Meeting the Maker: Rodney Fitch

 

 

 

 

Attending the Kyoorius Designyatra 2010 was in a manner reconnecting to the contemporary design discourse. Of course one is always part of the zeitgeist and is aware of the design and creative developments but meeting the makers is something else.

Listening to Rodney Fitch – guru of retail design and founder of Fitch one of the largest design consultancies in the world,  highlighted my area of work, which has for so long been relegated to being the last part of a brand implementation exercise.

He started off with the inspirations that moulded and moved him – William Morris, Raymond Loewy and the Victoria & Albert Museum. It is good to know what, where and how people gather inspiration from their environment. We all have heard of them during the course of our design education but when someone particularly points them out, you do a little retake on the uniqueness they have to offer. That is the good thing about listening to an expert you pick up a lot of cues and links that widen your design consciousness and sensibility.

When one has specialized and is an expert on his subject he of course imbibes the very core of it. Rodney is a firm believer that “shopping is the purpose of life”. Being a retail designer for the last four years I thought rather sheepishly whether this would ever be my single life truth.

He pointed out that the uplifting aspect of retail/shopping is unlike any other aspect of our lives and he reiterated this with an example of when people were quizzed in a poll in UK they said they had more faith in their retailer than their govt. The reason, he said was that shopping is a completely democratic process, offering the consumer choice of product , experience and a great degree of control. The retail design strategy should therefore involve consideration of strategy context, innovation & communication.

He mentioned that overstating the cultural and social variations of India  is rhetoric and at an innate level people across the world are similar in their sensibilities and the endeavor to appeal to that 70% commonality is irrespective of place, language etc. It is the other 30% that needs to involve strategy and design thinking that is more articulate to the aspirations and needs of the local exigencies. The major difference between the organized and unorganized retail as we term it and he pointed out that calling it unorganized is a fallacy, because it involves retailing an approximate of 25000 SKU’ s  out of a  500 sqft store which has to be an exercise in great organization and skill. He said that the retail developments in India are no different from what happened in the US and Europe but are only happening at a faster rate and hence the jarring progression. The traditional and modern co-exist and as retail studies have pointed out will remain part of the Indian retail landscape.

The concerns and realization that I have had for a while are that while brands grow and penetrate markets all over, will our experiences become the same, more a part of global brand consciousness divorced from their contexts ?  Because we know brands persist because they follow their core identity and ethos and retail being an extension of this would end up giving us a standard experience wherever we are. There is a comfort, trust and recognition in this familiarity but with no differentiation based on place I am worried about the homogenization of our collective experience. And Rodney did field this question with the 70-30 theory but I don’t see this in practice. Of course there is customization say that a McDonalds does in its menu in India, offering you an Aloo Tikki burger etc but the sameness of the space irrespective of whether it is anywhere within India or elsewhere is not a very happy one. And I find myself then gravitating more to the quaint little cafes’ and shops when visiting London that offer me the authenticity of merchandise & experience,  rather than the proposition of  monotony & sameness that I expect from a brand . The way forward perhaps then, is that brand space retailing,  will have to in the likeness of google be flexible and adaptable to allow a level of customization and experience relevant to its context.

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Also Read

The brilliance and relevance of the Barbie store in its context and why it might not work in a similar avatar elsewhere. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/malcolmmoore/9131846/The_worlds_first_Barbie_store_is_a_work_of_genius/

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A pictorial synopsis on Raymond Loewy http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/35402/the-man-who-designed-america

image courtesy : LIFE

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Visit the Dr.Bhau Daji Laad Museum in Mumbai  [ has its origins in the Victoria & Albert Museum ]

http://www.bdlmuseum.org/

 

image courtesy – Dr Bhau Daaji Laad Museum

The importance of designing a brief ( no pun intended )

 

 

 

If you have read my last post design woes, you would be well aware that most of the aforementioned troubles stem from bad briefs or virtually and may I add conveniently non-existent ones. (reminds me of the emperor’s new brief … oops clothes).  

