how Smitha designs: from, how, what, with, for, through & other ideas
I’ve always viewed myself as a jigsaw puzzle - my interests, knowledge and experiences all swirl in a whirlwind of colour and form. I have been actively collecting these pieces so far and I hope to continue doing so through my creative practice, enabling my holistic development as a media agnostic designer who blurs the lines between art, design, film and technology.
Born into a family of filmmakers, printers, and designers, I grew up steeped in India’s rich art, culture and heritage. Indian craft, architecture, landscapes, language, textiles and performing arts are recurring themes in my work and will be integral to my future projects as well. It defines who I am, my identity and keeps me rooted to centuries of history.
My work often draws on language and communication with the use of typography, symbols and graphic forms, occasionally even by adding an element of play, humour or surprise, or even a sense of awe. I am enthusiastic about visual development for film and books, and have positioned past projects at the intersection of concept art and graphic design. I intend to take this further in the future using motion graphics to develop title sequences.
In his book, The Medici Effect, Frans Johansson introduces the term intersectional ideas, and talks about how ideas and inspiration, usually the random ones, born at unexpected crossroads are striking and unique, especially in the context of creative practice (Johansson 13).
Design, film, mathematics, nature, advertising, photography, art history, illustration, food, travel, culture, craft, storytelling and paper mechanics are just some of my many interests. I like to call this extensive and ever-growing list my creative goo (formerly: big box of sunshine. ****I often try combining these facets and incorporating them in my projects. I see myself as a lifelong learner, always curious about the world around me, always asking questions and always drawing parallels.
