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Summary

Channa Daswatte reflects on what walls really mean and why they matter in architecture and society. From power, control and separation to memory, heritage and sustainability, he looks at how walls shape people and places. The conversation moves from Chikkajala, Hampi and the Berlin Wall to the future, where digital boundaries may become the new walls that control how we connect. The episode is part of The Gyaan Project’s fifth year of collaboration with The Drawing Board, an international architecture competition hosted by Rohan Builders and Mindspace Architects.

About the guest

Channa Daswatte is a Sri Lankan architect, design critic and writer. He is principal architect and partner at MICD Associates and has authored several books.

Who should listen

• Architecture students and young architects who want to think beyond plans and sections and understand architecture as lived experience.

• Architects and designers interested in how walls shape power, control, movement, memory and human relationships.

• People working with heritage, conservation and public space who want to think about how old structures can evolve instead of simply being preserved or demolished.

• Anyone curious about how physical and digital boundaries influence society, culture and the way we connect with each other.

Topics discussed in the episode

• 0:00 Introduction

• 1:25 What does a wall mean to you?

• 4:07 Is building walls a human thing?

• 8:45 Does the physicality of a wall define its function?

• 10:15 How can a wall connect two worlds?

• 13:58 What can we learn from the history of walls?

• 17:40 What should architects understand before drawing?

• 22:29 Why do we break walls?

• 26:59 What will walls look like 50 years from now?

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  Reference links

• The Drawing Board

• The Drawing Board 2026 on YouTube

• The Drawing Board on Instagram

• The Drawing Board 2026 on Facebook

• Channa Daswatte on Instagram

• Channa Daswatte at Geoffrey Bawa

• Channa Daswatte at Barefoot Gallery

• MICD Associates

• Channa Daswatte in Elle Decor

• Channa Daswatte at Bengal Institute

• Channa Daswatte on Life Online

• Channa Daswatte on YouTube

• Channa Daswatte on LinkedIn

• Channa Daswatte at Galle Literary Festival

If a wall has lost the purpose it was built for, should we preserve it, adapt it or leave it alone? Would love to know your thoughts.

Prem Chandavarkar looks at the wall as more than a physical boundary. He speaks about trust, porosity, beauty, public life, inhabitation and the growing divide between physical and digital worlds. The episode is part of The Gyaan Project’s fifth year of collaboration with The Drawing Board, an international architecture competition hosted by Rohan Builders and Mindspace Architects.

About the guest

Architect, academic and writer Prem Chandavarkar is managing partner of CnT Architects and former executive director of Srishti Manipal Institute of Art Design & Technology.

Who should listen

• Architecture students and young architects who want to think beyond form and function, and understand architecture through space, inhabitation and experience.

• Architects, urban designers and planners interested in how walls shape trust, safety, public life, exclusion and the way cities are organised.

• Designers and creative practitioners interested in beauty, practice, sadhana and the difference between designing something and how people actually experience it.

• Anyone thinking about our digital future and what we lose when physical and digital life become increasingly disconnected.

Topics discussed in the episode

[0:00] Introduction
[1:21] What does a wall mean to you?
[4:53] How do you see order as a concept?
[9:07] What does a wall reveal about society?
[11:58] Can making a wall be ethically wrong?
[15:02] When is a wall about safety or exclusion?
[22:48] Inclusion and exclusion in designing walls
[23:48] What happens when a wall outlives its purpose?
[24:40] What should students question before they design?
[28:05] Does everything need to be utility driven?
[37:49] What will walls look like 50 years from now?

People mentioned in this episode

Ernő Goldfinger, Christopher Alexander, William Cronon, Donald Trump, Rafiq Azam, Jane Jacobs, James Stirling, Mahatma Gandhi, Humberto Maturana, Francisco Varela, Joseph Rykwert, Gernot Böhme, Geoffrey Bawa, Frank Lloyd Wright, Carlo Scarpa, Tadao Ando, Luis Barragán, Louis Kahn, Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Manuel Castells, William Gibson

Reference reading

• The Drawing Board website

• The Drawing Board on YouTube

• The Drawing Board on Instagram

• The Drawing Board on Facebook

• Prem Chandavarkar on LinkedIn

• Prem Chandavarkar on Medium

• CnT Architects

• Prem Chandavarkar on Instagram

• Prem Chandavarkar links

Walls do much more than divide space. They reveal what we value, what we fear and how we choose to live together.

Do walls make us safer, or do they reveal how little we trust each other? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Debbie Millman joins Kedar to talk about what creativity is, why making things matters, and what keeps creative people going. We discuss confidence and courage, personal branding, discipline, design as deliberate differentiation, the responsibility designers have to society, and why reaching the top too quickly may not be the goal. She also reflects on what Design Matters has taught her over time.

Watch the video version on YouTube:

About the guest

Debbie Millman is a designer, writer, educator, brand consultant and host of Design Matters. For over two decades, she has interviewed some of the world’s most creative people.

Who should listen

• Designers and creative professionals thinking about how to sustain a creative career.

• People who keep waiting for confidence before starting something.

• Anyone spending more time building a personal brand than building their work.

• Creators thinking about discipline, ambition, success and what they want their work to leave behind.

Topics discussed in the episode

[00:00] Intro
[01:22] What is common between a chef and a poet?
[02:11] How can one spot commonality?
[02:51] What is the essence of creativity?
[03:57] How do you connect the dots?
[06:25] Three habits and patterns of creative people
[08:13] How do you see response and reaction?
[09:27] Key lessons from Design Matters
[13:31] How has your definition of design changed?
[14:40] Short announcement
[15:41] Do designers owe anything to society?
[17:30] What could incentivise designers to contribute to society?
[19:16] How to build a personal brand?
[21:44] How to balance consistency and intensity?
[24:13] How to create work that outlasts your life?
[25:08] How can your work help people 50 years from now?

Reference links

• Debbie Millman

• Design Matters on Apple Podcasts

• Design Matters on Spotify

• Debbie Millman on Instagram

• Debbie Millman on LinkedIn

• Debbie Millman on X

• Debbie Millman on TED

• Debbie Millman at School of Visual Arts

• Books by Debbie Millman

• Debbie Millman at Type Directors Club

• Debbie Millman on Wikipedia

• Is the world getting uglier?

• Debbie Millman on creativity and leadership

• Debbie Millman on creating brands that stand the test of time

Would you rather build a personal brand or a body of work?

Paul’s reason for writing the piece seems little ahead of it’s time. The web had made the writer-reader relationship far more interactive (and he was right). As a result, disagreement through the written word, in the form of online comments, surged. While having ideas challenged is wonderful, it’s worth developing a nuanced understanding of what quality agreement and disagreement actually look like.

This dynamic has been further amplified by WhatsApp forwards and groups. In India, common themes of argument include caste, reservations, violence, politics, and religion, among others. One recurring debate is about cutting trees and deforestation.

In this post, I’ll take “deforestation” as the subject and illustrate Graham’s hierarchy using common arguments from both sides, the kind you’ll find in WhatsApp groups and other online forums.

The idea is to help you identify where you sit on the pyramid when making your case, and to calibrate the quality of your arguments over time.

Below is the main template, followed by examples from those who argue that deforestation and tree cutting are necessary for development, and then from those who argue that deforestation reflects a myopic view of progress.

Now we have a way of classifying forms of disagreement. What good is it? One thing the disagreement hierarchy doesn't give us is a way of picking a winner. The levels merely describe the form of a statement, not whether it's correct. A “Refuting central point” response could still be completely mistaken.

But while these levels don't set a lower bound on the convincingness of a reply, they do set an upper bound. The most obvious advantage of classifying the forms of disagreement is that it will help people to evaluate what they read. In particular, it will help them to see through intellectually dishonest arguments. By giving names to the different forms of disagreement, we give critical readers a pin for popping such balloons.

Such labels may help writers too. Most intellectual dishonesty is unintentional. Someone arguing against the tone of something he disagrees with may believe he's really saying something. Zooming out and seeing his current position on the disagreement hierarchy may inspire him to try moving up to counterargument or refutation.

But the greatest benefit of disagreeing well is not just that it will make conversations better, but that it will make the people who have them happier. If you study conversations, you find there is a lot more meanness down in the first level than up in top most level. You don't have to be mean when you have a real point to make. In fact, you don't want to. If you have something real to say, being mean just gets in the way.

If moving up the disagreement hierarchy makes people less mean, that will make most of them happier. Most people don't really enjoy being mean; they do it because they can't help it.

You can find all 3 PDFs here in case you’d like to forward, download, or print them. If you enjoyed this post and would like one for politics in India, religion, communal hatred, or other topics, let me know in the comments. Happy to make more.

The Mars Test

Imagine you’re from Mars. You know absolutely nothing about Earth’s history, religion, or culture. Now, look at this famous painting:

Question: Who is the main character in this image?

Take a moment to look at it as a Martian. If you’re like most people encountering this without context, you might initially think it’s the center figure (Due to the whitespace and halo maybe). But wait—look at the extreme right. People seem to be looking elsewhere. There’s some crowding slightly left of center too. Suddenly, it’s not so obvious, is it?

Try this experiment with someone who has zero context about Christianity or Western art history. I guarantee they’ll hesitate, maybe ask a few clarifying questions before confidently pointing to the “main character.”

Now, let’s try something different.

The Indian Approach

Take a look at this Indian political poster:

Same question: Who’s the main character here?

Zero doubt. Immediate answer. No hesitation.

The difference is striking, isn’t it?

The Secret Behind the Grids

This fascinating insight comes from Prof. Kirti Trivedi, whom I recently interviewed for The Gyaan Project (subscribe if you haven’t!). According to him, this isn’t just a coincidence. It’s the result of two fundamentally different design philosophies.

India follows a Hierarchical/Semantic Grid - We arrange elements based on their importance and meaning. The most important person or the object gets the biggest space, the clearest position, and the most prominent placement. It’s a meaning-first design.

The West follows a Geometric Grid - Elements are arranged based on visual harmony, mathematical proportions, and aesthetic balance. It’s a beauty-first design.

Why Indians represent meaning better

In Indian art and design, hierarchy is everything. If you look at any traditional Indian poster, painting, or even a modern political banner, the scale directly reflects importance. Modi is the biggest because he’s the most important. The person who actually paid for the banner will be in tiny text at the bottom or may not even exist.

