Amit Mirchandani — “A designer cannot be content — this is both a blessing and a curse!”
Amit Mirchandani is the Managing & Creative director at Lucid Design, a multidisciplinary design studio in Bengaluru. He completed his BFA in Industrial Design from California College of the Arts, but has gone on to work in domains as diverse as branding, user experience and environment design. As a part of Lucid, he has been the recipient of multiple awards, including the Red Dot Design Award and the ID Annual Design Review. Apart from running a design studio, he is a partner and co-founder at Chinita Real Mexican Food, a design-led restaurant chain that is immensely popular with the young Bengaluru crowd. We asked him a few questions.
Fill in the blank: To design is to be able to make and live with change.
Fill in the blank: A designer cannot be content — this is both a blessing and a curse!
What kind of sensory experience is the most challenging to design for? Can you elucidate with an example from your projects?
At Lucid we work on brands, products, websites, graphics, packaging, spaces and films. While these projects have challenges specific to them and affect one or a few senses at a time, the most challenging project we’ve worked on was a small chain of restaurants called Chinita. It was a multi-sensory experience that required careful thought and curation. Since my wife was the Head Chef, my company Lucid and I were involved in not just the naming, identity design, interior design, menu and website design, but also the design of the food, the taste, the smells, the presentation and experience of being at one of Chinita’s locations and enjoying a meal. Chinita is a Mexican food brand and we went after a taqueria style- minimal modern experience with really authentic food!
What is the most valuable (design) lesson you’ve learnt from someone who is not a design practitioner?
I think about ways to improve things all the time. I’m aligning things of no consequence constantly. I’m regularly searching for order. And I’m always minimising and removing extraneous elements. However having two kids aged 6 and 2 is a real eye opener in terms of valuable design lessons which are:
- Don’t forget to just be.
- Be present and aware.
- Think about the people you are designing for.
- Always search for a universally acceptable design solution no matter what the project.
What would you say is the defining characteristic of contemporary “Indian” design? Do you think there is a modern visual language that is specific to India?
There is a modern visual language specific to India and it’s just starting to be realised more in the mainstream. Until recently, Indian modern design in the mainstream was often kitschy and badly resolved. However we are starting to see new brands like Nicobar, and established brands like Shyam Ahuja really build products that are truly global in their appeal but with a clear Indian language.
Are there any underrated skills taught (or not taught) in design schools that you’ve found to be surprisingly invaluable as a professional designer?
Trusting a process to deliver results, effective communication, understanding psychology, assigning value to work, empathy, management of timeliness, management of people — clients and a team. These are all invaluable skills needed to do anything well. Some are taught, but a lot is learned when you first start working and actually get to see how the rubber meets the road.
What is your pet peeve as a creative professional?
My pet peeve is people not doing the very best they can, or not wanting to be the best that they can be. I can’t stand substandard work!
In your personal opinion, what should be the defining theme/element in the brand identity for the city of Bengaluru?
The defining theme should be the reduction of visual noise and chaos. We are extremely pro-trees and we should build on that. We need order and work of a certain quality so we can build systems upon fully-functioning systems or the problems will just get worse and worse. And finally we need to care a lot more about cleanliness. This really should be a garden city.
And finally, to wrap up — How do you spend a perfect Sunday in Bangalore? Any recommendations or must-trys?
A perfect Sunday usually involves hanging out in our terrace garden with my wife and kids when we wake up. Maybe a trip to a park for a bike ride. Then a late brunch with friends at either an old Bangalore hotel restaurant or a restaurant like Fab Cafe, Yauatcha or Chinita. Then an afternoon movie at home. A massage in the evening followed by a quiet dinner rounds off a perfect day.
Lucid Design Website: http://www.lucid.co.in/
Instagram @luciddesignindia
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/LucidDesignIndia/
This interview is a part of a series of conversations with designers from Bengaluru called ADI Diaries. You can find more interviews here.
