(+91) India Calling

Mixing (P)references

2008-03-15T16:32:00.009+05:30

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]

2008-02-14T13:44:00.004+05:30

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

Indian Social Networking Site :/

2008-02-12T09:20:00.000+05:30

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]

2008-02-11T10:43:00.000+05:30

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

Bored of these this Old Gold Jewelery?

2008-02-11T10:20:00.000+05:30

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

2008-02-05T19:05:00.000+05:30

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]

2008-02-05T18:59:00.000+05:30

Click to enlage

A dialog box with feelings.

'Matching Center'

2008-02-05T18:35:00.000+05:30

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'

2008-02-05T18:19:00.000+05:30

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

2008-02-05T15:57:00.000+05:30

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'

2008-02-05T14:54:00.000+05:30

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

2008-02-05T14:24:00.000+05:30

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

2008-02-05T14:09:00.000+05:30

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

New Age French Romanticism

2008-02-05T13:53:00.000+05:30

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"

2008-02-05T13:03:00.000+05:30

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..

2008-02-05T12:54:00.000+05:30

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

2007-11-05T23:26:00.000+05:30

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

2007-10-09T23:06:00.000+05:30

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

Global / Local Wrinkles

2007-10-08T22:45:00.000+05:30

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

2007-10-07T19:28:00.000+05:30

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

2007-10-06T11:49:00.000+05:30

Fly phones pointing a finger at Nokia?

Forced Customization

2007-10-05T11:06:00.000+05:30

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

2007-10-04T10:51:00.000+05:30

FAST, AFFORDABLE, UNLIMITED HAPPINESS.

Street v.s Breed Dogs

2007-10-03T22:34:00.000+05:30

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

2007-10-02T19:09:00.000+05:30

'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?

2007-10-01T20:25:00.002+05:30

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]

2007-09-30T14:22:00.000+05:30

*Celebrate with Moto.

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

Handy Phone[s]

2007-09-29T14:08:00.000+05:30

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

2007-09-28T21:03:00.000+05:30

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

2007-09-27T22:13:00.000+05:30

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

2007-09-26T23:27:00.000+05:30

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"

2007-09-25T10:59:00.000+05:30

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]

2007-09-24T11:31:00.000+05:30

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]

2007-09-23T09:41:00.000+05:30

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

2007-09-22T10:30:00.000+05:30

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

A New Glossy Layer on the Face of Indian Fashion

2007-09-21T12:00:00.000+05:30

"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

2007-09-21T11:59:00.000+05:30

(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

2007-09-20T12:26:00.000+05:30

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

2007-09-19T16:12:00.000+05:30

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

2007-09-18T18:31:00.000+05:30

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

2007-09-17T16:36:00.000+05:30

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]

2007-09-16T09:15:00.000+05:30

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]

2007-09-15T10:33:00.000+05:30

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?]

Color[S] Preferences

2007-09-14T09:09:00.000+05:30

Interesting article on vehicle color choices/preferences by Indian youth.
click on the image to read the article.

SONY VAIO Latest Ad

TVS Scooty Pep 99 colors

Context/Package Specific

2007-09-13T11:37:00.000+05:30

How many European people would die to own such a Tea dipspenser that will bring a great vintage/exotic touch to their kitchen?
For most "Premium-Indians"*, such an object would probably be associated with "cheap" road-side tea stalls. Yet, one can find "masala chai" counters in 5 stars hotels. They recreate the road-side-tea-nostalgia [related to college days for many] and are highly fancied.

When nostalgia brings-in some sort of exotism... and the effect context & packaging on what will become Desirable and Hip to buy or consume.

*no offence, i just mean here consumers of premium-products and other european design (etc...)

Hindustan Tea... Picture this dipenser in your modern Kitchen now? What if its stainless-steel was to be stenciled-out with a flowery pattern, that would enravel parts of an inner glass Jar?? Picture it? Want it??! [i do].

Good-Old Interaction Platform

2007-09-12T14:11:00.000+05:30

Royal Bombay Yatch Club counter.
The simplicity and clarity/efficiency of the good-old IN - OUT display makes me wonder why it was "abandoned" in the first place.

Manual/Physical movement and Interaction Design: How much does/to what extend or in what conditions can a manual operation enhance the quality of an interaction platform [or the pleasure quotient related to it?].

Privacy issues and "Special Attention": Display of Guest's names for everyone to see, as wee as their status [in-out]. To what extend will the guests feel special [they own the place for that period of time] or threatened [their privacy being challenged by the public display of their name].

