NCM - PLAY

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the Department of Fashion Communication.

The views expressed in the document are only of the authors and in no way represent the views of National Institute of Fashion Technology.

Concept played by Anupreet Bhalla Dugal Asst. Professor & Centre Coordinator Fashion Communication, NIFT - New Delhi anupreet.dugal@gmail.com

Design played by Rupinder Kaur Asst. Professor & Unit Incharge Corporate Communication Cell, NIFT rupinderkaur.nift@gmail.com

Š 2012 Fashion Communication, NIFT - New Delhi

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non compos mentis 2012

akanksha sharma

experience Expo Riva Schuh India | Goodword Media Services Pvt. Ltd.

interests Event Management | Advertising

contact akanksha2809@gmail.com

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

DAILY DOSE OF DESIGN: Understanding The Newsletter

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MEDIUM

newsletter is a regularly distributed publication generally about one main topic that is of interest to its subscribers; a printed report usually issued at regular intervals, giving news about or information of interest to a particular group. The first newsletter was published in 1538, long before newspapers and became the standard medium for news stories. One of the first known newsletters was distributed in England in 1631 featuring happenings of locals overseas. Many other newsletters flourished in the 1700’s and also followed suit by becoming newspapers.

Through the times, several types of newsletters ranging from farming to fashion became common. In the 21st century, newsletters appeared in another medium – online or web version, the electronic newsletters. Today, eNewsletters are full-fledged, content-rich publications. Advertisers are also more willing to sponsor such newsletters as they believe their ads are better targeted and more effective than banner ads.

All types of newsletters fall into one of these broad categories whether they are print or electronic: Promotional Newsletters, frequently used by businesses to promote a product or service.

Also known as Marketing Newsletters, they are typically sent to current or prospective customers free of charge.

Promotional Newsletters also strive to turn prospects into customers and customers into repeat customers. The next category is Relationship Newsletters that focus on the shared interests of the target audience, for example club newsletters, employee newsletters, church newsletters, alumni newsletters, etc. Expert Newsletters are usually subscription based.

These normally focus on a specific topic and the recipient is someone who has specifically requested the information in the newsletter and is willing to pay for the information.

Online newsletters are gaining popularity and for good reason.

Because no printing or mailing costs are involved, online newsletters can usually be published for a fraction of the cost of traditional printed newsletters. And, because online

By the early 1900’s, newsletters made a comeback mainly because businesses and industries needed specialized information.

Thereafter, several types of newsletters ranging from farming to fashion became common. In the 21st century, newsletters appeared in another medium – online or web version, the electronic newsletters of today.

newsletters can be instantly delivered to readers throughout the world at the click of a button, these publications are ideal for communicating timely information to readers.

College newsletters differ from newspapers in a few significant ways. For starters, newspapers are more focused on news and recent happenings around the campus, while newsletters are more focused on informing alumni, students, faculty and parents on academic developments and successes.

Although the nature of the content is different, you can still have some similar sections that work to inform the readers in more interesting and intriguing ways. Newsletter examples that are effective are those that take into consideration the concerns of the target market otherwise it would be a waste of time and resources not to take this into consideration when writing articles therein. This calls for a thorough research so as to respond accurately to these concerns.

My design school, National Institute of Fashion Technology, was established in 1986 by the Ministry of Textiles, in collaboration with FIT, New York. Over the years, it has emerged as a premier Institute of Design, Management and Technology in India. NIFT has set academic standards and excelled in thought leadership by providing a pool of creative genius and technically competent professionals. The Institute provides a common platform for fashion education, research and training. The multidisciplinary and broad-based structure aims at an all-round development of students.

The vision of NIFT ensures that it has a physical environment that reflects the institute’s academic ideals. The Resource Centre of NIFT - New Delhi has rich collections of print and non-print reference materials. Its collections pertaining to fashion studies and research, inherited from the National Resource Centre established in 1987, are unparalleled in the Indian sub-continent. Its integrated collections of materials and print resources support the teaching and research programmes of the Institute. However, being a part of this environment, I feel that in this age of New Media,

the richness of this source is not being fully consumed by the student groups. The basis to my study rises from here. Further, even though the learning environment is multidisciplinary, there is scope more interaction amongst students to promote ‘learning by sharing’.

Ideally, every student of NIFT needs to use these resources to their maximum potential. There has to be certain awareness created amongst students on how these resources can be utilized and made to benefit them. A survey was conducted with students from NIFT being the sample set. On analysing the data collected, it emerged that maximum students feel the need for more interaction in the campus. Inspiration can come from anywhere, and in most unexpected forms, thereby validating the need to interact more to be able to consume information coming in from different streams of study.

Proposing a newsletter that will not just report the events and happenings in and around NIFT, but also serve as a tool in providing inspiration, the paper aims at bridging the gap in the student commune. There are so many departments and so many creative minds at work individually. If this effort is made collectively, it could make the institute progress and reach newer heights. In sync with the vision statement of the institute, this step would enhance interdepartment, inter-batch interactions. This could be done by having a common portal or platform where students can share, post and discuss assignments, inspiring works of designers, industry queries, extracurricular activities etc. It would be a student driven initiative where a body of students would contribute to the development, designing and functioning of the newsletter. It is time to make a contribution to the alma mater, my learning ground.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A PRETTY GOOD PUFFER FISH. IT'S EITHER DELICIOUS OR DEADLY.

anika sarin

experience Fisheye Design | Ishan Khosla Design | Saatchi & Saatchi

interests Graphic Design | Photography | Space Design

contact anikaneerasarin@gmail.com

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non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

I BELONG HERE A Study On Place Branding; Delhi In Focus

PULSE

T

Mobility has increased immigration and has led to a diversification of racial, ethnic, and linguistic characteristics of populations in many countries. A particular feature of this process has been the rapid and disproportional increase in population diversity in several of the developed world’s larger cities (often referred to as the ‘World Cities’).

he society has changed these last three decades, seemingly as it has never occurred. We are in fact witnessing the fastest and most wideranging urbanization process in history. We have a ‘choice’ to belong to any group, city, state, country.

It’s an open, unbound world with smooth mobility.

This paper focuses on City Branding. Cities and regions no longer compete simply for foreign investors and tourism in the international markets. They now compete to be the focus for new growing firms with their innovators and entrepreneurs, foreign students, a new generation of temporary or footloose workers, institutional investors, globally developing companies, university campuses, business schools, laboratories & science centres, artistic & cultural facilities, the investment programmes of national governments and multinational investment & lending institutions.

This has changed the way that cities view both new opportunities and competitive threats in a global context.

It has made them more aware of the need to succeed in an internationally open economy, and less focused on shifting their position within older ‘nation state’ urban hierarchies. Cities respond to hyper-mobility by trying to capture and retain high value mobile activity and assets (including ‘high value people’), and by treating the loss of lower value mobile activities and assets as an opportunity to ‘upgrade’ their roles in global value chains.

Cities are all looking for a newer ways of creating the city of tomorrow. For this, they need to reconstruct their image. City branding is understood as the means both for achieving competitive advantage in order to increase inward investments and tourism, and also for achieving community development. City Branding reinforces local identity and identification of the citizens with their city thereby activating all social forces to avoid social exclusion and unrest.

The objective of this research and its documentation is to understand Place Branding in theory in order to examine its application and to study its need in today’s

With globalization being this century’s jewel, the significance of cities, mobility and global economy along with experience of a place (physical and virtual), contemporary

global scenario. The study focuses on Delhi, it’s core characteristics and eventually branding Delhi.

& cultural cities and urban regeneration were identified with. Theories like global branding in the context of Place Branding were understood along with comprehending the creation and formulation of brand strategies for a place.

Why Delhi: New Delhi is officially the national capital of India. It is one of the fastest growing cities in the world with extensive mobility and urbanization. Delhi is the largest metropolis by area and the secondlargest by population in India. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the territory at the 2011 Census.

Delhi is a tale of many eras and is believed to have a sturdy foundation due to its magnificent history. One is effortlessly driven to its rich extravaganza of multihued culture, legends of its dignified heritage and joyous attitude of the common man. The environment here is full of intricate details with deep meaning. While being a culturally strong city, it is a global one as well. It is the centre for India’s political set up. It provides with strong infrastructure, education & business opportunities and global exposure. With the people of Delhi being passionate about their city, the city is full of ‘vibrancy’ and ‘pulse’.

The Objective of the primary research was to discover how Delhi is perceived on six aspects namely: It’s People, Place, Pulse, Presence, Pre-requisites and Potential. This would lead to the conclusion if there is a need to brand Delhi and the outcome derived from the research would then highlight the qualities using which the branding exercise can take place. This would also guide one to improve the aspects where Delhi lacks as a city.

The secondary research began with understanding the concept of Place Branding, which is an umbrella term for nation branding, city branding and region branding. It included having an understanding of what a brand is, how to create it, and what is its importance in today’s global scenario. The study branched out into studying branding variables like brand experience, image, value, management, orientation, brand recognition, brand awareness, brand promise and identity.

The research then narrowed down on specifically studying the concept of city branding and its success in terms of social and economic development. There were sub categories to focus on: how does a city create and communicate a brand, how does branding fail, what happens when a city has no brand?

Thinkers, researchers and visionaries in the field and their works, articles and theories were studied. One such researcher and visionary, Simon Anholt and his theory of Nation Brand Index and City Brand Index was given utmost importance.

Certain case studies of some countries excelling in creating a Global Place Brand were examined and conclusions on their brand success were derived on the basis of City Brand Index.

The study moved into acquiring and studying all the secondary data on Delhi, which was used to understand the various aspects and variables of the city needed to outline the uniqueness of the place. This data was also analyzed on the basis of Simon Anholt’s City Brand Index.

The primary data collection was completed successfully by collecting information on the image of Delhi. The sample size was 216 and the method used was by distributing questionnaires to the people through Internet and in print. The target audience was ‘Delhites’, immigrants of Delhi, national/ international visitors and people who have never visited Delhi. The information was grouped into these categories and then analyzed.

The conclusion was a clear need to brand Delhi, with its multi cultural aesthetic, cosmopolitan society. With great business and educational opportunities, the city has much to offer both culturally and geographically and must be put out for the world to see in a strong, clear way. This validated the need for setting a platform for a branding exercise on Delhi.

WHAT COMES FROM THE HEART TOUCHES THE HEART.

apoorv nimbekar

experience Freelance Photography

interests Fashion Photography

contact apoorvnimbekar@gmail.com

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non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

IMAGE PLAYED BY: RAHUL LAL www.facebook.com/myclicks

ANYWHERE & EVERYWHERE!

W

ith the formation of the society, people started living in big groups. This led to a distinct need where people could have access to all basic goods in their place of establishment. The need for production emerged. In consequence, the goods that were produced were made available for others to buy and the term ‘market’ came into place.

As societies began to grow and flourish, their place of establishment also grew and the markets swelled.

Competition arose and the term ‘advertising’ took birth.

From then till now, advertising has grown into a widely recognized communication medium. In today’s world where competition has grown many folds and continues to grow limitlessly, brands and big companies are investing heavily to advertise their product/ brand.

OUTREACH

A study On Ambient Advertising And Its Future In India

This research paper discusses the possibility of a new medium of advertising that is emerging: ‘ambient advertising’.

My research aims at the changing trends of advertising and how ambient advertising is revolutionizing the industry.

Ambient media advertising can be used in conjunction with mainstream traditional media, or used equally effectively as a stand-alone medium. The key to a successful ambient media campaign is to choose the best media format available and combine it with effective message. Ambient media in a larger scale defines the media environment and the communication of information in ubiquitous and pervasive environments.

As I progressed with the secondary research, I understood that ambient advertising is a format, which is widely accepted because of certain key factors. They are: decline in the power of traditional media; greater demand for point-of-sale communications; its ability to offer precise audience targeting; its general versatility. From the data collected, I realized that

Ambient advertising is about placing ads on unusual items or in unusual places you wouldn’t normally see an ad. Ambient media in a larger scale defines the media environment and the communication of information in ubiquitous and pervasive environments.

Ambient advertising can be found anywhere and everywhere!

ambient advertisements are most effective in pushing a brand message in front of consumers and can develop even better top of mind recall within the target audiences. Ambient media can produce mass attention in centralized locations, or directly interact with consumers during normal every day activities.

As the traditional medium of advertising is becoming outdated, this emerging form laid the basis for my study.

Today, when the competition is rising severely and newer national & international brands are entering the India market, it has become very important to explore effective formats for communication. Being a cost effective effective medium, ambient advertising has started gaining a great deal of attention from advertisers and clients. Case studies disclosed that this format offers a lot of scope of innovation & effectiveness and can produce appreciable effect on the sales of products being advertised.

The primary research focused on exposing the identified sample set with different examples of ambient advertising.

This helped in identifying the great possibility of such a medium in Delhi, the capital of India. The analysis revealed that in a city like Delhi where the number of daily travelers into the city is enormous, this medium could reach out to people on a large scale. As opposed to traditional ways of advertising (such as television commercials), this format could also cut down costs tremendously.

Through the survey, it emerged that ambient advertising finds its place with the changing times of today, as people spend more time outside rather than confining themselves to their homes. The study concluded with an indicative proposal to employ this format to reach out to the commoners in Delhi with an aim to advertise a social cause. As revealed in the survey, this format has the potential to make a connect with the target audiences, leaving them with long lasting visual effect and great recall value. Ambient advertising holds a very strong future in the coming times in India.

EDUCATE TO DESIGN, DESIGN TO EDUCATE.

astha singh

experience McCann Erickson | Zomato

interests Graphic Design | Advertising

contact asthasingh41@gmail.com

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non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

Educate a girl. Educate India.

A LOUD CRY: Educating The Girl Child Through Social Advertising

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ISSUE

World Bank studies have established a direct, functional relationship between literacy & productivity on one hand and literacy & overall quality of human life on the other. But, that is still not enough because just stating a fact doesn’t help an Indian farmer or labourer to understand the value of educating his daughter.

oday’s world is advancing rapidly. Inventions, discoveries, and ideas are being churned out every fraction of a second. Advertising has advanced with time. Moving from informational to visual, straightforward to satirical - be it any form of advertising. As one of the oldest forms of public announcement, it occupies a critical position in the market, because simply informing a customer that a brand exists is not enough today. Social advertising has always played a role in the industry that targets every possible issue existing in the world, in a way that causes it to affect the conscience of a person, initiating a change.

While the world consumes all these changes, there are a few prime factors that remain key to these changes.

Education being one of them. Education to me has always been an important aspect because it is the building block of one’s life. It is difficult to survive without education; it is the only means through which one’s potential can be used to the maximum extent. Education tells a man how to think, how to work properly, how to make decisions.

Women, in today’s world have reached a point where they are considered equal to men. But, why is it that they always have to go the extra mile to achieve their goals?

The empowerment of women in India has been obstructed for centuries due to various reasons. The hardest blow to female empowerment was in the form of depriving women from basic educational facilities. The purpose of this study arose from this very fact, it was to make people aware of the poor literacy levels that exist amongst the female community in our country. Every issue that our society faces is like a link in a chain. Each issue is connected to another, either directly or indirectly. In this chain of issues, the weakest link is illiteracy. Illiteracy is the mother of all issues as it gives birth to many others like poverty, unemployment, child labour,

female foeticide, population burst and the list goes on.

A person aged seven and above, who can both read and write with any understanding in any language, is treated as literate. As per the 2001 Census, the overall literacy rate in India is 65.38%. The difference between the highest and the lowest literacy rate in India is very high. Kerala has the highest literacy rate which is 90.92 %, while Bihar has the lowest with 47.53 %. The question that arises here is, why such a wide gap when both the states exist in India? The answer lies in the wide gaps between the urban and rural populations.

Drowned in stereotypes and archaic beliefs, the rural population depends mainly on agriculture and doesn’t have enough money to educate their girls. They don’t feel the need to educate their girls,“after all ultimately they have to get married and do household work” is their common excuse, and so they decide that the girls must be trained in household chores only. The male literacy rate is 75.96% and female literacy rate is 54.28%, apart from treating girls as mere marriage material another push pack is the social system in India that promotes education for the male gender while the female population, especially in the remote areas of the country, is kept away from schools.

India is developing, but at a very slow rate. While people conveniently push the blame on a corrupt government, careful speculation will lead you to the crux of the issue. It is an illiterate public, which is unaware of it’s rights and duties as a citizen. Literacy is the ultimate solution to fight problems like communalism, terrorism and under-development. Our government is of the people, for the people and by the people, but are the people aware enough to make the right choice?

Today, in India, illiteracy levels are also a result of people being unaware of how educating their girl child could exponentially add on to their household income. It’s a good thing that I didn’t start off writing a checklist for the ways in which illiteracy affects the nation as well as the individual because we’d run out of screen space or patience. Shrouded amongst a million issues, the biggest factor when it comes to the effects that can ‘fracture’ a girl remains illiteracy. After all, it is one of those things that actually lets her pick herself up, even if she has to do it by the way of her bootstraps.

Several efforts have been made by the government to deal with illiteracy. In 1986, National Policy of Education declared

The quantitative analysis of the research states that the main reason for people being unaware of the issue is due to its poor advertising. The message that has to be delivered to people does not reach the right people. If compared to the ad campaigns for Polio drops, which have become famous because of its viral advertising in each and every corner of India, every possible effort has been made to eradicate

that the whole nation must pledge itself to the work of eradicating illiteracy, particularly in the younger age group.

The National Literacy Mission came into being in 1988 and started striving to involve all sections of the community in the literacy endeavour. In 1992, Education Policy envisaged free and compulsory elementary education of satisfactory quality to all children up to the age of 14 before India entered the 21st Century. But are they of any help?

Polio. As powerful campaigning and advertising needs to be introduced for educating the girl child, because it is then that the desired message will reach the rural masses.

My research looks into various aspects required to get this right to establish the connect with the rural masses. It pays attention to the verbal & visual language used and the mode employed for advertising and marketing. We as a society need to wake up and make an effort, this research is my effort.

BRENDA LAUREL

A DESIGN ISN'T FINISHED UNTIL SOMEBODY IS USING IT.