The internet is abound with great articles to address these needs like say 7 tips to the weave the perfect brief (no pun intended, again). Well, the truth is that if so many people are doling out advice on how to write a good brief then obviously its’ serious business. But its’ amazing to see how often we just move headfirst into a design project without this quintessential catalyst.

Its like putting forth a classified; unless your requirements are clearly specified,would you ever get the right response? And I read this somewhere that a design can be as good as the brief that evoked it.

The most important thing to understand is that design is not the postscript of a marketing plan and definitely not about prettifying objects and spaces but a strategic tool to convey a brand promise/message and to evoke responses and achieve tangible results.

Even the simple task of designing a hairbrush can ensue a whole lot of considerations to be successful. E.g.: Design a hairbrush for Zaha Hadid. This statement is already loaded with cues for the designer. Since its Zaha Hadid — I could do a whole background – lifestyle study to develop my own parameters. However the better idea is to tell me at the outset in greater detail the requirements. Why does she need a new hairbrush designed? Which is the one she is currently using and why she wants to change it? What is the context of use — a carry around hairbrush; then I would need to know what she would carry it around in, her handbag – its size etc. Or is it to be placed on her dresser — then I would need to know what type of dresser it is etc.  What is the condition of her hair thick/thin falling etc? Based on these answers I would know if a brush is really the right solution or a comb would be better or maybe a device that tames unruly hair.

The moot point is that if the brief is well delineated I could actually come up with a solution that is wholistic and not symptomatic. There can be a gazillion solutions but the specificity of the brief will determine how successfully we can find the near perfect one.

Mentioned below are questions for all marketing know-it-alls and unsuspecting designers to clarify before embarking on a design journey.

A statement of purpose explaining:

Who you are, your brand/ essence – its message- its history etc

What is to be done?

What is the context?

Why is it being done – what is the purpose of this exercise?

Who is it being done for (target group)?

What is the perceived competition and what are your USP’S that set you apart?

The scope, deliverables, budget & timelines.

 (Please, let these be realistic — after all we are not magicians pulling out rabbits from hats.)

Statutory Warning:  Please abstain from sending reference images with a can we-do-this note and can we do it in mera wala blue – it’s bad for the designer’s health and it’s the demise of the design.

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P.S: Had attempted to design a hairbrush for Zaha Hadid (am a self confessed fan of her work). It was a purely formal exercise to study design styles and their objective interpretation.

 

sliver

design woes

I have been designing for a while now and have worked on the most vague thread bare briefs and with the most trying stretches of detours that the client may take.

Picture this , you are about to wind up for the day and weekend and you get this urgent buzz ” we need a generic innovative  unit, island typology , its an open budget; see what you can do, its urgent …   ( interpret as ” the world will fall apart if we do not deliver this to the client, so he can enjoy it over the weekend)

Ok, so now I’m trying to interpret this, there is no direct brand association, so no brand persona cues to move forward on, so it can probably draw from deconstruction, minimalism , contemporary post modernism etc etc…. and remember there is no cost constraint … maybe we can use swarovski crystals (pun intended )…what a delight !  Not really I have to imagine now what will fit the clients sensibility ( though I think thats the most difficult thing to fathom )  also please observe the wanton use of the  i-word  ( if there was someway of knowing what constitutes ” innovative” – in the clients’ dictionary !!! )

Now, I try to begin the design process sans brand, sans proper specifications, so  I really have no justification or design argument plus the clock is ticking. So I zero in on the most likely materials, coressponding aesthetics, practical feasibility we are moving along well now, full speed ahead. Its an island unit, so it would be approachable from all sides, maybe I can make it  three sided — viola !!!  atleast we are started now.

Buzz goes my phone … urgent voice … we are sending you some reference images … can we do this, it looks really nice? My voice fails me and I can already see the inevitability of this. The clock is ticking and I think to myself – grin and bear this, the weekends’ here.