*Same phenomenon observed while flying back on Kingfisher airlines: Hostesses calling passengers by their Mister [X] names. - As she had not mentioned MY name [she probaby decided that mispronouncing my foreign-looking name would irritate me more than it would please me], i first thought that my mister X neighbour was some kind of a V.I.P who could not get a buisiness-class ticket [his ridiculousy gym-buffed body was enough to make my hypothesis viable], untill i realised that every single passenger was named out, and again for coffee.
Did i feel left-out or relieved? Well definately relieved, although i could help but think that i might be marked absent.

note: Interesting similarity between this old-style wooden interraction platform, and the on-offline status/virtual plateform of IM applications...

Carrying Things [2]

2007-09-11T13:45:00.000+05:30

"Torn-Jeans-slit" used as pen holder. Hand-held work tool at knee level: which makes ponder on the practicality of such a choice (note that she was carrying a bag).
Mee style statement [doing things differently] or is it about turning a work [labor/serious]-related device into a fashion accessory [fun/frivolous]?

On Music in Bangalore

2007-09-10T09:38:00.000+05:30

I split the article in two so that you can read it while clicking in the second half.

Sunday Nokia Ads *[Targeted]

2007-09-09T21:09:00.000+05:30

This "raiNseries Ad to appear in the main Times of India this Sunday, close the economic times pages.

Same Sunday diferent Ad: this one was published on the Tabloid that comes with the Times, on page3, just below clippings of the Oh-So-Fashionable Bangaloreans...

*I bet the ad would look quite diferent in Europe [!]

Talk about newspaper CLIPINGS...

2007-09-08T22:54:00.000+05:30

The actual ad, on page 3 of the Bangalore times (local tabloid of the Times Of India). A bad [but common sight] ad showcasing happy-girly-youth of Bangalore. From the promotion of "Girl Power" to Girl's Shopping Power.
But here comes the interesting part of this post:
As any local tabloid, Bangalore Times is always on the look for Filler-Glamorous articles and pictures. So anything goes, even if it's a shot-of-the-shoot of an ad that is published on the next page.
Bad enough, but here is the fun twist to it: if you take a closer look at the middle girl, she's got metal paper-clips to tighten the bottom of her rolled-up jeans... 'Guess these were mot meant to show!!

[WATCH OUT] Vogue India #1......SEPTEMBER 21

2007-09-08T21:46:00.000+05:30

> link for you to click on :)

"Fashion as Grand as it Gets"

2007-09-07T09:49:00.000+05:30

click on the picture to enlarge

ROHIT BAL, annonced as Wills Lifestyle India Fashion week's Favorite with an Ink-blue dominant & Turkey inspired collection.
Real Grand Fashion or pure media hype around a designer that is as much of a socialite? Something we'll get to know soon...

Fashion + Phone

2007-09-07T00:23:00.000+05:30

First article (picture) after the launch, before the show.

Luxurious Trends

2007-09-06T11:27:00.000+05:30

Geometric, Angular Shapes, Deep Reds & Purpules with the subtle spark of a definite Luxurious Shine.

My prediction: whoever manages to recreate a luxurious plastic-gloss-effect version of velvet might just hit the T[trend]-spot.

2 in 1

2007-09-05T11:14:00.000+05:30

Considering the 2 last post and the eventuality of finding the perfect match while eating (greasy) street food [ which, that said, might cut one's appetite for unhealthy food ] ... Romanticism anyone?

Street Food Packaging Norms

2007-09-04T09:44:00.000+05:30

Alu Bonda and one possible variation of its packaging.

Eco & Wallet-friendly Packaging which also happen to have a great Anti-Boredom-appeal! I always look forward to new surprising associations between the edible content and the content of the packaging itself ("old-news", images, languages, stories...).
And the notion of reading / re-discovering news after 2 weeks, a few months... How do "page 3" people look on a greasy street-food package?!?

KEYWORDS: Packaging with a Content, Surprise Factor, Advertising Twist, Spreading news / Alternatives to getting information.

Simply Marry

2007-09-03T09:32:00.000+05:30

"CLASSIFIED" brides & Grooms.

August 31, September 1,2

2007-08-31T09:20:00.000+05:30

(1,2: "decor" in the conference room ; 3,4,5: NCS Color workshop with Berit Bergstrom).

COLORS INDIA Conference

2007-08-30T16:59:00.000+05:30

I Will be off for a 3 days workshop/conference on Color Trends in India. (conference organized by Freedom Tree Design - more information can be found on their site).

Modernity - REPLY

2007-08-29T16:26:00.000+05:30

click on the image to enlarge.

On the 22nd August, i posted a newspaper article on modernity. The same day, i also wrote to the author of the article. Here is a copy of that mail with his reply.