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non compos mentis 2012

garima goel

experience Wedding Design Company ( Backstage Productions) | ITC Pvt Ltd.

interests Event Management

contact garimagoel405@gmail.com

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

WRAP RAGE A Study On Packaging Design

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PRODUCT

ear Cornflakes, Why can’t I store you in the box, I bought you in?

Sincerely, it shouldn't be this hard!”

It is always annoying when it is difficult to open a product.

Wrap rage is the term coined for annoyance and frustration felt due to hard-to-open packaging. Ergonomics could make the package easier to open. Ergonomic packaging design is necessary to fulfil two goals, that of health and productivity.

Each time the consumer uses or removes the product from the packaging, a relationship develops and it influences future purchases. Thus, packaging design is not mere decoration but a powerful, persuasive force for developing a relationship with the consumer and establishing a successful brand.

Packaging design evolves with the understanding that packaging often connects to the emotional needs of the consumer; many consumer purchases are driven by emotion.

In recent years, packaging has developed well beyond its original function of product protection. Today, it plays a key marketing role in developing on-shelf appeal, providing product information and establishing brand image & awareness. Packaging performs a number of diverse roles: from purely functional to brand championship; from affecting efficient distribution to product & brand differentiation. It plays a significant role in physical and barrier protection to the product , information transmission, and marketing . The sheer diversity of these roles acts as both the determinant of a design solution and as a catalyst to the development of new ideas.

The problem is when the packaging does not meet consumer’s basic need of convenience. Poor packaging loses its purpose of creating a long lasting relationship with the consumer. Many companies lack consistent and

The problem is when the packaging does not meet consumer’s basic need of convenience.

Poor packaging loses its purpose of creating a long lasting relationship with the consumer.

Many companies lack consistent and consumer driven processes for guiding packaging decisions and either forego packaging research altogether or use it inappropriately.

consumer driven processes for guiding packaging decisions and either forego packaging research altogether or use it inappropriately. As a result, they make unnecessary packaging changes, or fail to invest in new packaging systems that could drive sales. Packaging design is becoming more and more significant since companies are seeking to create a unique image in the mind of consumers.

Moving on, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) are sold at a faster rate than other products. The concept behind the research was to find the consumer’s concern with poor packaging in this particular segment. The hypothesis was that there are concerns regarding poor packaging and a solution needs to be found to balance environmental needs as well as consumer’s functional needs. This study of packaging design was further narrowed down to the food category.

The primary objective of food packaging is protection of food from bacteria. Physical protection provides a barrier from water vapor, chemicals and dust present in the atmosphere. Packaging even gives us information about the product and the nutrients present. Most of the manufacturers wish to enhance the shelf life of their products. Food packaging is a great way of enhancing the longevity of food products. Improper packaging of a food item may result in quick deterioration.

During my research, I created what I call the ‘bug list’. This list contained all the products, which had instances of packaging that caused annoyance in consumers. This covers any ‘wrap rage’ that is experienced between the opening of packaging to its disposal. My survey was conducted through the medium of cross sectional questionnaire, administered amongst the chosen sample set. The objective was to understand the impact of consumer behaviour on product packaging and analyze the relevance of aesthetics, usability, price and environmental concerns in the minds of the respondents.

From the survey of 100 adult consumers, it could be inferred that they are inclined towards both functionality and design.

But, primarily they give more importance to functionality and practicality. One of the key findings of the survey was that the ‘wrap rage’ exists with the breakfast cereal packaging.

I chose to undertake a detailed study on Kellogg’s Cornflakes; identified the problems and recognized the needs for improvements in its packaging to minimize the ‘wrap rage’. The cited survey identified the problem with current packaging. Most respondents got annoyed with the box not closing properly. Hence, there is no provision to keep it airtight making the product stale and soggy. My study concluded with a suggestive packaging design proposal keeping in mind the key aspects that emerged from the research: usability, durability, affordability and being environment friendly.

“Dear Cornflakes, I can keep you nice and tight.

Seriously, it isn’t that hard!”

COWS AREN'T THE ONLY ONES WHO NEED BRANDING.

gaurangna sood

experience Dastkar | Alpana Khare Graphic Design | Theme Weavers Travel Weavers | Dilli Haat | National School of Drama

interests Graphic Design | Branding | Crafts

contact gaurangana_sood@hotmail.com

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non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

EXPERIENCE

ALTERNATIVE BRANDING & NEW AGE PROMOTIONAL DESIGN

There is evidence that the word ‘brand’ began simply as a way to tell one person's cattle from another by means of a hot iron stamp. Brands provide customers with a consistent, compelling experience in order to not confuse them, as confusion leads to doubt. Everyone associated with the brand must understand its key dimensions in order to deliver this consistent experience.

“P

eople ignore design that ignores people.” The main objective of any given design brief is to be able to successfully deliver to your client what he or she wants, keeping in mind the methodology of the process and also satisfying the needs of the target market. Design objectives broadly include aesthetics, accessibility, cost effectiveness, functionality, historic preservation, productivity and sustainability. The interrelationship between all these factors must be understood and applied successfully. However, Design should never say,“Look at me.” It should always say,“Look at this.”

These words are the key to successful branding.

My Paper is about a deeper understanding of branding and its various strategies & processes that have been followed conventionally. I have taken it a step forward by trying to understand how understanding this process has helped the contemporary designers to come up with a newer design process, which I perceive as Alternative Branding.

This topic is rather new and is still being explored. Thus, I have chosen the task of understanding Alternative Branding through a research paper and taking it forward into the field of New Age Promotional Design. I have concentrated on all aspects of Communication Design and have gone through various case studies to finally understand & explore the meaning of New Age Design in promotional material. I have studied a range of deliverables, including print, web and interactive media to understand it further in detail through eight techniques on which I will base my basic understanding and knowledge. I have only reached this conclusion after thorough reading, sourcing and observing.

Every business enterprise has the sole aim of being the leader of the pack. In these changing times, businesses have adopted innovative tactics to stay competitive. The Inter¬net has made it easier to converse with clients and address their business requirements & queries. This includes some of the

most successful client servicing tools used world over and this is what I have defined as Alternative Branding. Essentially Alternative Branding is ‘just’ taking branding to a whole

way to promote your product. Nothing works better than surprising the audience by doing something unique. The fourth technique is using ‘traditional elements’ from your

new level and giving it a certain inventiveness that makes it different from normal branding and generic protocol.

target group itself which makes them relate to the product more and is basically forming a connect with the consumer on the experiential level. In advertisement campaigns or visual advertising, the look and feel of the graphics can use realistic techniques to create the feeling of tactility.

As I went through a lot of examples of Alternative Branding collaterals, design strategies, methodologies and branding processes, I divided it into three basic sub headings, namely- conceptualization, process and execution.

I have tried to understand my topic, based on the breakup and understanding of the primary processes of branding and promotion. To understand the need of New Age Promotional Design stemming from Alternative Branding primarily, I administered a questionnaire that strengthened my belief in the concept of Alternative Branding and New Age Promotional Design. The most important aspects that emerged after this survey were - the visual identity of a known brand is equally important as of an unknown one, if not more.

People are becoming more aware of their surrounding and notice interesting design in passing as well. The emotional connect of a consumer with their brand is very important and packaging plays a vital role in the visual identity.

After thorough research and study of various projects that used New Age Promotional Design in terms of conceptualization and design process, I have tried to put eight techniques together that I feel have worked the best in terms of garnering mass appeal. The first technique would be ‘emotional connect’, by using techniques that might make your consumer nostalgic. This is a very successful tact of bridging the product-consumer gap. The second technique is the ‘minimalism approach’. This approach is a very well thought of and a planned move. For a company to employ this is a big gamble as it might backfire very easily. However, if the identity is very flexible and is already established, then to un-complicate the brand name, minimalism works very well. A very famous example would be Coca Cola, which was rebranded by Bruce and Turner Duckworth who are leading designers in the field of branding.

The use of ‘interesting packaging’ material is also a successful

Using ‘real textures’ makes an impact instantly because there is a third dimension involved, which makes your brain, think of a deeper angle than the existing one. This technique is also used to promote Interaction Design. One identity that can be changed according to the mood, feel or multiple personalities of the company is dynamic in nature. An identity is that is ‘flexible’ and decreases the chances of having one identity, which is confusing and cannot incorporate the different facets of the organization, this is the sixth technique of New Age Promotional Design.

Sometimes to create an identity that stands out, all you need to create is an interesting ‘illustrative style’ that stands out from the rest. Creating an identity with a distinct illustration style has become a very popular concept in today’s market. The last technique that I have defined is creating a ‘completely new product’ that is usually not branded. In this case, no matter how you brand the existing subject, the product itself being promoted in an interesting way will generate curiosity in it.

With the end of what has been an enriching research process, I would like to take my research forward into the real time scenario and use it as a reference for branding and creating a publically viable brand identity. My research truly made me believe that no design works unless it embodies ideas that are held common by the people for whom the object is intended.

WE ARE MADE UP OF STORIES. NOT ATOMS.

gauri verma

experience Reliance BIG Entertainments | ELLE India (magazine)

interests Fashion Journalism

contact gauriverma20@gmail.com

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non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

KATHA A Re-narration Of Indian Folktales Through Crafts Of Its Specific Regions

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CULTURE

herever a story comes from, whether it is a familiar myth or a private memory, the retelling exemplifies the making of a connection from one pattern to another: a potential translation in which narrative becomes parable and the once upon a time comes to stand for some renascent truth. This approach applies to all the incidents of everyday life: the phrase in the newspaper, the endearing or infuriating game of a toddler, the misunderstanding at the office. Our species thinks in metaphors and learns through stories.”

Mary Catherine Bateson Reading folktales informs you about the culture, history and beliefs of a country. The research has come out of trying to understand the deep cultural relevance these stories have even today, and figuring out a way of making them more accessible to today’s times. An in depth study of the connection between folktales and how they could be narrated based on their origin, this research travels both geographically and in time with the hope to recreate the magic of the yester years in a contemporary manner, today.

We tell stories in order to live, in order to be remembered.

We use stories to construct meaning and to communicate.

Stories help us organize and make sense of the experience of life. In India, society is deeply rooted in past experiences.

There is a sense of great respect for opinions of the older generations. Our first interactions of this manner are the stories we hear from our parents and grandparents. Most of these stories are versions of ancient fables and folktales, which in their own way helped shape our morals. This study revisits those tales to not only help people understand their culture but also about the country’s art and history.

It is at a young age, where the mind is most receptive.

That is the reason, teachings are more visual rather than

Telling stories has long been recognized as an important part of healing and self-knowledge. It is a personal and spiritual vehicle that connects us to our people and to our culture... it is a means for understanding ourselves and our place in the world. We recognize our lives as a web of stories – a historical novel or a mini-series in the making.

theoretical, so as to gain the attention of the viewer.

streams. Storytelling engages listeners in the scientific

After having studied and questioned a sample group of people consisting of children, parents and teachers, through my research I have tried to analyze whether there is any need for such an educational intervention or not.

The research is done so as to find out the importance of storytelling, the content of the stories and most importantly how these stories are being narrated while keeping in mind that these stories refer to folktales only.

process through the suspense and virtual reality that a good story creates. Students get to make discoveries along with the author or main character in the tale. Even works of realistic fiction, if grounded in good science, can be written or told to illuminate a concept, introduce a chapter, or prepare students for a science experiment.

Considering the importance of storytelling to a child’s development, psychologists have promoted the positive effects of reading and telling children stories for decades. Think of the fables and parables that moulded your values. Think of how stories about your national, cultural, or family history have shaped your attitude about yourself and others. Stories are particularly effective in influencing the way children think and behave, because they like to hear or read them over and over again. This repletion, combined with your children’s imaginations and the inestimable power of your presence, makes stories one of the best ways to influence their thinking.

The study is regarding the importance of storytelling and its relevance. It comes down to talking about folktales and how narrating them through the crafts of the region to where they belong will help children understand not only their culture at large, but also specifically where they come from.

The following is a summary of the topics being spoken of: To understand the importance of storytelling.

To understand how storytelling can be made a part of elementary learning in schools.

To understand how folktales in specific can be integrated into the education system.

To understand the validity of the above.

To understand the benefits of such an exercise.

Stories can make abstract theories concrete by bringing the listener into direct experience with the concept. The food web is not just an idea in a textbook; it is what you had for lunch. The water cycle flows through your blood

After having said all that, I’ll say something more: If you stop here it isn’t enough.

It is necessary for students to be energetically engaged in the activity of designing investigations and conducting research. After listening to this story about Cottonwood, what questions does it raise for you? It tells us that history is a verb! This traditional folktale doesn’t have an individual author; instead it is owned by the community. The folktale contains the entire culture of the community, which also differentiates it from other groups. This collective conscious stored within the folktales is the reason why telling folktales in the classroom is a matter of utmost importance. These folktales are all told in a particular manner. As in India, most folktales are born out of some kind of religious or spiritual story and hence in the ancient times were told via crafts.

The idea is to do the same, but in a contemporized version.

Take the craft and narrate the folktale using that craft, where it appeals to today’s generation. After having collected the required data, one comes to conclude, that there is scope in the objective of this idea. Teachings are becoming more interactive, and its better when you connect everything in the form of a story. The statistics showed how little most people knew about the relationship between crafts and folktales, and that made the project all the more justifiable.

There is a need to revive our perceptions of our culture, and this can be done by introducing children, at an impressionable age to the stories of our forefathers, and show them how they still apply to today’s issues and more importantly to their daily lives.

RAYMOND LOEWY

GOOD DESIGN KEEPS THE USER HAPPY AND THE AESTHETE UNOFFENDED.

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non compos mentis 2012

harleen singh

experience Mixed Juice Design | Sochyo! | Zomato | ClubOneAir | Samoolam

interests Graphic design

contact hrln_sngh@yahoo.co.in

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

REVIVAL OF GURMUKHI: Reading And Writing

SCRIPT

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Type Design and an indepth exploration into a script can be instrumental in building strong cultural identities. The lack of quality typefaces for Devanagari script means that those who use this script are being bereft of this potential tool. The power of Type in being a vehicle of culture is indisputable.

The globalization of the communication industry means that minority languages around the world are increasingly under threat. Many languages are facing what is known as ‘language extinction’. This is because either there are no people speaking these languages or there are decreasing number of people who use particular languages as a mode of communication, written or verbal.

Language is a central component of cultural identity. It acts as a binding force and marker of group identities. For example, the definition of “Basque” is “those who speak in the Basque tongue”. Likewise, the Roman, who have no land and no clear defining characteristics, rely on their Romany language to maintain a cultural identity. A shared language aids social cohesion by providing its speakers with a ready-made support network. This in turn has been linked with reducing feelings of social dislocation and related problems, such as crime.

A language is endangered when it is on the path towards extinction. A language is in danger when its speakers cease to use it, use it in an increasingly reduced number of communicative domains, and cease to pass it on from one generation to the next. That is, there are no new speakers, either adults or children. This is a result of economic, religious, cultural or educational subjugation or it may be caused by internal forces, such as a community’s negative attitude towards its own language. Internal pressures often have their source in external ones, and both halt the intergenerational transmission of linguistic and cultural traditions. Many indigenous people, abandon their languages and cultures in hope of overcoming discrimination, to secure a livelihood, and enhance social mobility, or to assimilate to the global marketplace. Finally, small countries often feel that their entire national language is under threat from (particularly) American cultural domination that insists on the use of English for everything. There are distinct debates to be had on these issues with different emphasis but the underlying principles are the same.

Belonging to the Sikh community, I undertook the task of focusing on the Panjabi language and Gurmukhi script that

in learning their mother tongue. However, many of them are interested in learning it through easy and user-friendly

is an integral part of Sikh heritage, culture, and religion.

Logically, all Gursikhs should be able to speak Panjabi. The Sikh Gurus formulated the Gurmukhi lipi (script) to make the teachings of the Gurus available to everyone without discrimination of caste or creed and the Punjabi language is the language of the Sikh Nation. If it had not been for the Guru Sahibs and Sikhs, there would be no Punjab. A nation without its mother tongue is doomed. The best example is the Africans who were made into slaves. They were deprived of their mother tongue. When they would speak their native language they would be beaten. Eventually they lost all culture, history, and religion and become slaves of western culture and adopted the names of the White masters.

media that is smart, simple and less time consuming.

But, the question here is, who do we blame for this? Is it because of cultural influences and lifestyle changes? Or, is it because today’s generation is too busy becoming slaves of the western culture that pressurizes them to only speak or write in an internationally acknowledged language? Maybe it’s just that we have given in to the peer pressure that asks us to be “one of them”. Today, the reputation and name of the school is more important than the subjects it offers. Parents do not force or encourage their children to learn their own mother tongue because the main language they would be using in the future would most probably be English or Hindi and not Punjabi.

To understand the status of Gurmukhi among Gursikhs and the relevance of revival & promotion of Gurmukhi, a survey was conducted among 100 adults and 80 children between the ages of seven to twelve. The objective of the survey was to check the knowledge of Gurmukhi among Gursikhs from various regions of Delhi. The survey asked people about their knowledge of Gurmukhi, its existence, relevance and importance in their lives, religion and community. It also tried to gather views from people if they felt it was less religious of them to not know how to read and write in their own mother tongue. The results were amazing. It was found that most people (including children) did not know how to read or write in Gurmukhi. Most respondents blame the cultural and lifestyle changes for the decreasing interests

The results from the survey concluded that there is a need for revival of Gurmukhi among Gursikhs and the Gursikhs agreed to that. The change in lifestyles and cultural influences has led them to adapt to the changing needs of the society and neglect their own culture. However, there is a sense of guilt in most of them because of which they still want to give it a try and learn their mother tongue through various media.

Since children are the base of culture and future, it is important to lay emphasis on them. To bring about a change in the society, we need to inculcate values in children who will grow up to be the role models for the future. Hence, for the revival and promotion of Gurmukhi, the two main targets are the kids and adults.

Hence, it is important to build a system of teaching that remains with them at all times. For this, it is necessary to understand the various media that these target groups interact with the most.

