Arvind Lodaya — “I think the term ‘designer’ is by definition a multi-faceted role”
Arvind Lodaya is a Product Designer by training, but now consults on branding, design and tech, service & business innovation. He was the Dean at Srishti for eight years and is currently engaged in design pedagogy while continuing his design consultancy, ALo Consulting.
What kinds of different hats have you had to put on while working in a designer’s shoes? Which such role/project was most challenging?
I think the term “designer” is by definition a multi-faceted (multi-hatted if you like) role — possibly the closest parallel is an entrepreneur. For me, that includes making & serving tea, doing field interviews and co-creation sessions with community groups, making visual notes of group meetings and sharing it back as minutes, dumping stuff into Excel and sorting the data, working at 2 am on a product prototype in a small fabrication unit, going out at 4 am to celebrate with youngsters at an all-night joint, trying to translate and articulate principles of composition and Gestalt in vernacular for the benefit of craftists, pitching an innovation idea to a bunch of bigwigs at Apple… the list goes on and on. The only thing that is constant is that one has one’s sleeves rolled up, and is in the thick of action on the ground — whatever it takes.
The most challenging perhaps was collaborating with Business Consulting people to dovetail the design sub-piece into their consulting macro-piece — since their attention-spans are so small and so focussed on monetisability, and their attitude of knowing it all (which is substantially valid) and hence listening to only what they want to hear. I know this sounds awful (and it was), but at the same time extremely rewarding, educative and inspiring too.
Fill in the blank: Being a design professional is NOT hard, if you are open, persevering and optimistic.
Fill in the blank: Being a design professional IS a great career option in the current business environment.
What is the most valuable (design) lesson you’ve learnt from someone who is not a design practitioner?
Actually, most of my valuable design+life lessons have been learnt from individuals who aren’t/weren’t ‘designers’ — the first was to learn your client’s business and speak their language (from a marketing guru), another was to engage with your audience at their level and on their terms of reference (from an educationist guru).
What would you say is the defining characteristic of “Indian” design? Do you think there is a modern visual language that is specific to India?
Hard to pin anything down as definitive, without risking stereotyping. But certainly, a couple of recurring attributes are resource-scarcity and diversity/heterogeneity.
Again, I resist the temptation to box something specific and contextual as general or universal on visual language. But what I can offer is not a language but a paradigm which I would agree underlies our contemporary visual languages — and that is hybridity. However, that is true not only of India but virtually every post-colonial culture in the world.
What can a student/fresh graduate and an experienced professional learn from each other in the design industry?
Fresher: can learn how to be meticulous, answerable and gracious
Pro: can learn how to avoid becoming stale, cynical, jaded
Do creative professionals have pet peeves? What is yours?
Do they? I have no idea. Mine would be hypocrisy/double-standards and sycophancy.
How has being in Bangalore enriched your creative process? What have you learnt from the city?
Bangalore has been completely enlivening for my personal and professional growth. I returned to technology from my Product Design origins thanks to the overwhelming tech culture prevailing here, and I was able to attain international levels of professionalism from its global-hub positioning and enterprise thanks to its vibrant and exciting startup ethos. On the other hand, I imbibed a new level of cultural rootedness while being highly cosmopolitan thanks to its amazing cultural institutions and innovations. Last but not least, the city has a phenomenal talent pool in the area of social impact & innovation — be it environment, education, social justice & diversity, spirituality…
And finally, to wrap up — How do you spend a perfect Sunday in Bangalore? Any specific recommendations or must-trys?
Bangalore is blessed with its incredibly temperate weather, great microbreweries and eateries — and amazing destinations which can be reached in under six hours. However, my favourite Sunday thing is having an unending brunch with good friends/family and steaming cups of filter coffee or ginger tea.
You can find Arvind on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lodaya/.
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/
