What do you feel when you see this?
Unsure? Irritated? Even panicked?
Today there is Panic because we can’t see the future. But isn't that the nature of the future?
We can FEEL that it will probably be a dramatically different future due to this pandemic.
But why is the future so unpredictable for us today?
I guess it is because the Now is in total and unpredictable flux. We are navigating a whole new Normal, a different pace of change, and a rapidly shifting set of rules to live by.
But this is not just due to the pandemic — and the revised version we are facing this year in the second wave… But even before the pandemic, the world has been hurtling towards the unknown with exponential speed.
The Global market system is affected by the volatile dominant market fluctuations and designers are also considered labour for sale and not creators of value.
Technology has been constantly changing and developing.
a lot of designers feel their jobs are at risk.
Today sources of livelihood so unpredictable, stressful, and not the best space to be for creating anything.
YET we cannot resign to it. What can we really DO?
Let us focus on the NOW
Yesterday I shared an old outlook article about how tribal communities don’t see the coronavirus epidemic as a war — instead it's a symptom of other malaise.
The primary malaise of our modern world is the lack of mindfulness. A constant race to catch up — to what? we don’t know.
That same malaise is deeply affected our design practices — one look at Instagram and you can feel it.
The need for this talk emerged from the realization that design practice or in fact any kind of work, needs mindfulness. Not necessarily the Yoga kind of mindfulness but the need to give active thought to the doing process.
I put together what I feel I had learned through 20 years of my varied practice and the journey this far seems strangely connected — even though while traversing it seemed disconnected and without focus.
The Dots connect backward — and wisdom — if any — can emerge Only by Doing.
Here are 5 important steps
that emerged as a process to develop ones own unique Practice no matter what the specialization or profession might be
# 1 Be Agile — learn to learn
I would easily call this the most important piece of advice that has served me well.
The current scenario across all fields needs us to be alert, flexible, and quick to respond. The key is to be responsive and not reactive. It’s like when life throws stuff at you, don't try to catch it all. Instead — it is way better to take a minute to limber up and then do what you need to catch just One or Two and deal with them with focus.
#2 Build a Process — Be focused yet Iterative
The Design Process is an essential building block. It is a framework that works for you and with you. It is meant to allow you the freedom to create while keeping you pegged to outcomes and able to collaborate. It shouldn’t be so rigid a structure that it nullifies step 1, of being Agile. It should allow the FLOW of creating — with a sense of direction.
#3 Free Time— and yourself
Change your relationship with time…
If you denote ‘conceptual work’ as a DOT.
And denote the ‘doing of the work’ as a DASH
— where Dot is a smaller quantum of time than a dash
Over the course of time — our practice looks like a combination of dots and dashes instead of one never-ending line. That makes it feel less overwhelming and easier to approach.
This helps chunking down a project through the process and helps build a repeatable process.
The other way of shifting your equation with Time is to identify a few different kinds of projects within your practice. The diversity forces a change in pace and approach.
Example: We take on Title Design, Short films, Films for museums, performance design, and also workshops. It forces us to keep changing our pace of work and keeps it fresh.
# 4 Be Authentic to yourself.
This is a key factor for building a practice. Whether it's an independent practice or a studio, authenticity is the source for creating the spectrum within which the practice operates. It not only creates the style of work you produce and get known for — but also informs the kind of projects that you would take up and deliver well.
To arrive at that authentic voice one was is to travel back in time.
What did you want to be when you were a kid? There is some raw truth in it — it’s worth listening to — if they are ignored they often come back to bite. But this is not about wanting to be a security officer without knowing what the job entails.
While sifting through your interests — try to put them into a list — differentiate between your passions from your niches.
I had no clue of politics and still don’t — but I wanted to be Indira Gandhi when I was some 5 years old — I think… that one I’ll surely ignore…
But if you look at the rest of it — it is all a mish-mash of nerdy — crafty — creepy and graceful things.
I had taken on animation at NID as I thought it was a melting pot of everything I was interested in. I assumed it would channelize my passions into niches.
# 5 Build an ecosystem
If you want to go fast — go alone
if you want to go far — go together
— african proverb
Build a team that works together with co-creators and collaborators.
Please note this is nothing like the vibe of “find your tribe”
This is not a club — nor a group of people hanging out. Instead, it is an ecosystem where there is an integration of life and livelihood within a shared circle of values.
Here it is a culmination of all the other points at a deeper level. It is the need to have a community that is agile, with a workflow that supports true co-creation and innovation. With the integration of projects for professional work with the life we lead — freeing up time to create what's relevant to your authentic self.
You might be able to appreciate where we have arrived with these little steps taken over time. This step is by no means an overnight feat. Building an ecosystem that supports your life, lifestyle and livelihood will naturally take a long time. If it is seen as a Work In Progress it's much easier to get started on it.
Watch the talk here
When I step back and look at the larger picture — it leads me to one focus area of my practice today
Rebirth of Storytelling traditions in liberated technologies
This is the point of intersection of most of our studio projects. We strive to include our clients, team, interns as part of the ecosystem either as collaborators