Gone are the days when kids used to learn through books & charts and adults used to attend classes for vocational studies.

We are living in a world that thrives on digital and interactive media. We are living in a world of connectivity and interaction between man and technology. Hence, the mode of teaching a language should also match up with the changing time.

For this, an interactive mobile phone application that teaches people how to read and write Gurmukhi sounds perfect. An application that teaches stroke styles, steps of writing letters, forming words, audio clips and converts their English words to Punjabi could be a way of revolutionizing Gurmukhi.

THE OPTIONS AND POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS WHEN WE CONNECT AND RE-ALIGN.

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non compos mentis 2012

himani shukla

experience The Entertainment Design Company | Designwallas | Roli Books

interests Graphic Design | Visual Merchandising

contact himani.aquarian@gmail.com

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

DEVANAGARI + CALLIGRAPHY: A Workable Mix?

T

he ignorance in terms of not having explored the Non Latin alphabet to its potential stems from the fact that we are rather absorbed with the familiar Latin alphabet. This usually results in international projects requiring extensive knowledge about less familiar writing systems from around the world.

SCRIPT

Type Design and an indepth exploration into a script can be instrumental in building strong cultural identities. The lack of quality typefaces for Devanagari script means that those who use this script are being bereft of this potential tool. The power of Type in being a vehicle of culture is indisputable, and hence my research paper was initiated with the hope of exploring this power with calligraphy and developing a design which would be both culturally and socially relevant as per our current requirement.

Pick any language you like: Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Nepali, or may be Punjabi. Each is based on the same writing system, which makes it interesting to figure out how they work. Regardless of the scale effects which vary for each language, there is a requirement to appreciate the link between Typeface Design and writing, and the tools used for writing. More than the specific forms of letters, the process of writing illuminates the patterns and combinations we are used to seeing, and gives insights into the balance of shapes and the space between them.

The relationship of writing tools to the marks they make are of prior importance for any written typeface or font.

The aesthetics and structure of any design can be strongly

related to the shape and legibility of the letterforms, so learning about the Devanagari writing system not only helped me create ‘something’ innovative but also enabled me to explore calligraphy as an art and medium for the same.

This research was undertaken with the prime objective of studying the Devanagari script and calligraphy as an

Type Design and an indepth exploration into a script can be instrumental in building strong cultural identities. The lack of quality typefaces for Devanagari script means that those who use this script are being bereft of this potential tool. The power of Type in being a vehicle of culture is indisputable.

art. While gathering information about the discipline, the research also puts together famous calligraphers who employ Devanagari as the foundation of any exploration and experimentation they undertake. Keeping in view all the key factors of my research, the idea behind the study is to increase the popularity of Devanagari and Non Latin type beyond the borders of the existing fonts and type families.

While some parts of the script, truly colloquial in nature, have been used and experimented with, there are certain areas which have been completely phased out, only to understand how these two elements work when left in solitude.

With these goals, the first step was data collection and its division in terms of history, etymology, categories, practitioners and more. Such a structure helped me get a better understanding of the topic. Data was collected from various sources including books, websites, blogs and journals.

After the secondary research, the next phase was to find out about the relevance for a new fluid/ mobile calligraphic font/ typeface. The dissertations, feedback of design professionals, academicians and students gave different theories on how and what to design when one thinks in terms of a new Non Latin typeface. They were both, agreements and arguments.

Apart from these basic objectives, a need to understand people’s comprehension of the currently existing fonts & typefaces and the requirement & relevance of a new calligraphic hand style typeface was also a part of both, my secondary and primary research.

Further a survey was conducted to test people’s comprehension of the existing Non Latin fonts and typefaces and their reaction to my questions along with the observations from the practitioners led me to the conclusion of developing ‘something’ which would be more stimulating and prolific.

My questionnaire also reflected upon certain inefficiencies of various typefaces and their inconvenience and helped me gauge what was imperative and needful. My target audience were people who belonged to the field of Design

ranging from design professionals to academicians, graphic designers, interaction designers, font developers and students.

My study also explored various typographic forms which were drawn from the script and are today available for usage in terms of fonts and typefaces. The aim was to, in the end, be able to contribute towards making these practices more culturally relevant for our contemporary society by blending the two techniques together, i.e., Calligraphy and Devanagari and testing their relevance in terms of them being a workable mix!

Summing it up, my paper is an exploratory research paper which tests the relevance for a free (hand) style calligraphic font for the Non Latin typefaces which would be more fluid and mobile and is need-based in nature.

OBSERVE. UNDERSTAND. DESIGN.

ishani sangal

experience Vivek Sahni Design | The Entertainment Design Company | Scenografia Sumant

interests Space Design | Graphic Design | Scenography

ishani5689@gmail.com, ishani.sangal5@gmail.com

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non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

THE NUPTIAL KALEIDOSCOPE A Study Of Colour & Space In Indian Weddings

SWAY

T

Type Design and an indepth exploration into a script can be instrumental in building strong cultural identities. The lack of quality typefaces for Devanagari script means that those who use this script are being bereft of this potential tool. The power of Type in being a vehicle of culture is indisputable.

he ignorance in terms of not having explored the Non Latin alphabet to its potential stems from the fact that we are rather absorbed with the familiar Latin alphabet. This usually results in international projects requiring extensive knowledge about less familiar writing systems from around the world.

Type Design and an indepth exploration into a script can be instrumental in building strong cultural identities. The lack of quality typefaces for Devanagari script means that those who use this script are being bereft of this potential tool. The power of Type in being a vehicle of culture is indisputable, and hence my research paper was initiated with the hope of exploring this power with calligraphy and developing a design which would be both culturally and socially relevant as per our current requirement.

Pick any language you like: Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Nepali, or may be Punjabi. Each is based on the same writing system, which makes it interesting to figure out how they work. Regardless of the scale effects which vary for each language, there is a requirement to appreciate the link between Typeface Design and writing, and the tools used for writing. More than the specific forms of letters, the process of writing illuminates the patterns and combinations we are used to seeing, and gives insights into the balance of shapes and the space between them.

The relationship of writing tools to the marks they make are of prior importance for any written typeface or font.

The aesthetics and structure of any design can be strongly related to the shape and legibility of the letterforms, so learning about the Devanagari writing system not only helped me create ‘something’ innovative but also enabled me to explore calligraphy as an art and medium for the same.

This research was undertaken with the prime objective of studying the Devanagari script and calligraphy as an art. While gathering information about the discipline, the research also puts together famous calligraphers who employ Devanagari as the foundation of any exploration and experimentation they undertake. Keeping in view all the key factors of my research, the idea behind the study is to increase the popularity of Devanagari and Non Latin type beyond the borders of the existing fonts and type families.

While some parts of the script, truly colloquial in nature, have been used and experimented with, there are certain areas which have been completely phased out, only to understand how these two elements work when left in solitude.

With these goals, the first step was data collection and its division in terms of history, etymology, categories, practitioners and more. Such a structure helped me get a better understanding of the topic. Data was collected from various sources including books, websites, blogs and journals.

After the secondary research, the next phase was to find out about the relevance for a new fluid/ mobile calligraphic font/ typeface. The dissertations, feedback of design professionals, academicians and students gave different theories on how and what to design when one thinks in terms of a new Non Latin typeface. They were both, agreements and arguments.

Apart from these basic objectives, a need to understand people’s comprehension of the currently existing fonts & typefaces and the requirement & relevance of a new calligraphic hand style typeface was also a part of both, my secondary and primary research.

Further a survey was conducted to test people’s comprehension of the existing Non Latin fonts and typefaces and their reaction to my questions along with the observations from the practitioners led me to the conclusion of developing

‘something’ which would be more stimulating and prolific.

My questionnaire also reflected upon certain inefficiencies of various typefaces and their inconvenience and helped me gauge what was imperative and needful. My target audience were people who belonged to the field of Design ranging from design professionals to academicians, graphic designers, interaction designers, font developers and students.

My study also explored various typographic forms which were drawn from the script and are today available for usage in terms of fonts and typefaces. The aim was to, in the end, be able to contribute towards making these practices more culturally relevant for our contemporary society by blending the two techniques together, i.e., Calligraphy and Devanagari and testing their relevance in terms of them being a workable mix!

Summing it up, my paper is an exploratory research paper which tests the relevance for a free (hand) style calligraphic font for the Non Latin typefaces which would be more fluid and mobile and is need-based in nature.

BRIAN REED

EVERYTHING IS DESIGNED. FEW THINGS ARE DESIGNED WELL.

jigyasa arora

experience Web Ink | Design Workshop

interests Graphic Design

contact arora.jigyasa89@gmail.com

56

non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

THOUGHTS & CLAY

lay is moulded to form a cup, but it is on its non-being that the utility of the cup depends. Doors and windows are cut out to make a room, but it is on its non-being that the utility of the room depends. Therefore, turn ‘being’ into advantage, and turn ‘non-being’ into utility.” - Lao Tzu

MOTION

“C

Clay is one of the oldest building materials on earth, among other ancient, naturally occurring geologic materials such as stone and organic materials like wood. Today, we live in an age of super abundance of ceramic raw materials. There are probably as many kinds of clay as there are riverbanks, creek beds, road cuts, abandoned coalmines and backyard gullies.

From being an essential element to life, to building blocks of some structure, clay is everywhere. Many documented studies prove that learning outcomes are heightened with clay modeling. It provides a kinesthetic, three-dimensional, constructive, and sensory approach to learning. Also, styling with clay is a big trend in creating automobile prototypes. Clay, which is a malleable material, can be easily shaped, enabling designers to create models to visualize a product. Clay modeling is widely in use today.

Clay animation or ‘claymation’ is one of many forms of stop motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable" and made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay. Each frame, or still picture, is recorded on film or digital media and then played back in rapid succession. When played back at a

frame rate greater than 10 to 12 frames per second, a fairly convincing illusion of continuous motion is achieved.

This paper discusses clay animation in detail. It covers the etymology, history, techniques, process etc. of clay animation. The secondary data understands the animation process in which clay figurines are manipulated and filmed to produce an image of lifelike movement.

Many documented studies prove that learning outcomes are heightened with clay modeling. It provides a kinesthetic, threedimensional, constructive, and sensory approach to learning. Clay invites physical manipulation and even the simplest of physical actions like squeezing, patting, poking, or piling it up produce an immediate and satisfying change to its shape and form.

The word "Claymation" was originally coined by Will Vinton in 1976 and trademarked soon after. But, one of the first films to use clay animation was in 1902, using it for sculpting.

This was one of the first steps for clay animation; it took six more years to make a film that used clay-animated sculptures. This happened in 1908 when A Sculptor's Welsh Rarebit Nightmare was released. It wasn't until the mid to late 80's that this wonderful technique began to turn into the large-scale phenomenon that it is today.

Claymation as developed and practiced by Vinton was timely.

At a minimum, it helped introduce audiences to 3D animation at a time when 2D was pervasive. At some level, it enthralled audiences and made them hungry for 3D animation allowing it to become the dominant form of animation.

Clay, once derided as only suitable for the most basic forms of animation has been used in varied Academy Award winning projects. Reveling in clay's malleability, Vinton and people he has worked with have advanced and promoted the qualities of clay, giving the world of stop-motion a new word and a new avenue - claymation. Today, claymation is known and used the world over and interest in this vibrant medium continues to grow with young and old practitioners alike.

The research also explores clay as an effective medium for improving cognitive thinking in young children and how it involves children with the help of sensorial interactions.

One of the key elements in visual art is ‘form’, i.e., shape in three dimension. Clay invites physical manipulation and even the simplest of physical actions like squeezing, patting, poking, or piling it up produce an immediate and satisfying change to its shape and form. In the case of young children, the data collected from varied sources reaffirmed, that the skill with clay develops from having regular access to it; increasingly complex experiments with form can result in the creation of sophisticated and accomplished clay pieces.

The paper also throws light on the importance of educating young children about issues of global environmental concerns like global warming and how they form a very important target audience. The study navigates through the use of clay animation in spreading awareness about global warming among young children and how it can become an effective medium. The paper is based on a secondary research conducted on claymation followed by a primary research that identifies the scope of clay animation to be incorporated in the education pattern to address social & environmental issues.

By studying a sample population of parents and teachers of varied backgrounds who are involved with teaching children, it emerged that this concept at elementary level can be highly beneficial in instilling the desired values & learnings in children within the identified age bracket.

BREAK IT DOWN. LAY IT OUT. RINSE AND REPEAT.

60

non compos mentis 2012

juhi chitravanshi

experience Superchooha | The Grafiosi | metataste.com

interests Graphic Design

contact juhi219@gmail.com

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

USABILITY ON THE WEB

“U

CLOUD

sability is like cooking: everybody needs the results, anybody can do it reasonably well with a bit of training, and yet it takes a master to produce a gourmet outcome.” says Jacob Neilson, and rightly so. Web Design (and development) is as much about attractive design and functionality, as it is about providing the users with quick solutions to their requirements and leaving them wanting more.

As the Net rapidly evolves away from the grand library ideals of its inception, those responsible for the design and implementation of Web-based presences face new challenges. It’s not enough to deploy the latest Web technologies, or host on the fastest servers. If you want to sustain your Web-based users, you’ll need to take a close look at the user experience.

As the Net rapidly evolves away from the grand library ideals of its inception, those responsible for the design and implementation of Web-based presences face new challenges.

It’s not enough to deploy the latest Web technologies, or host on the fastest servers. If you want to sustain your Web-based users, you’ll need to take a close look at the user experience.

The objective for undertaking this study was to understand usability - its importance, and components; to learn how to test a website for usability using surveys, feedback, usability testing, analysis and finally to apply the above learning to a hands-on case study.

The website chosen for the case study was www.nift. ac.in – the online presence of National Institute of Fashion Technology, the institute I am currently studying in. As the NIFT website says,“National Institute of Fashion Technology was set up in 1986 and has emerged as a premier Institute of Design Management and Technology.”

The website’s hit counter is running at 2152181 currently indicating the institute’s popularity and that the website has significant traffic. Fifteen centres of the institute spread across the country attract students from every strata, region and environment in India. Apart from that, NIFT also has a network of alumni and industry professionals in practically every city across the nation and even abroad.

In such a scenario, the online presence serves to connect different kinds of people with resources and important information on the website. It needs to be a

smooth experience for every person who goes ‘there’ looking for something. It is also a representation of the

to communicate their thought processes verbally while they worked. I asked them to vocalize what path they take

institute in terms of its efficiency and functionality.

The objectives for testing www.nift.ac.in for usability were: to gauge its present standing in terms of user-friendliness; to understand the user perceptions of the website; to identify specific weak-points or areas with potential for improvement and finally, to be able to give recommendations for improving the usability of the website in question.

to find information, what questions they have, and what surprises or confuses them as they go through the website.

The interaction took place in a mix of Hindi and English.

Starting with a questionnaire targeted at the various stakeholders and going on to usability testing and in-depth analysis of the website, I came up with recommendations for a much-needed re-design and finally, also suggested a potential design idea. The study conducted to test the usability of the NIFT website was done in two phases: an online survey and usability testing.

In the first phase, the survey based on a questionnaire used very generic questions to determine how good or how bad the website currently is in terms of usability. The survey targeted the different sections of target audience that the website was already identified to have, namely: the prospective students; the current students; professionals or industry experts; faculty members; officials from administration; staff members and the alumni. A total of 158 users were surveyed.

The next phase of the study was usability testing, which is the process of giving a test-user tasks to perform on a website and then observing their experience to identify specific shortcomings in the website. The purpose of my test sessions was to gauge the usability and ease of navigation of the NIFT web site for specific target audiences, enlisted earlier. Users were asked to complete tasks read aloud to them by the facilitator (me), and then given the questionnaire from the first phase of the study to fill.

My goal was to determine what ‘is’ or ‘is not’ working successfully on the website from the users’ perspective. After each session, I included an open-ended feedback session about the website or the testing in general. I also employed a task-based think-aloud protocol, in which I asked users

Users were verbally led through the series of questions, encouraging them to think out loud and respond to what they are looking at, and ask questions about their thought processes and decisions as they work, without being intrusive or leading. In-depth notes were taken, which were later referenced to draw conclusions.

Once, both phases of the testing process were over and data was collected, the next step was analysis. To analyze the data collected through the online survey, I assigned a score to each of the questions pertaining to the usability value of the website. The findings coincided with the general perception of the website as well as my own presumptions.

Inspired from Microsoft’s product reaction cards, I created a word cloud of the attributes. The most prominent words in the word cloud were: normal, cluttered and un-interesting.

It became evident that the users were not satisfied with the look of the website. Many users thought that the website was dated, meaning that the look needed to be updated.

The results of the usability testing gave similar findings.

It showed that the website was confusing to the users.

Based on these findings, I was able to propose these recommendations for updating the website: re-structuring of information according to the target audiences; the terminology of the links should be changed to accommodate all kinds of users; broken links/broken CSS on pages need to be fixed; need for clear search system; simple grid for easy scanning.

Based on the findings of the research and my analysis, I came up with a basic wireframe for the re-design of the home-page for the website in question.

JENNIFER LEONARD

WHAT WILL ENDURE IS WHAT IS UNIQUELY HUMAN.

kavita brahma

experience Fenders Music Academy | letzdoitDEN

interests Photography | Movie Production | Graphic Design

contact kvtbrahma@gmail.com

64

non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

IMAGE PLAYED BY: RAHUL LAL www.facebook.com/myclicks

MAPPING THE CARBON FOOTPRINT & MORE… A Study On Alternative Wine Packaging

“P

ackages are now serving to actually influence the consumer’s final purchase decision.”

PERCEPT

Pack¬aging can be described as a coordinated sys¬tem of preparing goods for transport, ware¬housing, logistics, sale, and end use. Packaging protects, preserves, transports, informs, and sells. In many countries it is fully integrated into government, business, institutional, industrial, and personal use. Packaging as we know it today is the result of a long development process. It is the product of continuous research aimed at finding better methods of packaging various goods that we use, including our food, in order to ensure the best protection for them.