No "U" Turn

2007-08-28T16:55:00.000+05:30

Influence of SMS language on signage?

S - for SMS and Snack

2007-08-27T16:48:00.000+05:30

"Snack and SMS".
Banana chips & N71... and the importance of one-hand messaging

Touch Screen (...and a girl)

2007-08-26T14:32:00.000+05:30

Newspaper ad for the new HTC P3400.

Calculator in Context

2007-08-25T14:10:00.000+05:30

Spotted at a newly opened supermarket: this old man taking out his phone in order to check his bill amount on the handy calculator While people are quite enthusiastic shopping in westernized retail spaces, the trust level in the technology based billing process doesn't quite match the mutual trust one keeps with shop keepers from local grocery stores (where the bill is often inexistent, scribbled on an old newspaper or verbally reported to the next day / end of the week).

Retro or not Retro? (... and a girl)

2007-08-24T13:50:00.000+05:30

New range of fridges from the popular brand GODrej (nothing to do with deities).
Retro or not Retro? The Indian and Western opinion on this point might differ...

Mall intimacy

2007-08-23T13:48:00.000+05:30

[Colorful] Food-Court on the top floor of a shopping mall. A very popular spot amongst sutdents and middle class families (outing) in the week-ends.

Modernity

2007-08-22T13:15:00.000+05:30

(click on the image to read the full article)

Some of the most interesting points:

Designer Boutique [Display]

2007-08-22T10:35:00.000+05:30

Indian Opulence: Vibrant colors and rich embroderies/sequence work.

Dogs and Gods...

2007-08-21T10:32:00.000+05:30

Glocal Car [another hybrid]

2007-08-20T10:19:00.000+05:30

Indian "status", European quality-standard ad Prestige.

The END of the Ambassador???

Plucking Flowers...

2007-08-19T10:01:00.000+05:30

Young man guiltily looking at me and running away, as i "caught him" plucking flowers from the road-side and carefully arrange them in the pocket of his shirt...
Socially acceptable, yet...

(And yes, the color-match [Green & Orange dash] with the previous post is intended).

Lee Cooper Shoes - Indian Ad

2007-08-18T09:54:00.000+05:30

Is it to do with a word-play between Soul and Soles?????
Find yourself, when a pair of shoes acts as a remedy to [major] identity crisis.

Carrying Things [1]

2007-08-17T09:38:00.000+05:30

Challenging balance and safety.

How do people carry things? What kind of alternatives do they come up with, while adequate transport or infrastructures are not available? How do these solutions affect the cultural perception of what is allowed/safe or not?

Design for all?

2007-08-16T16:11:00.000+05:30

Cars (rather sleek ones that is) made affordable to more people; while the increasing number of vehicles have become the problem #1 of Indian Metropoles [ Development of infrastructures which cannot keep the pace of this rapid change & Pollution ].

Sony Ericson Ad

2007-08-15T11:14:00.000+05:30

I'm not sure...

Phone Abuse

2007-08-14T10:37:00.000+05:30

Mahima, 18 years, Design student.

Proud of the tie she put on especially for her review in college ("It's a cat-cartoony tie", she ads), she was also showing me the sad stage of her phone... "A year old" she says, "and i dropped it so many times, a bus even sort of ran over it".
About a Nokia move: she gave me a demonstration of how, because of the flap being completely loose, she can open it with a single shake of her hand... and close it the same way. She even goes to the extend of flappping it back and forth, appreciating the ryhthm of the clapa-clapa-flap.

She says that if it was an i-phone, yes, she would be oh-so-careful about it, "but i still like this phone", she says,"and it is going to last me for at least two years more". To which she adds: "my previous phone, the 2300, my parents took it away from me and never gave it back to me, replacing it with this one because they were so ashamed of the state it was in, but it worked!"

Something Pink about Today

2007-08-13T10:24:00.000+05:30

Style conscious upper-middle class student in the college bus with her friends ; lower-middle class man on a "Chai-cigarette" break at a local bakery in the outskirts of Bangalore.

Pink beyond gender and class barrieres...

Home-Made Speaker

2007-08-12T23:57:00.000+05:30

Spotted on the ceiling of a local bakery, a home-made speaker, made out of a plasticLota (water container).

Polka Shoes

2007-08-12T23:44:00.001+05:30

Cute polka-dots shoes, spotted on a rather big girl...

Private Bus Standard

2007-08-11T23:03:00.000+05:30

... And you haven't seen the "Photoshop Bus" (eye, magnifier and feather graphic).