As Prof. Trivedi explained in our upcoming conversation, this is deeply embedded in the Indian psyche. We don’t find anything odd about representing people in different sizes based on their significance rather than their physical proportions.

Take this stunning example: a large sandstone stele of Mahavira from Madhya Pradesh, circa 10th century.

Even though the elephant (at the top) is naturally massive in real life, it’s shown small compared to Mahavira. Why? Because Mahavira is the most important figure in this spiritual narrative. We represent meaning better.

The Western mastery of craft

This isn’t about one approach being superior to the other. The Western geometric approach has its incredible strengths.

Swami Vivekananda once said something remarkable about Greek painters:

This captures the Western genius for realistic imitation. Creating a visual harmony so perfect.

The beauty lies in understanding that these are two different schools of Grid, each with its own logic and brilliance.

The Last Supper is geometrically balanced and artistically magnificent. But to understand who Jesus is, you need to know the story.

The Modi poster might not win design awards, but even a Martian would know who’s in charge.

Curious to dive deeper? See full episode with Prof. Kirti Trivedi on The Gyaan Project where we explore order, hierarchy, and the philosophy behind how we arrange the world around us.

What do you think? Did this experiment surprise you? Try it with your friends and let me know the results!

Created in collaboration with Godrej Design Lab, this episode explores how electricity moves across India and why the India Energy Stack could change how energy is produced, bought and shared. Rahool Gadkari explains peer to peer energy, smart meters, clean power markets and what this shift could mean for businesses, architects, designers, consumers and the homes and cities we build in the coming decade.

About the guest

Rahool Gadkari is the cofounder of Neufin, a company working to make clean energy more accessible and affordable for businesses in India.

Who should listen

• Designers, architects and builders who want to understand how energy systems may shape future homes, buildings and cities.

• Business owners and operators who want a clearer view of clean energy, electricity costs and how future energy markets could affect them.

• People curious about the India Energy Stack and how buying, selling and sharing electricity could become easier.

• Anyone interested in how invisible infrastructure influences everyday life, sustainability and India’s next decade.

Topics discussed in the episode

1. What made you move from building consumer products to working in clean energy through Neufin?

2. How does electricity flow across India through producers, transmission networks, distribution companies, national grids and state grids?

3. Why is energy described as a ledger, and how is electricity measured, scheduled and accounted for?

4. What is the India Energy Stack, and in what way could it become the UPI moment for electricity?

5. How could peer to peer energy give consumers and businesses more choice, and could it also lead to new surcharges or pricing risks?

6. What parts of the energy system are visible to consumers, and what important infrastructure remains invisible?

7. How could smart meters, better bills and real time data help people understand and manage their electricity use?

8. What do identities, consent and verifiable records mean within the India Energy Stack?

9. How could the India Energy Stack change the way architects, designers and builders plan homes, offices and cities by 2030?

10. What can India learn from energy markets in countries such as the United Kingdom, and what role does Neufin want to play in this future?

Reference links

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahoolgadkari/

• https://neufin.co/

• https://neufin.co/blog/neufin-the-india-energy-stack-report/

• https://www.outlookindia.com/announcements/rec-showcases-first-live-demonstration-of-peertopeer-energy-trading-pilot-at-india-ai-impact-summit-2026

• AI for Energy: Digital Twins and India’s Energy Stack

• https://www.indiaenergyweek.com/india-energy-club/

• https://www.news18.com/opinion/opinion-from-capacity-to-connectivity-the-case-for-india-energy-stack-ws-l-9936966.html

• https://ies.fsrglobal.org/

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/rushilnoronha/

• https://www.youtube.com/@thegyaanproject

• Godrej Design Lab

Would you buy electricity directly from your neighbour if it were cheaper and cleaner? Let me know in the comments section.

• Make a list of books

• Develop a curiosity

• Look at things as though for the first time

• Think of things in relation to each other

• Always think of the next larger thing

• Avoid the “pat” answer—the formula

• Avoid the preconceived idea

• Study well objects made past, recent, and ancient but never without the technological and social conditions responsible

• Prepare yourself to search out the true need—physical, psychological. Prepare yourself to intelligently fill that need

• The art is not something you apply to your work. The art is the way you do your work, a result of your attitude toward it

• Design is a full time job

  • It is the way you look at politics, funny papers, listen to music, raise children

  • Art is not a thing in a vacuum

  • No personal signature

  • Economy of material

  • Avoid the contrived.

• Apprentice system and why it is impractical for them

  • No office wants to add another prima donna to its staff

  • No office is looking for a great creative genius

  • No office—or at least very few—can train employees from scratch

  • There is always a need for anyone that can do a simple job thoroughly

• There are things you can do to prepare yourself—to be desirable

  • Orderly work habits

  • Ability to bring any job to a conclusion

  • Drawing feasibility

  • Lettering

  • A presentation that “reads” well

  • Willingness to do outside work and study on a problem . . .

• Primitive spear is not the work of an individual nor is a good tool or utensil

• To be a good designer you must be a good engineer in every sense: curious, inquisitive. I am interested in course because I have great faith in the engineer, but to those who are serious. (avoid putting on art hat) Boulder Dam all’s great not due engineer. By the nature of his problems the engineer has high percentage of known factors relatively little left to intuition (the chemical engineer asking if he should call in Sulphur)

Handwritten notes for talks at the University of California, Los Angeles
January 1949

First published in An Eames Anthology
2015 | Yale University Press

About Le Corbusier

Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, famously known as Le Corbusier (1887-1965) was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, and writer. Corbusier is considered the most important architect of the modern age. He shaped the perceptions of modern architecture and of modernity itself. Born in Switzerland and then became a French citizen. In his five-decade-long career, he designed buildings in Europe, Japan, India, and North and South America. Out of 59 projects of different scales and sizes, 17 of them are UNESCO World Heritage List.

What are the 5 points of architecture?

In 1926-27, Le Corbusier developed the five points that would become the foundations for modern architecture. I compare these with Dieter Rams’s Ten principles for good design

Pilotis (Pillars)

Replacement of ground floor supporting walls by a grid of reinforced concrete columns that bears the structural loads is the basis of the new aesthetic. This allows, free ground floor circulation, avoids surface dampness, enables to extend the garden beneath the residence, provides a private outdoor space and a covered parking or host of other activities for the builder or residents to imagine.

A free design of the ground plan

Raised from free-standing columns with absence of supporting walls, means the ground floor is unrestrained in it’s internal use. The space becomes more adaptable to changes, different needs and uses. It also enables an architect to have the freedom to design the outside and inside façade without compromise

A free design of façade

Separating the exterior of the building from it’s structural function sets the façade free from it’s conventional structural constraints. I believe the biggest advantage of free design of façade is that exterior walls can be designed independently from the carrier system. Although this has been contested.

Horizontal windows

The absence of load-bearing walls allow for windows of any size. Large horizontal windows increase the sense of space and lights rooms equally. Horizontal windows also known as ribbon windows are used extensively in his residential buildings to have a better view of outside.

I exist in life only on condition that I see. - Le Corbusier

Le Corbusier uses them as a link between inside and outside, as a vision of the outdoor. He also add colors to natural light, by using different colors around the windows. Here is an interesting article on for and against the long window.

Roof garden

A flat roof can serve a domestic purpose while providing essential protection to the concrete roof. Green roofs provide shade, remove heat from the air, and reduce temperatures of the roof surface and surrounding air. Sound levels are also decreased as per few experts. The main aim and goal behind the rooftop gardens are to lower urban temperatures, improve air quality, and better stormwater management. They can also be put in place to provide shelter or give shade, create play space, grow to produce, or create a green area. I believe the biggest advantage is bringing nature closer to concrete.

There are thousands of articles, Youtube videos to be referenced and understand the great body of work that Le Corbusier did in his life time. This article is just a snapshot to give the larger context of design. If you liked the article, do subscribe and share in your network.

A quick introduction to Prof. M.P. Ranjan

Born in Madras in 1950, M.P. Ranjan joined the NID in 1969 and became a member of its faculty in 1972. He ran the consulting arm of the NID from 1981–1991. During that time he facilitated over 400 collaborative projects between NID faculty and their corporate and government clients. From 1991–1995, he was chair of publications, where he set up a prolific set of design publications. Ranjan was also a prolific writer, publishing in formal publications and via more informal platforms. His two best-known books are Handmade in India: A Geographic Encyclopedia of India Handicrafts and his book analyzing the cultural and material potential of Bamboo - Crafts of India: Handmade in India. He had just begun to teach a new university-wide course on Design Thinking at Ahmedabad University when he left us untimely. Ranjan’s expansive syllabus reflects his deep knowledge of the field of design and his ability to communicate it to students.

Interview

Derek: How do you see the difference between engineering and design?

M.P. Ranjan: Engineering, in my view, represents the technical competence of both the product and the offering. In design, the intention is not only to make the product better but in some cases, to replace the product altogether. The offering may not be a technical solution, it may be a social solution. If the solutions lie outside the engineering realm, engineers will never attempt them. I’m not claiming that designers are doing this, but that is what design is supposed to do. To be able to assess what needs to be brought to bear on the problem and to realize it.

But even designers don’t have the bandwidth to move way outside their own field of expertise to bring in expertise that may be needed to solve some categories of problems. But it is beginning to dawn on us that this capacity is becoming more and more important.

The early goal-setting stages become very critical. Once a goal has been established, we know how to get the hammer and tongs and try to resolve it. But what if the goal is wrong? One goal might be to build a bullet train from Bombay to Ahmedabad. Another is to say that we need improved mobility between these cities, or for the population. So the problem can be defined in a variety of alternate ways. And in alternate definitions, the answer may not involve a train at all!

So, who does this early stage of reckoning? That, I believe, is the domain of design. It is still unacknowledged in our country and in many other places.

My take: “Mobility between the cities” is a remarkable demonstration of ‘first principle thinking,’ a valuable approach for designers when faced with any problem. I strongly recommend employing the ‘5 whys’ technique. These conversations can be challenging and often induce anxiety, as many struggle to grasp the underlying reasons. However, it is in this pursuit that the true essence lies. Allow me to provide an example: a product manager requests a larger AC remote. But before hastily sketching and prototyping a bigger remote, we must first identify the problem rather than focusing solely on the solution. Through discussions and research, we discover that people frequently misplace their AC remotes—finding them under the bed, behind pillows, or, in my case, as a temporary toy for my dog, Mango.