The secondary research revealed that packaging includes every possible aspect of industrial design on multiple levels. It involves an array of different types of information and design elements. Packaging is a primary tool for practically every known form of consumer product. Sometimes, packaging literally creates the product identity. Going through different case studies, the Coca Cola bottle emerged as the ‘all time classic’. An instantly recognizable logo, distinctive shape, and global fame came from this packaging. The Coke bottle is still unique in many ways. As for packaging, it was complex when introduced, but the idea was very simple. To this day, it’s physically impossible to mistake the bottle for anything else, and it remains a consumer favourite. Modern packaging can be more technically demanding than ever before.

Interest in alternative packaging has increased dramatically in the last few years. My study focuses on alternative wine packaging. In a generic survey, a continued growth across all types of alternative wine packaging, and the rate of acceptance appeared to be accelerating. The secondary data collected showed that the main reasons

“Appealing packages not only garner consumer attention for new products, but also revitalize and alter the perception about an existing brand.” Packaging is the sci¬ence, art and technol¬ogy of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packag¬ing also refers to the process of design, evaluation, and produc¬tion of packages.

for the market’s continued growth are lower manufacturing and delivery costs combined with a desire to reduce the environmental impact of a bottle of wine. In my study, the packaging technologies that have been investigated are: Bag in Box (BIB), Tetra Pak, and plastic wine bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

As the research progressed, in the case of wine pacakging, I found that all three main alternatives to glass wine bottles, namely BIB, Tetra Pak and PET bottles, reduce the carbon footprint when compared to glass bottles. The major carbon savings come from the reduction in weight associated with shipping wine and the energy savings associated with manufacturing the container. Which of the three alternatives is the most “green” depends largely on how far the wine is shipped; what method(s) of transportation are used; how much of the container is recycled, and how the “renewable resources” that are used to manufacture the container are managed.

PET bottles are the lightest of the three alternatives, but they have a somewhat higher carbon footprint of manufacture.

This combination makes the PET bottle an attractive alternative for transporting wine by air. The lightweight PET bottle’s transportation footprint offsets its carbon footprint of manufacture compared to BIB or Tetra Pak. If, on the other hand, one is transporting wine by road, the increased packing efficiencies of Tetra Pak and BIB, coupled with the fact that the paper associated with their packaging can be recycled, makes them the greener choice. The battle to be the greenest between Tetra Pak and BIB comes down to a technical debate. The undesirable element used in all alternative wine packaging is plastic. The PET bottle is made almost entirely of it. The “bag” in the BIB is made of it, the Tetra Pak container is lined with it, and the closures for both BIB and Tetra Pak are made from it. All plastic is somewhat difficult to recycle, and when recycled, it is generally used to make things that end up in a landfill. The Tetra Pak container uses the least amount of plastic, giving it the smallest theoretical carbon footprint in a landfill.

With the primary research, I probed into the Indian wine manufacturing company, namely Sula Vineyards to understand the concepts and approaches to ‘smart packaging’. The research focused on a specific group of people who were aware or have had constant interaction with the Indian wine industry. The primary research entailed: collection of public opinion through questionnaires; interaction with the people associated or not associated with the brand Sula; seeking reviews from the people associated with the packaging industry to assess the current situation.

The analysis indicated that Sula is one of the most widely recalled Indian wine brand names, along with Luca and Grover. A majority of the population were aware about the brand, but they lacked the brand recall in terms of packaging.

Most respondents felt that even though the logo is impactful, it could be improved more in terms of the contemporary scenario. Sula being one of the leading wine brands requires a fair chance of redesign in terms of promoting it as an Indian wine brand. Also, most respondents were aware of the eco-friendly approach to design, but were not aware of any such application by Sula. This, if enhanced, could add value to the brand. All the data collected in this phase was analysed and the need emerged to propose packaging redesign for Sula; the main purpose being lesser carbon footprint through the right choice of material/s.

“Reduce, renew and recycle are the buzzwords that are very important to us at Sula. Being environment friendly is personally very important to me. It is important for the country and the world. It sustains business and the planet.”- Rajeev Samant, CEO - Sula Vineyards, Nashik.

The current material being employed by the brand does not experiment much with the concept of ‘use and reuse’. It is suggested that different types of recycled forms of paper could be used to render a unique appeal to wine packaging for the brand in question.

DON'T EVER ASK OBAMA WHERE HE'S FROM, HE WONT ANSWER IT.

kuhu kochar

experience Atelier Magazine | Platform Magazine Motherland Magazine | Stylekandy | The YP Foundation

interests Fashion Journalism | Illustration

contact kuhukochar01@gmail.com

68

non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

ILLUSTRATION: More Than Just Scribbles

CHANGE

I

Contrary to what is often argued, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education does not attempt to replace traditional family values; its role is to help young people to identify their own values, and to increase their awareness of all the available choices that are appropriate to their needs.

n a recent debate on Times Now between Suhel Seth, Sunita Nair, Arunab Mukharjee and many others the need for correct information about the amount of transfats and calories in our foods was emphasized upon, a similar debate threw the tobacco industry off balance almost a decade ago, with the accentuation of statutory warnings. My research stems out of a similar urgency; the need for Comprehensive Sexuality Education.

What started off as a love for Illustration, the discipline’s history, and its relationship with art, design, and photography, it gradually led me to investigate how illustrated images are read and understood. It brought me closer to how personal visual languages are created by today’s illustrators and image-makers.

I investigated the different contexts in which illustrations are used (both Indian and western), from editorial illustration in newspapers and magazines, to book publishing, all the research led to me conclude: Illustration shows us who we are by visualizing how we perceive, interact with, and think about the world. It sheds light on world issues in magazines and newspapers, it narrates our inner world in graphic novels and animations, lets us enter our daydreams in picture books and artist toys, clarifies data and guides our movements in illustrated diagrams, maps and signage.

Illustration was definitely more than just scribbles.

Illustration relies on several skills that are applicable to a wide range of illustrative activities, including curiosity about the world and the ways in which it works, proficiency in solving creative problems and the ability to visually express oneself and one’s ideas through a variety of technical means.

Narrowing down my research to the field of Social Design, I studied the tools for producing good illustrations; technical proficiency in both traditional and digital media; conceptual thinking and creative problem solving; literacy

in the history of art, design, and illustration; social and cultural awareness. Working on creating a visual language for various collaterals for TYPF (The YP Foundation) and

in a contemporary society where a thousand sources of information exist and our only premise to Comprehensive Sexuality Education in India is giving out correct, factual and

primarily creating a language for Comprehensive Sexuality Education, I finally embarked on my mission that wasn’t just about pretty pictures, it served a purpose, filled a void.

unbiased information. The scope of my study, entailed surveys that led to alarming facts, that pushed me even more to think, why would we choose misinformation over empowerment?

The scope of work entailed developing an overall effective visual language for various programmes at The YP Foundation with a focus on ‘Know Your Body Know Your Rights’ programme. This particular capsule enables youth engagement in Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) through public awareness & policy dialogue and their initiative towards legalization and effective implementation of CSE. My paper acknowledges the existing goals and aims of The YP Foundation. YPF allowed me the platform to take my study ahead to become a part of their programme and echo their mission, with a visual angle.

As specified in IPPF’s framework for Comprehensive Sexuality Education, sexuality education must address the following seven essential components/elements: gender, reproductive health & rights (including information about services and clinics), sexual citizenship, pleasure, violence, diversity and relationships. The term ‘comprehensive’ indicates that this approach to sexuality education encompasses full range of information, skills and values to enable young people to exercise their sexual & reproductive rights. It is important to understand that Comprehensive Sexuality Education offers full possibilities for young people to practice safer sex and does not just promote messages about abstinence.

Contrary to what is often argued, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education does not attempt to replace traditional family values; its role is to help young people to identify their own values, and to increase their awareness of all the available choices that are appropriate to their needs.

The colloquium explores ways in which illustration can bring together young people to advocate for young people’s sexual rights as human rights, highlighting the need for CSE and access to its information and services. This paper aims to create public awareness aimed at reducing stigma and discrimination faced by young people with respect to issues of sexuality, gender, rights and health while making concepts of sexuality & rights more visible and accessible.

The YP Foundation mission statement echoes “Enabling dialogue between young people and key stakeholders including school teachers & educators, curriculum setters including the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), educationists, as well as young people, youth organizations on why CSE is a right and is important for young people today.”

Comprehensive Sexuality Education has been a ‘hush-hush’ topic for many years now. A general ‘do-what-you-want-todo’ attitude of today’s society has taught me that the people in general are not ignorant because a textbook does not give them information. The society does not perceive and absorb information like a mere word processor. We live

Drawing on everything I had, I began to illustrate to create a change in the social reality, the design of the social world. The visual language created for TYPF’s CSE report was built using certain key factors that define both my process and product.

All illustrations were evidence based, that is, they were built on curricular standards articulated by global researchers, while also integrating important findings about the links between gender dynamics and sexual health outcomes.

Major part of the project included illustrations that were comprehensive, including accurate information about all the psychosocial and health topics needed for a thorough curriculum. Based on core values and human rights, the conceptualisation was gender sensitive, culturally appropriate and most importantly hoped to promote academic growth, critical thinking and foster civic engagement.

Good Design always makes a change, however big or little.

MARK TWAIN

SUPPOSING IS GOOD, BUT FINDING OUT IS BETTER.

menal dwivedi

experience Autumn Design | Organized Chaos Pictures Perpetual Pictures | Raiden Design Express

interests Graphic Design

contact menaldwivedi@gmail.com

72

non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

IMAGE PLAYED BY: ROHIT LAL www.facebook.com/rohitlalphotography

UNDERSTANDING MAXIMALISM As An Effective Tool In Contemporary Illustration

M

UNBOUND

aximalism is a term used in the arts, including literature, visual art, music, and multimedia. It is used to explain a movement or trend by encompassing all factors under a multi-purpose umbrella. This research paper studies maximalism as an effective tool in graphic design, narrowing down on maximalist illustrations. There has been a continuing breakdown of boundaries in design that make it maximalistic, which could suggest that maximalistic design becomes more aesthetically adventurous and sees a dawning integration of multiple factors which make design increasingly unfixed and open-ended.

The term maximalism is sometimes associated with postmodern novels, such as those by David Foster Wallace and Thomas Pynchon, where digression, reference, and elaboration of detail occupy a great fraction of the text.

This sort of literature is also frequently described as hysterical realism, a term coined by James Wood, who argues that it is a genre similar to magical realism.

“In magical realism the writer confronts reality and tries to untangle it, to discover what is mysterious in things, in life, in human acts. The principal thing is not the creation of imaginary beings or worlds but the discovery of the mysterious relationship between man and his circumstances.

The magical realist does not try to copy the surrounding reality (as the realists did) or to wound it (as the surrealists did) but to seize the mystery that breathes behind things.”

The new ‘extremist style’ with designers working with a new complex and eclectic modernity, Maximalism has shaken up the disciplines of design and has given rise to multidisciplinary endeavours. The world is indulging into the elements of maximalist design where relationships of scale would be overturned; the ‘rule free’ zone can be understood

Minimalism led to the reduction of art to basic concepts of shape, colour and mass. This inclination to pursue simplicity became a fashion, saturating the consumers and creators alike. In response to this saturation, a new system of artistic creation emerged, reflecting the need to forge a more complex style termed maximalism.

as a mental space with boundless possibilities. In future we can see more of in-store graphics, window displays, editorial and book design, posters and packaging, identities, catalogs, wallpapers, photo shoots, living spaces, interiors etc. done in a maximalistic style. People are open to ‘complex, excessive, chaotic, dynamic, inclusive, contextual, expanded, and random’ qualities in design that make it maximalistic in nature.

Through the secondary research, it emerged that the most useful way to visually articulate a story or idea is by employing some form of illustration. This can be visible in popular media just about everywhere, for example on the Internet, in television and magazines.

Also, there really are no limits to the sorts of mediums that can be applied to create illustrations.

I gathered that a maximalist illustration in itself is a particular style, which is adopted by many designers now. It is both, effective and appealing. There are various elements of a maximalist design that make it unique, effective, visually strong, captivating and interesting. Works are now difficult to define because of their experimental and mixed nature.

Designers are now into revitalization and modernization of the traditional methods of illustration. As maximal works take the forefront, one is witnessing a blend of complexities.

Moreover, illustration is an art in itself; people have different styles and tastes. One artwork may appeal to one and may not at all to the other, purely depending upon the taste of the person. Individual styles of illustration are adapted by people over time, and they get accustomed to working in that category or style. Maximalist illustrations are a forte to many designers, design professionals, design studios around the world. Maximalist style is catching up fast in the Indian market too. We see some brands of high repute with maximalist approach in their designs.

My study also questions how maximalist illustration should be defined and its place in today’s world? I embarked on this journey with a personal view that a maximalist illustration invites us to leave doors open; it dismantles historic prejudices to enhance the originality

of the reflection, interpretation and visions of the world.

This research paper is an effort in this direction.

There is a wide range of contemporary graphic work today, which gives us an eclectic insight into the present day scene that is influenced by the love for traditional methods. These old ways are being challenged by the onset of the digital era and its new tools for expression, which have flourished in this age of information technology.

Instead of trying to create a rigid and univocal vision, illustration styles are more akin to a consolidated style.

Today, artistic languages have no need for absorption; rather they intertwine and nourish each other and their ramifications to live in harmony. Through my research, I have tried to pay tribute to this rhizomatic 360-degree scenario, by way of a virtual trip round the world in order to study maximal works of people.

Through the primary research it emerged that it is a general phenomenon for alternating trends to swing back and forth. In actuality, in specific instances, one can witness maximalism and minimalism in places, even when the trend is currently otherwise. This is because of variation of tastes in the population and (again) the way different people respond to different stimuli. Clean lines and simple imagery appeal to some people. Riotous colors and multiple, complex imagery appeals to some people.

Design now reaches out through the interaction of very diverse words, images and gestures. Design must reflect the richness and diversity of the world we are living in and explore the creative intersections. This study is an attempt to appreciate richness in design. Taking Hindu mythology as my inspiration, I have employed maximalism to create a set of illustrations for the Indian festive season of Diwali.

These illustrations have a particular style to them, creating a balance between profusion and extreme-maximalism.

ANONYMOUS

GOOD DESIGN IS SUSTAINABLE. GREAT DESIGN IS RESPONSIBLE.

76

non compos mentis 2012

nandini garg

experience Ashish Chawla Photography | Happily Unmarried

interests Graphic Design

contact  nandini0489@gmail.com

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

IMAGE PLAYED BY: RAHUL LAL www.facebook.com/myclicks

THE GREEN WRAPPER: Eco-friendly Packaging

EFFICACY

T

The shape of households is changing with a growing number of smaller families and single person units.

This has encouraged product manufacturers to provide a greater range of product sizes, ready-toeat meals, requiring the use of more sophisticated packaging. Packaging innovation and creativity has helped product manufacturers respond to all such changes.

he world’s population has more than doubled over the past 50 years; from just over three billion in 1960 to almost seven billion today. With this population growth, we have also witnessed a massive increase in the production of goods and services.

This growth has put a strain on our environment.

Increased emissions of CO2 and harmful particulates are leading to the depletion of natural resources.

As almost all goods require some kind of packaging, packaging is part of the environmental equation. Big efforts have been made in optimizing packaging and the packaging value chain. Challenges remain, however, in making the packaging value chain even more sustainable. In this research, I try and understand the need for eco-friendly packaging and how it positively affects all actors in the packaging value chain. The paper states the importance of packaging in the consumer market. It also recognizes that there is a greater push by manufacturers and consumers towards adopting eco-friendly practices and supporting sustainability.

Packaging is the science, art, and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use.

Packaging also refers to the process of design, evaluation, and production of packages. Packaging can be described as a coordinated system of preparing goods for transport, warehousing, logistics, sale, and end use. Packaging contains, protects, preserves, transports, informs, and sells.

In the secondary research phase, information was gathered from varied sources that showed that packaging and package labeling has several objectives. One of the prime objectives is that of physical protection. The objects enclosed in the package may require protection from, among other things, mechanical shock, vibration, electrostatic discharge, compression, temperature, etc. Also packaging can entail the objective of barrier protection from oxygen, water vapor, dust, etc., so as to help extend shelf life of a product.

Further, as the secondary research progressed, it emerged that another main objective of packaging is that of information transmission. Packages and labels communicate how to use, transport, recycle, or dispose off the package or product. Some packages and labels also are used for track and trace purposes. The collected data also indicated that packaging and labels could be used by marketers to encourage potential buyers to purchase the product.

The nature of packaging value chain is constantly changing, responding to demographic changes and changes in lifestyle choices. For example, the recent growth and development of the organic food movement has required the introduction of new packaging technology, to prolong shelf life and make organic produce more price competitive with non-organic foods. Studies indicate that special plastic wrap packaging has been developed that has increased the shelf life of organic produce by up to four times.

In the primary research phase, I devised a questionnaire, trying to identify the level of awareness about eco-friendly packaging amongst the young, economically well-to-do and educated people. The research also wanted to understand the attitude of the general public towards supporting the “greener initiatives”.

The data collected was analysed and it emerged that the changing shape of households, with a growing number of smaller families and single person households, has encouraged product manufacturers to provide a greater range of product sizes, ready-to-eat meals, requiring the use of more sophisticated packaging.

Packaging innovation and creativity has helped product manufacturers respond to all such changes.

The data analysis led me to another focus area that talks about how packaging innovation is not only marketdriven. Policies and regulations at various levels also exert significant influence on packaging design; the

amount and nature of on-pack communications; end-oflife responsibilities and opportunities. For example, many regulatory bodies are pushing for more on-pack nutritional information for many foods. This often results in changes to packaging design, to accommodate the increased amount of space needed to fulfill this requirement.

The study concluded with an understanding that technological advances are continuously changing the variety of options available to packaging decision makers. Looking for ‘green’ options is the key priority for most packaging design initiatives. Package makers are being cautious when selecting materials and packaging designs.

THE SOLUTION TO AN ENVIRONEMENT, IS OFTEN FOUND IN THE ENVIRONMENT.

radhika sant

experience Breakthrough Communications Elephant Design | Green Goose Design

interests Graphic Design | Illustration

contact radhika.s16@gmail.com

80

non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

THE POWER OF SOCIAL DESIGN In Community Building

“T

here can be no words without images.� – Aristotle.

