turkish tea

blue and white

ISTANBUL: a place to visit for all who love to be with themselves on a holiday and yet have some few adventures. Its beautiful to see so many architectural and natural wonders. Me and my friend planned this trip just three weeks in advance and we were off to go before we knew. We flew from Mumbai to Istanbul by Turkish airways, though the cheapest of all airlines you may have many options if your pocket and budget is high. Our stay was planned at the Hotel Validesultan, very friendly staff and Mehmat - front desk executive was very helpful. Situated in Sultanhamat area, which is a tourist area of all, it was close to the airport and centre of the city to travel any where. Having rooms with a motherly touch to their décor. The stay was just perfect for a weeks trip. Hotels on Istiklal street are also recommended for young crowd, Hotel Lush is good with every room in a different layout and design, my friend recommends it atleast for one night stay.
The time difference between India and Istanbul, is just about 4 hrs, we landed in the first half of the day in Istanbul. We went around our hotel area on the first day. The easiest and fastest way to beat the traffic and travel to sites is by the tram which is 1.40 YTL. Taxis are 2 YTL mini… but rather unexpected tourist not knowing to speak Turkish, should not opt for it. Buses are fairly good but traffic is bad so not recommended. We had initially planned to go to Cappadocia a beautiful cave city, but it was something we felt needs to be done separately and couldn’t get clubbed with our 6 days stay. But for all others it’s a must visit.

Sites:
Bhosphorus cafes – enjoy a cup of tea by the river straight and don’t forget to spend one evening reading a book here. Take a local 3 deck cruise to the other side of turkey – Asia which also has some good sea side cafes. Topkapi palace and Dolmabahce palace is a must visit for all who love history and museums. Topkapi palace is worth a visit for the variety of blue ceramic tiles used and the stories related to the Turkish culture. Blue mosque –sultan ahmet camii - is beautiful from inside…not well maintained it apparently the only one with 6 minars. There are more than 260 windows to lit the mosque thru daylight and some hundreds of Iznik tiles from 17th century. The Haghia Sophia (church means divine wisdom – it’s a museum, stands opposite the blue mosque, its calligraphy huge size ornate elements around the whole structure are magnificently beautiful. Gold, blue, white, are the colours that will reflect in every piece of artifact you buy. Galata tower was a 360degree view of the entire city. The Yerebatan Cistern is a architecture marvel, with some 200 odd pillars supporting a underground water reserviour and has two sculpture of two sisters upside down and one eye s closed, there have been many stories to it, marble pillars and wish pond.

Language:
A few words from the Urdu language though commonly spoken, publically English is not so common so figuring out your way would not have been easy otherwise. But having a city map in English will be very useful o find your way, though all maps are not useful the one you get outside any tourist spot will be more apt.

Regardless of your willingness the Bhophorus is a beautiful. Small fishing boats owned by locals are a filling the sea of marmara in the morning, evening its full of cruises and sunset on a cruise on the bhosphorus is beautiful. The city is so small yet so beautiful – a blend of modern and contemporary be it their cafes or even their hotels.

Food:
Breakfast at the hotel we were staying was awesome a good blend of raw blend of vegetables and so many options in bread. We were served fruit juices – orange and wild berry – tea and coffee – breads (with different coatings and many different shapes and tastes, toast, etc ) boiled egg, jam, cheese spread, butter, honey – dark and light, mix and watermelon marmalades, fruits, chicken and salami, raw tomato and cucumbers….so much and we almost skipped our lunch.
To eat local cuisines our experience was best tested on street food. We strongly recommend than expensive cafes. Though you would see Starbucks and McDonald’s brands most often on the city side. One should try Donear kababs – the local delicacies on the street cafes only. Turkish teas – all different flavours without milk is a must to refresh at any given corner like in India – as we have our chai thella. Fish Balluchi restaurant – at sultanhemat area near our hotel was very a must visit to try seafood, they also offered some good wines. Waffles in Ortokoy area are a must…there is just one person opposite the bus stop – you cants miss.
The cafés under the galata tower are good places to have lunch. Ortokoy and Taksim square has awesome Turkish delicacies to try – for non-veg lovers it’s the best. Wet burgers and kababs are recommended. During the month of September – October you would get hazelnuts roasted over clay – served hot – just peel and eat. Yummy is the word. Hot chocolate served near Dolmabahce palace is good where you see ducks float by you and birds flying so close while you sip over your hot chocolate and enjoy the view.
Souvenirs
As for souvenirs you could always pick, the traditional blue pottery adapted into different mediums like coasters, pots, plates, ash trays etc. Turkish bath is very famous also known as Hamam, Turkish towels and soaps – pomegranate- cinnamon – lavender, rose etc are commonly available. Abdulla brand in grand bazaar has some good soaps and good packaging also. Tea lit glass chip laterns are beautiful in a hazelnut shape….they come in all sizes for a good bid don’t forget to bargain. Tea flavours like apple, herbal, rose etc are fairly a nice gifting item for all. There are street artist who would write your name in English script looking like urdu script on plates or tiles….a good nameplate you see. Though grand bazaar and spice market are some few places to go quickly on your last day of the trips. But there are many local shops that also give you some good buys. Istiklal street is meant for all who want a BRAND in their wardrobe….its got all shoes, boots, accessories, clothes, etc. The nostalgic tramp is too good a timepass.
Perfumes are quite favourites with Europeans so many shops will have a excellent variety even at the duty free.