By promptly jumping into the design and production of a larger remote, we reduce the function of the design to mere execution, neglecting the aspect of problem-solving. To address this issue, several potential solutions can be explored. For instance, eliminating the need for a physical remote altogether and utilizing sensors instead. Another option is connecting the AC system to a mobile device, assuming one’s pet is trained not to eat mobile. Alternatively, a small wall-mounted holder for the remote could be considered. By exploring multiple options before committing to execution, we can truly tackle the problem at hand.

We as designers need to build a muscle of “first principle thinking”.

Derek: Would you say that design is a collection of independent fields or an integrated field of study?

M.P. Ranjan: Design, in my view, is a set of related abilities and attitudes that need to be developed. For instance, one attitude is when scientists ask for rigor. On the other hand, when you want to explore, you want to play. That is also an attitude. At an early stage, when you don’t know where to go, I think play is very good. Now, the play seems like a very frivolous way of addressing a very serious problem; but from my experience, many serious problems need playful ways of finding answers. Otherwise, we can remain serious but not get anywhere, because we are still looking within familiar, limited frames. So, changing the frame of reference is a big challenge today. And, I’m not sure which discipline today is able to suggest alternate frames, other than design. Or, what you might call integrated design.

There are different terms being used today. If you go to Carnegie Mellon, they talk of Transitional Design. They are putting together new courses online; if you haven’t seen those, I strongly recommend them ... quite a good line of thinking.

My take: “Play” is such an important concept in any creative field. Creatively solving problems is an outcome of play. Paula Scher in her famous TED talk, “Great design is serious, not solemn“ talks a lot about play. Over-indexing on data, user research makes the design very mecahnical and standardised. You can see the kind of films Netflix is producing, all of them have the same template (especially the documentaries). Play brings in a human connect and possibilities of organically moving towards a better solution.

Derek: Do you think that “design” has potential as an integrated field, or do you think it really makes more sense for design to be treated as a collection of different fields?

M.P. Ranjan: Design skills are important when you are designing. But when you want to talk about design with other people, domain skills are not so important. You need to be convincing, and able to negotiate and build and talk and share and partner with people. So you don’t need to draw specifically from domain knowledge, because it exists outside the collaborative field. But you need the ability to connect to that domain knowledge. Do you understand?

If attitudes of co-creation, collaborative working, and team-building are embedded into a person or a small group of people, then chances are that they will be able to mobilize and bring in the required disciplines from outside.

Another essential skill is the capacity to determine that something is even needed. I am talking about truly transformational work where there is no reference point available for you to say, “Should we do this or not?” when getting close to a breakthrough, for instance.

My take: I deeply resonate with this notion, which was reinforced in my conversations with Itu Chaudhuri and Lisa Rath, and with Sujata Keshavan. Sometimes, the role of a designer is not solely about designing; it’s about being a problem solver, much like a plumber. The key is to identify gaps and creatively, or even smartly, address them.

This principle holds true not only in the realm of service design but also for product designers embedded within organizations. To offer effective solutions, you must adopt a broad perspective that encompasses different business units. For instance, during my time at Jupiter, creating elaborate packaging for debit cards was a significant move. However, when the volume of debit cards to be dispatched increased fourfold, we had to make compromises to ensure delivery within two days instead of ten. This insight was gained through firsthand visits to the debit card departments in Chennai and Mumbai, where I grasped the intricacies of operations and logistics. As the saying goes, “It’s better to be a fighter working in a garden than a gardener working in an army.” Along similar lines, it’s more advantageous to be a problem solver tailored to specific situations than simply a designer in a large organization.

Derek: Are these attitudes common across different fields of design?

M.P. Ranjan: What I am trying to say is that the attitude towards these issues, one facet of which is dealing with other people who have expertise, is critical. So, the question is, how does one embed this kind of capability, quality, or sensibility in a person? Any design program in the future needs to do that.

This means that one of the most important things programs would want to teach (if this can be taught at all), is the importance of building an ethical standard within the person or group going forward. What I mean by an ‘ethical standard’ is the ability to honor the other—which is necessary to get that connection. Also, one needs to believe that the other person also knows something and that there are alternate ways of doing the same thing. One needs to be open enough to look and share. This is not like saying, “I know the answer, and I am going to solve it.” Sometimes, you truly do not know. In brainstorming we defer judgment for a short time; but in design decision-making, are we able to do this? That is where some design attitudes become very critical.

My take: “To lead, you must first serve”. I guess this sums it all.

Frequently, I encounter designers who express discontentment about their exclusion from important discussions or not having a seat at the table. Hear me out: prioritize the resolution of essential business challenges. As Julie Zhuo says, “The quickest way to a PM’s heart is to be reliable”. Establish yourself as a reliable problem solver who tackles critical issues within the organization. Such an approach contributes to the development of designers’ credibility. Engage actively, comprehend the overall context, and subsequently defend your design choices while upholding the company’s values and product principles.

By undertaking these incremental measures, you can equip yourself for success in addressing more significant ethical and moral predicaments stemming from unintended design consequences.

Derek: Patents can be seen as a form of publication. So what is the situation of design publications in India?

M.P. Ranjan: Publications! The situation in one simple word is ... pathetic. Pathetic. There is no better word for it. I’ve written a lot on design publications in India. Look at the latest issue of Pool,8 published last month: I wrote the forward on design publishing in India over the past 40 years and how it stands now. I have not used that word in that article, but I can tell you for the record that the status is pathetic. It can only get better when challenges are set, and when there are platforms that encourage both design schools and design practitioners to write more, share more, debate more, and basically put themselves out there so that third parties can have their say.

Ground-level primary documentation is missing. The secondary level of reflecting on that documentation is missing. The tertiary level of philosophizing and building theory on the first two levels is missing. While there are thousands of design experiences, relatively few people have been through all the many kinds of experience. Design is happening — but there is very little published material that reflects on or shares the experience of design. Only very commercial types of design in corporate India are typically visible. Yet, there is a whole lot of design work happening in the non-corporate space, in the government space, in the non-government space, in the rural sector, and others. It is happening, but it is flying under the radar.

My take: In my observation, the challenge of effective documentation appears to be deeply rooted in India, particularly due to our traditional reliance on oral knowledge transmission.

While I commend the proliferation of numerous design podcasts, YouTube channels, and newsletters, I believe it is essential to gradually shift the focus of their content. Instead of primarily addressing topics like “Using Figma and After Effects for animation” or “Negotiating salary while maintaining work-life balance,” it would be valuable to explore subjects such as “Ethics in digital design” or “Areas of society in need of design intervention.” I am of the opinion that this kind of discourse is not only necessary but also warrants publication if we aspire to build upon the wisdom of influential figures like M.P. Ranjan, whose contributions have shaped our field.

Derek: What do you see as the purpose of design publications?

M.P. Ranjan: There are many levels. They will build awareness and interest in design as a profession, and help design to connect with related disciplines. They will also help change funding patterns, by changing the mindsets in government and business administration vis-à-vis design-related research. Design research is almost non-existent today. Some of us have been working in the field of design research for a fraction of the pay seen in fields of pure scientific research, both in terms of personal remuneration and in terms of facilities we have at our disposal.

At present, there is no platform for recognition. I say that because the Indian government does offer a number of national awards to filmmakers, scientists, artists, and people who contribute to social and economic initiatives, but not a single person in the country has been recognized for anything related to design. How is this possible, when I can list 10,000 things that can and have been done by design? This situation does not bode well for the future. If the opposite were true, we could put into place a better educational system, and attract talent into those institutions and so on. It would have a cascade effect. Both recognition and publication would change that.

Out of the thousands of people who have been trained in design, there are only 10–15 people who have contributed to design publications in this country over the past 50 years. This number has to change; it may change through the new Ph.D. programs. But the problem with these new programs is that they are following the science pattern once again. There is a lot of confusion because a lot of people talk about “design is science” or “design is art”—this needs to be debated. We need to get people to understand that design is not science, nor is it art.

So there is a huge scope for a university program in design that can actually change this situation. If ordinary university programs in design do not create designers, they should at least create design critics. People who are articulating and expounding about design—and raising issues and arguing, to shed light on how the field of design could move forward.

How can we reflect on the issues we face today? For instance, who will take up the case of the bullet train and say whether it is the right thing for India or not? What else could the possibility entail? We leave it to a politician to design a dream, but that dream is only a wish, there are no details in it. When the multinational groups are consulted, they say “Look at Germany: do the same in India.” Is that going to work? Can you imagine the self-driving Google car in Ahmedabad? I’m not challenging India’s ability to do it, but look at our chaotic traffic conditions: there is a long way to go. So, is X the way forward, or is there another way? When considering advanced technology, intermediate technology, and appropriate technologies (these terms have all been used since the 70s, 80s, and 90s) where should we go? How should we grow forward? We also need to understand the ethical parameters; we also need to change a whole host of laws and attitudes in society.

My take: To realize M.P. Ranjan’s visionary goals, I believe we must be prepared to make significant sacrifices. While it is important to cultivate design stars, we must personally take a step back. Engage in discussions, actively participate, and, most importantly, take action. Our focus should be on delivering exceptional products and experiences. Share your work through thoughtful blogging, accompanied by your philosophical insights that complement your creations. It is crucial to showcase your work with unwavering determination. Mere presentations alone will not suffice. Embrace breadth and depth in your endeavors. Venture into uncharted territories and apply your design thinking. Complete your projects and go beyond, contributing further to your field.

During my talk at the Ahmedabad Design Week in March 2022, I noticed a significant number of students aspiring to enter the UI and UX domains. The distinguished guest at ADW was General M. M. Naravane, the Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army. He posed an intriguing question, “Why not design insulated pipes capable of transporting drinking water to the mountaintop of Siachen before it turns into ice?” The army, across all sectors, requires substantial design intervention to save lives. This kind of design support is essential throughout India.

Derek: Do you have any further advice for me?

