounding community is a lowincome neighborhood. This separation and demarcation help to produce and reinforce a very strong shield by the utilization of intense architecture and futuristic technology.

Beyond Storage

More sporadically, there are alternative solutions. The Luxembourg Freeport, for instance, opened its doors to the public for a viewing day last year, revealing art works from photographers such as Andreas Gursky to influential painters such as Picasso. This freeport belongs to a range of storage spaces that aim to maintain a cultural and legitimate appearance by situating themselves as part of the commercial art world. They achieve this “transparency” by hosting open exhibitions in their lobbies, hiring well known art-world personnel as chief staff, and regularly appearing in international art fairs. Highlighting the ecotonic elements the architecture of the freeport can produce, such as partially opening to the public, and raising awareness to the potential of it becoming a gradual shift instead of a clear demarcation, might allow for a more flexible outlook and a border that shifts.

Abundance vs Biodiversity

Can a term like “ecotone” help us relate to such an estranged typology as the “freeport”? At first glance, a forest and a freeport are seemingly opposite: one is organic and the other is artificial. However, the definitions of “biodiversity” and “abundance” in the Oxford English Dictionary are quite similar: Biodiversity is “the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.” Abundance is “the state or condition of having a copious quantity of something; plentifulness.” If the ecotone, as a border produced by nature, is so rich, why not apply its ruleset to man-made phenomena? Can we use ecological biodiversity to talk about socioeconomic abundance? We might prefer a myriad of life to a plethora of products. Let’s look at Freeport through the Forest.

Can a term like the ecotone help us relate to such an estranged typology as the freeport?

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF GAME DESIGN

Namrata Jain

Psychologist & Wellness Expert Founder - Out Aloud Lead Creative

Psychologist - ConfirmU

The Founder of Out Aloud, an Entrepreneur, a TEDx Speaker and a game designer, Namrata Jain, is a psychologist and wellness coach who has been in the field for almost a decade. She has worked with multinational companies like Johnson & Johnson, Optum Health Education, ConfirmU, Brainsmith, Asian Paints and aspires to unlock everyone’s inner self and help in re-wiring one’s mindset to fulfil their dreams with a mission to bring happiness to everyone she meets.

Whenever we hear the word “Psychology”, the image that usually comes to our mind is of two individuals – one on a chair & the other on a couch –talking about something serious. But, as we focus on our efforts to destigmatize mental health, we may have forgotten to look at the much wider and more diverse fields that psychology can be employed in. One of them is the focus of our discussion today – Game Design.

The act of playing a game itself is psychological. Every move & decision is played out in our minds before it is actualised on the board. And thus, how we play and perform in these games is a reflection of our psyche. Understanding this comes as a real advantage for game designers who want to make games that are interesting & rewarding for the users.

Eight out of ten times, people forget the lines between the virtual and real worlds. And thus, real-life needs may even be reflected and fulfilled through virtual games. Game Designers can then incorporate factors like freedom of choice, power & ownership, and a sense of accomplishment or belongingness in their games. Experiencing a sense of accomplishment through a game would make you want to come back to it every time you face this need. You’ll end up playing the game again!

There are more than a few examples of designers using this strategy. Designers of Gardenscape games made users explore for treasure, gain money & build mansions for themselves. The creators of Subway Surfers have incorporated ownership & achievement in their design.

The act of playing a game itself is psychological. Every move, decision is played out in our minds before it is actualised on the board.

Being a part of an epic mission or storyline also attracts users to keep playing along, something that can be seen in interactive roleplay games like Warcraft, Genshin Impact & Tales of Arise. Along with these needs, the designer can also focus on the different personas that gamers bring out when they play these games. Different versions of games can be made for players with different personas, for instance, treasure hunt games for the explorer & roleplay ones for the socialiser, etc. Not just that, developers have even referred to the Jungian Archetypes to enhance the users’ experience(s).

