Ep. 295 - Woman Graphic Designers with Ruchita Madhok

Tune into this 7th episode of a 10-part series, "Designer’s Digest” with Ruchita Madhok. Audiogyan creates this series in partnership with @godrejdesignlab

Designer's Digest series is about Design as a profession, its daily grind, the secrets to climbing the design career ladder, and what edge we’ll need to thrive in the captivating design world.

Ruchita has been a guest on episode 159, named “Designing a Visual Guide”. The poetry of everyday life inspires her. Through the mediums of cyanotype printmaking and drawing, she explores the conversations between nature, the cosmos, and the inner self. An award-winning communication designer, Ruchita brings a passion for print, photography, and illustration to her work as she plays with words and images to create works of art, books, and zines. Ruchita is the Founder and Director of Kahani Designworks and built Storycity, Imaginative books, maps, and guides for curious people.

We talk about what it means to be a graphic designer, in India, as a woman, and how you grow as a designer, many things to unpack.

Questions

1. Who is a graphic designer? What's the job? You engage yourself in Poetry, Literature, and many other things beyond design. How critical it is for any creative endeavor?
2. How do you see growth in this discipline? What does an entry-level designer do in Graphic Design? A person with 30-40 years of experience like Paula Scher or Milton Glaser - Will they be still hands-on like a performing artist? How do you see the graphic design career ladder?
3. I understand that Design has many aspects, including communication, solving problems, and more… Particularly in graphic design, it’s communication, right? What is making you move (or have moved you) from Graphic Design and infographics to ‘art’ and more niche sort of storytelling? Why have you started exploring cyanotype printmaking and more?
4. Kahani Studioworks and StoryCity believe in collaboration? Do you hire? What do you seek in people with whom you hire or collaborate?
5. How does your trio identity as an Indian woman, a designer, and now an artist influence your artistic style and perspective?
6. Do you see a distinct thread running through your work that speaks about your Identity or Indian-ness? How do you harness it to give it a personality or avoid it stereotyping your work? What would you share as a tip/advice for young designers?
7. Do you think your design work / or art needs to impact society? Should it influence fellow and young designers? You have been taking a lot of workshops and are interested in education. Tell me a little bit about it?
8. Ethical practices and sustainable design choices are now becoming mainstream buzzwords. Where are you on that and what are your principles in this dynamic world of Graphic Design?
9. In today's digital age, where people have been looking to increase the number of followers on social media, what advice would you give to Indian Designers (especially women)? What do they chase? What can make their work stand out or be impactful in this noisy world? How long can it take to find one’s voice?
10. The design field is vast and multifaceted. How would you encourage Indian women designers to explore their unique strengths and passions to find their niche within the industry?

References

1. https://www.instagram.com/ruchitamadhok/?hl=en-gb
2. https://www.ruchitamadhok.com/
3. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruchitamadhok/?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&originalSubdomain=in
4. https://www.behance.net/ruchita
5. https://www.kahanidesignworks.com/
6. https://homegrown.co.in/homegrown-creators/ruchita-madhoks-botanical-cyanotypes-are-vibrant-interpretations-of-the-poetry-of-light
7. https://audiogyan.com/2020/01/22/ruchita-madhok/
8. https://www.storycity.in/