M.P. Ranjan: Your map of design is a worthwhile task. To this end, there are many design summits on record, so you can find out the topics, and learn about the speakers and what they do. You might also consult the journalists who have been covering design. For instance, the Economic Times ran the Design Summit this year in Bombay. Similarly, Mint is a Bombay journal that has been writing about design. Finally, there have been some large individual promoters— large families and industrialists—who have started investing in design because their family members were trained in design. Many of the younger generations see design as a way forward, and I think this is going to change business in our country. At Godrej [a large industrial house] for instance, each of the owner’s family members has a foot in design. One went to IIT Chicago and then came back to build design at Godrej, focusing on developing new products for the bottom of the pyramid market. They have been bringing in IITC professors as their consultants. Godrej is a multi-vertical company, so they can go anywhere on the planet and get people, but I’m not aware of any design school in India that is connecting with them. Similarly, in the Fisher group [a large retail chain], the younger generation is all connected to design. So that is good news for design in the country. But it happens because there are pressures from the outside pushing these companies into design. An example is the new design thinking platform for Infosys, which has announced that they have trained 70,000 engineers in design thinking. Indian industry is under tremendous pressure to put design into their products because global competition is heating up.

My take: Delve into M.P. Ranjan’s illuminating blog post on Design for India, exploring the specific areas where he identifies the need for design intervention—an extensive range of approximately 230 sectors. Immerse yourself in studying his insightful frameworks. Within these vast possibilities lies an abundance of opportunities to employ creative problem-solving through the lens of design.

“Design is a very old human capability that has been forgotten by the mainstream educational systems and the traditionalists alike. Both these streams need to reestablish contact with the discipline if we are to face the vagaries of change that is upon us from all directions.” - M.P. Ranjan

In closing, I express my sincere gratitude to the late M.P. Ranjan for diligently documenting his profound insights throughout his journey. I also extend my appreciation to Derek Lomas for facilitating this interview, allowing it to be accessible to a wide audience. My hope is that these contributions will be of great assistance to designers in their endeavors.

Henry Valentine Miller, an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist devised and adhered to a stringent daily routine to propel his writing. This list of eleven commandments is mentioned Henry Miller on Writing.

1. Work on one thing at a time until finished.

2. Start no more new books, add no more new material to ‘Black Spring.’

3. Don’t be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, and recklessly on whatever is in hand.

4. Work according to the Program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed time!

5. When you can’t create you can work.

6. Cement a little every day, rather than add new fertilizers.

7. Keep human! See people, go places, and drink if you feel like it.

8. Don’t be a draught horse! Work with pleasure only.

9. Discard the Program when you feel like it, but go back to it the next day. Concentrate, narrow down, and exclude.

10. Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing.

11. Write first and always. Painting, music, friends, cinema, all these come afterward.

The above points are universal and timeless. They fit in any domain, not just writing. I believe that if one could read between the lines, one would uncover a lot. Following is my commentary on a few of them.

Work according to program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed time!

Discipline is more important than work. “Work according to program” means following a pre-planned schedule or a system, regardless of fluctuating emotions or moods. “Stop at the appointed time” prevents overworking or burnout. Routine is key to success.

When you can’t create you can work.

There is a difference between work and creation. Working is an action, while creation is an outcome. Work should never stop, while creation has many more moving parts and dependencies.

Start no more new books, add no more new material to ‘Black Spring.’

Miller felt he was done with Black Spring and only then started Tropic of Capricorn. The theme of the novel “The Black Spring” is freedom and self-expression. Its plot is non-linear, and it has a stream-of-consciousness narrative and experimental style. Perhaps what he wanted to remind himself was that there’s a clear “done” point while you are writing a book. Don’t mix the next book in first even when you see connections. More here.

Discard the Program when you feel like it, but go back to it the next day. Concentrate, narrow down, and exclude.

Great people often contradict themselves and that’s fine. This 9th commandment suggests that while it’s okay to deviate from a structured program when you’re feeling uninspired or need a break, returning to it the next day is crucial to maintaining progress. But as Jodi Picoult (American writer) said “You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” So keep writing.

Let me know in the comments sections, which commandment you follow or which resonates with you the most.

The 2026 job market is brutal. Mass layoffs across tech, design and product roles. AI absorbing entry and mid level work. Hundreds of resumes per posting. Recruiters ghosting. ATS filters. Hiring freezes that get announced and then randomly extended. If you are an experienced professional in your late thirties, forties or fifties, you are also competing with younger candidates who cost companies less.

I recently had Joseph Louis Tan on The Gyaan Project. He has seen both sides of the hiring table. He walked away from a 200k role, with a mortgage, two boys under four, and no real backup plan, to coach experienced designers who have hit a wall in their job search. His clients are landing offers for roles that were never even posted.

What he shared reframed how I think about job hunting in this market. So I am putting it down here as ten practical shifts. None of these are hacks.

1. Enter through the backdoor

The traditional job search path looks like this: scroll LinkedIn jobs → upload resume, fill out the same form again → click submit → wait → repeat. Then the silence and doubts creeping your mind.

Joseph calls this the front door. And the front door is broken in 2026.

Picture a club. There are three queues outside.

The first is the main queue.

Hundreds of people, sometimes thousands, all trying to squeeze past the bouncer. In a job hunt, the bouncer is the recruiter or the applicant tracking system. Their job is not to find you. Their job is to filter you out so the hiring manager does not waste time.

The second queue is the VIP line.

The referral queue. Someone inside the company brings you onto the red carpet. Faster response, yes, but you still pass through the same bouncer.

The third entrance is the staff door - ‘the backdoor’.

This is the backdoor. It is how the staff walk in. It is the conversation that happens before a role is posted. It is the coffee chat that becomes “we are about to open a role, you should apply when it goes live.”

Joseph shared a real example. For a lecturer role at NTU in Singapore, the director reached out to him on WhatsApp for a casual chat. By the end of that chat, he had an informal offer. The role was posted online later the same day, purely for compliance. He was already in.

This is not rare. About 70 percent of roles are part of the hidden job market. They either never get advertised, or they get advertised after someone is already shortlisted. The front door is shut for most of the real opportunities in tech, design, product and other senior roles.

2. Know your own archetype

If your job search has stalled, you are probably one of three types. Joseph sees these patterns in every cohort of designers he coaches. He calls himself all three at different points in his 18 year career.

The over applier.

Does everything right on paper. Tailors the resume for every role. Polishes the portfolio. Applies to 100, 200, sometimes a thousand roles. Then doubles down on what is not working. Sends more applications. Tweaks the resume again. The system is selecting against them and they are just adding more fuel to it. Confidence erodes by month four or five. Eventually they start wondering if they should even stay in their field.

The drifter.

They have reinvented themselves multiple times across their career. Opens the job board, scrolls through postings, and nothing pulls them forward. So they wait. Waiting for clarity to arrive on its own. But clarity does not come from thinking. It comes from conversations. Meanwhile the resume gap keeps growing and slowly becomes the story they have to explain to every recruiter.

The veteran.

Fifteen plus years of experience. Hardest time of the three because they never had to sell themselves. Work always spoke for them. Referrals showed up. Then the market shifted and they did not. Their LinkedIn profile reads like a list of job titles, not a story. The depth of their experience is buried.

3. Stop blaming the ATS

The myth that the applicant tracking system is auto rejecting your resume is one of the most damaging beliefs in the modern job search.

Joseph built the workflow for one and has interviewed hundreds of recruiters about how they actually use these tools. The ATS is mostly an organisation system. The only thing that auto rejects you is the knockout questions. Do you have a visa to work here. Yes or no. That is the filter. Beyond that, a human, usually a recruiter, is still reading.

So if you are not getting interview callbacks, the ATS is not the villain. The signal you are sending is unclear. That is fixable. But you have to stop blaming the machine and start auditing what you are actually communicating in your resume, your LinkedIn profile and your portfolio.

4. Get clarity about yourself before you fix your resume or portfolio

Most career advice in 2026 goes straight to the tools. New resume. Better portfolio. Sharper LinkedIn headline. Learn the latest AI tool. None of that moves the needle in your job search if you are not clear about yourself first.

He compares it to fixing your boat when you do not even know where you are going. Maybe you need a different vehicle entirely.

Three questions every job seeker should ask themselves:

1. What problems have you actually solved in your earlier job? What is the common thread across your roles?

2. What are your real strengths? Why does the room shift when you walk in? Not your skill, your judgment.

3. What unique problems are you positioned to solve that someone else cannot?

Once you can answer these 3 questions honestly, the resume, portfolio, LinkedIn profile and outreach all become translations of something you already know.

Joseph’s point was that visual craft and technical skill are now table stakes. Figma themselves shared that 60 plus percent of files on the platform are made by non designers using generative AI. So the differentiator has moved. It is now your ownership, your decision making, the judgment you bring beyond the skillset. The same is true across product management, engineering, marketing and most knowledge work in 2026.

5. Not “I” to but “you”

This is where most cold outreach on LinkedIn dies before it begins.

Look at your last cold message to a hiring manager or recruiter. It probably starts with “I am interested in the role” or “I have five years of experience in” or “I would love to connect because I am exploring opportunities.” Every sentence begins with I.

A hiring manager reads dozens of these LinkedIn messages a week. They all sound the same. They all feel like a pitch from a job seeker to a gatekeeper.

Look at their LinkedIn profile. Did they move from a big agency to an in house role? Did they jump from a large company to a small startup? Did they pivot from consumer to B2B? There is always a story behind those moves. Lead with that. Ask about that. Make the first message about them.

6. Earn the conversation

Even with a thoughtful opener, most job seekers fumble the ask. They end with “Can I get 30 minutes of your time” or “Can I pick your brain” or “Would you mind reviewing my portfolio.” Each of these costs the other person real energy.

Back when Joseph was hiring, he would spend 10 to 30 minutes reviewing portfolios people asked him to look at. Sometimes he would even record a Loom video. What did he get back? Thank you. Or silence. The exchange of value just was not there.

So he recommends - end your LinkedIn message with a multiple choice question. Something the other person can answer in five seconds.

Example. “When you made that shift, was it the mission of the company that pulled you in, or the scope of the work?”

Or. “When you joined that team, was it the people that drew you in, or the problem space that got you excited?”