The main goal of the designer, in the end, is to boost the motivation of the player. This motivation can either be intrinsic or extrinsic. Individuals seeking intrinsic motivation would play simply for their enjoyment & pleasure. Extrinsically motivated people, however, would benefit from having collectables, social circles, and other achievements in the game.

What has been described above is only a handful of the numerous ways psychological knowledge & techniques are applied to game design.

When it comes to the field of mental health, there is ample expertise on how elements of gaming can be successfully incorporated into the current therapeutic treatments. Designers can even balance the therapeutic and game design features by using a dual-loop approach, thus boosting the use of gamification in this field.

Game Designers can then incorporate factors like freedom of choice, power & ownership, and a sense of accomplishment or belongingness in their games.

Chess & other similar board games have long been used by therapists to establish rapport & build trust in their therapeutic relationship. In fact, many people do find it simpler to converse while engaging in a light-hearted game. Similar to how video games function – having something thoughtless to do with our hands encourages conversation. Not to mention a challenging game that makes you restart every time you fail to help build patience & tolerance in individuals – which are virtues in the real world as well. A game like Candy Crush which might seem particularly “useless” has been shown to reduce stress & increase pleasure.

Online games based on cooking, fashion, makeovers and so on enhance curiosity in children & adults alike to experiment and ‘play’ with new ideas in the real world. Thus, as much as our psyche is reflected in the games we play, games also have the ability to influence our minds and mood – depending on how they are designed.

Every game, every strategy and every move, in a way, is interconnected with the psychology of the player.

I have built a game on similar lines. As the lead creative psychologist at ConfirmU, a Singapore-based company, we have built a gamified psychometric assessment that helps understand an individual’s intent to repay a loan. We assess an individual on various personality traits and create a personality profile which helps lenders decide the borrower’s creditworthiness.

It’s time we realise that Psychology is the base to game design!

Our psyche is reflected in the games we play, games also have the ability to influence our minds and mood – depending on how they are designed.

Midsommar End Credits

Midsommar simply is a dread-soaked cinematic fairytale where a world of darkness unfolds in broad daylight. Each mural has a symbolic meaning which keeps the audience curious about what’s going to come next. To build up on that curiosity and help the audience summarise and understand the series of bizarre events in the movie, I have designed this end-credit scene. Each frame in the credit scene metaphorically represents a particular event in the film. The use of colours, shapes, and symbols is inspired by the fascist architecture that is seen throughout the movie.

Samiksha Banka

EVOLVING WITH THE ROOTS

A glimpse into the ever-changing design education system in India

Lolita Dutta

Design Educator, Speaker, Writer and Consultant for design thinking and critical thinking.

Design educator, spatial designer, design speaker, writer and consultant for design and critical thinking. Lolita Dutta is a design professional with over three decades of experience in visual design and has taught design in almost all the premier design institutes. She has also pursued exhibition and visual design with government agencies, corporates, NGOs and other renowned establishments. With her keen interest in academics, travelling, and storytelling she enjoys multiple creative pursuits. Now embark on a journey to contribute as a teacher to help create responsible young designers.

In the 1920s, Rabindranath Tagore and his family were on the lookout for a sylvan space to nurture the growth of arts, performing arts, and literature. They stumbled upon a place surrounded by nature, on deep red soil, and began a unique form of creative learning in an open, calm, and peaceful setting, establishing Shantiniketan.

When we trace the history of the initial venture of Shantiniketan, it may give rise to what may be the beginning of design education in India. Following this, the National Institute of Design was founded in the 1960s. NID’s discipline was heavily influenced by the western ideas of Bauhaus and Ulm. There was a specific structure that approached design as a “functional domain”. However, to my good fortune, I was one of the early

batches of NID and had the prerogative to be a part of the design education process.

A lot of emphases was given to the idea of design being a “process” although much of it may have been “function” driven. This is becoming a crucial element, not just in design but across various fields where “design thinking” is consistently encouraged. There has been a drastic change since the time we sat outdoors, debated, and conceptualised design and even the way it was taught. Having seen the trajectory of design education, it is simply a problem-solving process, which was decoded way back in the 1970s. Analog gave way to digital, the gears shifted, we went into overdrive, and in some way, the acceleration of design began.

overdrive, and in some way, the acceleration of design began.

