BY Suresh Eriyat
Founder and Creative Director, Eeksaurus
During a recent trip to Japan, I came across a novel invention. A clip holding the spoon to the mug while I sip on my coffee! Simple yet so efficient! Fighting a spoon slipping to the corners of your mouth is a problem faced by many. This was just one of the unique simple design techniques that I happened to chance upon. In the Indian context, the way your local ‘bhurji wala’ cuts an egg with a four string wire or how a home-maker works her way around the kitchen to the logos of brands such as SBI, Air India and Hindustan Unilever have caught my eye. Each one of them, from the colour to the pattern, have been conceptualized to send a very subconscious message to the consumer. Therefore, design is a part of every person’s personality, something that is in its being and sub consciousness. Looking around me, I believe the world is full of design. It’s an ongoing process, wherein design is not necessarily a complex set of patterns that most people believe it to be.
Although I have grown in the industry to understand design very intrinsically, it’s a form of expression. When applied to the ad world, this process takes a more consciousform. Unlike a layman who uses it to attain temporary results, a designer’s form leads the way for a more concrete process in order to create the desired impact. In creating ad campaigns that are uniquely distinctive from one another, we identify elements that work positively for the brand. Every idea is thoroughly scrutinized and analysed in detail so as to be free of any form of subjectivity. Whereas my first assignment at the Famous House of Animation - driven by pure passion for creativity - helped me understand the market better, it also created stories for the brands and audiences across all genres. Basic solutions sometimes lie before us, but we are too busy to notice. While creative ingredients and passion always lie at the core of brand campaigns, following the design process enables us to create compelling stories.
In the same way that brands need to create stories to connect with the consumer, a layman uses them to face challenges on a daily basis. A mother convincing her child to drink milk already knows his likes and dislikes and hence creates a whole fantasy story to get him to drink it. Her art lies in not only weaving a story that would interest her child but also sensing the best time to share it. The same learning goes for us when we give life to an ad campaign. We look at ourselves as the facilitators who consciously redefine the norms to create future trends. Each brand has its own story to share, and we are the creative links that ensure a symbiotic relationship between the story and changing market trends.
The design process can be compared to the experience of standing in a crowded place, with everything moving around at a fast pace, yet having the patience to think and observe the minor nuances of the immediate environment.
Feedback: suresh@studioeeksaurus.com
