Mixing (P)references

I'm [still] stuck in France for Visa procedures... Meanwhile, if i cannot post much, i try to reflect about differences, references, cultural icons, etc... that keep my two cultures apart [or bring them closer].

[Trend Update Sample]

Some work i've been doing lately: i starded a series of trends cards, a trend newsletter of some sort.

Indian Social Networking Site :/

People interested in social networking sites and India might have noticed the fair amount of online articles reporting the launch of "Corners" a new Indian social-networking site yesterday.[Read the press release here]



As the site had just launched, there was only a few users registered when i visited the site. Despite this there was already a fair amount of 'Babe pics' uploaded, as well as the inevitable Cricket/Bollywood/i-phone lot.



My feeling is that the reality of the site will be quite different from what the press release promises. In India there are many people who spend their (ample) free time in cyber cafes trying to make 'friends', chat, watch porn [and it happens so that the distinction between the 3 activities mentioned tend at times to get blurred].

Frankly, i doubt many girls will feel at ease on such sites, as it might soon get more breasts by the pixel-inch than truly relevant information.
> An example to illustrate this point: keep your skype status on "Skype me" or your blue tooth ON for a few minutes and pop-up windows won't be long to find their ways to your screen, along with "friends requests from BABU G" and other "Peering request from SANTOSH K." :(

The site claims that "Corners brings innovative presentation and intuitive design to find, use, share and extend the content and the community – this is one of a kind site for Indian market! Corners is meant to deliver excitement, fun and entertain the users." I'm quite skeptical about the nature of the content mentioned here. Talking about excitement and fun well, maybe - depending on what one is looking for.


One interesting point however: this site could be worth bookmarking (i did) in order to keep an eye on trends and popular topics/area of interest for any industry targeting the Mass Market [middle class segment].

BIG MONEY ... NO WORK [and a speaking tree]

The same old universal dream and 'natural advertizing' technique.

Bored of these this Old Gold Jewelery?

In india, gold jewlery is value mostly for its weight - or the money it represents. In Europe, i doubt one would 'exchange a gold chain or pair of earrings one got from her mother grand-mother, or as a wedding gift. The situation is not quite the same here, where, as long as the weight remains the same [=financial safety], exchanging the old jewelry for new ones with new designs is not perceived as such a bad thing at all.

T-Shirts

There was a plan of getting T-Shirts made for the studio so that we all look very Hip. I designed those for the occasion, but looks like they'll remain paper dummies as the T-shirt plan got a down-grade treatment on our priority list.
Anyway, they'll add a little joy to my blog!

More Human [Interface]

Click to enlage

A dialog box with feelings.

'Matching Center'

Now THIS is true Color Expertise.

For those who are not familiar with the concept, owners of such textile shops provide their lady customers with blouse material. Ladies come to such shops bringing along their saree. The shop owner then juxtaposes the saree onto different shades of the closest color till he finds the exact same (saree) color.

When visiting India it is a must for any color-inclinded person to experience this.

[Pseudo] Color Theory by the 'TIMES'

Pseudo-expert articles for Real masses // Click to enlarge.

Note: i would understand if a foreigner was to pick such a cliché picture, but an Indian journalist??

Real Life Scenario

The reason why i posted this truly unclear picture is NOT to provide an example of how bad the indoor picture quality of the E61i is. [although it is truly disappointing, while outdoors day shots are very decent for a 2Mpx].

The reason why i posted this picture is that it is the only witness of a scene that intrigued me quite a bit.

While sitting at Koshys [one of the oldest Fisn n Chips in Bangalore] the other night, there was this man eating alone on the next table. He visibly wasn't from Bangalore [i would assume he was from Bombay] and was having dinner alone. So far, nothing out of the ordinary. He was holding his N95 on one hand as he ate, and seemed to have been checking mails now and then. Again, that was just me observing people around me. Probably was he also doing this to get some kind of company/reassurance.

But the man truly grabbed my attention when he suddenly held the device closer to the table, flipped it and, [not so discretely] shot himself [self portrait] as he had just finished eating.

Why did he do that? I wonder. The scene was over soon, but did have a weird note to it.

In any case, there are couple of opportunities one could consider from this:

1] An application targetting loneliness OR the hard task to choose what to eat > for people who eat outside alone too often on business trips.

2] An application that helps/encourages us to keep track of our moods. Or record all the happy moments of our lives (i.e: happy after a good meal)

3] An easily accessible 'discreet mode' for the camera so that even the most narcissistic of us could shoot ourselves anywhere without having to be embarrassed.
> Say a mode where the subject is over-exposed and the flash disabled.