New Phone

2007-08-10T09:16:00.000+05:30

Paru, 18 years old, Student in Art and Design (1st year).

I spotted her in the morning taking out her new phone with a contented smile, while we were waiting for the bus. Yes, IT IS a new phone she said, her smile widening further. "I had a Razr before, but one day it just died on me, i was using a friend's phone since then, but yesterday my friend told me that she wanted it back, so i had to get a new one".

She says she likes the color red, because it's Funcky, cool and different. "I like it because it's glossy and matte here at the back. I like the contrast" she adds.

When i asked her about the subtle design/pattern at the back, she answered:
"Yeah, it's nice, i mean, i don't really notice it. There was a pink one, really cool, with flowers. I mean, pink is ok, but these flowers were reaaaally nice. Why didn't i buy it? They didn't have stock and i couldn't wait. An impulsive buy, she agrees, "...plus, i needed a phone!".

When i asked her if she paid for the phone herself, she told me that she had paid part of it while her grandmother had paid for the rest. To which she added: "My mother would never agree to put so much money on a phone. But i got it for 10 [thousand rupees], because my oncle's got a phone shop".

I need to interview this girl in more depth next week, once i get my camera :)

Temple Mobility

2007-08-09T09:12:00.000+05:30

Just got the time to catch this rather fast moving mobile temple in the evening light... I can't recall seeing many of these, so i am not too sure how their itinerary is defined, and when / If they actually ever stop, or just play music and collect money.
I suppose that they would stop and provide whoever offers a few coins or rupee-notes with some kind of an "On the spot Private Worship-time Service"...
Mobile Worship Booth; will one ever consider implementing it with a Puja/Temple at your doorstep service on request??

Innovative (?) Shop Display

2007-08-08T15:31:00.000+05:30

Premium designer boutique at the Leela Palace Galleria

"Interesting" Lamp-Heads... Fusional exploration in retail ligthing and display?

Ear Piece

2007-08-07T09:38:00.000+05:30

Alternative Signage

2007-08-06T14:23:00.000+05:30

Shortcut indication
How often do signals actually provide us with useful informations/directions such as alternative ways?

Nokia/Motorola

2007-08-05T11:54:00.000+05:30

Two interesting articles posted the same day on the "Unwired India" blog. ( Read the articles here )

New Interesting Phone App.

2007-08-04T02:23:00.001+05:30

Get jaxtr | Login

Cool(ing) Can?

2007-08-03T16:22:00.000+05:30

The entery of Canned soft drinks is still recent in the Indian market - it is therefore much more expensive, thus not really popular in a country where value for money is a decisive factor in purchase decision.

Spotted at a small local bakery, this ad for a new - cheaper - Pepsi Can... Looks like COOL ones got to have it.

(did she know that) She'd Spotted it Right (?)

2007-08-02T15:43:00.000+05:30

"Super bright yellow, mixed with some orange to create a flowing print" - Color forecast Fall 2007.

Every morning, on my way to the Studio, i get drown in the irremediably bright color-flow of (female) workers on their way to the factory.

Lateral-LITERAL Thinking

2007-08-01T16:55:00.000+05:30

While on a Rishaw ride this morning, i was noticing the Literal nature of visual translation in many street graphics. Some of them are so literal they end-up being quite amazing (will post an example soon, spotted one i HAVE TO shoot).

And here is a milk pot i spotted at the CHA BAR later on today. A wonderful example of literal 3D translation.

Designers in the West push the boundaries of Lateral Thinking.
But Indian designers seems to have cracked their own way to break-through thinking - sourcing inspiration from their own visual culture and pushing the boundaries of Literal Thinking.

Self-Conscious Ride

2007-07-31T11:15:00.000+05:30

Did the rickshaw driver stick this advertisement at the rear of his vehicule after realizing that lighter passengers would give him better mileage?

Charm(ing) Aesthetic

2007-07-30T09:38:00.001+05:30

Middle-Class Perfect

2007-07-29T11:56:00.000+05:30

Along with the middle-class, the rise of Apartment Complexes, mushrooming wherever - minimal - space allows it.
From bright orange / sky-blue, to lemon-yellow / pink, to purple and white... The (doubtful?) color-combinations seem to have nothing to do with the traditional brightness of Indian landscapes, not even do they blend harmoniously with their immediate environment.

Jarring.

Peculiar Style-Status-Statement of the urban middle-class: Being seen seems to be all that counts: one's gotta keep pace with other - consumerist - rats in the race: when good taste is been measured by the number of looks it attracts, harmony and simplicity are values which are soon forgotten.