Design is now viewed as being more prolific, user-centric, and made for simple delivery across institutions in India. Nearly all institutions follow the time-tested techniques of the early NID paradigm, but each has developed parallel pedagogies that suit new methods, means, and business models. But have we truly gone over the boundary? Have we addressed the pertinent issues which ail our education system? I think not. We have not been critical design educators or thinkers and are still confined by narrow walls, following a linear pattern blindly. It is not easy to overhaul an entire system but we need to be mindful of the shifting winds, the advent of technology, and new dimensions.

Digital technology has invaded and rendered many things obsolete but it has greatly benefitted learners, who now have a plethora of information at their fingertips. There is a benefit to this and a drawback when seen objectively. Although encouraging easy access to knowledge is a good thing, research and concepts are often relegated to the backseat.

Design education is undergoing many changes and most notably, the startling number of institutions that have emerged across the country, each with a distinct curriculum of its own. On closer inspection, we will find similarities to the age-old systems and content with different nomenclature.

It is not easy to overhaul an entire system but we need to be mindful of the shifting winds, the advent of technology, and new dimensions.

Real design learning is more complex than we think. It requires dedication, aptitude, and most importantly, a learning mentality.

Our country is at the threshold of change, education is on the verge of change even more, and design education is the new buzzword.

I find many students genuinely lack awareness of the tribulations of learning design. Many believe it to be “software-based” and see it as a loophole to escape an examination system. Real design learning is more complex than we think. It requires dedication, aptitude, and most importantly, a learning mentality. Most universities have trouble getting students to imbibe this culture. So, do we blame the students? The system? or the institution? It’s a challenging decision that needs a frequent revival of thought.

To learn design, one must be sensitive, open-minded, and adaptive. Here we have to push beyond boundaries, cut barriers, swim deep rivers and walk the extra mile. The curriculum must evolve, keeping in mind the learner and the educator. In my opinion, design cannot be taught solely in the classroom. Travel, observation, exploration, being outdoors and studying culture, history, and technology are all necessary. Simply embracing AI and what it does can be detrimental to our learning growth and would render us mediocre. We must have the wherewithal to strike a balance between technology, deep-rooted concept and personal viewpoints. Only then will design and its curriculum truly go beyond what we can now see and will allow us to traverse the unknown.

To learn design, one must be sensitive, open-minded, and adaptive. Here we have to push beyond boundaries, cut barriers, swim deep rivers and walk the extra mile.

WHAT LIES BEYOND

Vivek Raju

Senior Experience Designer at Designit

Having worked for companies like Tata Consultancy Services and HCL Technologies, Vivek Raju is currently a senior experience designer at Designit. He initiated his career designing watches, laptops, and speakers, eventually starting on a path of creating stories for seminars, training, and entertainment. Here’s him taking us through a journey of dimensions in and beyond design.

Arran slowly opened his eyes. “Happy Birthday!” he said to himself. The day that he’d been waiting for has finally come. Like everyone else in the kingdom, on his 17th birthday, he too will get to choose his ‘life craft’. He could be anything he wanted - mud moulder, ore shaper, lockmaster, myco-wizard, mathmagician...but he knew exactly what he wanted to be - a torch bearer. Unlike other crafts, the torchbearers showcased their creativity by building the most exquisite torches. Arran knew he was creative and believed that the purpose of his life was to pursue the craft of torch-bearing and to create the most ingenious torch in the world.

After a grand welcome ceremony at the gates of the castle of crafts, he slowly walked into the torchbearers’ tower along with a few others. As he stepped inside the archway, he couldn’t believe

his eyes. The hallways gleamed brightly. He observed a hefty red-headed man craft tiny torches that fit into a man’s palm but emitted photons that could light up a street, and a druid construct an amber flame torch that discerns the souls of those the light falls upon.

