Kyoorius DesignYatra emphasises on ‘Creating Change’ through Design

DesignYatra 2013 focussed on its theme ‘Create Change’ by at bringing together industry legends to share insights and map the road ahead for the design fraternity. The aim was to look beyond the aesthetic appeal and apply design as a tool to create real change. This was considered a step forward in the direction of connecting with the audience not only visually, but even emotionally.

Eminent speakers such as Melissa Weigel (creator and director of  Moment Factory), Dominic Harris (founder and creative director of Cinimod Studio), Andy Goodman (managing director, Fjord), Margaret Stewart (director of product design, Facebook), and Tim Greenhalgh (chief creative officer of Fitch) led the discussions that were moderated by Ije Nwokorie (managing director of Wolff Olins, London) and Max Hegerman (managing director of  Edelman Digital, India).

Dedicated to the digital space, the IAA Kyoorius Digiyatra on 29 August 2013 initiated the three day event. Speakers like João Cardoso Fernandes of VIEW Isobar, Simon Sankarraya of AllofUs, Laura Jordan Bambach of Dare UK among others demonstrated how change can be brought about through the digital medium.

They not only looked at designing user experiences, but also innovative content creation. As the digital ad spends in India have been growing at 25% yearly, the discussions revolved around continuing to build online platforms and content for enhanced consumer engagement.

The first day was concluded with the inaugural edition of the Kyoorius Awards in association with Design and Art Direction (D&AD) and International Advertising Association (IAA), India chapter.

According to Rajesh Kejriwal, founder and chief executive officer of Kyoorius, the Awards witnessed eclectic entries across nine design categories. The entries were judged on three criteria, namely reviewing if the entry is an original and inspiring idea, is it well executed and if it is relevant to its context.

Out of the 437 entries, two entries received the highest honour, that is the 'Black Elephant' and 18 bagged the 'Blue Elephant'. Click here to get the complete list of award winners.

The Kyoorius Designyatra followed on 30 and 31 August and stressed upon the need to enrich and galvanise the design community in India. Case studies were presented by Jessica Walsh  of Sagmeister & Walsh, KV Sridhar of Leo Burnett, Ramesh Sathiah of SongZu, Oliver Jeffers and more. Not only did the industry practitioners communicate over panel discussions and presentations but also indulged in networking informally through the course of the event.

This year was marked by a special exhibition that showcased the unique work of 20 traditional artists from all over the country. These artists were commissioned to create art work based on their indigenous art forms (including Madhubani, Warli, Bengal Patua, Orissa Pattachitra, Gond Art) based on the theme of ‘Create Change’. These art pieces were auctioned during Designyatra, accumulating a total of Rs 2,80,000 towards Kyoorius Grant (grant.kyoorius.com) which has been launched this year to help passionate students conclude their final year projects.  Rajesh Kejriwal and Papers by Kyoorius  promised to donate the same amount from their side hereby doubling the amount and raising Rs 5,60,000 for the Kyoorius Grant.