Interesting to see here how the owner of the building implicitly excludes the eventuality of potential Muslim (an important population of that area), and maybe Christian tenants by embedding (displaying?) large Hindu symbols on the facade...

Numbing the Rational and Sharpening the Eye

2007-07-28T23:59:00.000+05:30

The Smart Indian

2007-07-27T21:48:00.000+05:30

(Keeping my hands in a slightly different cultural pocket).

Today while attending the second day of a 2 days market research seminar (MRSI), my thought-flow rose slightly when one of the speaker - presenting a case study - mentioned the need for market strategies which could minimize the scope for "the smart Indian" to intervene (he was referring to refills of printer's cartridges).

What struck me at that point was: why wouldn't one observe and learn from the genius - fantastic out-of the box thinking - of peculiar problem-solving systems of a given culture, in order to spot new market opportunities and create innovative service/sale formats that will suit both party (i.e: their interests) better?

And here comes the link [ literally ] with the picture above. I'll let you check it out for yourselves, as i don't see a need to paraphrase the linked article.

Signing off on this thought: how can we learn from the "smart Indian" and try to become smart Indians ourselves?
What makes us believe so strongly that we need to "create designs for India"? Aren't we becoming like the child who just cannot see why his cube will never pass through the circular hole?
Why don't we instead validate (acknowledge & appreciate) Indian values* we could adopt ourselves and integrate at a global level?
(*values Indians would genuinely relate to).

Civilized Littering

2007-07-26T19:08:00.000+05:30

Context: 5 stars Hotel, marketing conference, business discussion = Serious / Formal.
Need: to dispose of the "used" (or in fact the not useful anymore - i.e:cup).
Obstacle: Lack of a "disposing area" at hand's reach.
Concern area: Manners.
Option 1: Interrupt the discussion to abandon the cup at an appropriate spot = impolite.
Option 2: Discretely leave the cup in an inappropriate area = not a mannered behavior.

To what extend can the limits of politeness and what is considered as socially acceptable stretch according to the context? How much does Culture affect these perceptions and how does one deal with these in a multi-cultural context? Whose notion of what is considered as polite - or not - takes over the other?

In a given society, does the fact that other people have dared to take action, affect the notion of what is socially acceptable? Or even call to a chain reaction (ie: liberate those who were stuck in the same dilemma)?

Are trends the style version of such a phenomena?

Modern Urban LIFE-STYLE

2007-07-25T19:21:00.000+05:30

As simple as it gets: When pre-packaged, ready to adopt life-styles can just be picked up from shops... For those who can afford it.

More on Mehendi...

2007-07-24T09:59:00.000+05:30

What happens when, abstracted from their core meanings or embedded stories, traditional patterns are used by people who are not aware of their signification or who do not grasp entirely their deeper meanings?

What are the consequences when, as a foreigner, i get inspired by Mehendi patterns and create my own designs, purely considering aesthetics and personal expression?
How big are the risks for misunderstandings to occur and get me into trouble? Is such an act socially acceptable?
Would people feel flattered and perceive my hand as a way for me to show my admiration and interest in their culture or would they get offended?
How protective are people with their own cultural heritage, and to what extent are they ready to let people - strangers - alter it?

On the other hand (the one without mehendi!), the fact that i do not have any knowledge of the connotations tied to the patterns, frees me from prejudices and allows me to be creative. Could that lead to the emergence of a new form that would not be considered as offending anymore?

Embeded Stories

2007-07-23T10:59:00.000+05:30

Screenshot from a Flickr page.
Patterns as a way to code stories that only the initiated can read. When belonging to a community entails the knowledge of that language - and the question of how does one learn it.
Who teaches it - or transmits it - and how?
Will one be taught how to merely decode or how to code (and create/share stories) as well? - i.e: edit / read only features on shared digital media.
Within that language, how much of one's own coding can be done so as to keep one's own secrets?
And when one doesn't know how to code, who does it? Is it someone entitled to do so or anyone who can? Does the coding of the story requires a ritual to take place and if that is the case, how much of that ceremony is linked to the "story" itself?

About the notion of secrets itself: Who do we share our secrets with? To what extent is the act of sharing secrets part of the socializing process? How do we share them and for how long do we keep them within the secret realm?(i.e: comment on the above picture).
How are secrets received, or, to what extend does one feels special or subconsciously classifies it as a different kind of data?

Consumption Patterns: CHOICE (1)

2007-07-22T17:45:00.000+05:30

Prepaid "talk plans" matching existing consumption formats.
The grocery store acts here as a source of information: an observation site where core/established consumption patterns can be highlighted in order to understand people's needs & lifestyles (and therefore anticipate their expectations better).