CIVIC

People of India believe that a guest is equivalent to God. Thus, whenever a guest comes home, he is treated with near-reverence. Indians take pride in their reputation of hospitality. However, all this pride and all these values are forgotten the minute the focus shifts from home to the city.

The city is treated with contempt, where people litter, spit and urinate in public. Large signs carrying warnings are blatantly ignored. Infact, such is the arrogance of people, that the area around these signs is most abused.

Most people are taught from a young age to pay heed to these warnings, but what of those people who are unable to read? How do these signs communicate to them? This paper attempts to understand the need for civic awareness in society and the means that help spread the message effectively. It looks at the requirement of society to have a binding visual language so that the varied strata of society are capable of interacting on common ground. The paper focuses on Delhi and also discusses the efforts that could be made in order to revive the art of billboard painting.

The aim of this paper is to determine whether the two extremes of society i.e. the privileged and the underprivileged, are sensitive to certain visual stimuli and how they might react to a social message presented in the same visual language.

The research also aims at bringing the community together using a visual language every Delhi dweller can relate to.

There are well-documented cases where visual communication has been very successful in conveying a simple but firm message to the community. Visual communication in part or whole relies on vision, and is primarily presented or expressed with two dimensional images like: signs, typography, drawing, graphic design, illustration, colour and electronic resources. In a city like Delhi,

Visuals are extremely important to communication.

Visual communication is communication through visual aid and is described as the conveyance of ideas & information in forms that can be read or looked upon. A visual accompanying text is believed to have greater power to inform, educate or persuade a person.

Visuals make it easier for people to recall what they read or saw.

‘kitsch’ as a visual language can be used very effectively

It emerged that most people felt that a sign with a

to reach out to the masses with a message that requires only basic understanding. This is because every Indian, whether educated or uneducated, has been exposed to some form of ‘bollywood’ or ‘kitsch’ at some point in life.

visual element is more effective as the visual helps in remembering the text. It was also noted that people who are unable to read also comprehend the message, which means it reaches out to a wider base of people. It was also found that most people felt that wall graphics would be the best way to convey this message along with a campaign on television. It was interesting to learn how people from such varied backgrounds had such similar views on a subject pertaining to community building.

Today, the ‘bollywood style’ billboard painting is a dying art form due to the lack of demand for their products and the availability of technology. It is much cheaper to get a 12-foot flex printed than commissioning an artist/ painter to make a movie poster. It is also less time consuming.

These artists can no longer afford to keep up a studio for their work. However, these artists can be commissioned to create murals according to the requirements of the design.

In order to come up with an effective solution for the task at hand, it is necessary to test the audience and get their views on the matter. The demographics of the target audience were very widespread, as the topic itself affects everybody who lives in Delhi. The audience broadly consisted of two sections of society i.e. the upper class and the working class.

The upper class refers to those who have been educated and are living comfortably. The working class refers to those people who do menial jobs, daily wage labourers etc.

Two sets of questionnaires were made, one in English, and the other in Hindi. The reason why these two sections were chosen was because the focus of the project is community building. There is a huge gap between these two sections that cannot be bridged economically but they can be brought together by spreading awareness about issues that affect both these sections and by using a visual language that both can relate to.

The survey tested the reaction of people to slogans like “yahan peshab karna mana hai” or “yahan thookna mana hai”, how noticeable/ effective these slogans are, the best medium to spread a message and the importance of a visual in conveying a message. Once the survey was conducted, it was found that majority of the people claim to read and follow civic awareness slogans/signs like “Do not spit” etc.

The research is concluded with the following observations that help take the project forward.

The visuals seen scattered around our country, like that on a torn movie poster on a wall or the colorful type used by juice wallahs and on trucks are already are a part of our vocabulary. These visuals are instantly recognizable, as they have a distinct style in terms of form and colour.

Hence, each civic awareness slogan should be aided by a visual, which helps people remember the message.

Painting murals on walls across Delhi, will not only give the city a binding visual language, but also send across important messages pertaining to public awareness.

This project could effectively involve billboard painters who can be commissioned to paint these murals.

Thus, if a campaign combined all the above mentioned observations, it could effectively send across a strong message to the public and at the same time aid community building i.e. help bridge the gap between the varied strata of society that exist in the city of Delhi. This project will also provide Delhi with murals that follow the same visual language, which could act like common elements across Delhi, uniting all its zones under one umbrella. This is a multipurpose possibility to make Delhi a better place to live in for Indians as well as international tourists.

MILTON GLASER

COMPUTERS ARE TO DESIGN AS MICROWAVE ARE TO COOKING.

ragini ranjana

experience Hathi Chaap | Happy Hands

interests Visual Merchandising | Graphic Design

contact ragini.ranjana04@gmail.com

84

non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

KATHA CHARITRA Treasures Of The Indian Narrative

REVIVE

S

Humans have practiced various means of communication to pass their information from one era to another.

One of the most effective medium for communicating this information were the stories, which were either being engraved on walls of a cave or being practiced in the form of oral narrative tradition.

torytelling is an integral form of interaction and mode of communication in any society. In India, storytelling has always been the virtual image of the society. So, as the society changes itself, the story gets evolved. The rich storytelling tradition of India comprises visual as well as oral narration. The Indian graphic style flourished with the storytelling practices. The narrative represents the treasured graphic language of India.

In the 18th century when India was ruled by various Rajput and Mughal emperors, the Indian narrative was at its peak.

But under the British rule, these narrations together with other crafts and handlooms suffered great loss. They got confined to their own region without any further development. After independence, when Indian publishing and printing was trying to sprout, instead of developing and exploring indigenous style of graphics, the available model was followed, i.e., imitation of American and Japanese graphics. Thus, when comics appeared in India, in the mid-20th century, they had no native precedent to fall back on, and were essentially reprints of comics from abroad. This was true for strips published in newspapers & magazines and full-length stories that appeared in dedicated comic magazines. Indrajal Comics, published between 1964 and 1990 by Bennett, Coleman and Co., brought to India American characters such as ‘The Phantom’, ‘Mandrake’, ‘Flash Gordon’ and ‘Rip Kirby’.

With the revival of Indian handloom and village art, hidden treasures of the Indian narrative were brought out from the depth of isolation; it got recognized, admired, practiced and contemporary versions came up. But, is it communicated to the world in the right way, same form, for the same purpose? Aren’t these narratives getting converted and confined to the decorative patterns and graphics for visual appeal? Do we need to make an effort to help these narratives meet the demands of today’s generation?

Can we do something that can preserve these narratives

as a medium, make it interesting enough for the current generation, and inform them that it is more than a painting?

My research is an attempt to answer these questions.

Today in this digitalized era, in most aspects of communication ‘the narrative’ is being employed in both tangible and intangible form. This is because of its ability to engage the audience, interact with them, to make them imagine and to inform or educate with much more ease than any other medium. The process or the framework to design the narrative is same as practiced initially. The use of sign and symbol, building new constructs, understanding the existing ones, following the author or exploring with the narrator, deciphering the connotation and denotation - are all prevalent. The characteristics of the story are based on the sociology, psychology and content of the audience, as they used to be in earlier period of scroll paintings.

Varied genres from Radha Krishna Lila to the modern tsunami scroll exist in numerable visual styles, which can be used to tell a story. An act that started with the oral narrative tradition is seen in today’s textual, digital, physical, on screen environments and is also as participatory as in its original form. My research poses the question - What can this narrative style be employed for? Will this remain a reflector of the society or can it help in any constructive approach? Through the secondary research, it emerged that these narratives are capable of adapting and adopting social/political issues in the world. The tsunami scroll by the Patuas is recent evidence of this fact. The narrative is slowly but steadily becoming the new literary and aesthetic tool; the need is to ‘renew’ it.

Identifying this underlying need, the research was conducted, to understand the relevance of narrative styles of India in the present times. The study deals with understanding the psychological and sociological effect of the narrative over time in the Indian society. Secondary data affirmed that the oral narrative tradition was a part of our society. Oral narration needs the basic plot. I understood that the narrative was imagined, manipulated and interpreted by each successive

storyteller, and was supported by the visuals forming a separate complete form of language to narrate the plot. The graphics were arranged either in vertical or horizontal scrolls according to the sequence or the plot, which was showed to the audience with the oral narrative support to create scene by scene penetration of story into the audiences’ mind.

The data collection validated that the visuals or graphics used were self-explanatory with lots of unique and distinctive features, helping it to form a language. This visual language was also adaptive in nature; its forms, features and treatment all evolved with time. For example, the transformation changes in Kalighat painting had come under the influence of British culture and subsequently changed its form. My research is based on this visual language. The visual graphics used for narrating the story are rich in pictorial representation, colour, layout and storyboarding. This graphic style is adopted from all over India, but no two forms are similar.

The current generation is racing with time and the technology. One can’t be sure of the narrative being an effective medium to reach out to the youngsters of today.

Even though the research validates this style being ‘wanted’ by the masses; it could only be for the ‘want’ of a shortlived change. My concern arises from the collapse of basic functionality of visual languages such as this. Is it not rich enough? Do our present and future generations have the right to know about this treasured knowledge in a more enhanced and prescribed format? My search is still on…

TAKE OFF YOUR GLASSES, AND SEE WHAT YOU CAN.

88

non compos mentis 2012

rajeev ranjan

experience NADA India | Vision Of India | Discover India Grihlakshmi | Fashion and You | Poser

interests Photography

contact rajeevphoto10@gmail.com

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

IMAGE PLAYED BY: RAHUL LAL www.facebook.com/myclicks

GO WHERE THE RULES TAKE YOU

“M

any pictures turn out to be limp translations of known world of their own.

There is a vast difference between taking a picture and making a photograph.�

- Robert Heinecken This research talks about the elements and principles of design, which if kept in mind while taking a picture might give better results than a picture without it. It is but human to like and appreciate something better than usual. It explains that how an average shot can transform into an exquisite picture if the angle of the camera changes keeping in mind the elements of design.

BALANCE

Elements & Principles Of Design In Photography

The paper aims to build a certain understanding, appreciation and application of various elements and principles of designs in terms of photography. My study focuses on every element of design, creating a crystal clear view of difference between each type. The approach entails an explanatory demarcation between each of the elements. In accordance with the design vocabulary, the elements of design such as line, shape, size, texture and colour are all explained with a series of self-clicked photographs. According to design theorists, principles of design implement the elements in a systematic way so as to create visual harmony.

My study also talks about the rule of thirds and the golden

mean. The rule of thirds implies that every picture frame is divided into nine sections with two equally spaced vertical lines and two equally spaced horizontal lines.

The points of intersection represent places to position important visual elements. The golden ratio and its application is similar, although in the golden ratio the points of intersection are closer together. In placing visual elements for effective composition, one must assess many

In the domain of photography, in placing visual elements for effective composition, one must assess many factors including colour, dominance, size and balance together with proportion. Sometimes, a certain amount of variety can make an image more effective. This is where the photographer's intuition comes into play.

factors including colour, dominance, size and balance together with proportion. Sometimes, a certain amount of variety can make an image more effective. This is where the photographer’s intuition comes into play.

Each of us is unique and we should strive to preserve this uniqueness. As the research progressed, I became more confident of employing the elements & principles of design; to never be afraid of experimenting. In the domain of photography, works of some of the pioneers reinstate that drastically different work can emerge out of basic rules & guidelines. Even chaos can be seen as an orderly state of elements.

The secondary research indicated the power of elements and principles of design in photography. Many photographers take a picture that exhibits some underlying organization so the viewer sees what the artists intends for them to see, but leaves enough chaos within the frame so the viewer puts forth an effort to fully appreciate the image. The data collected validated that new photographers often work with basic compositions without any unessential elements.

Visual harmony is attained with a balanced mix of varied elements and principles of design. Beyond a certain point, photographers are not very appreciative of introducing and handling complex elements within a frame.

With this understanding, primary research was initiated amongst a sample set of design students studying photography, potential photographers and amateur photographers. The result showed that the sample set was aware of the elements of design to an extent. But, confusion arose when it came to its application in photography. The research project concluded with a series of self-clicked photographs that illustrate the power of elements and principles of design. This is an attempt to formulate a strong foundation in photography.

EXPLORE IGNORANCE.

richa maheshwari

experience Mixed Juice Design | Silver Fern Group of Hotels | Fossil | Esatasi | JK Tyres

interests Fashion Photography | Film Making

contact richa.m23@gmail.com | www.richamaheshwari.com

92

non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

FOOL FROM THE INDIAN COURT: The Etymology Of Tarot Graphics And The Making Of Indian Deck

INSIGHT

T

“I am drawn to the psychology, the insight into human nature, the beautiful and sometimes astounding artwork.

How many versions of decks, and yet the universal truths each conveys about the human experience. Written words have limitations and language barriers, but the pictures convey meaning across time and culture.”

- Asphodel

arot Cards have been used for centuries as an artistic backdrop in the realm of intuitive psychic information, and for specific divination. An ancient art, tarot readers have been around for centuries and tarot cards were originally based on simple everyday playing card packs. The card images are depicted in a variety of ways, reflecting the differences in philosophies of our daily lives and cultural attitudes during a certain time frame, generating artistic and dynamic ways of exploring future possibilities and predictive avenues.

The advocates for tarot’s Egyptian origin say that the word Tarot comes from “Tar” - “Ro”, meaning the ‘royal road’.

While the Indian tarot connection is stronger by the fact that tarot comes from ‘Taru’ (also known as Kalpa Taru) which means the ‘wishing tree’ and ‘Tara’ (the Devi) which means ‘the Hindu mother Goddess’. Indian ancient cards have suites confirming various incarnations and avatars of God Vishnu (Matsya, Varaha avatar etc.). There is data that validates that these images were used to teach people about deeper truths and embody certain qualities still evident today in the Major Arcana figures. But, the Tarot cards’ existence was threatened severely in the pre-renaissance period. The art movement observed the revival of tarot cards and its graphics in Italy. Therefore, the cards got a new Avatar; the graphics got modified (or completely changed) with different places and artists.

Today, many of the modern decks are varied replications of the initial concept, slightly diversified by the artist’s interpretation, and then there are other decks that are created simply and visually for the artistic beauty and pleasure of the buyer. A tarot card deck consists of 78 cards, which are used for fortune-telling today. The collection of 78 cards is divided into 22 Major Arcana cards and 56

Minor Arcana cards (also known as the helping cards).

Each deck of cards infuses in itself the personality of its creator. The images and text on the cards go a step beyond this to add a sense of their own aura. But the cards bear graphics that represent certain story, valid for all the cards, irrespective of the illustrations and the land it comes from. Apart from this pictorial angle, each deck follows a colour story. Colours are used as an additional element to express hidden symbolic meanings. The colour of each element adds meaning to a card, so the cards communicate, without using words, with the help of imagery.

These images are the focal point of access. The more intricate the images and pictures on the cards, the more information is laid out and could be deciphered, giving the mind more ways in which it can formulate a larger picture.

These images also have high aesthetic strength with which people can make a ‘connect’. The graphics having a versatile appeal are used in various fields of fashion and lifestyle like: Satya Paul’s Art of Tarot collection, graphics for tees, doll making, perfumes, graphic designing, movies, television, video games, fashion photography, makeup et al.

Multiple decks, on various themes (serious/ non serious) have flooded the market today, but looking at it functionally only a few could actually be used for tarot reading. In this culturally diverse and religion driven world, major countries instrumental in the origin of the tarot, have at least one deck which represents its country, people, vegetation and culture. Unfortunately, India does not have a deck suitable to ambassador the country’s rich cultural history. Even though a deck exists it suffers from various drawbacks such as unclear layout and poor illustrations, stories not matching the actual one meant for the deck, irregularity, failure in forming a complete collection amongst others.

This is what led to my working towards fulfilling the need for an Indian deck. The objective was not only providing Indian and international readers a deck to link with India

but also develop a deck with which the common people could relate to and could use it in a versatile manner.

My primary research validated the need for an Indian deck.

This need was articulated by tarot readers and designers from India and overseas. The identified tarot readers were owners of more than 50 decks speaking about their exposure to the tarot cards. The objective of the primary research was to understand their viewpoints and incorporate their guidelines to come up with the right graphic imagery for the cards. Having deep knowledge and exposure to various tarot graphics and a deep understanding of the nature and characteristics of each card, their opinions held a strong command in guiding the design solution. In addition to this, individuals who are not tarot readers, but have knowledge about design or graphics, were interviewed so as to tap their viewpoints and opinions regarding their understanding of the cards through graphics.

Through the survey it emerged that ‘Indian mythology’ was the most preferred theme. It also emerged that famous Indian folklores, myths, beliefs and stories could be a part of the illustration scheme. Therefore, this asks for an Indian deck to be designed. Another fact that came to the forefront was that the graphics employed should not be too indirect. This might lead to the normal audience not relating with the deck and hence deciphering it in a wrong manner. At the same time, the sample set voted for unconventional cards based on various items from the domain of fashion and lifestyle.

Furthermore, there is a museum in Italy that houses decks from different countries, themes, religions etc. The museum provides an opportunity to interested artists for showcasing their decks. It exhibits not only the unique collections of the whole pack of tarots, in original, but also interesting works in varied techniques from patchwork to sculpture, from painting to graphic arts, from video to performance. It is proposed that a deck representing India should ideally be a part of this museum and be a perfect ambassador of our rich, diverse yet beautiful culture. My study is an effort in this direction.

DESIGN DWELLS IN THE SIMPLEST OF THINGS.

ritika rai

experience White Light Design Studio | Roli Books

interests Graphic Design

contact ritikarai15.01@gmail.com

96

non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

USE & THROW! A Study On Reusability In Packaging

I

VALUE

n our lives, as the day’s progress, we think about giving back to the community in some way. Some people think about helping the poor, while some do so by helping the environment. One initiative that helps the environment is the reusability of packaging. As we study the importance of packaging, this research recognizes the potential and importance of the concept of reusability in packaging, assessing the end-user familiarity and evaluating results obtained from the research in order to craft prospective ideas.

