Draw a flower, carefully unfurling its petals. Follow the line of its sinuous stem, adding tendrils to its flow, extending and multiplying their curves, sprouting a bud here and a leaf exactly there. Repeat, with loose wrist and elegant variation, and an ornament is born. Surely making and looking at them an innocent even natural,… Continue reading Gilt and Pleasure
Tag: design
Specialists vs Generalists
A human being, wrote sci-fi writer Robert Heinlein, should be able to fight, write poetry and die gallantly, among 18 more things. Specialisation, he famously said, is for insects. This is typical of the scorn for specialisation shown humanists. They romance generalism, specialisation’s antithetical shadow, extolling its unbounded roaming, its quest for wisdom, universality, and a… Continue reading Specialists vs Generalists
The Business of Consulting
In the last decade, the more far-seeing set of mature, large businesses has been making hopeful approaches towards design. Their ardour comes from seeing design as a source of competitive advantage, and has been reported on widely. This column, too: we labelled Apple, Airbnb, Google and their increasing tribe as ‘digital darlings’. In their wake,… Continue reading The Business of Consulting
Numb and Number
We live in the age of data: we marvel at it, fret over it and depend on it. To an unprecedented degree, data, or observations that can be counted, is the boss of our factual universe. Own the data and you own the conversation. Further, sight trumps the senses, and we live in the era… Continue reading Numb and Number
A Class Apart
A drawing room sofa upholstered with bold graphics runs the risk of showing poor taste. But sofa cushions, by convention, are a license for graphic fun. My sofa set sports a smart black and white set (pictured) of four, with printed and crudely embroidered naive drawings. They picture: a bicycle; a hand pulled rickshaw; an… Continue reading A Class Apart
Dear Chief Design OfficerA Class Apart
Dear Chief Design Officer You don’t know me, but as Chairman of this company, I created and gave you your job. Congratulations on being the first Indian CDO in India of a major company. It’s up to you now to make my gamble work. It wasn’t easy to convince the board. Yes, we all agree… Continue reading Dear Chief Design OfficerA Class Apart
A Carol For A Brand New Christmas
In a saucepan, on medium heat, bring to a boil 3 cups of milk, a cup or so of heavy cream, 3 inch-long cinnamon sticks, vanilla (bean/pods or vanilla essence) and a teaspoon of grated nutmeg. Switch off the heat. Separately, beat 5 egg yolks and sugar until thick ribbons form. Slowly whisk in the… Continue reading A Carol For A Brand New Christmas
Visionary Position: Design on Top
Look around you and you likely wouldn’t know it, if you are reading this in print in a developing country, but business is getting very, very attracted to design. If, on the other hand, you are reading this on a screen in a G-8 country, this may seem like settled fact. This is a consummation… Continue reading Visionary Position: Design on Top
Good design: It’s all in the mind
It seems unarguable that designers carry a psychological armoury that makes their work effective. That, not manual skill, is why we trust them with our businesses, or not. Without it, designers would miss their only target: other people. If you are looking for ways to use psychology to boost the value of your design rupee,… Continue reading Good design: It’s all in the mind
Hello, Good Lookin’
In the popular mind, for longer than we can remember, the role of designers has been to make beautiful things. Understandably so. Up until the 19th century, the word design meant a ‘pattern’, to decorate, or manufacture utilitarian objects, such as a Wedgwood china teapot or a brass surahi from a ‘manufactory’ in Moradabad. Even… Continue reading Hello, Good Lookin’