Arran, without wasting a minute excitedly walked towards his station. He had two weeks to put his soul into the project and survive in the castle. He dove into his toolbox and worked day and night to build the most innovative torch, his idea revolved around a combination that no one had thought of. After watching and learning from the other torchbearers, he carefully combined the hydra generator with a photon flamer. “Water and fire, what an unusual combination!” Arran thought to himself.

Design is like the torch in the story, as you build one for yourself, you can choose where you want to shine it.

The mere absurdity of this idea pushed him to try harder and find a way to make them coexist. But every time he brought the water molecules close to the fire, they either evaporated, or the fire fizzled out. He accidentally added some plasma to the mixture the day before the final test. Suddenly, the two opposing elects began to coexist. His torch was finally ready!

His ingenious creation that illuminated water molecules around it won a lot of praise, and Arran finally felt accomplished. He stayed at the castle to improve and adapt his magical creation. Somehow, Arran was not as excited as he thought he would be. As time passed, he worried about his future in the tower. He got gloomier and slowly started losing interest in everything.

Shirool was one of the senior torchbearers’ who stayed in the castle. He would go on long-eventful adventures and return to the castle to enlighten everyone on what he had learned along the journey. Shirool noticed Arran in agony and he decided to help him. He thought Arran needed a change of environment. Shirool informed Arran that, his close friend, a biome engineer, was facing trouble with his flora plantation and needed help. Though not immediately, Arran complied to help.

Upon arriving at the plantation, he noticed that the plants in one part of the plantation were dying mysteriously despite getting ample sunlight and manure. The only possible problem Arran could think of was a blockage in one of the hydro channels. “If only we could gauge how much water was reaching the plantation without disrupting the lush vegetation”, he thought. That’s when he realized that his Hydraphoton torch could be used to check the water flow. Upon flashing it on the plants he could see the block that was causing the death of the plants. He never thought that the torch he invented could have such a use.

Having resolved the problem at hand, he started to notice things in a different light. He noticed the iron beam torch bearer helping the lockmaster clean up the deficiencies in their locks. The blood flame torch bearer was helping the medicalibrator treat the sick.

The real journey is to figure out how I can use it.

“ ”

The epiphany caused Arran to rush to Shirool and enquired, “Why are all the torchbearers helping other craft folks?” Shirool replied, “What if I told you that making the torch was never the end goal?” that’s when it hit him - it is not the torch but it is about how you can use it to the best of its capacities. “So, you mean to say, making a torch is only the beginning! The real journey is to figure out how I can use it?” Shirool smiled wisely. ***

I entered the world of design just because I dreamt of designing beautiful watches, laptops, and speakers. Even cars. I started with the intention of learning “how to create beautiful things”. It took me a while to shift my quest to “how to create beautiful things”. As my focus shifted to the “how”, I realized that I could apply my learnings anywhere. Most designers I know created unique design frameworks and used them to create magical outcomes in varied and unexpected domains. Domains like agriculture, healthcare, space exploration, child psychology, and many more. If you’ve reached this far into this article, you might have guessed what I design.

I design Stories. Stories for education, fun, work, workshops, presentations, events, and everything else! On the theme of ‘Beyond Dimensions’, I was tasked to write about fields/industries that fall outside the “design bubble”. Want to know my thoughts? — No field can fall beyond the reach of design. To me, design is a set of steps you follow to ensure the best possible outcome. Anywhere!

I wanted to convey this message by designing the story above. Design is like the torch in the story, as you build one for yourself, you can choose where you want to shine it. If you ever feel there is still something beyond the reach of its light, remember, you can always go back and build a floodlight and simply call it a big torch.

Beyond is just where the light hasn’t reached. Yet!

No field can fall beyond the reach of design.

Linkedin The Love Campaign

Centred around the idea of enabling only ‘love reacts’ on LinkedIn for Valentine’s Day, which would create a positive and supportive vibe all over the community on the platform, where people can appreciate their connections indirectly by spreading love. If Linkedin, a prominent brand and platform, leads the way with this campaign, other platforms such as Facebook and Instagram may follow suit, turning the digital environment into a positive and collective community experience, rather than just an individual experience.