Packaging has grown greatly in response to commercial demand and therefore requires superior designing according to the target market. Originally intended to protect products, it is today much more elaborate and developed than at any other time in history. In the today’s world, a company’s supply chain is dependent on the product packaging. We have advanced transportation and distribution methods. We rely on packaging to bring goods safely from 'A’ to ‘B', their ‘point of manufacture’ to where they are ‘put on display and sold’. Packaging can also function as a strategy for a brand as an advertisement or even as a part of the product as well.

This is a way a company can achieve customer intimacy.

By the turn of the century manufacturing techniques had changed so much to the degree of manufacturers being able to produce containers in any shape, size and material.

Therefore, the birth of novelty packaging took place.

Printing techniques also flourished in the early nineteenth century allowing manufacturers to expand their range of techniques to keep up with advances in packaging.

Reusing a package or packaging material also increases the material’s useful life. This is an environmentally positive design strategy since it gains return for the original processing input. It also reduces the cost of raw materials as it conserves resources, cuts processing energy requirements and reduces pollution - also known as ‘source reduction’.

Packaging has been a potent reason for environment degradation that has increased over the last couple of decades. Therefore, reusability in packaging is a step to minimize environmental waste.

Designing a package for reuse enables it to be refilled or reused multiple times by the consumer, retailer or producer.

This project covers the need for sustainable packaging and further encompasses the concept of reusability in packaging. Furthermore, this project analyzes the impact of packaging on consumer behavior through the statistical inference of secondary and primary data. My emphasis has been to narrow down the research to how the concept of reusability in packaging can solve the problem of wastage to a large extent, and even adding value to the product thereby adding to the consumer experience.

The research further assesses the potential of reusability in packaging and its acceptability in the Indian market.

With the help of pre-developed resources, secondary research was made intensive and prepared to understand basics of packaging & its impact on consumer behavior. Intricacies of the research involved a deeper understanding of packaging, elements of packaging, impact of packaging on consumer behavior, need of sustainability in packaging, and reusability as a concept.

The secondary research was about the need of sustainability in packaging and the impact of packaging on consumer behavior, which helped in establishing a base for the primary research. This research further helped in giving deeper understanding of the ‘niche’ in the target market through their responses. The research concluded with a potential of exploring the concept of reusability in Indian market.

Both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies were utilized in the primary research. Questionnaires were sent across to the target audience & analyzed and quantitative research concluded with almost 97% success rate. Personal interviews were conducted with the people who filled the questionnaires as a part of primary research that suggested limitations of the concept in the Indian market.

It emerged that packaging has to provide consumers with the right cues and clues both at the point of purchase and during usage. The first moment of truth is about obtaining customers attention and communicating the benefits of the offer. The second, is to provide the tools the customer needs to experience the benefits

when using the product. So, an innovative pack design can help to set a brand apart from its competitors.

The concept of reusability solves multiple purposes at once. It is both profitable and sensible for a brand to consider reusable packaging of their products. If this concept is explored, it can be advantageous for most products since they come with a packaging that is thrown away prior to the use of the product. If more and more products come with a packaging that is reusable, it will reduce disposal of packaging, and will be environmentally feasible. Also it would reduce the amount of resources required to manufacture the packaging. Results from this research can be helpful to know if the concept of reusability is supported and to what extent, by end-users.

The research projects information, which is not only useful in knowing the present scenario but also the scope of growth. The current scenario can be understood based on responses to what choices are made by consumers and for what reason. The result of the research can be used to understand what would be the effect on the buying trends of the consumer if an increase in reusable packaging were implemented. The concept of reusability is one of the pillars of sustainable packaging.

Reusable packaging is gaining conscience due to the shift in societal sentiment to adopt ethical practices to more eco-friendly solutions. The biggest issue that emerged here is the increased cost due to investment in reusable raw materials. The cost of producing reusable products can only be recovered in the long run. Other limitations faced by this concept are, lack of awareness, interest, and innovation in the Indian market. In India, very few people follow business ethics and importance is given to reduce the costs without much care to resources. Another hindrance is that of the consumer’s mindset which does not allow them to accept this innovative concept. This concept can only be successful if the customers see the intrinsic value of reusability.

I ENDURE BRIEF SOCIAL ISOLATION WITH ONLY MY DRAWINGS AS COMFORT.

100 non compos mentis 2012

rohit kumar sharma

experience Wieden + Kennedy Entertainment Design Company | Happily Unmarried

interests Illustration | Advertising | Visual Merchandising

contact rohitsharma_0710@yahoo.com

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

PUMPING LIFE INTO PIXELS: A Study Of Concept Art

FRAME

‘C

The discipline is about defining a problem, formulating an interesting & elegant solution, and graphically delineating that design solution as clearly as possible. As considered by many, the concept sketches and illustrations are not mere scribbles; each and every line, figure and form is of value and crucial importance.

oncept Art’ as defined famously is a form of illustration where the main goal is to convey a design, idea, and/or mood through visual representation for use in films, video games, animation, or comic books before it is put into the final product. Concept Art is also referred to as visual development and/or concept design.

This term has wide outreach and can be applied to retail design, set design, fashion design and architectural design.

To begin with, I made an attempt to understand the word “concept” in the field of art and design, which led me to explore different contextual interpretations of the same.

Across different fields and areas of application, ranging from art to design, architecture to game design, the term ‘Concept Art’ is multifaceted in nature. Concept Art in simple and easier terms refers to effective communication of ideas in a clever and smart way. The discipline is about defining a problem, formulating an interesting & elegant solution, and graphically delineating that design solution as clearly as possible. As considered by many, the concept sketches and illustrations are not mere scribbles; each and every line, figure and form is of value and crucial importance.

As my research progressed, I studied the diversity in digital imaging and various existing illustration techniques. Having studied the works of few eminent artists, I learnt about the techniques and their styles of painting which essentially comprised of the software, tools etc. they employ in their works.

The discipline has always fascinated me. It urges me to take a deeper look into the topic and hence develop a keen interest in illustration and digital imaging. Being an ardent fan of cartoons and action movies, this filed has intrigued me right from my childhood days. Back in those days, when I lacked the required knowledge or knowhow of what goes into generating characters, environments and the plot, I often wondered how each character of a movie or a game

interacted with the given environment on which it was based.

Through the secondary research, it emerged that the previsualization stage for any animation, movie, book or any product is as important as the final entity itself. I learnt that ranging from our favourite cartoon character to the most evil character, every single element is ideated on paper leading to a consequential storyboarding that follows it.

Each and every frame is meticulously drafted and executed by the practitioner. However, with the advent of technology and new age media, there has been a vast change in terms of quantity of work and productivity. Some artists still prefer workmanship that is manual in nature but pixels (digital imaging) is what they cannot ignore considering the cultural and modern society of today. Through this research, I choose to compare digital painting and the traditional means with an independent view over the two.

This research was undertaken with the prime objective of studying Concept Art. To gather as much about the discipline was the key concern. Another objective was to put together a research on various illustration techniques and styles that are used in similar context. The project is meant to shed light over the fact that the discipline however futile and inoperative it may seem, is applicable and benevolent in the final creation of any project or task.

With these goals, the first step was data collection and its division in terms of practitioners, movies/ games that employ Concept Art and case studies that were relevant for the same.

Such a structure helped me with better understanding of the topic. Data was collected from various sources including books, websites, blogs and journals. After secondary research, the next phase was to interview experts and read case studies, which would help me gain more knowledge of the topic.

Further, a survey was conducted to test what the sample set was looking for in terms of a new show with various genres listed and provided to them. My questionnaire tested the relevance of a new adventure/ action series for children

who primarily fall in the age bracket of 12 to 18 years.

The feedback obtained helped me accomplish my task of building a hypothetical animation photoplay, which validated the crucial importance of Concept Art and storyboarding.

The paper might seem a little heavy on the digital imaging side but the focus remains on Concept Art. After understanding the basics of character design and various styles & techniques of rendering a character, I narrowed my approach to storyboarding with a view to create a hypothetical animated short film for teenagers.

In the final deliverable, the story revolves around a 14-yearold girl called Lisa, who represents a normal teenager.

Surrounded with normalcy of teenage life, her best friends are her talking computer, her wristwatch, her organizer and her personal diary. Her life takes a sudden turn on the night before the much dreaded history paper, when she is kidnapped by aliens who are fighting an evil force in the universe. What follows next is the mission, Lisa visiting different time periods, traveling between them and fighting monsters. The landscape changes from enchanting dreamy nights to vast expanses of ice and further to scary volcanic eruptions. A visual victory of the power of stroryboarding!

DESIGN DIRECTS EVERYTHING.

roopam sharma

experience Ishan Khosla Design | Sandeep & Geeta Associates

interests Graphic Design

contact roopam38@gmail.com

104 non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

WHAT’S IN A SIGN? Signage In Retail

I

APPEAL

n today’s dynamic world, to survive in the booming retail sector, retailers need to focus on finding ways to sustain and grow their business due to constant up gradation in the retail industry. In the global economy, they have to sustain increasing customer demands and ample competition. Retailers need to constantly evaluate the customer’s interaction with the retail store, in order to meet their expectations.

Light painting is one of the best-known techniques in Today, the retailers constantly strive to make sure that the store appeals to their target market. Due to non-existent differences in the products or merchandise offered by the retailers, the need for making the retail store more effective and well organized is gaining much importance.

The customer’s reaction to store’s environment intentionally or unintentionally affects the retailer’s decision about the store. The customer is affected by several parameters in the store such as traffic flow, fixtures, lighting, graphics & signs, and the actual merchandising of the product in the store.

Signage refers to any kind of visual graphics used either alone or in conjunction within the store display to convey product or promotional information to customer.

This is done with the purpose of informing and creating demand for merchandise amongst the audience. In other words, a sign needs to be descriptive, engaging, and original to get the right ideas across to the customers.

The paper focuses on various types of signage as a whole and then zeroes in on ‘retail signage’. The study on retail signage spans the concept and its usage; various types of in-store signage; materials used in making the signage. The basic objective of the research was to study the effectiveness of signage in the middle scale, non-branded stores in Delhi, hence targeting the consumers visiting such stores.

Store signage acts as an advertising tool for the retailers. Keeping in view its dynamic nature, signage can act as the silent sales person. A sign needs to engaging. The main purpose of signage is to convey information that helps the customers to make quick and easy purchasing decisions.

Secondary data was collected from varied sources, reflecting the fact that signage is created to display information for a particular audience. The interior signage of the store helps the customers to make quick and easy purchasing decisions.

The main purpose of signage is communication, to convey information such that its receiver can make cognitive decisions based on the information provided. A sign must make its impact on the viewer within a very few seconds.

Secondary data mapped the most commonly used in-store signage forms like: banners, wall signs, standees, kiosks, shelf displays, audio broadcasts, and in-store television.

As I delved deeper, I understood that signage could be three-dimensional, screen-printed, illuminated, neonoriented, or enhanced by geometric shapes and forms to deliver a powerful message that can motivate customers to spend more on the required goods. I studied backlit transparencies, pennants, valance signs, signs on glass, moving message signs and track signage varying from one to another on the basis of typefaces, fonts and letter size.

The data collected helped me categorize ‘signs’ loosely into six main categories or sign types: orientation, informational, directional, identification, statutory (regulatory) and ornamental. However, it is impossible to categorize signs in an absolute fashion, as the categories overlap and their meanings may be interpreted on different levels.

My study till this stage led me to another focus area altogether. I undertook the challenge of understanding signs – its relevance & impact in the mid-scale market segment of non-branded-stores. Being a student of Communication Design, this domain anchored my interest and I embarked on this visual journey. The first phase of the primary research gave me the opportunity to interact with shop owners and shopkeepers of stores within this segment in Delhi. Information sought from interviews reflected that

signs are of prime importance across stores; they are often customer’s first point of contact when they enter a shop/ store. Most shop owners indicated that the signs being employed across stores compete for consumer’s attention.

Further on, a questionnaire was devised for every entity that formulates a part of middle scale, non-branded stores of Delhi.

The sample set constituted the storeowners, shopkeepers, regular customers, and prospective customers. The conclusion derived from the analysis of the questionnaire was reflective of the scope for improvement of signage in these stores.

The derivations suggested that the shopkeepers could adopt certain measures to bring in a better consumer experience.

INSPIRE YOURSELF BY OBSERVING THE MOST MUNDANE, MOST MINUTELY.

108 non compos mentis 2012

sachin james

experience Rezonant Design

interests Graphic Design

contact sachin.james2k@gmail.com

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

DO MORE, WITH LESS. A Study Of Concept Art

L

BETTER

ook around, you’ll see bright wrappers with even brighter graphics, packets you want to dispose and tins with too much information for their body structure. Given the advancements in Packaging Design or for that matter even classic examples of minimalistic elegance, like the Altoids box, this research paper discusses the application of minimalist design in product packaging specifically in India, where there is a little too much of everything.

Minimalist design is described as design at its most basic - stripped of superfluous elements, colours, shapes and textures. Its purpose is to make the content stand out and be the focal point with the concept of ‘Less is More,’ probably the most well known catch phrase of the Minimalist movement.

My research aims to examine the effectiveness of communicating a message by reducing the clutter and easing the readability of information in product packaging. It gives you an idea of how you can pack information with all the required information and still keep it minimal. Minimalist design is described as design at its most basic - stripped of superfluous elements, colours, shapes and textures. Its purpose is to make the content stand out and be the focal point with the concept of ‘Less is More,’ probably the most well known catch phrase of the Minimalist movement.

Minimalism in design has been around for some time, and today it seems to be a welcome alternative to overly busy and unnecessarily cluttered websites, posters, ads, and logos. Minimalism exists all around us: in architecture, fashion, sculptures, graphic design, painting, literature, music, and other applied fields. Minimalism’s greatest strength is clarity of form, clean lines, ample white space, and minimal graphical elements lending an air of simplicity to even the most confounding subject matter. That is, of course, if it’s used effectively. Look at the greatest example of all times - Apple, a highly successful brand that follows minimalist design. It reflects in it’s logos, advertisements, and packaging and most importantly in the products itself.

By studying a small sample population, it was observed that there is a need to make packaging design minimal.

Something which is attractive as well as easy to absorb, in a place where there is no time to stop and look at things. India being a country of diverse cultures

and beliefs, it injects some flavor into everything, which is reflected in its packaging aesthetic too.

Packaging Design is said to be one of the most important sales tools of the products. And, looking at the busy world we live in today, with racks full of products, who has the time to stop and look at each product or read the descriptions? What we need today is smarter packaging, simple yet informative enough to convey and be spot on.

Consequently, the paper elaborates on the elements of minimal package design, explores some design issues, and provides concepts for design. I went through the blog called, “Minimalist Effect in Maximalist Market” by the design studio ‘Antrepo’. Their research has created minimalist versions of various existing products in the market. This certainly made the product look good. The packaging took some of the important elements of design from the previous ones and was stripped down to possible minimal version and was put on the Internet for comparison. The problem arose with the fact that they had completely done away with the information!

Now, my idea was to create a way in which one could design the possible minimal packaging, without losing any information about itself but rather adding on to it. With the consumers getting smarter, why not create products that are as smart and intelligent as them or come up with a smart way of how you buy and sell stuff. If by chance, you happen to be in Mumbai, visit this café called, ‘Di Bella’.

They have a unique way of serving its customers. As you get seated you are offered a Samsung Galaxy Tab. Now you might be thinking how is that appropriate? Well, that is a replacement for the usual menu card that you get in regular restaurants. Just select whatever you would like to order, by marking it in the tab and then confirm your order. And voila!

Your order is served. Now, this is something really smart.

My research also draws from similar ideas, making seamless use of the technology to purchase products, view information and most important of all, make the product minimal.

The idea of minimalist design is to convey the related information with as little design as possible but something, which is meaningful and does not lose information. As Dieter Rams suggests, make things “Less, but better.”

CURIOSITY KILLS THE CAT !

sakshi benipuri

experience Freelance Styling

interests Fashion Styling & Photography | Visual Merchandising

contact sakshi.stylestudio@gmail.com

112 non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

IMAGE PLAYED BY: RAHUL LAL www.facebook.com/myclicks

ACCESSORY MAKER Tips & Tricks In Crafting Fashion Accessories With Fabric

T

The ‘pocket book’; as I like to call my project would go beyond forecasting and depicting the latest fashion trends and actually include D.I.Y. tips and tricks using regular fabric - tying it, draping it and pinning it together to make creative accessories.

TRIUMPH

he idea started off with my love for styling and using fabric-based accessories in each ensemble, compulsively. I wanted to take these add-ons and make them a necessity. Today, very few amongst the masses explore this usage on regular basis. Endowed with unlimited crafting possibilities, fabrics are beautiful, formless materials to be draped, sewn and tasseled.

I chose my research to be based on fabrics for the simple passion I have for this versatile material.

To accomplish the target, I drew up a basic operations plan that would stretch over four semesters of study and culminate into my dream book. The first semester, I studied the history of fabrics and their use as an accessory, trying to dig up any material that might have been collected or published on the topic. I realized that almost everything stems from need and the same held true for accessories. A necessity that grew to take the shape of practice and then religious symbolism eventually became a part of fashion. I realized that establishing the historical roots of an accessory (such as head scarves in the deserts or neck bandanas used by the cowboys) would be a great triumph and would go a long way in helping define useful and effective accessory design.

The next semester, I studied contemporary target groups trying to answer the questions: Do people feel the need to accessorize; does it help them define their personal style, and will accessorizing be useful to them? If yes, then how much would they be willing to spend on it? How

Endowed with unlimited crafting possibilities, fabrics are beautiful, formless materials to be draped, sewn and tasseled. Taking just the right fabric and draping it or pinning it together transforms its plain form into something extraordinary.

Designers are pushing the boundaries, exploring the versatility of fabric to create new, innovative, non-precious designs.

familiar are they with certain fabric accessory trends?

Given the opportunity would they be willing to try on some accessories? Will the book act as an aid to fashion conscious people? How would my research be useful to them?