Istanbul

free fonts list

http://www.dafont.com/
http://www.1001freefonts.com/
http://www.urbanfonts.com/
http://www.typenow.net/
http://www.stencilrevolution.com/resources/
http://www.blambot.com/fonts.shtml
http://www.erik.co.uk/font/
http://www.myfonts.com/
http://www.rewardprograms.org/thefreegeek/features/101-awesome-downloadable-
fonts-for-designers.html

The man with strong visual language

You may be wondering who am i talking about.....he is none other than ALAN FLETCHER....Synthesising the graphic traditions of Europe and North America to develop a spirited, witty and very personal visual style, ALAN FLETCHER is among the most influential figures in British graphic design as a founder of Fletcher/Forbes/Gill in the 1960s and Pentagram in the 1970s.

"The Art of Looking Sideways, Alan Fletcher’s 2001 book, is an unfailing source of wit, elegance and inspiration. At over a thousand pages, it is a spectacular treatise on visual thinking, one that illustrates the designer’s sense of play and his broad frame of reference"....to read more about him http://www.designmuseum.org/design/alan-fletcher
further reading:
Alan Fletcher, Colin Forbes, Bob Gill, Graphic Design: Visual Comparisons, Studio Vista, 1964

Jeremy Myerson, Beware Wet Paint: Designs by Alan Fletcher, Phaidon, 1994

Alan Fletcher, The Art of Looking Sideways, Phaidon, 2001

Alan Fletcher, 100 Maverick Postcards, Phaidon, 2004


in the book "the art of looking sideways", though each and every page is a story in itself....a strong visual message......the art of looking sideways is a bible for any designer.....or people with similar interest.

The cover of the book (if you closely see what it highlights) actually says...never judge a book by its cover......what a start. He has one of his pages quoting "Thinking is drawing in the head"...a strong message for designers who deal with a constant fight between is language (or rather words/ sentence) stronger than visuals (or iamge)...but this book has proved it wrong ....its a balance of what he has to say ....with what he has said...through visuals. The spoons page...one has to read this book like a bible to know what it like...a real treasure.

To the most beautiful bird

a monsoon morning.......perfect for the most beautiful bird to shower his love over his better half...ht fresh blue with a spiral feather structure and a crown to make anyone jealous and tell the whole world i am the most beautiful bird.....thats the peacock. everyone has seen one in a zoo but at NID its a pleasure to walk on the same path as them and have them showing their monsoon magic spelled over front lawns......a sight worth a catch early in the morning in ahmedabad.

viral marketing ......a new buzz in advertising

Viral marketing and viral advertising refer to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives (such as product sales) through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of pathological and computer viruses. It can be word-of-mouth delivered or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet. Viral marketing is a marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message voluntarily. Viral promotions may take the form of video clips, interactive Flash games, advergames, ebooks, brandable software, images, or even text messages. The basic form of viral marketing is not infinitely sustainable.

It is claimed that a satisfied customer tells an average of three people about a product or service he/she likes, and eleven people about a product or service which he/she did not like. Viral marketing is based on this natural human behavior.

The goal of marketers interested in creating successful viral marketing programs is to identify individuals with high Social Networking Potential (SNP) and create Viral Messages that appeal to this segment of the population and have a high probability of being passed along.

