Aditi Agrawal — “I think it’s always a collaboration between old and the new to come up with the best solution.”

A graduate in Furniture Design from the National Institute of Design, Aditi is a co-founder of Studio Gudgudee, which specialises in indoor and outdoor play spaces and furniture for children. We spoke to her about design, her work and the lessons you learn from children.

Fill in the blank: Being a design professional IS fun!

Fill in the blank: Being a design professional is NOT easy

What kinds of different hats have you had to put on while working in a designer’s shoes? Which such role was most challenging?
When you’re running your own design studio you have to put on a 100 roles! You can’t be just a designer. From being in accounting, to being a site manager, to a business development person, to marketing, to website development — everything. Everything has had its challenges. For example, accounting is still very complex and I find it difficult. Business development too — it didn’t come naturally to us to pitch to clients and talk about ourselves, but now I think we are better at it than when we started.

What would you say is the defining characteristic of “Indian” design?
It’s the local flavour — most designers in some way or the other (if not consciously also) have a local flavour because of the availability of skills and materials. I think that’s what makes it unique and gives it a certain identity.

When designing for children, do you use any different methods or research tools for this context?
For sure. We work in collaboration with a lot of child psychologists, occupational therapists, parents and teachers. Their understanding and experience allows us to understand what does and doesn’t appeal to children. Play isn’t just a physical activity, it’s nature’s way of developing a child’s brain. If a child does not do certain actions or play in a certain way at a certain age, it means something in his/her brain was not developed. So we have a lot of discussions about how beyond physical play, there have to be certain elements so that it’s not just fun but also developmentally appropriate.

What is the most valuable (design) lesson you’ve learnt from someone who is not a design practitioner? What about the children you’ve worked for?
Oh yeah! We have had a lot of instances where we thought that “oh, the children are going to use it this way”, but then we go and build it and see this is not the only way — there are many more dangerous ways of using it (laughs). I think children are the best teachers.

It must be fun!
Yes the design process is also a lot of fun, because you have to think from a child’s perspective and it’s quite entertaining.

What can a student/fresh graduate and an experienced professional learn from each other in the design industry? How are their ways of working different?
I think the most obvious ones are — because fresh graduates haven’t seen that much, they are very open to new ideas and therefore it’s easy for them to accept new things and think in very abstract and different ways. On the other hand, for older designers, that can become a bit difficult because they’ve seen too much and they know a lot of constraints. At the same time, young designers sometimes don’t think through their designs. I think it’s always a collaboration between old and the new to come up with the best solution.

How has being in Bangalore enriched your creative process? What have you learnt from the city?
It’s about how open people are about new ideas — I think that is something that’s not there in other cities. I’ve worked in other cities before, but I think Bangalore is especially open to new ideas. They understand that this [something new] could also work, and don’t object on the first instance.

And finally, to wrap up — How would you spend a perfect Sunday in Bangalore?
Sitting by one of the lakes, sketching — in nice weather, not in this rainy weather!

Follow Studio Gudgudee on Instagram at @studiogudgudee
Website: https://www.gudgudee.in/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gudgudeeplayspaces/

This interview is a part of a series of conversations with designers from Bengaluru called ADI Diaries. You can find more interviews here.

Participate in Bengaluru Design Week at http://www.blrdesignweek.com/