I am super excited about my new venture - Design Kreeda and I am grateful to all those who have liked and 'liked' my page on Facebook :). The appreciation has encouraged me to do more. But this is not the only reason for my happiness. It's just one of the reasons.
For a person who has always been surrounded by her personal talent pool, it's hard to settle with just 50 something 'likes' on the facebook page! ;)
To possess the capability to create is one thing. To get an opportunity to do it, is another. Besides my vast proffessional network, I consider myself very lucky to know some super talented, go-getters who not only are my dear friends but also people who I got to work with and add value to their work. They not only worked with me but were also very kind to suggest my services to their friends and aquiantances.
I don't want to leave any space for bias so I will go in alphabetical order :)
1)
ARI Integrated
An architecture and interior design firm owned by my very close friend Akshay Modak. Akshay with his unique styling, turns cubes into living spaces and breathes life into commercial set-ups. He is consistently growing with many prestigious projects in Pune and simultaneously many other metros in India.
My role : He approached me to help him do up a bar-lounge in Koregaon Park. I was thrilled and why not, free booze yay! hahaha but other than that, I was very happy to do it cos it was a very interesting project. The name coining was yet to be done but we had a briefing on the basic idea/theme of the place. Akshay was doing the interiors while I was doing the wall graphics.
Keeping in mind the crowd and the ambience, I suggested that we keep wall graphics that go in sync with the music. I thought that having something that represents each genre will suit the place well so graphics based on different eras were made. Celebrities from each genre were selected and finally from a list of 30 odd faces, we selected about 10 that we used. I wanted to give it a different look and not just place the celebrity pictures.
The place was going to be called something on the lines of 'play' so I worked out a unit that looked like a play button and created the graphics using this same unit and placing it in multiples so as to create a complete picture. It was tiring but enjoyed every bit of it. Especially making faces with the unit was the tough part cos they were really huge and had to be recognisable. We decided to keep it black and white to match the ambience and didn't want it to be loud as it was already covering the entire right side of the lounge.
Akshay carved small spaces to accommodate tables in a way so people could sit in groups and enjoy in privacy.
It turned out to be a great place.
Its called Ouzos, a playful name indeed
https://www.facebook.com/#!/ouzos
Visit the place, enjoy the shots, Party hard!
Here is a glimpse of the work -
2) Eatmosphere - Cafe
Just thinking about this place puts a smile on my face :) It's a project that came to me out of nowhere! One fine day I get a call from my sis-in-law asking if I was interested in doing an identity project for an upcoming cafe that one of her friend was opening in Wanowrie, Pune.
A cafe! Do up the whole thing from scratch! Known people, open to experimentation! Hell YA I would do it!
The owners, a lovely couple and now very dear friends Rhuta and Manish met me several times for briefings and sharing their thoughts on the place. Manish, a fantastic chef with a history of working with many 5 star hotels and a career in Dubai, was realising his dream after years of hard work and saving. I had to do justice to the project!
His wife Rhuta, a charming lady who I was discussing most of my ideas with was very cool to work with. She gave me complete freedom and told me to do whatever I liked. That's a blessing for a designer!
My role: Name the place. Design the logo. Pre-launch and post-launch, main cafe menu, leaflet, home delivery menu card.
I knew that the name had to be casual and cafe-like. Something that sounds inviting, cosy and yet spacious that people would visit as a leisure lounge and not as a fast food joint. So after days of brain-storming I finally settled at Eatmosphere.
The logo design and menu followed. The pre-launch and post launch was a hit! I insisted that every communication will be in sync with logo cos that's going to give it consistency and Manish - Rhuta are sincerely following it till date! :)
A place that serves lovely food, great ambience and the owners are great hosts! A must-visit!
This is how it looks -
3) Gordon - Just Fur Dogs
I love dogs! I Get to do a project for Dogs! How exciting!!
I volunteer for the Blue Cross Society, an animal welfare organisation. I do my bit by helping them with communication design, participating in fund raisers and events whenever I can. Wish I could do more...
During one of the events, I met Dr. Lochana Baney, a veterinary physician who also volunteers for BCS. She recently opened a world-class Dog grooming clinic in Wanowrie. Its a franchise of Gordon, Germany.
My role: Communication collaterals for Gordon. Being a brand from Germany, it had very strict guidelines that restricted me from doing anything drastically different. But we managed :)
Do take your dog to Gordon and treat your pet with a world-class experience!
4) Homescapes
A mother of two, home maker Poonam Deshpande put her talent to work. She makes beautiful terrariums. A terrarium is a clear container (often plastic or glass) used to grow plants and to examine or hold small creatures. They may be cubical, spherical, rectangular, or other shapes. Often in terrarium the species' ecosystem is copied in smaller size and is even controlled in humidity, temperature, and water chemistry. Well, this is a typical explanation and may not sound interesting but it really looks like a forest in a bowl!
My role: Logo design and other communication material. Working on this one made me very happy cos I was promised my own terrarium on completion of the work :) This incentive was too good to resist! I wanted to keep it very simple and classy and therefore pastel color, best suited green was selected. Since people don't commonly know about the terrariums, I gave a simple top view of the pot to suggest what Homescapes is about.