The term "viral marketing" is also sometimes used pejoratively to refer to stealth marketing campaigns-the use of varied kinds of astroturfing both online and offline to create the impression of spontaneous word of mouth enthusiasm.

hand worked typeface

experimental work

design concepts and concerns

Expressing yourself through a ME board.
As a team conceptualising a game on the two given attributes
Physical and Chance, with the help of metaphors.

CONCEPTUALISATION

Taking inspiration from the orbit...this informative graphic panel explains how a process of conceptualisation is never linear for a designer.

WINNING THE SECOND PLACE IN THE JINDAL COMPEITION AT NID

my work at NID

BPL oxygenerator brochure

MY FIRST BRAND LAUNCH

I will never forget my first brand launch, while at GHNU. This logo was designed by me for GERMAN REMEDIES, this brand is an anti-allergic medical brand. Packaging and precription pads were my main medias then. Its a pleasure to work with Mamta Kulkarni the brand manager of Allrite, her support, patience and confidence in me was overwhelming. Allrite is in the market todays and it is a proud moment as a designer to see my work in the market.

WHITE WINGS LOGO DESIGNED BY ME IN MY EARLY DAYS OF WORK

For people who love to travel

http://www.thisisthelife.com/

enjoy

The bamboo art at grand hyatt mumbai - aseven piece puzzle

pali... an unforgettable trip

this was a small one day trip to pali a small village....one among the ashtavinayak yatra for ganpati (lord ganesha) darshan on the way to goa. awesome road from panvel crossing karnala to goa highway......clean roads....the drive is unforgettable. its a small place to enjoy a day trip or a weekend getaway.....petron guest house is famous which serves good food - veg and non-veg....having a swimming pool and a badmington court with good facility for jacuzzi and a sauna. karnala bird sanctuary is one of the famous spots near by. pen market is famous for many seasonal vegetables and fruits ....a famous stop over by women. for all the people who love being on their wheels its a must drive path...enjoyyy.

letter design class

Colour design

Colour is perhaps the most subjective of human senses, since no two people respond to colour exactly the same way. It is a visual sensation that affects each of us differently. We are excited, smoothen angered or pleased at both conscious and subconscious levels by colours we see around us. Out ethnicity and cultural backgrounds also influence the way we respond to colour. With the emergence of integrated marketing and branding communications, a designers scope of activities has vastly diversified and consequently a branding project is far more than just a logo exercise, and involves critical colour decisions at every stage involving a variety of applications.

It is a huge debate across cultures everywhere, people who want to preserve ethnicity which is a great thing and then there are those who work in the global context, which is very necessary today because we are open to all influences…s ort of ethnic-global. Asian countries are now economically very strong and colour follows money, that’s when we do trends, there is a rising pride in asian nations in their own cultures. We are more getting very comfortable with our ethnicity… we are ok to be Indian today. All trends follow the money because truly its business that is putting in money.

There is another case for maintaining cultural and ethnic colour, because the younger generation is very proud of it. They are cool being India that’s really the catch phase.

Colour only has two aspects: social change and technological advancement. There is also this whole concept of colour familiarity, its almost with everything, once you hear music of a particular kind, it begins to dawn upon you, you eat new food, they become familiar to you. For instance this whole coffee culture of sitting in an aromatic environment with kids, you know, being with your friends has also made brown acceptable to younger people. Before brown would sell like a khaki or mitti, but not as an expensive luxury colour.

The brand is the visual identity of the activities and everything that a company stands for in the geographies it operates in. Brand activities may relate to how you want to be locally present or globally present. Apart from standard print applications like brochures, the brand colours get translated to anything – from their logo, products, livery, t-shirts for events, office interiors, their fleet of their trucks… everything! By and large, identities were designed the purposes of visibility. They are still needed for visibility. There is a huge change in colour in sunlight versus colour in interiors. The colours that may work for visibility on a tall building cannot translate to interiors and retail design.

High chroma is what we need for visibility, but as we enter the retail space we need to be trendy and use a different colour palette and modulate the palette direction. You need to get the words right before you get the content and product right, eg: grocery branding, an association of green with fresh.

Colour is not about likes or dislikes, its more to do with profits, we are in business and companies want profit through colour. So the real question is “will this colour increase my profitability?” is this colour going to reduce my inventory and SKU? is it going to fly off my shelves? Will it do much for my brand equity and image? All these matter.