4] Perhaps this man just wanted to make sure that there wasn't anything stuck between his teeth, in which case, a phone which screen becomes highly reflective [when the phone is idle] would just be enough - not just girly phones require this feature.

Hybrid Transactions: Services for 'Transitional Habits'

www.yatra.com - Travel web portal

Convenience of booking online [Location of the transaction at the user's convenience. Could even be on the move.] | [psychological] Safety of paying by cash [real money, eventually real ticket] | 'Human' character of the money transaction [Human-Human interaction].

[more] Affordable Technology and enhanced lifestyles inevitably engender the emergence of new modes of consumption.
However, changes at societal/psychological level are slow to take place - not everyone is eager to change. Changing one's behavior implies that one will have to step out of his/her comfort zone and eventually challenge number of deeply-rooted mechanisms or beliefs.


Design & Well-being | Experience Design


These notions have become central to most design discussions and processes today.

How can we apply them to:

Designing services for the 'transitional spaces' of emerging societies?

'By two' Phone

A school driver and his two phones: 'personal one' and 'school one'.
When double Sim-Card slots devices are available in the (grey) market for cheap, one can wonder why two phones. Why would a driver with rather low incomes spend on an extra phone [or not sell the one he already has] when the school provides him with a decent one?

Freedom of choice?
Two phones = doubled social status / increased popularity??
One has radio the other hasn't??
Nokia vs LG??
Too attached to sell his old phone?

One thing for sure, he kept checking and taking calls from both phones - this very frequently - during the trip... which kept him very busy [i.e: Indian traffic and micro -macros? - breaks]

Bluetooth & Commercial Space

(Very) literal advertizing for a Bluetooth-based service at Forum, one of the biggest shopping mall in Bangalore.

New Age French Romanticism

Posted here are only two of the far too many articles updating (avid) readers on the SARKOZI-BRUNI saga. Articles started to appear as early as November and reached a frequency peek in the last few weeks [Times of India featuring up-to 4 articles in a same edition].
The orchstrated media buzz around this story is completely crazy ad makes me wish i was never born french. But the very fact that Indian media picked it up so intensely, praising 'Sarko' despite his very-right political views, this truly is ridiculous.
To make things worse, nuclear and weapon-related deals seem to have gone unnoticed and generated around 4 articles out of the whole romantic lot!!! [i.e: and praising him here again: how nice! The great Sarkozy 'agreed to help India' acquire weapons!]

Whatever is FRENCH seems to be highly praised here no matter what, but it makes me wonder how much of media Bulls** people can swallow before they realize that they haven formed an opinion of their own in long time.

"India's Firsrt Online Dancing Avataar Game"

I haven't tried it, but any reader willing to do so can find the link bellow [and please, comment your experience on this post!!].

What i was upto..

THE BLOG IS BACK!
Here is in article [Indian Express, Dec. 15], that was published about my project. Graduated i am, but taking things forward.
Hence the blog is back :)
Note that i might not however be posting on a dialy basis like i used to do.

Graduation Exhibition setup where i had people to react on the Trend Book produced for my diploma [the 'long thing' spread up in front of me on the black wooden block].
I had created a 'photo studio' space where visitors would sit and call my phone [linked to my computer]. This would trigger the camera to fire every time the phone rang. This way, i collected very genuine portraits of people with their phones. I would then ask them to write down which of the trends featured in the book they liked the most and why [upto 3 trends - although some could help but select 4!!]. These portraits were compiled into a series of layout i created after the show.

BLOG ON HOLD

It's almost been a month...

Due to Diploma submissions / deadlines, the blog has been - and will be - on hold for sometime.
I however intend to resume the posting routine soon, and i do keep interesting news articles aside for a POWER POST on come back.
Keep an RSS eye on this blog to be updated on the return of daily India-shots!
Cheers,
sophie*

Youth + Style + Identity

Y+S+I =? >> The equation is no different in India.
Shaved head no longer, Time for some more explorations...

Global / Local Wrinkles

DOUBLE ACTION | DOUBLE LIFTING | FIGHT | TECHNOLOGY | EXPERTISE | NEW | ...

AGE MIRACLE | WORKS IN 7 DAYS.


What are the elements that can be (almost) literally replicated [color palette, packaging, etc...] and those which have to be altered to suit the Indian audience better?
clue: Latest technology & expertise v.s Importance of results [the much loved "before -after"].

Coffee Transparency

Spotted at the BLR airport

More than coffee: "Honest Coffee", served at a Five Star hotel.