I look at the reference image, I hate doing this already. So now I’m trying to blend in elements , with my concept and have an acceptable product, hopefully innovative. The renders are through I set them in a meaningful presentation, I have made the deadline (  yet again ) . I shoot of the mail and am off for the weekend.

The client reverts on Monday, ok actually the unit is to be placed against the wall, we can have only one graphic, it shouldnt be triangular, the size exactly 4′ x 1.5′ x 1′, we need more dispensing less of innovative looking windows … also can we have more options ?

 Such clarity of thought, if only this moment of truth had  happened earlier.

 Well, I knew this was going downhill from the start. More options were put forth, many changes, additions, alterations later , we get client feedback  they all look interesting but can we have the header from option 1, the dispensing window from option 2, and can we flip the unit counterclockwise.

What incisive observations, this design is becoming a DIY.  Now my brain has stopped responding so I just follow the clients’ recipe. Mix 1 and 2 and flip, sounds fairly simple, take a deep breath we can do this …

the smoke is begining to clear and we can now see the mutant offspring of the previous designs and it looks like a monstrosity no less, but maybe no one will notice.

I set the renders in a meaningful presentation for the nth time ( its really difficult now ).

I was tempted to add a disclaimer : the design put forth is a product of circumstance ( read as client’s whims ) and the designer does not necessarily subscribe to it.

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the image is from a master illustrator, check his work at http://albertocerriteno.com/

also read “silk road typography” – William Drentel – http://observatory.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=4877

visual copy*

 

 

 

Visual Copy  is a calender series that happened because of  the need to keep a tab on the days that just went rolling past and to test out my amateur photography and photoshop skills.

Visuals I believe can say a thousand words, and if well composed can be quite incisive and immersive.

I am hoping that now that I have revived the series it will evolve into something bigger.

why khadi ?

Since it is the month of our independence, I feel its right to share a little something I wrote on “khadi” and its present relevance.

Khadi is a term that encompasses in itself a lot. At first mention to me, it only conjured up the clichéd rough handspun cloth. However that is just the tip of the iceberg.

It was the symbol and essence of our freedom struggle, the most powerful instrument that was principally responsible for uniting the whole of India into one force against the British. It symbolized revolution and it perhaps needs to be resurrected again.

It is this silent movement, which is inside of all of us, it is the basic human need to be independent and in control of ones’ own future.  It is of self-reliance and growth for people, the community, the country and the world.

Khadi is an amazing answer to the extraneousness of Consumerism. Consumerism creates a world that is fleeting and constantly changing with an almost pervasive frivolity. The ends are justified the means are not. Harboring itself on dissatisfaction, and creating desires for that which is elusive and unattainable. And the results are for all to see; depletion of natural resources and the entire natural eco-system is buckling in.

“What we need today is a revolution of every individual’s thought process, an injection of a little humanity into every deliberation”(from an article in the Hindustan Times)

Khadi, really is a possible way out. Its relevance now is unimaginable, because it offers a philosophy for a way of living that signifies freedom and self-reliance in the true sense. Concepts of sustainability are so intrinsically built into it, that the khadi – model could actually offer us solutions to most problems. Where khadi was the symbol of our freedom struggle, I think it can now be the mantra of freedom for the whole world. Everywhere we have people running out of inspiration and employment. Khadi is the enterprise of uplifting yourself, creating positive opportunities for everybody. It seeks to unite. It’s a feeling that builds up from within. That really is the true essence of khadi.

It’s difficult to give a definition of design,
even rather irksome to put it down neatly into a sentence,
simply, because its not a straightforward answer.

While researching and internalizing the various aspects of design, what is evident is that it is an ever growing organism and can find meaning and application in most any context. Which is why the subject of design is not just about creating systems, products and forms, it is in today’s context a process, which when used creatively can provide endless directions and possibilities.