Moving beyond the survey, I planned on delving into trend and forecasting research trying to pin point and predict trends in fashion accessories. I found that fabric accessories are developing in a macro sense. Perhaps, it could be used with other eco-friendly and recycled materials to make accessories. Designers and consumers are getting more concerned about the global environment. It emerged that ‘green' accessories will remain in the big in the market in the near future and in multiple seasons to come. But then again, it depends on the most fundamental concept in economics - supply and demand! And, the demand seems to be increasing day by day. Jewelry makers are pushing the boundaries, exploring the versatility of fabric to create new, innovative, non-precious designs.

In the third semester of my study, I finally put together my ‘pocket book’ for fabric accessories, which would go on into the fourth semester to form the crux of my Graduation Project. To organize things a bit, I placed elements of study into four broad categories: jewelry, headgear (veils, masks etc.), scarves & ties and finally waistbands & belts.

In each category I managed to develop inexpensive and artistic accessories made without any extensive effort, right at home. Taking just the right fabric and draping it or pinning it together transformed its plain form into something extraordinary. I further ensured that anybody with a basic knowledge of sewing could put these accessories together and they didn’t require for the most part a very high level of skill. Of course, skill would play a great factor in developing accessories of a higher quality and precision, but it wasn’t a mandate. Hand made fabric jewelry and accessories require patience and nimble fingers, but I consider that design process is more time-consuming than the making.

The flexibility of soft jewelry components like fabric and leather makes them suited to the concept of ‘body sculpture’ as they can be easily moulded to fit the contours of the body. These designs have triggered an exciting jewelry trend, from high street fashion to celebrities in designer pieces, everyone can now be wearing fabulous fabric jewelry.

The ‘pocket book’ would be a culmination of the endless possibilities of how different looks can be created with the aid of proposed techniques. It would also assist readers with different ways of draping a piece of fabric around the neck like various ways of tying a scarf/tie, making it a look book consisting of both high fashion and D.I.Y. simple styling techniques. The outcome of my research, the ‘pocket book’ would allow one to experiment with textile techniques to make everything from the daintiest of earrings to the most dramatic necklaces.

FRANK STELLA

WHAT YOU SEE, IS WHAT YOU SEE.

sanjeev kumar

experience Holistic Design | Future Group | Reliance Group | JWT Delhi Reebok | Creative Gaga | Shooonya Design | Samant Chauhan Design

interests Advertising

contact shreyestha@hotmail.com

116 non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

IMAGE PLAYED BY: RAHUL LAL www.facebook.com/myclicks

HOW MUCH TO ADD TO AN AD? Understanding Minimal Advertising

“S

SIMPLE

After 500 years, Leonardo da Vinci’s words are true and this rule is still widely used in the field of advertising. It may sound a bit contradictory, but simple things often require much more brainpower than most ‘complicated stuff’. And, it always strikes you when something completely simple is capable of conveying so much more than you expect.

implicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

- Leonardo da Vinci.

We’ve all become aware of how important advertisements can be to help put any company’s message across. Many ads contain a lot of content as well as colour even though this is not a must. In fact, a simple ad can also do wonders, given that it carries a particular strong message. But, creating a clever and minimalist print ad is not easy.

It involves a great deal of creative thinking to come up with an ad that effectively promotes the subject using only a few graphic elements. But, why do advertising experts adopt a minimalist design? Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe adopted the motto “Less is more” to describe his extreme simplicity, by enlisting every element and detail to serve multiple visual & functional purposes (such as designing a floor to also serve as the radiator, or a massive fireplace to also house the bathroom).

After 500 years, Leonardo da Vinci’s words are true and this rule is still widely used in the field of advertising. It may sound a bit contradictory, but simple things often require much more brainpower than most ‘complicated stuff’. And, it always strikes you when something completely simple is capable of conveying so much more than you expect.

In today’s world, advertisement is one of the most important part of marketing a product or service. Delivering the right message to people with a few words or even with a single image can truly affect the success of promotion.

Minimal ads rely on simplicity, which can be hard to create but they can be the most effective ones.

This research gathers data to reaffirm that ‘less is more’ is the key for minimalism. Minimalist print ads teach you why minimalism is clever and important for brand advertisements.

Through the secondary research phase, I read and viewed several such advertisements that might have been simple, but convey the brand message rather strongly.

The general purpose of advertising is to convey a message directly and effectively about a product or service. Through the secondary data collected, it emerged that the best way to do this is to strip things down to the bare essentials. Minimalism has long been one of the most powerful trends in advertising, and with the broadening dominance of digital media, print ads must speak to their market quickly and efficiently.

The advertising world is packed with creative ideas and imaginative advertisement messages. The job of an advertiser is to effectively persuade the target audience into buying a certain product or service. Creative ads are the ones that have the power to sell. But, there is a vast difference between generating a TV ad and producing a print ad.

My research also aims to study these two advertisement categories with an independent view over the two.

Print ads are hardest to execute because of the lack of space and freedom. Within a limited domain, you need to effectively place your message to the target audience.

Hence, minimalist and conceptual print ads are helpful in serving the cause perfectly. In a print ad, less use of graphic design can yield more substance to the copy. TV ads on the other hand enjoy a lot more space and freedom.

With added benefits such as animation, these ads reach out to the customer or viewer with a lot more ease.

During the research, it was inevitable not to span online advertising. These ads encapsulate a form of promotion that uses the Internet and World Wide Web to deliver marketing messages to attract customers. One major benefit of online advertising is the immediate publishing of information and content that is not limited by geography or time.

As the study progressed, the primary research entailed a survey by virtue of a questionnaire that was administered to the chosen sample set within Delhi. Frank Stella’s “What you see is what you see”, emerged a winner through the survey. On analysing the data that emerged from the survey, most individuals put forth a clear and a long lasting understanding through the minimal approach.

To that end, don’t be deceived if you think that it’s just plain text or shape on a white paper – it’s got a whole world of meaning behind it…

FASHION IS MY SIX COURSE MEAL, BON APETIT!

sara awwad

experience British School | Kotwara | Peace Summit | TAIFF

interests Fashion Styling

contact sarawwad@hotmail.com

120 non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

REBIRTH OF THE SARI

T

The problem that persists in the subcontinent’s fashion today is that a strong influence from the western culture is subjugating the national tradition. A vast majority of the Indian youth have been exposed to and influenced by the western culture, especially through the media.

Indian designers, too, have accordingly adopted western designs. This pushes the youth from accepting Indian attire as their “garment for the occasion.”

TWIST

he face of India transpires into the richness of saris. Indian women have donned saris since centuries at both auspicious occasions and in homes. There are as many styles of draping a sari, as there are different regions, languages, and dialects in India. As such, in wearing a sari, each individual becomes a proud ambassador of her region. A woman wearing a sari in any part of the world is almost instantly traced back to India. The colors, texture, material and style of draping, therefore, represent the face of India. The sari has always been the true symbol of India.

Hence, with western influence taking over the wardrobe of a modern Indian woman, there rises a strong need to restore and revive the Indian tradition, a renaissance.

Through an extensive secondary and primary research, I have been able to identify a falling trend among the typical Indian youth in donning saris. I conducted a survey to inquire from a random selection of youth in New Delhi, the capital of India, about their frequency and preference in wearing saris. My findings revealed that strong majorities of youth reject saris because of their unawareness in the verity & variety of styles available in draping. In other words, most of them are aware of only a few styles of draping, which make it seem too repetitive for everyday wear. Hence, they prefer western clothes, which change seasonally. However, it was added that their rejection of sari would attenuate with its advent in the global trends, making it more acceptable in the eyes of respected peers. This is also linked to the sari being considered too conservative.

There is a demand for new innovation in the sari draping.

New ideas that are usually contemporary appeal to the people, as it has the potential of becoming an instant trend.

“With imaginative maneuvering, even without a single stitch, a fabric can be morphed into numerous forms of attractive garments.

An untailored garment, the sari can be draped in variety of ways. Many regional styles have journeyed through the times as art forms.”

The traditional Indian lifestyle, once marked by quiet simplicity, has gradually given way to a cosmopolitan culture powered by a global mindset. It is our responsibility to grow with this change and not blindly follow the path it is leading us to. The sari is struggling for survival due to the shifting lifestyles. It has certainly managed to coexist with contemporary styles as people still value their regional cultural identities. The trends in wearing a sari appear to be converging the past with the present.

The future depends upon learning from the experiences of the past. The youth of India have been noted to be among the first to disregard the tradition of wearing Saris. The art of draping a Sari is fading away. In times to come, there is a potential threat that this art will completely capsize. Globalization has brought with it a tremendous change, but it does not mean that the regional communities and their traditions should turn into victims of uniformity. One can bring in Fashion Styling to save this tradition by creating innovative sari fusion drapes for the youth to follow and create a fashion statement.

The need for contemporizing saris is imperative. My research perceives this need as a problem. A solution to this problem is an innovative fusion of Indian and western culture in sari draping. The confluence of these cultures in a garment could provide the youth a vigorous look while still keeping traditions alive. When one takes something traditional and gives it a modern twist, it often makes the consumer gain interest faster because it is something they have been able to associate with. Working with existing drapes and giving it a stylish twist, in order to make it flow with the fashion forecast per season, will not only keep the art of draping alive but also make it a big trend among the masses.

Such approach also interests foreign consumers, as a mix between ethnic and modern times is always appealing.

Hence, it moves towards becoming a global trend.

The sari can be a little cumbersome to wear on a daily basis. So, in my project, I have improvised the style to make it easier to wear. Additionally, my photo shoot of freshly

styled sari drapes could be shared on smart phones via applications that are weekly updated with video tutorials on new and innovative sari draping. This would aid in making the style seem less repetitive and will, thus, be embraced more acceptingly by the youth. From the study, it emerged, that if an iPhone application gives weekly video updates on “new ways to wear saris,” along with “how to wear it” instructions, a majority of people would seek interest in it. When they realize how easy it is for them to do it by themselves at home they will automatically pick up on it.

These sari-outfits are for people who want to make heads turn and draw attention to what they are wearing. These experiments will help keep the sari relevant. Furthermore, annual pocket look books could be circulated among the youth to re-establish the trend of saris. It is proposed that this look book works as a stylist in which innovative sari drapes will be showcased along with “how to wear it this season” directions.

My research ended with establishing the need for revival of saris among the youth of India. It is perhaps time to consider embracing globalization in garments and use it productively. Using the advancing technology of social media could be especially beneficial to reviving and sustaining traditions. The key problem among the youth, that of monotonous repetition in draping, can be easily conquered by means of teaching new and creative ways of draping.

THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL RULE OF DESIGN IS 'EMPATHY'.

shruti bajaj

experience I Me Am • Design | Happy Hands Foundation | Theme Weavers Travel Weavers | Dastkaari Haat Samiti

interests Graphic Design, Indian Crafts

contact shrutibajaj14@gmail.com

124 non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

TALKING PAGES A Study On Designing For Interactions

CONNECT

I

In the broader view, Interaction Design is about how people connect through products and services. Interestingly, when a user interacts with a product or service it enables connections – interactions between people. It helps people in communicating better between themselves and the world. Designing for interactions allows any designed piece to be viewed as an interface.

nteractions are an important aspect of designing a product or its interface. The need for designing for interactions arises from the user- centered approach to design, which states that the design must be as broad or narrow as necessary to accommodate the intended user. Interaction Design largely has two uses – one, as a ‘tool’ to improve interfaces and another, as a ‘media’ to affect individual or group behavior. As a tool it helps in designing effective messages that can be sent to the end users and as a media it serves as a channel that simplifies processing of information and hence, it affects behavior quickly and effectively.

Designing for interactions is an approach that urges us to think of any designed piece as an interface, be it objects of everyday use such as a book, a package of juice, a bottle of shampoo or larger spaces and scenarios such as a website or a retail store or a system of collecting taxes. In order to make a connection with the user, the designer’s interface must achieve its mission, be it communicating information through printed word or signage or dispensing a product, projecting an image or creating a space that’s easy to navigate. The interface must also achieve what a user is trying to achieve when he/she interacts with it.

Therefore, it becomes essential to understand the behaviour of the user and his interactions with the interface.

Interactions can be designed across various media such as web, products, environment and print. Many designers do not evaluate or even consider print design in terms of its interface. It is a common misconception that an aesthetically laid-out page with legible content and beautiful typography will ensure effective communication of messages. While designing, designers concentrate more on the interface rather than the interaction that will eventually happen. The processing of information by a user depends not only on the interface, but also on his or her personal

preferences, motivations, lifestyle and several other factors.

‘Talking Pages’ is a concept that adds another level of interaction to the process of reading from a magazine.

This interaction is auditory in nature and can serve as an add-on or a replacement for various aspects of the existing interaction. It is meant for those readers who are not satisfied with their existing reading experience. These users wish to make processing of information easier for themselves. The reasons behind this can be many such as a busy lifestyles, visual impairment or eyesight problems, lack of concentration abilities etc. This concept has taken into account the existing behavior of the users, and can also influence a change to form a new pattern of reading behaviour.

The conception of thesis started with a simple control idea – a device with triggers that plays an audio when particular pages of a magazine are open. It was realized that many messages are not effectively delivered while trying to communicate to the masses through print media. The idea was to ensure that the messages are effectively received and the experience is more exciting and enjoyable for the user, while using the same media for communication.

From there, various steps in the interaction design framework were addressed. The first step was to understand whose problems the control idea might be solving, by testing it.

Therefore, a sample audience consisting of a hundred women were chosen to answer a set of questions. The questions tried to understand their psyche, the problems faced by them and how they could be solved through the given control idea. In this case, the women felt they were always busy and lacked time for leisure reading as they were always on the run. The sample set lacked the knowledge, motivation and resources to access the information on the Internet while on the move.

Subsequently, a scenario was chosen where the concept could be applied which could be any of the numerous mundane tasks that these women (constituting the sample set) did throughout the day, such as waiting at the beauty salon, or driving or cooking. It was understood that their attention

would be divided, hence an auditory approach would address their problems the best. The model was very simple and did not require too much effort, apart from turning the pages.

This device would work on very simple solar technology with light sensitive photo-diode batteries connected with a memory chip with the pre-recorded audio. Therefore, a battery life would not be a concern and the investment needed only on the memory chip and the recording.

The concept can be called successful based on the five golden rules of Interaction Design as mentioned in the book ‘Designing for Interactions’ by Lisa Baggerman. My concept also employs these rules that are: ease of learning, efficiency of use, memorability, minimization of errors and satisfaction of the users. This is because the technology used is easy to learn in first consideration; the user can intuitively repeat the process as and when required out of memory; there are no chances of users making mistakes while using it and the overall experience satisfies them.

At the research level, the concept is proposed as an add-on to the existing reading experience and not as a replacement for it. However, frameworks addressing needs of other niche audiences could also be created and modified. The concept can be applied and tested in various other fields such as education, in textbooks, storybooks, pronunciation dictionaries for children, texts for senior citizens, texts for the visually impaired. It can also be applied in film and music advertisements. The concept can be taken to a whole new level by including new media technologies in it.

In short, designing for interactions involves designing interactions at various levels and drawing from various fields of design. The entire process is well summarized by design history scholar, John Heskett, who said, “Design is to design a design to produce a design.”

non compos mentis 2012

ALBERT EINSTEIN

EVERYTHING SHOULD BE MADE AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE, BUT NOT SIMPLER.

128

siddhant shekar

experience Lilliput Kidswear Ltd. | Holistic Design | Design of Thought

interests Graphic Design | Publication Design | Visual Merchandising

contact siddyc@rbon@gmail.com

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

IMAGE PLAYED BY: ROHIT LAL www.facebook.com/rohitlalphotography

LIGHT GRAFFITI:

I

TECHNIQUE

An Expressive Medium

magine you can touch and feel the movement of light through your naked eye. You can enjoy its colour, behaviour and liveliness. Did you ever try to meet this unexpected life which light carries beneath its trail of rays?

A new media, which has emerged and is ready to create its own language to communicate.... language of light!

Light painting is one of the best-known techniques in photography and is usually practiced by enthusiasts and professional photographers. It’s a technique that is primarily used at night in outdoor locations to make the frame look more dramatic than it would under normal conditions.

Light painting is not a new concept either; it’s a technique that has been used for over 100 years. Light painting, also known as light drawing or light graffiti is a photographic technique in which exposures are made usually at night or in a darkened room by moving a hand-held light source or by moving the camera. Using a slow shutter speed allows a completely different style of photography.

Through the secondary research, it emerged that painting with light is a fantastic photography technique where you illuminate parts of the scene with a torch or any other light source, to add emphasis and colour to certain objects during a long exposure. It is a simple photography technique, although it does take a certain amount of forethought and experimentation to get the shot right. It is rather difficult to nail settings such as exposure time at the first attempt. Digital cameras have made this exceptionally easy because you can review your results within seconds of taking the photograph.

This research paper discusses the ideas, methods and possibilities of ‘light graffiti’. In specific, the paper talks about how the technological aspect of photography can be explored to produce mystical and mysterious effects. Further, this research aims to examine the process, equipments, problem areas, precautions to

Light graffiti (also called light writing, light painting, and light art) is simply long exposure photography using light to create objects and add effects that are not there in real life. This is an expressive medium that is impermanent and demonstrates varied manifestations from comical to sublime.

be taken and vital key aspects of the light graffiti.

By studying a sample set comprising communication design students, upcoming photographers, camera enthusiasts and amateur photographers, it was observed that this photography style can spearhead a revolution in India, where the visual appeal embedded in the technique can attract the masses and a step can be initiated towards the growth and innumerable possibilities hidden in this photographic expression.

My research involves a thorough understanding of what it takes to create a light graffiti. I perceived the limitations and problem areas by talking to professionals who had explored and in a way exploited this technique. During the primary research, I was surprised to find out how many photographers know of this technique; but are lacking in its application.

It was this understanding which led me to develop an initiative to carry forward my research to a new platform, which will serve both photographers and the technique.

Based on the responses received, these conclusions were derived. Study within the group of amateur photographers revealed that most of them were not aware of the photographic technique. Those who were familiar with the technique considered it difficult and more time consuming in comparison to other techniques. Also, major section of the people responded positively to incorporating this photography technique as an emerging tool for photographers.