Some shots of the work and hand made terrariums -
She likes to keep it low key and therefore has not promoted much on the web but to see more of her work, check out -
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=500331146#!/media/set/?set=a.1014803509444.2310.1805771686&type=3
5) Hrishikesh Pawar
An institution in himself. Runs the Hrishikesh's Centre Of Contemporary Dance. It is a committed organisation to contemporary dance and physical theatre. The main objective of the school is to promote this fastest growing art form in India. Contemporary Dance form can be conceived as a new way of communication through the human anatomy, hence bringing in originality, creativity, growth, and a new dimension to the representation of the dance ballets.
My role: I get a frantic call from Hrishi one evening asking to help him with a logo for his upcoming event. How could I say no :) He said "just make something nice and please make it quick!"
Hmmmm for a designer, half a sentence like this as a brief is absolutely not acceptable. But what to do... I had to make it happen. So I started off and came up with some 10 logos over night.
Shared it with Hrishi and to my surprise the one that I had personally liked was selected. :)
The event is called 'Prayatna' and it required a logo that encompassed many creative fields and as the meaning, should reflect effort, dedication etc. The name is very Indian but the logo I thought should look contemporary with an Indian touch. Therefore it was made colorful, unrestricted and with a neat font.
Check out more about this dance form and train with the best! -
http://www.hrishikeshpawar.com/
6)
Labindia
A name that I grew up with, Literally! A multinational company that is making it's mark in many fields including Biotechnology, Bioscience instruments, analytics and healthcare. Mr. Virendra Upadhye-director, my so-called foster father and life-time client gave me projects when I was unsure about my skills myself. With his hand holding and encouragement, I can proudly say that I am the sole designer working with this giant company for the past 7 years.
My role: Logo revamp, logos for labindia lifescience and labindia healthcare, communication collaterals, magazine ads etc. There is so much stuff that it's impossible to share it here so here's a link to check out what Labindia is all about.
http://www.labindia.com/
7)
Lively-wood
Sonia Sumant, my sis-in-law and a good friend took to furniture design a few years ago and has now successfully expanded her business into home decor and furnishing. She makes a variety of furniture concepts that are not only attractive but also workable.
My role: Name for the venture. Logo and marketing collaterals. I was one of the first few people to see her work when it was in the making and it was then that she approached me to do her identity design for her new venture. The first thing that you see in her work is color! An already exciting project had to be name coined and an attractive logo was essential. I was thrilled to take it up! One because I have always been an 'experimentative types' and had tried my hands on furniture painting too. Of course not professionally, only for fun! So to do a complete new brand identity project for such a product was very exciting.
I was racking my brains for a suitable name. I knew that it had to reflect color in some way. The logo demanded a hint about the nature of work as it was a completely new concept. Finally I zeroed in on Lively-wood! The logo is a combination of typo and graphics.
Along with the logo, I helped her with the write-up, brochure, website design and other communication collaterals.
Check out the website to see my contribution and the amazing stuff that is totally worth picking up!
http://www.lively-wood.com/
8) Taal Inc.
An organization that conducts drum circles for various populations from different backgrounds across all ages, cultures, heritages and levels of musicianship. This is a community activity, a stress buster, a behavioural intervention technique... a healing practice.
- a school of rhythm and percussion where one can learn the drum kit and also the Djembe.
- a rhythm ensemble focus...sing on rhythms of the land; and communication of these rhythms from a people to a people, spreading the joy and bringing people together through the drum!
Taal Inc. is an extension of you, and a celebration of your connection with your inner rhythm.
My role: I had been to the Taal performances many times. Thanks to my friends who are a part of the ensemble. The rhythm sure is pulsating and whats more happening is the people! Varun Venkit, the heart and soul of Taal Inc. is a brilliant performer and an amazing person to know. It takes you only one meeting to become friends!
Taal Inc. ensemble was the first group that I dressed up. I met Varun and the lovely Solonie several time with different attire options. They were very open to new ideas...what more can a new designer want?!!
So I used their inputs and my patterns to come up with an attire that would carry an African feel as the group plays African drums. I was playing safe with the fabric and used mixed raw silk as the base in black.
A mix and match of bold colored fabrics were patched on. Guys were given short kurta and jacket with bottoms. Girls were given wrap around skirts with bold patches and sleeveless tops. Heavily accessorized, they looked very African.
9) Urban Ashram
Ahhhh what a place it is! I was new in Pune and was in search of good places to see. A visit to the Urban Ashram is an experience...Sheetal Sanghvi has done a fantastic job and has done justice to the name.
The Urban Ashram is a community space where they invite individuals from all walks of life to gather and share their journeys and insights with each other and inspire one another to take a journey within themselves.
You could be any of these or none, yet rest assured you will be welcome in the space: student, housewife, businessman, professional, writer, musician, yoga and meditation teacher, dancer, philosopher, film-maker, et al…
I was itching to do something. New in the city, no job and sitting at home was a fatal combo for me! That's when Urban Ashram happened. Me and Sonia decided to do an exhibition at the Ashram. She would display her furniture and I could exhibit my paintings. What a relief that idea was!
And in no time the exhibition that was inititally housing only Sonia and me, turned out to be an event! It was called 'Art with a heart'. More the merrier we thought and roped in a lot of other artists, photographers and NGOs who participated with equal enthusiasm.
It was a great event!
I can go on with the list but I think you're already tired reading so much :) Will share some more interesting work from my cart as well as my friends very soon!
Special thanks to my family members Era and Bipin who happily promoted and sold my collection of clothes in Australia. Without their effort I would have never got a good response from overseas.
Am I not lucky to have all these lovely people around me? :)