It is a two hit combo. First you get them to connect. Then you get them to reply. From there, the informational interview breathes on its own.

People are smart. They can spot a “let us grab a coffee so I can pick your brain” message from across the room. You cannot skip to the ask. You have to earn the conversation first.

7. Design the “tell me more” moment

When the relationship works, there comes a moment where the other person turns the conversation around. “Enough about me. Tell me about yourself.”

This is the moment in any informational interview or networking conversation where the dynamic flips. You are no longer a stranger asking for something. You are a peer worth knowing.

But you cannot force this moment. You earn it by listening first. People rarely get asked thoughtful questions about themselves. Not even by their spouse, Joseph said. When you do it, it lands as a gift.

We are hyper connected but not close. Closeness is built one real conversation at a time.

8. Give before you ask. Always.

This is the one piece of career advice almost no career coach gives. Most coaches push you to do more. Better resume. Better portfolio. Learn a new tool. Apply to more roles.

Start by giving.

Go back through every job you have held. Pull up the people you genuinely worked with. The ones who helped you. The ones who shaped how you think. The ones who gave you a chance when you were not ready. The colleague who covered your back when the deadline was coming.

Write each of them an unrequested LinkedIn recommendation. No agenda. No “by the way, I am looking.” Just a note that says, “I was reviewing my career recently and realised I never wrote you one. Here it is.”

No ask. No follow up. Just give.

Joseph has 77 plus recommendations on his LinkedIn profile. What happens next is that conversations restart. Relationships rejuvenate. Goodwill accumulates. And weeks or months later, when you actually need help in your job search, you do not have to ask. People reach out to you. He called it karma. He figured the Indian readers would recognise the word.

In his own career across nine different chapters, the roles that mattered did not come from the strongest portfolio. Sometimes his portfolio was not even ready. They came from relationships he had been building before he knew he needed them. Especially in Asia, in markets like Singapore and India, trust has to come before the ask. You cannot go straight to “let us grab a coffee so I can pick your brain.” It reads wrong and people can feel it.

9. Conversation > Application

Here is the math on job search response rates that should help gain a nuanced perspective.

If you apply through a job board like LinkedIn or Indeed, your callback rate is between 1 and 4% on a good day. So out of 100 job applications, you might hear back from one or two real people.

If you reach out warmly to people inside your target companies, the response rate is 20 to 30%. So out of 10 well chosen LinkedIn messages, you can expect two or three real conversations.

That is five to ten times better. And the conversations are with the actual humans who decide hiring. Not the recruiter. Not the applicant tracking system. Not a black hole.

End of the day, people hire people. They do not hire applications. They do not hire portfolios. They do not hire resumes. They hire people.

10. Depth > Volume of job search

This was the line Joseph closed our conversation on, and it might be the most important one for any job seeker in 2026.

Go for depth over volume. Go for the quality of conversations, not the quantity. You do not need 200 of them. You need three, four, five real ones. That alone can move you further than 100 applications.

His clients typically build a target company map of 10 to 15 companies. Inside each, they identify around 10 people to connect with on LinkedIn. Not to ask for a job. To start a conversation. To be top of mind. To bring an idea or a perspective that is relevant to what those people are dealing with.

This is the bit most people get wrong. They think the backdoor job search means a clever shortcut. It is not a shortcut. It is the longer, slower, more human path. It just happens to also be the one that works.

Build that target company map this week. Ten companies you would love to work at. For each, three people you could reach out to. Start with one.

This conversation with Joseph has many more insights, so do give it a listen. If you wish to get in touch with Joseph, please reach out to him at CareerCreators.com. He has a six week The Backdoor program that help you land the right role paying $30K to $80K, more than you expected. Through direct conversations with hiring managers. Without feeling pushy, applying online, or getting ghosted. Of course, Joseph is on linkedin with 40K+ followers, has helped 50+ Designers land their dream job.

If you know someone navigating layoffs or a long job search, share this with them. Sometimes the most generous thing you can do is hand someone the right door.

Reference links

• Connect with Joseph Louis Tan (Linkedin)

• Career Creators

• Joseph's free 18 question hiring signal quiz

• Joseph Louis Tan Instagram

• Land the next role, faster

• The Gyaan Project Podcast Youtube Channel

• The Gyaan Project Podcast Link

• The Gyaan Project Podcast Instagram

R.K. Joshi

Prof. Raghunath K. Joshi (1936–2008) was a versatile figure—a calligrapher, designer, poet, researcher, and teacher. With 30 years in the mass communication industry, he later taught design courses at IDC/IIT in Mumbai for 15 years. He also contributed to font design software, Indian language word processing packages, and Indic fonts for Windows and Linux. Prof. Joshi organised exhibitions, workshops, and seminars on Indian letterforms, showcased his calligraphic works, and conducted pioneering research on Indian manuscripts and epigraphic writings. He was a renowned speaker on Indian design and calligraphy and received prestigious awards such as the CAG Hall of Fame (1992) and the Ad Club Distinguished Achievement Award (2004). Prof. Joshi passed away in San Francisco on February 5th, 2008, at the age of 72.

Following is a transcript of his 5-part interview on TypeRadio (adapted to reading). This was at ATP 2006 in Lisbon, Portugal. Donald and Liza speak to R.K Joshi.

Part 1

Liza (Host): What sparked your interest in typography?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): Actually I was interested in letter forms per se, not so much of typography in my childhood. I saw signboards all around the town. They were really good and I got impressed. I use to wonder who drew these forms? Who are the people? I grew up in this environment. Later in our school, as a part of my higher education, we had this topic called lettering, L E T T E R I N G. No name of typography at the time. And, nothing on calligraphy at the time. We had to do all the Roman alphabet by hand. It was a very tedious job for all students in those days. I’m talking about 1950s’. Yeah. Without understanding the whole historical significance of all these typefaces or the inscriptions or the manuscripts. Great people did contribute to this entire civilisation of humanity. Our teachers didn’t give you any guidance. They just made you practice. They’d say “copy this, copy that and do it correctly”. What is correct and what is not correct. At that time, you had to copy some sheets. We copied them as a teacher would say. But at that time, I was exposed to an interesting article in a book. I forgot the name of the book. There was an article, The Romance of Calligraphy. I didn’t understand at that time - what is this romance of calligraphy. Because that word was unknown at that time.

Donald (Host): Was it a western book?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): Yes. It’s a western book. We had some type of specimen book in our school. We tried to copy them. Millimeter, height, serif, sans-serif, this series and that…

Liza (Host): Were you good? We were you good student?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): Yes. We did this and then I forgot. It was fantastic. All the proportions match and everything is happening. But who does all these things work? You know, still we do not know the type designer, the breed of type designer at that time at all. We thought that we will have an exhibition. So in 1955, I had an exhibition at my art school called, “Know Thy Character”. I thought that each and every typeface has a character. Almost has a life. So the type can talk to me, as I’m talking to you now. That’s how I got interested in this without actually knowing it, but actually feeling it. If I had to use a Bodoni, then I had to be careful. If I had to use Garamond or Gill Sans you know, it’s sans serif. I really got deeper into it and that’s how my interest in, type and typography came up.

Liza (Host): But was there anybody in your family that was also interested in this?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): No, no, no. They say, that you have to have a background in the family or you are an born artist. But, no… I just said that I want to be an artist.

Donald (Host): So was that your conception of your future when you were taking this education? You wanted to be an artist or you wanted to be… (Joshi cuts him)

R.K. Joshi (Guest): See, at that time we didn’t even not know the difference in between art and design. I’m talking about 50s. We called it either commercial arts or fine arts. It came from British to India… So, we also did not know the term called graphic design. In India, after your art school, you go to advertising agency. That’s all.

After my education, I went to an advertising agency and I did my work so well in typography that they said, “Well, you are a typographer”. I said, “Well, thats nice.”

But actually I was really inspired by calligraphy. By great writing masters - Arrighi, Palatino, Tagliente. I saw their work in books and I was very impressed and I tried to copy it.

Donald (Host): I wanted to ask you… there are so many Indian writing systems and very different. How did you try to emanate to these systems?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): Good question. Actually, all the time I was exposed to western typography, calligraphy and designs. But, I was always thinking about Indian letter forms. The aesthetics, tradition, cultural importance of Indian letter forms, Indian scripts, Indian languages. All the time I was comparing - “This can happen for Roman script in English, why can’t it happen for my Hindi language in India?” I said, I must know about it. But the answers are not readily available. I had to go to a printing press and do an apprenticeship of composing the Indian alphabets by my own hand for a few years. But it felt complicated and I said, “Why so much of a complication? Why aren’t we able to solve our own issues, our own problems?”

That’s why I always say, “I have inspirations from the West, but something has to happen in the Indian environment.”

Part 2

R.K. Joshi (Guest): Indian sounds, Indian alphabet, visual forms. Such a fantastic treasure is there in India. There are 22 languages about 10+ different scripts, but there is some common thread. I may call it as a phonetics, the utterances. They are planned in some definite way. There are two sounds together, three sounds together, and we have got an entire system in that way. So, the Indian letter forms, from many angles. Aesthetic, historic, calligraphic, typographic, religious, angles. I got involved in so many seminars, exhibitions. Oh, plenty of things to do. And I did it, and still I have to do a lot more, but I get tired these days.

Donald (Host): I understood, it must feel like a struggle to bring all these different languages, cultures, religions together. Are you actually looking for a one singular form in which like the Indian language… (Joshi cuts him)

R.K. Joshi (Guest): Ahhh! You talk to my heart. Because this was the thing I thought in 1968. I said, God, I have to really think of some way. Because these challenges must be there in all Indian languages. I don’t know all languages. I know only a few. So how do I do it? Then, I tried to evolve my own script of that time. You know… if some participant was absent, then I would stand over and read the poem, say in Kannada, which I do not know. So, in 1968, I tried to do a project called Desha Nagari, a common script for all Indian languages. These were exciting moments.