'Never though of it that way. Is it about not letting one down on Caffeine? About minimal food miles? A coffee so intensely black that it clearly reflects ones sleepless eyes in the morning ["You HONESTLY need some Coffee buddy"]?

Pointing Fingers

Fly phones pointing a finger at Nokia?

Forced Customization

The back-lid of her phone broke and had fallen off. The transparent protective case now holds the phone together while a little piece of paper embellished with a hand-drawn pattern covers the battery and hides the decaying state of her phone.

Internet Greed

FAST, AFFORDABLE, UNLIMITED HAPPINESS.

Street v.s Breed Dogs

Unusual auto-rishaw passenger.
[marginal early-adopter or Leapfrog phenomenon?]

On a kissing passenger seat.
[Customization, Identity, Cultural Influence on the notion of 'Cool']

... Observing from his throne the fashionable and other foreign-breed dogs getting grommed and pampered.
[Western influence on lifesyle/identity/aspirations || Class distinction, exclusivity, desirability].

100% Happiness, 0% Interests

'Walk into any UniverCell showroom and pick up The NSeries mobile of your dreams".
Buying a high-end mobile phone on credit.
Doesn't make sense to you? Try replacing mobile phone by status.


NirvanaSeries phones "endless possibilities", pink happiness, black and Gold shine, rich plum.

First Time?

1. Jeans Ad.

2. Condoms Ad.

Spotted a Condom Ad in the papers yesterday.
I can't say for sure that it is the first time ever that a condom ad is being published in the papers, but it wouldn't surprise me since i haven't even seen condom print-ads in magazines such as Cosmopolitan famous for its pseudo sex-articles, and never publishes an issue which doesn't have the word SEX on its cover page.

Why posting this ad at all?
> Because i think that the appearance of sexual-behaviors-related articles/ads/etc... - along with taboos it breaks - are good indicators of changes in lifestyles & society in general.
>> I find the resemblance between this ad and the denim ad published in the same papers a day earlier quite interesting [is it about being young and fashionable? Enduring? Daring? Desirable?].

>>>Also, talking about values that are important to Indian consumers; and here again: value for money, 3 in 1. Get more for what you pay. More pleasure also matters. [Can't help but relate it to the current buzz around experience design & design for well being].

Getting Cheap[er]

*Celebrate with Moto.


Spend less on gifts and do more... More of ???

Handy Phone[s]

Phones fit in one's hand and he's got two hands...
Fair enough, that's one way to look at it.
Those who don't see it this way might like the idea of a phone with a double-SIM card slot. - Samsung recently launched such a phone.
[i also spotted at the grey market, a tiny device which, once inserted underneath the battery, enables the phone to operate two SIM cards].

Smart Wooden Toy & Happiness

Channapatna wooden Toy, brought to the studio by a colleague, made my day through the simplicity of its cleverness.

Color Palette for the GLOBAL Market

Unusually-neat wooden Salt & Pepper dispensers, hand-crafted in the village of Channapatna - meant to be sold in the U.S.
The difference between these and the ones crafted for the local market? A matt and neat finish. A bright/fruity color palette [similar to the "garden" swatch palette in Illustrator CS2 if i remember correctly]... And the price-tag of course.

Notions such as "Craft Revival", Local empowerment, globalization, profit and explotation float in my head randomly.

Strategies / Informal Information Sources / Microbreaks

I spent a few hours in the computer-lab today, scanning many, many pages from many many magazines as part of my research... They were mainly Feminine Magazines, but the 2 most accessible at the time i shot the picture above were - good - magazines targeting Fashion-conscious male readers [m].

Above is a picture of the "computer-lab-in-charge" who couldn't resist the temptation to pick the latest cosmopolitan [famous for its many pseudo sex Tips & Tricks].

> To what extend do informations sources, context and visibility alter the notion of socially acceptable behavior?

Western Treatment / Forcasting "Trick"

Today, delegates from Finish Universities have come on a visit to Srishti ["School of Art, Design & Technlogy"]

Here are TWO CLUES which will inform you that "WESTERN-GUESTS" are coming...

Add Shine to the Old, Sell more? [3]

Motorazr V3, v3i, 2, super2... Not really the "IN" thing anymore; * And not old enough to be Vintage.

However, i spotted these STARTRECK looking-like covers from the blackmarket yesterday... A perfect post fot my Add Shine, Sell more? serie!

'Thought there was nothing beyond Bling? Think again.


* [who buys it? Middle-class housewifes who've been dying to own it for so long - cliche? i'm wouldn't be so sure: i just spotted one 5 min back]

Phone Phenomenon [Something to Keep an Eye On]

Spotted this "i-mobile" at the grey market today.

