Their graphics; our design

On the event-redeeming last day of the Kyoorius Design Yatra '07 at Goa, British designer Michael Johnson concluded his rather racy presentation with a list of milestones that marked the evolution of modern graphic design in the West.

In drawing out his list which included such classics as Toulouse Lautrec's Moulin Rouge posters, Cassandre's Normandie and Dubonnet work, Edward Johnstone's London Underground identity and Paul Rand's IBM rebus, Johnson's point was that Indian designers need probably not look West for inspiration.

I admit that this is a point that can be argued. As the dominant culture of our times, it is but inevitable that the West be looked upon for inspiration. Further, in the case of India, a country whose history was shaped by a series of European interventions, western culture is a legitimate post-colonial legacy that we are entitled to draw upon. Further still, one may argue that in a globalized world, such East-is-East-West-is-West thinking is increasingly irrelevant.

Japan, a non-Western nation with a robust sense of its cultural identity, is a useful point of reference. Is Japanese graphic design uniquely Japanese? If one were to look at their large corporations, one would think not. Graphic design produced for a Honda, a Suzuki or a Mitsubishi has little to distinguish it from similar work done for any multinational anywhere in the world.

However, looking further at examples of work done by Japanese designers for Japanese audiences reveal quite another story. Their use of paper, their exquisite typography, their choice of colours and images, the signage they produce, even their websites look, feel and communicate in a language that is so unmistakably of that culture. It is evident that their designers come through a process of schooling that gives them a keen understanding of the traditions of their visual culture.

Indeed India is different from Japan in important ways. Ours’ is not a homogenous culture as that of Japan. We have a multitude of languages and traditions. We were under colonial rule for many centuries. Yet, as India goes through a period of increasing confidence, there probably is a strong case for our design education to be more India-inspired.

What then could be the inspirations that inform a distinctively Indian graphic design? If we were to build our equivalent to Michael Johnson's list of graphic design 'landmarks', what would qualify to go into it? Inspirations that are Indian, modern, by and large secular, and which represent a fundamental breakthrough in form or expression.

A few choices that seem obvious to my mind are:
:: The remarkable graphic art of tribes like the Gond and the Warli.
:: Some of the original Kalighat paintings
:: Some of the original Sivakasi packages for beedis, fireworks etc.

Space Bar invites all designers, design-educators, design-informed and design-interested out there for ideas and suggestions to take this thought forward.

A Berliner in Bombay

My first brush with Mint was a few weeks ago on a business trip to Mumbai. Mint appeared contemporary, stood out from the crowd of pink business newspapers and overcrowded dailies and allowed me a quick scan of the news. Mint is India's recently launched (on Feb 01, 07) brand new business newspaper. Its icon is a coin and playing on the double edged icon - Mint is not just a fresh new newspaper for the likes of people with short attention span (like me), but it offers a substantial degree of insight for those with a larger attention span and time. The other attraction is the absence of space-hijack by advertisers. In other words, advertising and brands do not yet dominate the pages - there are sponsors and advertisers but their logos are tastefully interspersed - not overtly 'in your face'.


Mint is also indicative of a healthy appetite for quality business reporting within India and the acceptance of a newspaper that is different - both in its size, in its colour and its layout. Firstly in terms of size Mint goes the Berliner way - narrower and shorter than most broadsheet Indian newspapers, but inline with the series of recent newspaper redesigns across Europe. The result is a handy, compact format - less of an elbow jostle with your fellow passengers. Though no insight yet on its acceptability in overcrowded Mumbai trains.

Mint is a bright orange hue - setting it apart from fellow dailies and its uncluttered layout, emphatic use of type, clear distinctive and yet balanced typographic grays is a sheer delight. The prize winner for me is its Lounge section, published every Saturday. This section uses white in a way that is alien to any Indian newspaper - ie., it uses white and large expanses of it. And I am not just talking the 10mm margin. I have yet to dwelve deeper into the fabulous content of its last Saturday's lounge - on fellow Indians who have turned 60. Its a visual feast - partly because of the interplay between the form and the absence of it - the beautiful illustrations, photographs and type - and of course, the content.