This campaign will differentiate LinkedIn from other social media platforms, and gain attention as a unique brand identity.

ADITI ANUJ

Founder of Adigami & Origami Artist

Aditi Anuj has worked with companies like Uber, Google, Microsoft, Adobe, Jockey, HSBC Bank, Time of India, and the Netflix series ‘Sacred Games ‘. With almost a decade of experience as an origami artist, she founded Adigami, an origami brand that aims to take the simplicity of folding a single sheet of paper to unexplored dimensions by collaborating, - on a quest to produce unique artwork. To create these artworks she not only uses paper but also other mediums like leather, polypropylene,

If Apple had a Lamp?

I’ve always liked the environment that Apple built for its customers. To have this smooth experience in our daily lives is always a joy. The project’s brief called for redesigning an established product, but I preferred moving forward with the concept “If Apple had a lamp?”

If Apple had a Lamp, it would be a visual lighting system that would offer users more control over the environment in which their Apple devices and products are used. This system integrates with Apple’s guiding principles, and designs to bring the same seamless experience that Apple users have come to expect from their products. The lamp is designed to compete in the market, and offer a cutting-edge innovation that is both aesthetically pleasing and fully functional. It is an ideal addition to any Apple-centric setup, allowing users to customize their environment to their own personal preferences.

Abhay Sharma

INDIA ’ S CULTURAL STORIES IN PRODUCTS

Sunil Jalihal

CEO, Founder of Indic Inspiration and Writer.

With over three decades of experience

Sunil Jailhal has worked with companies like CMC, Wipro, Siemens, and Hewlett Packard and has developed startups for eCapital Solutions, eVector, and Mobimedia. With his keen involvement in social projects with the Lake Development Authority of Karnataka, he has written a coffee table bookRomancing the Chilli. He is the founder and CEO of Indic Inspirations - creating souvenir products with India’s arts and crafts to change the way India’s culture, traditions, heritage, and achievements are presented to the world.

India has a rich legacy of storytelling spanning several millennia, with epic tales like The Ramayana, The Mahabharata, and The Panchatantra. The wisdom and debating culture of our ancestors have given rise to numerous gifts for humanity, including yoga, shunya, astronomical discoveries, mathematics, dance, and music. These achievements were communicated in diverse forms, such as prose and verse, graphical sacred geometry, trade and commerce, and song. A communication system that has transcended the ages and resisted centuries of invasions and attempts to wipe out this ethos!

Crafting India’s Legacy

India boasts a rich diversity of over 3000 crafts and is home to 60% of the world’s artisans, spanning across every region of the country and many centuries of its history. These crafts are founded on natural materials, including metals, earthenware, grass, bamboo, wood, others and are steeped in the ethos of biomimicry, creating eco-sensitive products and processes that respect and enhance nature. This cultural ethos of deep philosophies and contributions to humanity can be harnessed to create modern-day products that embody India’s traditions, culture, heritage, and achievements. Indic Inspirations is doing just that through its INDIC OBJECTS, which narrate the stories of India’s artistic and engineering excellence.

Communication of Indian achievements through diverse forms such as prose and verse, graphical sacred geometry, trade and commerce, and song has transcended the ages and resisted centuries of invasions and attempts to wipe out this ethos!

INDIC OBJECTS | Stories of Indic Civilization & Modern India

India has made significant cultural and scientific contributions to humanity, serving as catalysts for global progress. These contributions can be showcased to the world through modern utility objects, educational and entertainment tools, and souvenirs. Arguably, objects are the most effective way of communicating concepts, as they are easily accessible to individuals at home or in their workplace and thus can have a lasting impact on the world’s collective consciousness.

Yoga has become a multi-billion dollar industry. However, many practitioners unknowingly contribute to environmental harm by using synthetic mats manufactured in China. Fortunately, we can practise yoga in line with its true ethos by using darbha, water hyacinth, banana, jute, and cotton yoga mats, which are abundant in our grass and fibre crafts. However, yoga extends beyond the mat, and we can integrate its principles into our daily lives. Traditional yoga poses like Suryanamaskar can be presented as captivating sculptures and souvenirs.

