The road less travelled
When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.
Wanting the truth is the most important first step you can take towards finding your inner wisdom. As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its second year it will be etched in the individual and collective memory of humanity as yet another year where we all grapple within ourselves to find answers to unasked questions.
There were cumulative efforts that played out this Spring in the Communication Design discipline as the graduating students worked on their thesis projects notwithstanding the external turmoil. The creative process and the healing process arise from a single source. Students have indeed shown great resilience as they conclude their academic journey showcasing the power of creativity and storytelling that inspire the human spirit!
“Life is like a box of chocolates…You never know what you’re gonna get”
As the second wave of the pandemic sweeps through India, there is a growing nostalgia for familiar places that engulfs most of us locked within our four walls!
Anantika Sethi from the graduating batch of Communication Design 2021 at Parsons tries to bring back the magic of a bygone era.
Indian traditions are deep-rooted and customs are inherently passed through each generation in a series of experiences that can be termed as a genetic coding celebrated through the sixth sense. Anantika Sethi speculates a range of collectables, ‘Stories Of India’ through the brand Cadbury; as what the soul craves in these times of crisis is maybe a piece of chocolate and memories galore! This thesis project is a sensorial interface between the matter and mind as most urban dwellers reminiscence the moments of their favourite places pan India with inherited pride.
Let’s breathe and pause and cherish the moments in time when we could indeed breathe!
For the love of my land
The 2020–2021 Indian farmers’ protest is an ongoing plea against three farm acts that were passed by the Parliament of India in September 2020. Farmer unions and their representatives have demanded that the laws be repealed and have stated that they will not accept a compromise. Our farmers have proven to contribute for aeons towards the country’s economic growth, what they need now is for us to trust them and their food.
The government, however, maintains that the laws will make it effortless for farmers to sell their produce directly to big buyers, and stated that the protests are based on misinformation. In a complex cosmos of relationships, and as a civilization — to watch the anguish in the hands that feed us is agonizing.
Riya Kamdar graduating batch of Communication Design 2021 lends a creative solution with a strategic communication campaign and a sustainable packaging solution.
It is what it is!
“The darkest moments of our lives are not to be buried and forgotten, rather they are a memory to be called upon for inspiration to remind us of the unrelenting human spirit and our capacity to overcome the intolerable”- Vince Lombardi
Depression is initially a reaction. A reaction to a life that you never imagined would be yours. A reaction to stress and a seeming inability to change your situation. It is a non-acceptance of how things are or were. It is a lack of self-care and giving too much of yourself to others. It is deep anger at injustice or unfairness in life. It is the lack of energy to take any more of what life has for you. It is the deep sadness and regret. It is the loss of a loved one that has left an abyss in your soul.
Trisha Bachkaniwala graduating batch of Communication Design 2021, speculates how India the most depressed country in the world can heal itself!
Preservation of human dignity even amid the most dispiriting of circumstances she is targeting is 16–24 years old. Making a safe space for them to use art as therapy and emphasizing the value of ‘listening’ and healing along with the importance of self-care.
The Universe is a strange place
“The truth is, we know so little about life, we don’t really know what the good news is and what the bad news is”- Frank Wilczek
Even as the Lab-Leak Hypothesis for COVID-19 gathers momentum and the political furore over who is responsible for the state of the current world is in limbo. There is no more fertile a region of subjectivity than the individual mind — as human efforts to understand the uncontainable, the unknown and the unseen…is a quest millions of years in the making.
Soumya Poddar graduating batch of Communication Design 2021 investigates how our mind, body and soul work together to form a system of energy. This interdependent unseen energy that we experience in one part of this triad translates through the system as the human body is a complex primitive life form evolving through centuries. To address one problem we need to address all three through holistic healing.
Food for the Soul
“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well if one has not dined well”- Virginia Woolf
Food is a form of art, and it is artists who have delighted in the creation of the gustatory experience. But can we think of our mother as an artist? The new world order has indeed sprung many surprises as working from home has posed new challenges. The commuting time is replaced by doing household chores namely cooking which has somehow become the primary event shaping our wellbeing and health!
Daily cooking is indeed a provocative work of art disguised as labour and not given enough credit. To empower and liberate the soul by the presence of art in everyday life Trishala Parmar' graduating batch of Communication Design manifesto is to revitalize culture by revolutionizing what people eat and how people eat daily.
Animal Farm, Animal Farm Never through me shalt thou come to harm!
As we face a series of natural disasters both in India and globally, George Orwell’s allegorical novel transcends time and space and has both moral and ethical application even today as it had in its specific circumstances.
The last couple of years have seen a great spike in the number of people turning vegan. But what is Veganism exactly? It is primarily a philosophical movement that rejects the death, suffering, and exploitation of animals. It’s an ethical consumer choice that one makes each day that creates all the difference. Nidhi Shah graduating batch of Communication Design with her love for our four-legged inhabitants of this planet speculates a green future.
India, Got Milk?
The push towards self-reliance and revival of local industries brought into perspective that it’s now time to look back at what is ours — Ayurveda, a medical science born more than 4000 years ago, that an entire civilisation relied upon emphasizes living in harmony with nature, the balance of bodily energies and the use of spices to prevent and cure ailments.
Smiti Murarka graduating batch of Communication Design goes back to her roots and looks deep into her culture celebrating the goodness of traditional Ayurveda as a new age dawns…The age of immunity!
And Miles to Go Before I Sleep
This silence is more deafening than the hoots of traffic. No one seems to be awake, in the city that never sleeps... Social distancing has not only affected us physically but also mentally. The pandemic has managed to put the entire world on hold. Many governments have issued stay-at-home orders and many lockdowns ensue threatened by the next wave of the virus variant.
However, over long periods, social isolation can increase the risk of a variety of health problems, including heart disease, depression, dementia, and even death. That may be because social contact can buffer the negative effects of stress. Paurali Patil graduating batch of Communication Design 2021 at ISDI Parsons believes that providing design solutions by changing how we interact, live and work can lead to a new lifestyle without getting overwhelmed to make our “new lives” as normal as possible. Click for more
“The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.” Robert Frost
Students have engaged in various speculative design-based solutions in an academic space. Disclaimer: All creatives are hypothetical classroom projects. All rights reserved — 2 0 21 — Creative Mentor: Program Director Communication Design: Prof. Utkarsha Malkar
UTKARSHA M. | Author | Design Thinker | Creator - A desire to understand the world and to improve it always remains at the core. As I speculate and design, my liberty of self-expression is in direct correlation to my existence and knowledge. https://www.utkarshaofficial.com/