If you want to know more then best to start off with a great little note from the man who designed the newspaper - Mario Garcia. And it may be well worth a little visit online to livemint.com - the web companion to the printed version. More on livemint - later.

How AI compares agaist a few other recent revamps

Might be interesting to take a look at this Dutch Blog that focuses exclusively on airline branding (now that's owning a space!). Both versions of the AI project are covered. For me what Qantas has done is more like what I would have liked the AI project to have been: mature, stylish and beautiful.

liladesign.com/liladesign/airlinebranding/airlinebrandingweblog/airlinebrandingweblog.html

The Air India redesign - It's a public project, we need to make ourselves heard!

I really would love to hear what everyone thinks about the new Air India identity. Are there others too, who, like me, think it's a colossal waste of public money, a wasted opportunity, and above all, a national disgrace? Or does it have levels of merit that I just don't get?

I mean, should this not have been a showcase of the best of Indian design? Was this not that once-in-decades opportunity to pull out all stops and wow the world with what we can do? Should this not have been a launch that made us all ridiculously proud? Is THIS it?!!! And are we just going to shrug and move on as usual?

As much the design itself, what bothers me is that a project of such iconic scale, should pass almost completely uncommented... by people in general, by the media, even by the 43 odd people (pun not intended) who make up this country’s design community.

After all don’t we pretend to be experts on these things - brand strategy, brand identity, typography, colours…? Should we not at least make a few noises that all is not well (if all is not, that is)?

I’m really curious about the typography on the redesigned AI. Why did they chose to leave the 1950s airline-style lettering unchanged when virtually every other airline that has gone through a revamp in recent years has moved away from that sort of italicized Extra Black sans serif, and often replaced it with exquisite letter-forms, that in the best examples, evoke national styles? Was it a deliberate choice driven by a clear strategic imperative? Or was the design-firm just not sure enough of their ability to come up with something better that they chose ‘minimum intervention’? Or still worse, were they just not required to push the bar?

What is the new Air India mark anyway? Is it the Centaur (who now has to balance himself on two legs)? Is it the forked serpent-tongue device with a wheel tattooed on it? Is it just that klunky logotype? Or is it the forever kowtowing Maharaja whose days of glory are so obviously behind him, and seems to live on as a sad caricature of what he once was? What really connects all these things? (Or is that indeed the concept: a sort of oriental bazaar; a brilliant strategic coup to sell ‘exotic India’ to western travellers?)

Agreed, even with the best intent, this sort of project could run into rough weather. Certainly there must be older advisers in the ministry who must have reminded Mr. Praful Patel how bad a nightmare the whole thing turned out to be the last time AI sought to don new clothes in the early 90s. A mishmash of tired old elements must have seemed a safer bet compared to being embarrassed in parliament.

But wasn’t this meant to be AI’s last big push? With billions in tax money, hundreds of jobs and national prestige at stake, didn’t it merit a clear, bold and decisive approach instead of this confused one? Wouldn’t an exciting new visual personality have signaled the real changes that AI claims to have made on the ground… brand new fleet, more responsive reservation system, better schedules and a dozen other things that could interest the international traveller to give AI a try?

What of the communication; shouldn't the ads have articulated all this with some originality and style? Flipping through back issues of, say the Reader's Digest, from the 50s or 60s, one runs into these small B/w AI ads that, after all these years, still sparkle by their originality, style and wit. The Maharaja in those days (when he still had his privy purse) was a carefree and genial soul. Suave, intelligent, generous and charming, he had the personality of the perfect companion on a long trip. If their strategy was to retain the old even while bringing it all up-to-date, then why not restore the Maharaja to his previous glory? Agencies would have literally slit each other's throat to get hold of that brief!

Yes, of course, we all know of the mysterious ways in which government projects are run in our country. But must we necessarily leave it at that and mourn our misfortune about not being born in England? Can’t we instead get more people to talk about these things, at least online? Ask friends what they think, draw in a few more ‘experts’? Could be interesting to kick-start a dialogue and see where it goes. After all wasn't that what this space was meant to be?