R.K. Joshi (Guest): Of course, you know, the reality on the ground, people always oppose. “No, no. Our language, our script, this common script is no good.” Even you had problems here and in all of Europe. Bernard Shaw said that “Roman script is phonetically absolutely bad, spelling is a problem.” He tried to reform the script himself. Declared a big prize until he was alive. But nobody could get the prize. Afterwards, Kingsley Read, did some work on that and it is based on the Indian phonetics. So, you come back to the same source again. Right? That’s how this whole thing has evolved. In fact, I have some of my type designs done long time back in the 1960s. But at that time, there was no environment. In India, it was hand casting. Who will cut the punches? Who will strike the matrix? Who will cut the type? No real environment was over there. And even people asked. “why do you need new types? We have some types”.

But then I realised, the types are based on calligraphy. Great example was Hermann Zapf in Germany, whom I met and we had long chats that way. So I always felt that unless somebody writes well and appreciates the handwritten forms, no new styles can really come in. Then I plunged like a devil into the area of calligraphy. So my name is always associated with the revival of calligraphy in India. It’s a single man’s work for last 50 years, I’m struggling to reintroduce calligraphy. I mean, Indian calligraphy in India.

Liza (Host): But there are people who will continue the project, no?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): Well, I mean, there are now students. Now the students have become teachers, and it’s our third or the fourth generation. All going on. But, look, India is a big country and if I do it in one art school, it does not mean that I have done it in other art schools. You have to go there and talk to them. “Tamil script is so beautiful. Please check your palm leaves and, how nice is your entire calligraphic tradition”... So you have to really move around and do it as a missionary work. This is almost in that way, life’s mission, I could say, that to revive the aesthetics of Indian letter forms.

And, now in context to all the technologies. That’s a more important thing. I did work in hot metal. I did work in prototype setting. Then the digital things is also introduced in seventies there. So immediately I have to check, what can happen to Indian scripts. I worked with few great computer scientist in India. They were happy to see something very interesting is coming up over here. I’m also working epigraphist. I said, look, “Trajan’s Column, Rome’s inscription has inspired hundreds and thousands of type designers in the entire Europe. And we have got thousands and thousands of beautiful inscriptions in each and every Indian script. Why don’t you do something about it?” He said, “What to do? We only can read inscriptions, who donated whom? who killed whom? or, you know, the war details., how will we know?”

I said, “Let’s just appreciate the beauty of these letter forms.” So now I go to epigraphist conferences. And I talk about some of the calligraphy on stones. It is also equally important. I have been involved in this entire research work. I know that who was the first guy in India, in 200BC, who first wrote text on the stone at King Ashoka. His name is “Chapada”. Because he engraved his name by writing, “Chapadena likhitam idam.” Which means, “the great guy called Chapada has written this”. That way I have traced more than 40 names of the calligraphers who wrote on stone, their names are there for the first time in India and it’s whole historical aspect of it.

Part 3

Liza (Host): Also, have you written your name and said, the great calligrapher, Joshi has written this?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. (Laughing out loud). Thats a good one… Actually, in the Indian scene we have no care for our names.

Donald (Host): So you don’t sign your work?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): Ha. No. I sign my work. But generally, in Indian Philosophy, you will not see too many people signing their work, because they, really didn’t believe in that in terms of a philosophy itself. Now you may ask, “what is that philosophy?”

You are not a master of your own creative work. It is your assignment. This assignment has come from some unknown source, place or power. You are supposed to do it! You do it and then leave this world. So, you do great things, good things, almost with the sense of responsibility of completing an assignment - given to you by some unknown power.

Donald (Host): And this is like a general Indian notion?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): Actually, you’ll find this in so many pockets in India. Faraway places, not in the cities. If you got to Bombay and talk to an industrialists or an artist, they will not agree. They don’t believe in that. They will say, I’m a creator. My name is there and I did this.

One day, I was talking about this with my eye doctor. He was testing my eyes, because I’m almost blind now. He examined me.

Joshi to doctor: Sir, I want to give you a small piece of my work.

Doctor: What is it?

Joshi to doctor: It’s written in Devanagari and it means this

Doctor: Joshi, I don’t agree with you.

Joshi to doctor: Okay sir!

Doctor: When I fix your eyes, I do your entire surgery, with my hands, my skill and I’m doing it.

Joshi to doctor: Sure you are doing it.

(After about six months, in my next visit…)

Doctor: Joshi, in the last visit, you told me something. I thought about it. I talked to my wife and I think we now agree with you. It’s the correct thing.

R.K. Joshi (Guest): So, it’s there and also it’s not there. Right? We can’t say “don’t sign your work or sign your work”. As far as my work, I have treated it as a passion. Mission of my life - on educational front, on professional front, at R&D front, and also on technology front. So it’s there and people can see it. I have many students. They go abroad and then they call me over there, “I’m so happy that you scolded me on that day, etc, etc…”

On the academic side, I’ve introduced calligraphy as part of a syllabus, so few art school in India are now really taking it seriously. A few have not still, so I have to go there and talk to them. (In Hindi, “kuch karo.” - which means, “do something.”) because you are Indians, and you have to care for Indian culture, Indian scripts, Indian language, and Indian aesthetics. So, hopefully things will improve, I’m sure.

Donald (Host): Do you have a favourite dish?

Liza (Host): We’re changing the subject.

R.K. Joshi (Guest): You are asking me all questions (laughs) which are so interesting. You know, I have gone through very, bad patches of hardships. Food was a big problem. I couldn’t get my food. So, now I value it a lot. I enjoy each and every dish. Of course, I don’t eat any meat. But in vegetarian I enjoy all of it. So there is no problem for my wife to cook. My daughters also don’t say that I want this or that.

Liza (Host): Can you cook?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): Yes, I used to cook in twenty minutes back then when I was a bachelor. And, yes, I still cook sometimes. I can do some interesting pickles, you know.

Donald (Host): How long have you been married?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): I got married in, um, sixty four. No sixty six.

Donald (Host): Sixty six, so that makes forty years. Forty four years?

Liza (Host): Forty two? No? Yes. No, forty?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): Now you calculate. I’ve lost the track. (laughs aloud)

Donald (Host): You mentioned you had daughters?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): Yes, I have two daughters. Both are good in their studies and they’re quite career oriented.

Liza (Host): Are they interested in calligraphy?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): I have not forced my views on anybody but one is a good poet, and I’m also poet. I’m a concrete poet. All my visual poetry is in archives throughout the world, somewhere in America and in Oxford here. I’m the only guy in India who has done this work in concrete poetry, visual poetry, sound points, typographic poems. So people exclaim, gosh! “here is another experiment by R.K. Joshi”.

So, ya… the younger one writes poems. The elder daughter is good with computers.

Liza (Host): Do you write poems with your daughter? Do you work together?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): No. Her poems are also published. She writes in English. I don’t write in English. I write in my own language.

Donald (Host): Which language is that?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): Marathi. It’s a language in Bombay area. I write in Marathi and nowadays I translate them in English also. Few of these poems I have read in conferences in Tokyo, and...

Liza (Host): Could you? That’s it! You know the question!

R.K. Joshi (Guest): (Laughing out loud) This afternoon is really fantastic. I did not know until this morning that I will be revealing my entire life through your great radio to this entire world. Here we are, good friends and we are talking!

Part 4

Donald (Host): Do you have a hero?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): I have two books as my gurus. That’s all. Books are my heroes. I had a teacher who taught me calligraphy, but books taught me more. Ordinary books you know.

First book, when I saw Penguin Type, I said, such work is done by these great people. Who are they? And how did they know about this whole thing? So, that’s book number one. Book number two is more on the Palaeographic study of all ancient inscription by Pandit Ojha. (He was referring to Pandit Gaurishankar Hirachand Ojha). He is no longer alive. Oh, yes! I must say that there are three books, instead of two books. The third book is a really the great book called Siddham. S I D D H A M. That’s actually how the Indian script, Devanagari went to China and Japan in about 7th or 8th century AD. Few Hindu priests went with few Buddhist travelers and shared the entire knowledge. That book was entire Sanskrit written by their own tools. You know how Chinese and Japanese are so sensitive to their calligraphic tools. Such a fantastic forms they created and that book was about that. Interestingly this story is written by a Dutch guy. (In Hindi, “Kya hai”, which means “what a wonder”), you know this whole world is just so fascinating.

One Dutch guy, who had gone to China and wrote this in his preface. I really wish and I hope that some day, some Indian artist will see this book, study this whole style and try to bring back the entire beautiful style which has gone from India to China and Japan. That is the book I’m talking about.

Then I fell in love with the whole process of how you concentrate and how you take care of your tools and how they bring the strokes through you. I studied the whole thing and I experienced this great spiritualism of calligraphy which Zen monks have, and India is also spiritual at heart. And, then I tried so many experiments with huge tools which I cut myself. Dipped into bucket full of ink, did some strokes and an interesting exhibition happened in Germany in 1998 with another great calligrapher, Werner Schneider from Wiesbaden Art School. So, three books are my heroes.

Liza (Host): Which is the most beautiful word for you in any language? Not necessarily its meaning, maybe what it sounds like?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): That’s a nice question. You people are really professionals. Yes, I’m interested in the sounds of the words. Meaning is all right but the sound. Sound of the word “OM”. A U M. To chant it… I really love the whole aspect of it. The chanting of the OM. The priest and the yoga people do it, but I have some different take to that in terms of how these variation in sounds can be put in calligraphy.

I always kept my base quite strong all the time. OM is that word. You can call it a word although it is a single syllable but yes, OM is the word to answer your question.

Donald (Host): What profession you would have chosen other than being a calligrapher, poet, whatever, what you’re doing now?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): Actually, I would still be born as a teacher if I ever had a second life. It’s because that, it gives me a great satisfaction… not really being a teacher in a normal sense. But a teacher is always a student, in that sense because only then you can study a lot more and impart the things. I always tell my student, I have taken 25 years to think about this, and I’m sharing this to you this afternoon, so that you can use those 25 years of your life in some better ways or advanced thinking. Don’t spend that much of a time on that. That’s a great feeling. You become empty every day and you have to get filled in every day. You come there next day and you are a new man. Last night, you were empty. You had to again face these young people. They are going to ask you hundreds of questions. So, it’s a great challenge. Poorly paid. Poorly looked after. But, money is not the thing. So, I would be a teacher again, so that I can learn and share many more things.

Part 5

Donald (Host): So does money make the world go round?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): No. But actually, I have nothing against money. In fact, I’ve lived a miserable life without money. So I know the value of money. But you know, you don;t have to be after it all the time. It will come to you. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “There is everything plenty in this world for your needs, but not for your greed.”