They agreed to employ this tool to create a medium of communication that can be both comical and sublime. As a photographic technique, light graffiti has more to deliver than a series of images. A positive response was received accepting the capability and variance of the same.

The study concluded with an understanding that light can be used in many different and interesting ways. This medium of expression has the potential to open a whole new world of photographic techniques employing the language of light! “ You don’t take a photograph, you make it.� - Ansel Adams

Light graffiti is uniquely ephemeral and inextricably intertwined with the art of photography. Today, even though it has evolved as a new medium for communication, digital manipulation of images has come in as a curse to this expressive form. My study looks at this problem with the objective to understand the overall aspect of light graffiti; to understand the importance of the technique as a medium of communication; to propose a strategy that may help in increasing the usage of light graffiti.

The primary research consisted of a questionnaire; a detailed analysis of the responses received; and derived conclusions from the same. The questionnaire was presented to a sample set of 100 people, which consisted of communication design students, upcoming photographers, camera professionals & enthusiasts and amateur photographers. The main objective of the questionnaire was: to assess the extent of awareness/lack of awareness regarding light graffiti; to assess if there is any scope for language of light in commercial world rather than the artistic representation?

DESIGN IS BORN OUT OF THE CHILD WHO ASKS QUESTIONS, COOKS UP STORIES, MAKES FINGER PUPPETS AND SOLVES PUZZLES.ALL WE NEED TO DO IS KEEP THAT CHILD ALIVE IN US.

132 non compos mentis 2012

soujanyaa boruah

experience Quicksand Design Studio | Enabling Dimensions Dastkaari Haat Samiti

interests Design Thinking | Design Research | Interaction Design

contact soujanyaaboruah@gmail.com

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

PROJECT 3DIMENSIONAL: A Study On Projection Mapping

OPTICS

F

Most of the information perceived by the human eye is aided by light.

It is not just about functionality through adequate illumination but it is also about being aesthetic enough to appeal to human perception. Light is such a versatile entity that human beings never cease to investigate its utility. Light is still being explored to achieve a higher level of visual experience.

or ages light has been one of the most significant mediums of expression for designers and architects. It is not just a medium but also an essential prerequisite for human life, by virtue of which visual perception is developed. This research paper is a compilation of study done on various aspects and application of light in the field of communication. It is a documentation of how lighting has evolved over the years into a new medium of communication called ‘projection mapping’ or ‘spatial augmented reality’.

Most of the information perceived by the human eye is aided by light. It is not just about functionality through adequate illumination but it is also about being aesthetic enough to appeal to human perception. Light is such a versatile entity that human beings never cease to investigate its utility. Over a period of time, daylight and flame, which were the earliest sources of light, have developed into a highly advanced system of lighting. Under the influence of technology, purposeful differentiation of daylight to create effects in the environment led to modern instruments that provided illumination. From oil lamps to candles, from candles to lighting engineering, it is all a manifestation of human creativity and intelligence. And, it does not stop at that. Light is still being explored in terms of its nature and usability to achieve a higher level of visual experience.

Several experiments have been done to develop new techniques based on various parameters of lighting.

Media labs all over the world are carrying out research and development in this field to create more effective and efficient visual solutions. With the pace that technology is advancing at, there are more and more media types coming up, one of which is ‘projection mapping’.

‘Projection mapping’ (spatial augmented reality) is a technique, which is used by visual artists to bring

objects to life by mapping videos and interactive visuals. This new artistic medium blurs the line between what’s real and what’s computer-generated by enhancing what we see, hear, feel and smell.

It has become so ubiquitous that designers and architects have started projecting massive multimedia graphics on every possible surface and setting available. This enables them to augment a surface or an object to their own whims and fancies.

In this era of virtual reality, visual experience has taken a prime role in imparting knowledge and values to the society. Visual artists are striving to bring out graphics from the screen to real life, through a wide variety of applications associated with immersive and highly visual three-dimensional environments.

This project aims to establish the basics of optics, the process of lighting design and the advent of projection mapping in the field of art, theatre, technology and communication. The concept of light has been studied thoroughly in terms of various principles of design and its further development in this field. It is not only an understanding of lighting as an art form but also of its knowledge implications, its technology and its hardware. This study was then taken into the field of Art & Design and explored in terms of developing its creative utility for a commercially viable and socially beneficial purpose.

With this study, I made several concept proposals stating the implication of such new media for the cause of humanity in the field of design. I believe design is not just a creative expression but also a problem solving activity. One of the concepts proposed was centered on incorporating design in the learning process and the prevalent educational system, in order to develop a user specific solution to learning disabilities caused by developmental disorders.

‘Projection mapping’ and ‘augmented reality mapping’ is all set to become a global phenomenon for the coming generation. Visual artists all over the world are trying to implement it in every possible sphere of communication and it will soon be a part of our lifestyle. As technology is advancing towards a new era, ‘projection mapping’ is making a new way to a world of computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in the real world as well as in the imaginary worlds. ‘Projection mapping’ has established itself as a milestone in the history of lighting and begun to give a new direction to communicating through visual media.

TO DESIGN THE SIMPLEST IS MOST COMPLEX.

varsha anand

experience Icarus Design | And Then

interests Graphic Design

contact vursha.anand89@gmail.com

136 non compos mentis 2012

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY Department of Fashion Communication, New Delhi

I CAN READ WHAT I COULDN’T SEE The Power Of Infographics In Scaling Customer Satisfaction In Telecommunication Services

T

The aim of the study is to examine the effectiveness of communicating messages through infographics, though reducing the clutter and easing readability while acquiring any source of information or data. It’s the infographics that has the power to let a person know what exactly the data conveys at one glance instead of flipping the pages of a book, or a manual.

VISUAL

his research paper discusses the power of infographics as a tool in visual communication and methods of documentation in the field of telecom services.

Specifically, this paper investigates the consumer experience with the methods of enquiring information put in use by telecom servers like Airtel, Vodafone, Idea etc.

By studying a sample population consisting of youth, professionals, and senior citizens, it was observed that there is a need for improvising the norms of documenting information or data while subscribing to the services provided by telecommunication organisations. Especially when it comes to senior citizens, infographics could be an aid in terms of readability, comprehension thereby helping them furnish correct data at correct place. It could also ease their hunt for exactly ‘where to write in what’, regardless of committing errors unintentionally. On the other hand, it could also narrow down the paper load for the telecom provider as well. Hence, if implemented, it would be no harm but a boon to consumer and company relationship.

Imagine yourself in an airport, in a foreign country, you’ve just landed. You don’t speak the language. You don’t know the culture. You’re, in effect, lost. Despite the language you speak or where you’re from, first aid is first aid, food is food, luggage

Imagine yourself in an airport, in a foreign country, you’ve just landed. You don’t speak the language. You don’t know the culture. You’re, in effect, lost. Despite the language you speak or where you’re from, first aid is first aid, food is food, luggage is luggage, food is food, and telephone is telephone!

is luggage, and telephone is telephone. Without this symbolic language, you would be confused and would never be able to comprehend things written and may never find your way.

In a world where there is lots to do, lot many places to go to, lot many recipes to make, lot many gadgets to play with, suggests that there are numerous kinds of information which we intentionally or unintentionally do not recognize. Knowledge about such things, if represented and understood in more visual amount, could be more effective.

That’s where the role and power of infographics lies.

Infographics are traditionally viewed as visual elements such as signs, charts, maps, or diagrams that aid comprehension of a given text based content. These are basically the graphic or visual representations of information, data or knowledge.

These graphics present complex information quickly and clearly. In fact, we interact with such infographics on the street on daily basis, from stick figures telling us when to cross the street, with icons in a web navigation, or a ‘ZooZoo’ informing us of different Vodafone services.

This research paper involves a thorough understanding of what it takes to visualize data, understand information flow and the extent of its application. The paper also navigates through the power of imagery to enhance readability, clarity, eye movement, precision so as to save time and money.

Many prospective customers tend to irritate themselves while reading or writing the large amount of information enquired by the telecommunication servers. Their methods of documenting information about the consumer are static and intimidating.

During the primary research, I understood the shortcomings in the existing format, wherein each consumer is the viewer, reader and then the source of information. Likewise, each consumer has his/her own distinct profile whether a teenager, a ‘gen X’ professional or a senior citizen. In such a fast communicating era where everybody tends to grasp things as easy as possible and move ahead, it would be a matter of benefit to adopt an innovative method of documenting each profile without errors.

It was this understanding that led me to develop a set of norms, which only asks customers the ultimate required questions in a better way so as to satisfy the customer and lessen the burden on their part. In this shrinking world with time being the biggest factor, readers today have developed a tradition to attract themselves to short, precise and quick format of interaction. Thus, companies ought to realize this fact and accommodate strategies that let common masses interact, communicate and relate easily in short span of time. Companies like Airtel, Vodafone, Idea have undoubtedly incorporated strategies of building up a sensitive visual language that ultimately attracts the customer. However, the customer or the prospective customer is put off with the elaborate paper work to get started with a particular service provider.

My study confirms that even though one is satisfied with the services like network connectivity, easy recharging, instant messaging, a prospective customer is intimidated with the experience of filling up long listed text based forms that are not even readable at times. The study also confirms that the readers are more attracted by good visuals and short packets of information.

Improvising document forms has benefits at every stage from reaching the niche target audience and strong communication relation between any brand, company be it a telecom server and its customer. Addressing the problem from choosing the right typeface to readability, omitting unnecessary elements can make a major change and revolution in strategic communication. The research concluded with an understanding that infographics can heighten customer satisfaction and image building. In today’s times, not employing this trend concept or its negligence can cause a major negative impact on the prospective customer.

“Believing in upcoming trends is not bad, accept it all as it is.” – Anonymous.

R U O S R E N T R PA Y A L P IN

CROCUS DESIGN

SOLAR PRINT PROCESSES PVT. LTD.

A WORLD OF FINE PAPERS

SONA PAPERS

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aper was invented in 100 BC in China but it was in 1630 AD that a paper mill in Italy brought about the quality revolution and started producing a paper so fine that connoisseurs till date find it hard to resist when it comes to choosing the best medium for fine print world over. It’s not about the ordinary paper but Gruppo Cordenons - a brand of repute that has stood the test of time for almost four centuries now. Precisely why the best of printers, designers and corporate across the globe and in India too swear by it.

Sona Commercial, a name that's synonymous with fine paper trading in India (India's first multi-site FSC certified company) has taken on the mantle of bringing this quality revolution in India. Established in 1966, Sona has been the name of high repute for introducing new and innovative range of specialty papers to its customer.

Today it has the pride association of world’s leading paper mills and bringing best in class specialty paper to meet the growing need of designers, printers and corporate.

Over the years, company has enriched its product portfolio ranging from super premium fine papers to bulk fine papers, 100% recycled papers to technologically advanced dry grey board. At present company is having one of the biggest product portfolio in its category with association of Gruppo Cordenons super premium fine papers from Italy, Lenzing 100% recycled paper from Austria, Montblanc high bulk fine paper from Hansol, Korea & Won Wong grey dry board from Korea.

Headquartered in New Delhi, India, Sona has its country wide presence in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Chandigarh and Kochi.

Besides, India, the company has its operations in Middle East, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Mauritius.

We would like to extend this invitation to have the experience the difference what fine paper brings to you.

We are confident that the variety and class will inspire you to create many a memorable work of art ahead.

Corporate Office Sona Commercial Pvt Ltd B-247, Okhla industrial Area, Phase-1 New Delhi, India-110020 T: +91-11-43362000 (30 Lines) E: info@sonacommercial.com

Explore – www.sonacommercial.com Join us – www.facebook.com/sonapapers

HARD ROCK CAFE

T Restaurant Hours Daily 12:00PM - 1:00AM Rock Shop: Daily 11:00AM - 1:00AM

Telephone: +91-11-4715-8888

Contact: delhisales@hrcafe.in

he 4th Hard Rock Cafe to open in India, Hard Rock Cafe New Delhi is located at DLF Place Saket, a vibrant, upscale shopping and leisure destination for wellheeled New Delhi citizens. Ideally situated near luxury hotels and just a short distance from the international airport, Hard Rock Cafe New Delhi offers a convenient destination for both local fans and international travelers.

Our 7500 sq ft state-of-the-art facility features 200 seats divided into three distinct sections, a stage for live performances, and Hard Rock’s signature retail Rock Shop. An irresistible menu consisting of classic American fare, including burgers, sandwiches and salads, awaits to awaken your taste buds, while local flavor is also represented by a ‘Merri Dilli’ section consisting of favorites like Saag Paneer and more.

And while you’re here, don’t forget to check out pieces from Hard Rock’s world-famous memorabilia collection, including items representing contemporary stars, such as 3 Doors Down, Black Eyed Peas, as well as pieces from music legends like John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Tina Turner and Madonna. You can also pick up merchandize from our rock shop featuring One of a kind Rock T Shirts designed by artists like Jon Bon Jovi, Green Day and Shakira that make Hard Rock tee shirts top shelf items. You can proudly show your support for a cause or simply sport a cool vintage design from a selection of women’s t shirts and men’s t shirts. Truly dedicated Hard Rock fans can collect pins that display their rock personalities.

SHIRO

A

Castle Worth Capturing

An organic blend of cuisines and cultures from across Asia, mixed with a unique blend of western music and signature cocktails, spells the ultimate in fine dining.

SHIRO, or castle in Japanese, is a dramatic soaring space that captures the imagination and stretches the senses. The towering interior is finished in a unique combination of natural stone, woods, slate, leather, bamboo and velvet, complemented by shimmering lotus pools, soft furnishings and subtle lighting. Raw smoky finishes combine with soft furnishings in a colour palette ranging from rust to caramel to rose.

The mood that starts out chic, transforms into a heightened sense of eloquence. SHIRO possesses a surreal glow, enhanced by the impeccable service, attentive without being intrusive. The kingdom finely balances the charm of the ethical east with the best of western standards.

SHIRO’s ability to stimulate you senses continues with the lavish spread of diverse cuisines. Inspired by the fiery orient, the menu offers an eclectic mix of Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and Thai gastronomy that includes a wide range of sushi, sashimi, and Cantonese

dim sum to tempt even the most discerning palates. For more live action get engrossed in “food art” at the live teppenyaki tables, where your table is the chef’s kitchen.

The sophisticated bar quenches your thirst with signature international cocktails with an Asian twist, complemented by a substantial wine list. As the night unfolds, SHIRO’s energy increases as the sophisticated restaurant transforms itself into something akin to a club or lounge. The high energy show bar reverberates with customized music yet the lounge and dining areas remain comfortable.

Each area within SHIRO retains its own mood and vibe with the requisite difference in decibel levels.

No surprise it has won 19 awards across the country over the last 5 years including the best resto-bar in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru and the best pan Asian restaurant in Bengaluru for the three years consecutively.

SHIRO possesses an uncanny cultural harmony that is all its own. Full of mystery, it draws you to its larger than life fantasy. The “castle” truly captures you.

GOODWORD COMMUNICATIONS

W

elcome to a Communications Clinic where spin doctors touch your pulse, diagnose your communication needs and create a perfectly prescribed holistic communication solution. One that promises to make your brand top of recall amongst its target audience.

Welcome to Goodword Media Services Pvt. Ltd., India’s pioneering communications agency that positions itself as a one stop shop for all your communication needs.

It’s a zone buzzing with energy as a battery of young professionals create magic within the domains of lifestyle, corporate, retail, art and luxury PR, graphic design, editorial management, event planning and social media.

“Conventional PR is dead. It is the day and age of offering complete communication solutions to clients.

Because in this fast lane of life where brands seek instant gratification. No one has the time to go shopping at ten different agencies. At Goodword, we bring it all under one illustrious roof.” says founder Anshu Khanna.

The mastermind behind this new realm of complete creative communications, Anshu Khanna renders her creative edge to the business. A writer and journalist, she has contributed to leading publications including Libaas (as India Editor), Society, Savvy, Hello, The Asian Age etc.

Address M- 80 Lado Sarai New Delhi

Telephone: 011 4060 0901

Contact: anshu.khanna@goodwordmedia.com

E OF C N E U ONSEQ ORK AND C E H UALS. RD W IS T D A I H Y V A I D L D E P RRUPT F MANY IN E T N I UN HES O S I W GOOD

S E H C A THE CO

a in Verm Mr. Nav Mehta harma r. Nidip S M it m A al Mr. Anand k Chasw Noopur e r. h D is h b ussain Mr. A eetha H r m P a . il s K M Mr. Amit ul Ram Khanna Mr. Rah ra Ms. Anju i Dhing n Mr. Rav ay Man n n dhwa A r.

M a abh Wa n r n u a a h S K r.

M hu hingra Ms. Ans Kumra udha D a S h . d s a r M u r Ms. An tri hi Mitta s. Suruc na Shas a M h c r A a . ll Ms aowala ati Bha Ms. Sw deen Lil imhan a r Mr. Ash jee a Na s h m s u U d . u s P M i Mr. Dad rajapati Usha P a Verma . h s s k M e e hri Ms. D nessa O ly a it V a . s J M a n Ms. Jay Mahaja h Vineet ha Sing r. is M n a M Ms. heet u Mans n a M r.

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S R E K A ET R A C E TH Sharma Mr. Arun l Semwa Mr. Atul ma hu Shar Mr. Mad r d Kuma Mr. Vino

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S R E Z I L HANNE

ma ok Shar Mr. Ash ar sh Kum Mr. Raje Singh Mr. S.P. al Arora Mr. Tejp

S R E D A E HEERL

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a Sarin Ms. Anik a ri Verm Ms. Gau vanshi a r i Chit h u J . s M gal ani San Ms. Ish p Singh ita Prata h Is . s M r u Kocha Ms. Kuh ngrah hun Kha s a M r.

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Commu ashion ent of F m rt a s p a De auz Kh mpus, H NIFT Ca Park r a lmoh Near Gu 0 016 1 1 lhi New De

127 .in 2654 2 smentis Tel: 011 ncompo o n @ s e ueri n Email: q mentis.i compos n o .n w ww