Lota- an object unique to our culture and traditions, that had captured the attention of Charles Eames, a renowned American designer who was invited by Jawaharlal Nehru to assist in the establishment of NID Ahmedabad. Eames was inspired to write a treatise on the lota, with its distinct rimmed edge and shape, and its numerous advantages. This concept can be easily applied to utility objects, cookware, serveware, and dinnerware, providing an opportunity to reintroduce this object to the world.

India has made significant cultural and scientific contributions to humanity, serving as catalysts for global progress.

Shunya|Cipher|Zero-India’s greatest gift to mathematics and science, has been a harbinger of scientific progress for humankind. This contribution can be glorified through a range of objects, including desktop items, lamps, shot glasses, T-shirts, and more. By showcasing these items, we can introduce the world to this remarkable achievement of Indian culture.

Board Games- India is the birthplace of board games, having invented classic games like Snakes & Ladders, Chaukabara, Chadurang (Chess), Goats & Tigers, and Pachisi. Despite the shameless copying and rebranding of these games by Europeans, we can proudly represent them to the world in new and innovative ways, such as mobile games. Additionally, India’s Mangalyaan and other space missions can inspire board games, creating our own unique versions of franchises like Star Wars and Avengers.

Sacred Geometry-India’s rich cultural heritage includes Yantras, Mantras, and sacred geometry, where every aspect of life and philosophy is represented through geometric figures. These inspiring figures offer a perfect opportunity to create objects that embody and represent them, such as Sri, Saraswati, and Tara Yantras.

Hasta Mudras-India’s ancient cultures have documented every aspect of human emotion and expression. The Navarasas capture the nine types of emotions, while Hasta Mudras are the core of yoga, spirituality, and Indian dance. The giant and captivating Hasta Mudras at Delhi airport serve as a reminder of how these gestures can be presented in various product forms. Let’s incorporate Hasta Mudras into our designs and celebrate our cultural heritage.

Zero- India’s greatest gift to mathematics and science, has been a harbinger of scientific progress for humankind.

Ayurveda & Five Elements-

Ayurveda is the science of life that’s based on the principles of the universe, where the human body is made up of five elements and three doshas. We can present this ancient tradition through posters, water bottles, T-shirts, cufflinks, and other everyday objects, reminding the world of our connection to nature and the need to protect it.

Ravana & Mythology-Let’s explore creative ways to present our rich mythology, like Ravana, the demon king whom we love to hate. Imagine a Ravana-themed dart board, featuring his 10 heads with his navel as the bull’s eye. This fun and playful take on mythology can be enjoyed in every home and bar in the country. There are countless other aspects of our mythology that can be presented in fresh and contemporary ways, perfect for modern sensibilities.

Modern India & its ContributionsIndia’s national symbols, including the flag, constitution, and emblems, as well as the currency symbol, are all sources of pride and inspiration. Likewise, historic milestones like JRD Tata’s pioneering first flight in Asia in 1932, as well as ISRO and DRDO’s impressive contributions, and India’s advances in railways, all offer opportunities to create artisanal engineering products that celebrate our

There is a wealth of untapped potential waiting to be discovered by our creative and imaginative youth. We can embrace the “Make in India” initiative with a sensitivity that is rooted in the ethos of our traditional crafts and manufacturing processes. By producing products that evoke a sense of pride among India’s artisans and citizens, we can spread our soft power around the world while creating new jobs, increased earnings, and livelihoods of our craftsmen. These objects will not only express our rich traditions but also bring joy and become cherished heirlooms for generations to come.

Producing products that evoke a sense of pride among Indian artisans and citizens will not only express our rich traditions but also bring joy and become cherished heirlooms for generations to come.