Obviously one has to travel. Now I’ve come from here, I had to beg, borrow or request someone, or take it off from the kitty, but it’s not a big deal. If you put a price for your knowledge giving activity, you are doomed. I know that people downstairs will not agree with it (Laughs), but that’s okay. They have their views, I have mine.

Liza (Host): Do you have any rituals you do? Is there something that you do every morning before you start work?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): Yes. I think, I haven’t told this to anybody so far; even to my people back home. As soon as I get up, first thing I’ll do is… I will give some water to some plant. Any plant. If there is no plant, I will just say, “this is for the plant”. In Indian systems, there is a provision for this. If there is no plant in the hotel, I don’t open the door and search. Yes. This is the first thing I do it everyday, giving water to a plant.

Then I stand facing to the East. Knowing East is important for me; not for travelling around but for my morning ritual. I stand facing the East, I sip some and sprinkle some water in all ten directions - East, West, North, South, Up, down and so on…

Then, while facing the Sun, I hold some water in my hand. I try to stand on 1 leg and chant the Gayatri Mantra 10 times. Of course, my one leg is stronger than the other, so I switch - 5 times on one leg and 5 times on another, reciting the Gayatri Mantra and then drink the water. This is the ritual for me everyday, anywhere I go, India or abroad.

Donald (Host): We have one more request. Could you recite one of your poems for us?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): Actually, I am a very bad poet. I say this because, I don’t have any of poems by heart. You know, in India, especially from the North belt, they recite poems like mad. One page after another page. They don’t look anywhere. It just comes out of their mouth. I say, kya karte hai? Kahan se aata hai? From where did it come? How can they recite their poem about eight pages long without stumbling, or stuttering. But I’m dead opposite. I don’t remember any of my poems. Also, when I write a poem, I can’t find my poems in my house. So I write a new poem.

Liza (Host): That’s a good solution. (All of them laugh)

Donald (Host): I have one last question, which is more powerful, the written word or the spoken word?

R.K. Joshi (Guest): Always spoken word. I’m saying this, though I’m attending this conference, who believe in written word.

Yesterday, they asked us, what are the areas you think are important for us to probe into? Few people suggested their things and I said, another area is speech. We really now get our attention to the speech, the spoken word, otherwise we will lag behind.

It takes so many years for calligraphers, typographers, type designers, printers and all those people who have worked so hard to reach here. But spoken word comes first.

To end, I would like to share a Sanskrit line,

“ākāśasya dharmaha śravaṇasya pratītiḥ.” ākāśasya dharmaha means, “the words are everywhere in the sky”. śravaṇasya pratītiḥ means, the experience of listening. It’s the experience of listening to words. So spoken words come first.

Donald & Liza (Host): Which is the point of Type Radio. (All of them laugh out aloud)

Hope you like it? You can tune into the conversation here. Please do share this post with as many people as you can. Especially Designers in India. We are reaping the fruits of all their life long hard work. We are standing on shoulders of giants. A small way to celebrate these giants.

This post is a growing collection of podcast episodes that have stretched my thinking about language, and its capacity to make us more human.

This is a living list. As you remember episodes that moved you, drop them in the comments.

It’s an ongoing list of podcast episodes. Please do comment if you find more.

What really counts as news today? Manisha Pande, editorial director at Newslaundry and host of TV Newsance, joins Kedar to talk about how Indian newsrooms work, why TV anchors stopped reporting, and how fake news, sources and sutras shape what we believe. A grounded, sharp conversation on the state of Indian media and how to stay sane while consuming news in a noisy country.

About the guest

Manisha Pande is the editorial director at Newslaundry and the writer and host of TV Newsance, a weekly critique of Indian television news. She has previously worked with DNA and Business Standard.

Who should listen

• Journalists and journalism students who want to understand how Indian newsrooms actually work and what separates a reporter from an anchor

• News consumers who feel overwhelmed, confused or numb after watching prime time and want to build a smarter news diet

• Designers, content creators and storytellers who care about how information is shaped, framed and sold to an audience

• Anyone curious about how Newslaundry survives without ads and why independent journalism in India still has a future

Topics discussed in the episode

• What is news, what qualifies as news and what qualifies as breaking news?

• What is the difference between a reporter, a journalist, a news anchor and an editor?

• What is Newslaundry and how does the business model of an independent organization work?

• What is the biggest difference between a traditional media house and an independent news studio?

• Why critique news shows like Newsance instead of just focusing on reporting?

• How do you define fake news, misinformation, disinformation and propaganda?

• What travels faster in India, fake news or disinformation, and why?

• How should one read, spot and consume news with the right checks and balances?

• Are there traits or principles a layman can follow to design their news diet?

• What is the future of independent journalism and Newslaundry in India?

Chapters

• (00:00) Introduction

• (03:03) What is news?

• (06:36) Roles of different journalists in the news ecosystem

• (11:35) What is Newslaundry?

• (16:56) Why critique news and not just report news?

• (21:34) How do you define misinformation, disinformation and fake news?

• (25:49) What travels faster in India?

• (32:22) How to read news?

• (40:29) What is the future of independent news?

Reference links

• https://www.newslaundry.com/subscription

• https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60981318

• https://covid19dashboard.mohfw.gov.in/resource.html

• https://covid19dashboard.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/def.pdf

• https://prsindia.org/covid-19/cases

• https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1789899&reg=3&lang=2

• https://www.theindiaforum.in/health/will-government-india-finally-acknowledge-scale-indias-covid-tragedy

• https://www.newslaundry.com/2023/07/19/who-owns-your-media-network18s-journey-from-a-production-house-to-a-broadcast-behemoth

• https://www.instagram.com/manisha.pande/

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/manisha-pande-24909680/

• https://www.newslaundry.com/author/manisha-pande

• https://x.com/MnshaP

• https://www.reporters-collective.in/

• https://theprint.in/

• https://scroll.in/

• https://www.youtube.com/@thegyaanproject

• https://www.instagram.com/thegyaanprojectpodcast/

• https://www.youtube.com/@ravishkumar.official

• https://www.themediarumble.com/

• https://www.newslaundry.com/2026/03/05/hpv-vaccine-rollout-faces-wild-theories-and-real-questions-the-govt-is-unready-for-both

• https://www.newslaundry.com/2022/08/23/how-adani-is-taking-over-ndtv-without-consulting-the-roys

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Prayag_Maha_Kumbh_Mela_crowd_crush

• https://hindi.newslaundry.com/collection/nl-tippani-video-newslaundry-hindi

• https://www.newslaundry.com/collection/tv-newsance-tv

  ---

Hope you enjoyed this episode and found it helpful. If you had to pay for just one news source in India, which one would it be?

Today, I am making a small request with a lot of mixed feelings.

The YouTube Partner Program is now turned on. If my work of last 10 years has meant something and added some value in your life, you can now support it.

• Open any of your favourite TGP episode

• Tap the “Thanks” icon (Next to share, like icons with $ symbol)

• Contribute any amount. (Generously 😉)

• You can also consider making a recurring payment of $2/ month to support The Gyaan Project by Joining

Of course, you can do this for upcoming episodes also.

This amount will be used for upcoming book, better quality production, deeper research, and running the project. Hopefully, I do this full time someday.

Thanks for your support!

Kedar.

We discuss four bold initiatives the Maharashtra government to help non-Marathi rickshaw drivers learn to read and speak Marathi.

Recently, Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik announced that starting May 1, 2026 (Maharashtra Day) every licensed rickshaw and taxi driver in the state must be able to read, write, and speak Marathi. If they fail the test at one of the state's 59 Regional Transport Offices, and they will lose their permit.

That’s roughly 5 lakh drivers across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and about 15 lakh permits statewide who now have to demonstrate proficiency in a classical language with gendered nouns, postpositions, and a script.

Here are 4 pillars to make this happen smoothly honouring all rickshaw drivers of our free and independent India. (actually Maharashtra for now)

Pillar 1: A Free Duolingo-for-Drivers Partnership

Every registered non-Marathi rickshaw driver will have Duolingo pre-installed on their device, with the full Marathi course unlocked.

Duolingo doesn’t actually offer a Marathi course. Marathi is the 19th most-spoken language in the world with over 83 million native speakers, but Duolingo shut down its volunteer Incubator program. So there is no course.

But not to worry. Since Marathi was granted Classical Language status by the Union Cabinet on October 3, 2024, the Maharashtra government is just now in “active negotiations” with Duolingo HQ in Pittsburgh to have a full course built, tested, and deployed before May 1, 2026.

Drivers will be required to practice five minutes a day, with compliance monitored via the Sanchar Saathi app — the government’s telecom fraud-tracking platform. This is part of Skill India Mission.

Pillar 2: One Marathi Play Every Weekend, On the House

The average Mumbai rickshaw driver, after CNG and permit fees, takes home roughly ₹500–600 a day for driving ~75 km over a 12-hour shift. A ticket to a any local theatre play costs more than that. So the state will organise 52 free Marathi plays per year.

Drivers must photograph their ticket stubs and upload them to DigiLocker. Twelve plays minimum to qualify as “Marathi-speaking.” This will also boost local culture, and Marathi asmita. A rickshaw driver who works 12-hour shifts will now entertain and learn in one go.

Pillar 3: ₹500 Ladki Bahin Top-Up for Female Drivers Who Pass the Marathi Test

Women rickshaw drivers who clear a basic Marathi examination; conducted weekly at schools and colleges across the state will receive a ₹500 top-up to their existing Ladki Bahin Yojana payout of ₹1,500/month.

The promised hike from ₹1,500 to ₹2,100 announced in the 2025–26 budget still hasn’t materialised as of April 2026. Also nearly 25 lakh women were recently purged from the beneficiary list for being “ineligible.” But I am sure ₹500 more for passing a Marathi promise will be fulfilled. A small price for cultural assimilation.

Pillar 4: AI-Translated IPL Commentary in Marathi

India AI Summit was a roaring success and we are Digital Bharat now. This 4th pillars is called “entertainment as education.” The government has commissioned an AI team to work on auto-translating all IPL commentary and all songs on YouTube, and radio into Marathi for the drivers’ real time on the device. These new SDKs will be installed just like Sanchar Saathi App.

