6KQ: Six Kwik Questions With Nishita Kavadia, Interaction Designer

I love how this series is shaping up and hope you are enjoying getting to know these very interesting people spread across the globe.

This week, for the third edition of 6KQ, I present to you an interview with Nishita Kavadia, an interaction designer based in Mumbai, India.

[Note: All images used in this entry are the property of Nishita Kavadia and may not be re-used without her permission.]

1. Me: Thank you, Nishita, for agreeing to do this interview with me. Now, I know you graduated with a Communication Design diploma from Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology in Bangalore a few years ago, but I’m curious to know how you ended up there. What made you choose Srishti over your other options?

Nishita: At the time that I decided I wanted to study design, the options were limited. The sad truth about design education in India is that, nine years later, not much has changed. There was a thin line between design and ‘commercial art’, which a lot of smaller institutions offered. This kind of study was very specifically catered towards building skills to succeed in the field of advertising or more niche areas of design such as – fashion, industrial or set design. But to venture into the field of design, not having a pre-decided specialization, you were left with only two options – The National Institute of Design was considered the premier design destination, and to get through there you had to compete with thousands, maybe more students from all over the country and that did not work in my favour. That’s when I came across Srishti.

2. Me: What was your experience at Srishti like?

Nishita: It had been only 4 years since Srishti had opened its gates, back in the year 2000. The program was raw, fresh and flexible. There was a lot of emphasis on unlearning and looking at the world afresh. That, I believe, laid the foundation for a new way of thinking. While there was focus on learning new skills, the larger structure lay open to exploration. If you realized a few years into the program that you wanted to study film, you could request a tailor-made course. Not only did it open me up to a global view on design but also led me to remote parts of India to discover the crafts and new cultures. It was a fascinating time of self-discovery, learning and living.

3. Me: What advice (about choosing a school) would you give to someone considering a career in communication design?

Nishita: Communication Design was a great choice for me because it let me focus on combining the basics of information and graphic design with mixed media – print, web, sound and video. A good reason to acquaint yourself with art and design history is that it inspires you to develop an aesthetic eye and a unique style. I’d say, while choosing a school, one should look out for a course that has a strong balance between learning the basics of visual design and pushing the boundaries with new media. A framework that allows you to constantly explore the various possibilities with media is necessary. From my experience, a school that enables you to understand and interact with people from all walks of life helps develop a healthy outlook.

4. Me: As an interaction designer, what are your most frequently used tools when working on client projects?

Nishita: You have to wear many hats – and juggle at the same time! There are some tools that grow on a designer, almost like additional limbs. For me, the ability to simplify a brief, spot a problem and deliver a solution that is simple and sustainable is important. I like to collect new tools and resources that help me to communicate better – be it fonts, wares, references, scripts, graphic styles – if it catches my fancy, it must be saved. I also find it useful to doodle, build mockups and create mind maps when trying to work on a solution.

People tend to have a strong vision of what they want something to be and when there is an overlap in this vision, that’s when a true solution emerges. So it’s important to bounce your ideas off a team of different thinkers. You might see something you didn’t see before.

I especially like this excerpt from a poem by Ani DiFranco:

“I sing sometimes for the war that I fight
’cause every tool is a weapon -
if you hold it right.”

5. Me: Outside of design, what do you drawn inspiration from?

Nishita: I get inspired by the littlest of things all through the day. A really well-written piece, even a beautiful photograph can trigger so many different emotions. Besides that, people who do amazing work are such an instant stimulus. Like recently, I saw a talk from the TED India conference by Pranav Mistry, which completely blew me away. It opens you up to a world where people are willing to share brilliant and awe-inspiring ideas that can channel a whole new level of possibilities. I also like to travel and connect with nature whenever I can – it gives me the space to be introspective and redefine my purpose in life.

6. Me: Speaking of inspiration, you recently took a trip to the USA to spend time with family. What were your impressions of America?

Nishita: Travelling to new places is always an adventure. I get totally engrossed in studying how the people and places differ from the ones back home. It’s interesting to draw parallels because it lets you understand the systems that work or don’t work in a place. When I was travelling through the Yosemite National Park I came across rambler strips on the divider as well as the shoulder of the road. This is something I had never seen before and think if it were to be implemented everywhere, it could make our roads potentially safer.

Summer is a great time to visit America because everyone’s in such a great mood overall and there’s always something fun going on. It’s also hard to stay away from political banter, be it about health policies or the economy. If you’re in New York or San Francisco, you are instantly drawn to the cultural diversity which is reflected in its people and food. America has a lot of systems in place that make everyday living far easier compared to a lot of other countries, however, as a nation I wish they’d consume LESS – paper and power.

To know more about Nishita, visit her website at nishmash.com