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.