VIEWS THROUGH VIEWS

It feels like only yesterday I flew to Belgium, brimming with excitement and uncertainty. From there, my mind was sent into a whirlwind of incredible experiences. I don’t even know where to begin! While brainstorming for this edition’s theme, I was pulled back into something I really wanted to experienceExchange. I indulged in delicious cuisine, met fascinating people, learned a new language, and heard thousands of stories that altered the way I saw the world. As an anonymous observer, I used all of my senses to take in the sight, sound, and smell of the place, tracing things back to their origins and documenting my findings in various ways. What a wonderful ten months it was!

When I got back home, although my home was still the same, something in my mind had shifted, changing everything for me. Fast forward five years later, here I am still trying to fathom how much I’ve not known and yet how much there is left to see and learn, still holding countless stories and experiences beyond the imagination of a 16-year-old me. It has shown me how people are different and yet so similar. As a designer, it is advantageous to interact with people from around the world to gain new perspectives and ideas. Meeting people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and countries can open doors to entirely new ways to approach design.

Ishita Neema

And this is what I’ve learned through travelling and empathising with humans while designing. It motivates me to create for a larger group of individuals. I have gained a sense of what globalisation is, which has given me the power to broaden my horizon and show a sense of appreciation for various cultures and lifestyles, especially making me accustomed to tons of cultural shock. Additionally, observing how people use design in their everyday lives can provide insight into how design should be used. For example, designers from different parts of the world may have access to unique resources and materials, leading to new and innovative design solutions. Being able to observe how design is approached in various countries can be beneficial when it comes to creating designs that are universal and accessible.

My travels throughout Europe provided me with a wealth of inspiration to design. From Gothic cathedrals to Baroque palaces, visiting iconic landmarks and museums gave me a better understanding of the history of design and the influence that each country has had on the design world. The most breathtaking experience I’ve ever had was when I turned around and saw the grandeur of the Sistine Chapel, the air smelling of history and culture. The distance and difference were the secret tonics to my creativity. Travelling exposed me to new ideas, cultures, and perspectives that I may not have encountered in my normal life. This not only opened my mind but also inspired me to think beyond my capacity. It enhanced my creative problem-solving skills, giving me a better understanding of the world and opening my eyes to different ways of life.

Coming back to the same place is not the same as never leaving. The impact travelling has had on my thought process and work progression always encourages me to keep travelling and adding new stories and perspectives to the table. The power I gained by experiencing the taste of a foreign country has been the most incredible asset I have ever acquired. Having my own adventure has proven to me that anything is possible and that I can achieve anything I set my mind to. It was the best time of my life, a lifechanging event, and I will always cherish choosing to go out and discover what the world has in store for me. I thought then that living somewhere else for a while and having friends from another country would be the coolest thing in the world, but do you know what’s cooler? It’s what you hold within and that’s invaluable.

Coming back to the same place is not the same as never leaving.

TWO FULL HALVES

Split personality is not just a disorder, it’s an acquired state of mind. We create our own versions of who we want to be or sometimes it’s just who we are beyond our comprehensive power to understand that we often suppress a part of ourselves. A part born to fit in and fit with the people we love and the ones we don’t. This is the portrayal of the same conscious state of mind, where every personality is waiting to emerge into the limelight and take its seat.

Lubaina Mizwan

AUTHOR RESEARCH

Naina Heble

Shriya Malela

Aboli Dodal

Mahi Gupta

CONTENT

Mrunmayi Bhombe

Suchira Biswas

Ananya Gupta

Apurva Shinde

Sudiksha Kapa

Priya Das

Subarshni N

Alefiya Topiwala

Deepak Roshan

Tanisha Sahoo

Arya Patil

Adya Srivastava

Prabal Upadhayay

DESIGN MARKETING

Janlyn Joyce

Kashish Jain

Devika Kulkarni

Rishika Kadam

Ishit Neema

Satyarth Mehndhiyan

Antara Ghatak

Dhruv Pattan

Raghav Pandya

Guided By Special Thanks to

Piyali Basu Mallick

Jineet Shah

Rajdatta Malusare

Mansi More