This is not the first time the state has tried this. In early 2016, the government issued an almost identical circular. It was challenged by driver unions. In March 2017, the Bombay High Court quashed it as illegal, noting that Mumbai’s ~2 lakh rickshaw drivers are overwhelmingly migrants from Bihar and UP and that the rule effectively deprived them of a livelihood.

The current attempt is built to strengthened language norms. Worth also noting that the man whose complaint triggered the entire verification drive is BJP MLA Narendra Mehta of Mira-Bhayandar from Pali district, Rajasthan, is demanding stricter scrutiny of migrant rickshaw permits.

He pointed out significant inconsistencies in the issuance of permits, badges, and licences in his Mira-Bhayandar constituency. Newly arrived migrants were allegedly being granted permits too quickly, without proper checks.

Keeping all of that into account, the government decided to not ask the license-issuing authorities any questions, but decided to audit the drivers instead. I think Mr. Mehta is inspired by Albert Einstein’s famous quote:

“We cannot solve problems with the same thinking that created them”

Leaders chosen by the people have to serve the people, and they are doing that most diligently. Please ignore the noise and see the intent of the government, as the Honourable Prime Minister himself reminded us recently. Intent is everything.

I wish all non-Marathi drivers the very best of luck in passing these exams. There are, as we've seen, so many wonderful initiatives rolled out by the government to ensure you learn peacefully, without ever feeling threatened of losing your livelihood. Take it easy. Download that Duolingo course. Book your Marathi play. I'm sure you'll learn Marathi by May 1.

Amit Das, SVP of design at Urban Company, has spent years understanding how Indians actually live with their appliances. In this episode, he breaks down what designing for India's plurality really means, from durability and shared usage to what premium looks like across different households. He also challenges the popular idea of smart living and makes a case for convenience over complexity.

About the guest

SVP of design and native products at Urban Company, Amit Das is a software and hardware designer, blogger and hobby artist. He has previously worked at Housing.com, FusionCharts and Fab.com, and has co-founded two startups.

Who should listen

• Product and industrial designers who want to understand what designing for India’s real and diverse user base actually looks like on the ground.

• Founders and product teams building consumer hardware or home appliances for the Indian market.

• Anyone curious about how culture, affordability and everyday behaviour shape the products we live with.

• Design students and early career professionals looking for honest, practical perspective on what the field demands beyond aesthetics and trends.

Topics discussed in the episode

• Rapid fire round: one appliance Indians buy more for hope than utility, buttons or dials, one everyday object that teaches good design, one button you would delete, your favourite industrial product and why, which product has the most emotional value, should products behave like tools or companions, the most over designed product in Indian homes, and manuals or no manuals?

• You write about designing for moments rather than steps. How do you see household appliances in daily lives, and does this philosophy apply to digital products too?

• India has many Indias. What are the most defining differences you observe in how people use products across different economic and social contexts?

• What framework does Urban Company use to understand these diverse user dynamics, and how do you conduct ground level research including in home visits and shadowing?

• Why did Urban Company venture into building native hardware products like RO water purifiers, and what was the origin story behind that decision?

• How do different Indias define premiumness, and what does premium actually mean across social strata, geographies and product categories?

• How should designers think about CMF for durable appliances that sit in a home for many years, compared to trend driven shorter shelf life products?

• What does smart living actually mean for Indian homes, and why does the current definition of smartness often increase cognitive load rather than solve for convenience?

• How do you balance aspiration versus affordability at scale, and what are the hardest trade offs between design aspiration, cost, reliability and repairability?

• How did you transition from digital to hardware design, and what skills, mindsets and experiences should young designers build if they want to get into industrial design?

Reference links

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/dasamit88/

• https://www.godgeez.com/about

• https://www.instagram.com/godgeez/

• https://www.instagram.com/one.more.colour/

• https://medium.com/uc-design/amit-das-633fb92042e0

• https://medium.com/@godgeez

• How to Become a Senior UI/UX Designer? | The Ultimate Career Framework by Urban Company’s Design SVP

• https://www.quora.com/profile/Amit-Das-5

• https://x.com/Godgeez

• https://www.instagram.com/urbancompany/

• https://www.urbancompany.com/

What is one appliance in your home that you think is badly designed for how you actually use it?

Mumbai artist Vishwa Shroff reveals how drawing and not painting captures urban memory through cracks, stains & architecture. A deep dive into slow observation, creative discipline, boredom as a tool, and sustaining an art practice from Baroda, Basel, Tokyo to Mumbai.

This episode is part of a series of conversations with Matter. Matter is an architecture, design and curatorial practice with a deep interest in design discourse in India.

About the guest

Vishwa Shroff is a Mumbai-based artist represented by TARQ Gallery and co-founder of SQW Lab. Rooted in urban drawing and observation, her work explores memory and built space, and has been exhibited in London, Basel, and Tokyo.

Why and who should listen

Vishwa Shroff offers rare insight into sustaining a drawing practice, seeing architecture differently, and using slow observation as a creative method. Whether you sketch, design, or simply want to see the world more intentionally, this conversation delivers. This is a must listen for artists, architects, urban sketchers, designers & curious creatives interested in contemporary Indian art, observational drawing, creative process, and building a disciplined art practice. If you want to see the world differently, this episode is for you.

Topics discussed in this episode

• What is drawing — really? Vishwa unpacks how she defines drawing not by medium but by mindset, and why she draws a sharp distinction between drawing and painting in the post-camera age.

• How did you arrive at architecture and urban spaces as your subject matter? From drawing pigeons in Baroda to noticing where they roost — and how a family home transition sparked a lifelong interest in memory, space, and the traces left in built environments.

• What do cracks, stains, and scars in buildings tell us? Vishwa explains how she reads the details of urban surfaces as time capsules of human presence — and why drawing, unlike photography, lets her edit and focus on only what matters.

• How does your sketchbook and daily practice actually work? A practical look at her note-taking process, how photographs feed into finished works, and why her sketchbook functions as a living database of observations, spirals, and discoveries.

• What advice do you have for young artists and creatives? On discipline as a daily non-negotiable, embracing boredom as the gateway to creativity, finding gallery representation, and why the act of making is an addiction with no exit strategy.

Reference links

1. https://studiomatter.in/

2. https://www.frameconclave.com/

3. https://thinkmatter.in/

4. https://thinkmatter.in/inside-volume-03-issue-01/

5. https://themeritlist.com/

6. https://formfolio.in/

7. https://www.instagram.com/vishwashroff/?hl=en

8. https://www.tarq.in/artists/50-vishwa-shroff/biography/

9. https://www.studioell.org/studiovisit/vishwa-shroff/

10. https://www.exhibit320.com/cms/overview.php?artist_id=188

11. https://www.linkedin.com/in/vishwa-shroff-5abb5a6a/?originalSubdomain=in

12. https://www.architecturaldigest.in/story/the-music-of-buildings-vishwa-shroff-explores-the-streets-of-basel-through-her-art/

13. https://www.artsy.net/artist/vishwa-shroff/cv

14. https://www.mutualart.com/Artist/Vishwa-Shroff/361048FE06E8E2A2/Biography

15. https://www.joinpaperplanes.com/vishwa-shroff/

16. https://www.architecturaldigest.in/content/mumbai-vishwa-shroff-folly-measures-exhibition-architecture-inhabited-used-spaces/

17. https://vishwashroff.wordpress.com/

18. https://indiaartfair.in/programme/the-music-of-buildings-vishwa-shroff

19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyoti_Bhatt

20. https://aaa.org.hk/en/collections/search/archive/jyoti-bhatt-archive

21. https://www.artsy.net/artist/jyoti-bhatt

22. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kosuth

23. https://www.instagram.com/josephkosuthstudio/

24. https://www.skny.com/artists/joseph-kosuth

25. https://www.moma.org/artists/3228-joseph-kosuth

If this conversation sparked something in you, I would love to hear your thoughts. What resonated with you the most? Let us keep the conversation going in the comments.

I'm curating 101 questions and answers from over 300 conversations on The Gyaan Project Podcast. It argues to change how you see Design.

What this book hopes to do - Expand your definition of design through a series of 101 questions and answers.

Who this book is for - Curious minds and creative souls from any background. Those who desire to see design in places they’ve never seen before

The book is still taking shape. No launch date yet. But you're seeing this first.

A short survey. Your vote goes directly on the cover. It will take 2 mins and will really mean a lot to me.

The survey has a few more fields if you wish to follow the journey.

More soon. And thank you.

Kedar

P.S. The manuscript is 99% ready. Permissions, typesetting, cover design and more to go. If you have suggestions or feedback, comment below or email me at thegyaanprojectpodcast.

What does it really mean to teach design in India today? In this powerful conversation, Dinesh S, an architect with 35 years of practice and founder of Bangalore School of Design and Technology, challenges everything we think we know about design education. From the factory-like classrooms stuffing 90 students together to architecture syllabi unchanged since the 1980s, Dinesh unpacks the uncomfortable truths holding back Indian design innovation. This episode is for students, educators, and anyone who believes India can do better with how we teach creativity, curiosity, and aspirational design thinking.

Topics we discussed

1. How do you define design, education, and design education in general?

2. Would you differentiate between education in general versus design education and if so, how?

3. Could you explain what is aspirational design?

4. What are the building blocks or framework that you use to make an aspirational designer?

5. What are the gaps that you see when students are entering into the market and getting a job?

6. How do you explain to break the rules before knowing the rules?

7. How can a well rounded multidisciplinary learning experience happen if a design student is wanting to learn design?

8. Is curiosity diminishing in students and what is stopping innovation in design at a radical level?

9. If a design school has to have some measure or metric of success, what would be the measure of it?

10. How do you see the future of design education in India?

Reference reading

1. Bangalore School of Design and Technology

2. Bangalore School of Design and Technology LinkedIn

3. Bangalore School of Design and Technology Instagram

4. BSDT Facebook

5. Ken Robinson TED Talk

6. T-Shaped Designer Concept

7. Bangalore Interior Design Industry

8. New National Institute of Design

9. Articles by Dineshwar on higher education

If this conversation sparked something in you, I would love to hear your thoughts. What resonated with you the most? Let us keep the conversation going in the comments. Design is a language.