Colour splashed on the sand of time

The buzz in Write Solutions office was palpable with the Monday morning banter. Suddenly, the phone rang. It was an ace graphic designer, Shankar. We have collaborated with him for some years now. His designs are always mind-blowing. You may want to check out his portfolio at antialias.in.

Shankar wanted the Write Solutions team to do the brochure #content for an upcoming edition of #GujaratTourism’s biggest property, the annual, six months long #RannUtsav festival. This year, the festival ran from October 28 to February 23.

To be circulated among all major embassies, and diplomats, this had to be a visual treat in terms of both content and design. Because so much had already been written about the white scenic beauty of Rann, the obvious challenge before us was what could we say that would be refreshingly different?

Shankar, of course, had shot some breathtakingly beautiful, arresting pictures of the festival that were good enough inspiration for the #contentteam. His artwork deserved to be complemented with enriching, engaging #content. The outcome was this - #RannUtsavbrochure an enticing invitation to the world to take in a bit of India. Silhouettes on Sand is what we called it, and to do justice to these words, a special white, grainy paper was used to print out the brochure.

“Imagine dancing shadows, twirling on a white, salty patch under the shimmering light of the full moon to music that is so riveting that you lose yourself in its swoon.”

The name Kutch revives the memory, the charm of a colorful #culture, food, clothes, art, craft and more, revealing the rich #cultural history and charm of this arid desert of Gujarat.

Rann is no ordinary land. It tells the story of our past, present and future….

The words had to be simple yet captivating. The pride of the country had to flow through, with the humility of the #Indian tradition.

“The mesmeric, twirling of silver-bangled women, outfitted in layers of hand-embroidered appliqué lehengas (long skirts). Or turbaned, moustachioed men in lion clothes and short skirts, heads bent and swaying as they play their goatskin drums with religious fervour.”

We had the image captured in our words. And with Shankar, we guess, we did rise up to the challenge.