Such phones have been on display since a couple of weeks in most of the grey-market shops [appart from the shops which "only sell branded phones!!!"] and , according tho the owner of the shop, there is a very high demand for such phones.

The phone which belonged to this box was the last piece available and was bought by the people who were looking at it, before i could shoot it.
Apparently the demand is so high that the next stock will only come in a week or two.

These phones are very popular as they are considered "Hip and different", since not too many people have it in India, YET. They apparently come from Malaysia and Thailad and cost about 5500 rupees.

i-phone user-video here

Muscle Man

"Advance Protein, Best Tasting, Faster Results"
Will you be the next Muscle Man?!

A New Glossy Layer on the Face of Indian Fashion

"BEFORE IT'S IN FASHION, IT'S IN VOGUE"
Vogue India: launching today.
> And i wonder: was the white-face-validation really needed?

A Western View on Indian Fashion

(click on the article to enlarge).
Article published in today's Times of India.

Sadly enough, i share the opinion that India is at the moment suffering from the "being-stuck-in-the-middle" syndrome.
Necessary Identity Crisis?

The question is [are]: Can India finally start believing in itself and TRY NOT to please the West?
How can we (as indian designers) prove and communicate an image of Indian Design [in general] that is "to die for" rather than already half-dead struggling to become something that it is not?

While a few from the creative industry are willing to take risks and are actively trying to prove that "India is Cool, turning 60 and becoming sexier"*, many do not seem to associate breakthrough ideas with risk-taking and being true to oneself - which might be where the problem lies in the first place. Or maybe not. Suggestions anyone?


*quoting Tarunn - advertising/fashion photographer
[you can see his work at: www.runtotarun.com ]

New Plates at my favorite Fruit Chaat-walla Place

Traditional steel-plate and "fruity-fruity" colorful plastic plate.

The percieved notion of what adds value [or: fanciness] to the road-side fruit salad experience.
is it about the graphics? The colors? The English language? What about the smaller size? Will the regular custommers feel cheated because of its smaller size?

Coping with duality: keep the traditional steel plate or not? (By keeping it here, a problem that used happen previously is resolved: the slippery fruits fall-out of the plate no more while being chased by the toothpick!)

Advertising After-life and Reinterpretation

Spotted at a fruit Chaat mobile kiosk (chariot).

The Banana here is no bad joke, the fruit is just meant to prevent the torn-out newspaper sheets [they are used to make cones from which the fruit "salad" will be eaten] to fly away.

A thought on the after-life of advertising:
- [How] will it spread further?
- The context changing, what are the chances for its message to be altered? What are the risks for missinterpretation of the intended message? It's possible enhancement? The chances for it to be picked up and become part of the popular culture? Start a trend? Be picked up by someone [like me] and be kept back in the Media Loop?

Rainbow at the A-T-M

I had a Rainbow-Experience at the ATM* today. Following that, some thoughts surfaced, i catched a few:
1. The ATM screen doesn't have a degauss button.
2. It's in fact strange that this situation never occurred before - considering its Smile Generating Quotient [for the person doing it & for the person viewing it].
3. Why are ATM's experience so boring on the whole anyway? [How] can serious-by-nature automated money transactions be made more "happy" and pleasurable?



*ask anyone here the meaning of ATM: 96% guarantee that the answer won't be Automated Teller Machine but "Any Time Money" - which i think makes much more sense, so i personaly stick to that definition [i anyway thought it meant:"Automated Money Transaction"]

>So comes the question of: Cultural translations/interpretations of Global systems or concepts.
Calling things by what they do: Anyone being aware of other Culturally-defined interpretation of ATM, please add it in the comment section of this post (with precision on the country/region).

Literal [Graphic] Translation

Seen on the outside wall of a private clinic.
To what extent do Levels of illiteracy and Taboos of a society, influence the visual language and information-graphics?

Add Shine to the Old, Sell more? [2]

Same old biscuits, Shinier packet.
... and a few other changes:
[1] The plate diseappears.
[2] Emphasis on the biscuits more than the logo.
[3] The "Rolls" of butter become a little more realistic.
[4] The green band (brand trademark accross subbrands) diseappears.
[5] NEW (of course).
[6] Butter becomesRICH Butter (why bother with gold rims and shine otherwise?)
[7] Biscuits become COOKIES.

Add Shine to the Old, Sell more? [1]

Double spread in Times of India.
Apparently the first 100% metal phone.

A metalic copy of the Motorola Krazer with a Razr keypad + a bit of something else??!
[And i wonder: do deja vu make people dream?]