Colour designer acts like a surgeon, if I am ill I will medicate myself. But if I am seriously ill, I will need a physician or a surgeon to doc much more.

A paint company known for the best luxurious flat- world paint would call us in to prepare a special effect paint or even to evolve the marketing strategy for the year. What we would say is that we are doing rooms for kids because parents are willing to spend anything on kids these days. We created visualization for children, and what is appropriate for children and how they should address the children’s needs. This gave them a leg and a entry into homes, which they didn’t have earlier. How to take brand values and convert them into products and 3D spaces in terms of colour….. it is not about doing identity or a logo. You have a business plan? You have a marketing plan? What is your colour plan?

For those who drink COLD water after meal

For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you. It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion. Once this "sludge" reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.
A serious note about heart attacks - You should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line.
You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack. Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms. 60% of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know the better chance we could survive.
(A cardiologist says if everyone who reads this message sends it to 10 people, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life. Read this & Send the link to a friend. It could save a life. So, please be a true friend and send this article to all your friends you care about. )

sugarcane

drinking or eating sugarcane out in the open is not a safe bet....but may be places like swati and soam restaurant are safe to consume a glass of sugarcane juice. more so its healthy and even has a good taste. its also used in many festivals in india.
i really want to design a sugarcane juice maker for household purpose. a small convenient machine with less mess and obviously easy to clean and maintain....and hygienic.

museums in india

as a child we have seen it and as a graphic designer visited them over and over again for various purposes...they are none other than museums in mumbai. it is a sad state of museums all across india. there are many museums from historical to ones influenced through science. nehru science centre in mumbai is one of the maintained and most visited places... but it is not just an exhibit place or a museums it a knowledge building. jehangir art gallery and other town area museums are frequently visited by tourist. but compare these to other international ones and they are way beyond anything. from signage system to architectural developments.... not much has changed in india. this offers a design challenge to all professions including graphic, architects, space and exhibition designers, etc.

ROBERT FROST

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

i love this song

HERO
by mariah carey

There's a hero If you look inside your heart You don't have to be afraid Of what you are There's an answer If you reach into your soul And the sorrow that you know Will melt away

And then a hero comes along With the strength to carry on And you cast your fears aside And you know you can survive So when you feel like hope is gone Look inside you and be strong And you'll finally see the truth That a hero lies in you

It's a long road When you face the world alone No one reaches out a hand For you to hold You can find love If you search within yourself And the emptiness you felt Will disappear

And then a hero comes along With the strength to carry on And you cast your fears aside And you know you can survive So when you feel like hope is gone Look inside you and be strong And you'll finally see the truth That a hero lies in you

Lord knows Dreams are hard to follow But don't let anyone Tear them away Hold on There will be tomorrow In time You'll find the way

And then a hero comes along With the strength to carry on And you cast your fears aside And you know you can survive So when you feel like hope is gone Look inside you and be strong And you'll finally see the truth That a hero lies in you

A KID ... i want to be

i always wondered... why do we grow to become so perfect that we forget to explore life to its fullest? give a object to a kid (i am saying the word object to categorise whatever comes under this) and the kid plays with it......but if an adult is given the same object he only knows how to use it for what it is.

kids are amazing explorers... we learn so much from them. i learnt it, when i had a small new member in my family....my neice... who is so mischievous (having both mallu and maharashtrian genes) that u give her anything she starts fiddling or playing.....with it rather than using it for it is meant to be.......this gives me an opportunity to take her as my best critic...my friend as an explorer for whatever i get or make or do... be it my talks...my experiments on food or otherwise.

kids at whatever age they are ....are always exploring their world ...getting to know the unknown differently and achieving their dreams... i wish i could rewind my years to the best ones!

CST Station

first class signage

this sign has not changed for ages? mumbai railways ladies first class signage.....look at the condition and also the signage now in 2008. do we need a new one?

gas carrier

ever wondered how these workers would be carrying these heavy cylinders through our roads and look at the tyres....and even their feet? can we design something that works for them?

a dreamer...in style

i lovethis pic.....on a sunny day on my way to work i come across this helmut beggar(not that he is wearing one in the snap). he is stationed at this signal at bandra turner road everyday dreaming of something that we wont be comfortably doing at the site that he is on. lots to learn from life ha.....!!!