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!