All about DesignUp Conference – Festival Day 2

Sunday was another fantastic day at the DesignUp Conference – Festival Day 2. ??

In the morning, I visited NetBramha - Global UX Design Studio , a Global UX Design Studio, for an incredible session. Aashish Solanki , the Design Founder, hosted the session and took us on a captivating and inspiring journey. It was a tour-cum-talk on "Design for Bharat." The title resonates with us as Indians, and it’s objectively true that Indian problems need Indian solutions. Their work speaks to their love for design.

?? Fun fact: Aashish's favorite fruit is mango, and his studio is painted in yellow!

This is a testament to the philosophy that our love for design should be visible in the real world and our design should add value to our lives—otherwise, design is futile.

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After that, I attended a one-of-a-kind workshop by Neelacantan (Neel) and Charusmitha Rao titled "108% Indian – A Creativity Deep Dive Using Indian Metaphors." As Indians, we have our own unique way of understanding and doing things, always managing to "Jugaad" in every situation. They handed out cards printed with metaphors in the form of illustrations and thought-provoking questions. We had to interpret the metaphor, relate it to a real-life experience, and answer the questions. I’m not sure if I explained it well, but you can always check it out at https://coolturedesigns.com/108-percent-indian.

I love how "108% Indian" sounds in Hindi – "Ek Sau Aath Takka Indian."

Thank you to Aashish Solanki for hosting us at his Bengaluru HQ, and to Neelacantan and Charusmitha Rao for the thought-provoking brainstorming tool.

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In the afternoon, I headed to a very unique place in Jayanagar called Varnam Craft Collective . I wasn’t sure what to expect from this session, except that I knew it was about wooden toys. But it's more than just toys; it's about the lives of those who build them and the products that bring joy, smiles, and happiness.

Varnam Craft Collective is a social enterprise working with artisans in Channapatna since 2012. Channapatna is known for its 200-year-old toy-making craft. Today, through Varnam, they don’t just make toys but also lifestyle products.

Karthik Vaidyanathan hosted us and shared his journey of starting Varnam. His story is fascinating, and he’s such a lovely and humble human being. He has the heart of a social entrepreneur and has proven it on various levels. During our time with him, he showed us many wooden toys and products, explained the technicalities behind the wood, its procurement, maintenance, and storage, and taught us about lac—its organic nature and how to identify top-quality lac.

I highly recommend visiting one of the three Varnam stores in Bangalore to experience authentic, handmade wooden toys that are safe for kids and last a lifetime.

The word "varnam" comes from the Sanskrit word "varna" which means "color" or "shape".

Thanks a lot, Karthik, for sharing your personal story and how you gave birth to Varnam. My gratitude also goes to Mr. Hameed and Mrs. Pallavi for the demo.

Last but not least, kudos to Gaurav Sharma and Bhavna Nagpal for seamlessly managing these two event sessions.

++ Hemanth Sharma | Nitin Joshi | Janani Singaravelu | Kiran Mudumba

++ Jay Dutta | Shiva Viswanathan | DesignUp Conference

#DesignUp2024 #DUp24 #DUp #FutureOfDesign #InnovationInDesign #SeeYouAtDUp24 #MeetYouAtDUp24 KrisAtDUp24 #KrisAtDesignUp24 #DesignUpDay2

? Please check the links:

1. Coolture Designs: https://coolturedesigns.com/
2. 108% Indian https://coolturedesigns.com/108-percent-indian
3. Varnam Craft Collective: https://varnamstore.in/
4. Varnam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/varnamcraftcollective/
5. About Karthik Vaidyanathan: https://varnamstore.in/pages/the-founder
6. DesignUp Passes: https://pass.designup.io/login/
7. DesignUp Conference Schedule: https://designup.notion.site/DUp24-Schedule-3f518efdd55b4a3788f3d96facbdaf4e#95568c2af199432da735f9e2b3cb32e5