Vinita Jakkal can consider herself one of the lucky ones. She took a hobby she enjoyed in her youth and made it into a full-time job. Now, a senior designer, she lends advice that acts as a guiding light for all the young designers out there.
Just to introduce yourself, if you aren’t freelancing, where are you working and what’s your current job title?
Hello! I am a Graphic Designer, Illustrator and Photographer based in Pune, a Cultural City of Maharashtra. I enjoy working on Branding, Packaging & UI projects. I have completed my Post Graduation in Graphic Design from MIT Institute of Design. I am currently working as a Senior Designer at Elephant Design, Pune.
Tell us about your journey from discovering your craft to acquiring the skill you have now.
Since I was a child, I was fascinated with arts and crafts. I remember the days when I used to spend hours and hours drawing cartoon sketches and coloring them, which, in turn, became my hobby. I believe in a job that can be done in a better way if the person doing it really loves the job, so why not to take a hobby of creating various designs and make that into a full-time profession.
After dealing with various demands from clients and/or bosses, what’s that one experience that you learned the most from?
I think with a wild perspective so before designing anything, I learned that I need to first study the user mentality & his needs from the specific product.
In the whole world, whose work do you aspire yours to be like? And what attracts you to appreciate what they do?
I am a great fan of Malika Favre’s work. I really admire her, I like the simplicity, boldness & expressiveness of her work. Because the simple things are always the most difficult ones.
Screenshot from Malika Favre’s website by Malika Favre
Which project of yours are you particularly proud of? Could you tell us a little about it?
Swa Pune is the project which really close to my heart & I am really proud of it. It is a hypothetical project created for Pune tourism. Designing an identity for a city was a really challenging job. There were a number of parameters which I had considered while working on this project. Pune is the fastest growing city in India. It is an Oxford of the east, a cosmopolitan city, a metropolitan city, a city with the history of Peshwas behind it, it is also known as Deccan odyssey and IT hub.
So I positioned my Pune, which is a cosmopolitan city that offers global connectivity, a rich history & a home to a unique network of people who celebrate excellence & quality living. It is a dynamic city where culture & technology are living hand in hand.
My mission was taking Pune city to another level by building value added experiences for people & shoppers through merchandise.
When I was working on the brand name, I tried to give it a more humanistic approach to Pune by using the Sanskrit word “SWA” which means “My Own”. The aim was to create an emotional bond between the city & the people, not only the ones who live here but also for who visits the city for various purposes. Over the years, the ratio of Punekars & people moving to Pune tremendously increased from 90:10 percent to almost 50:50 percent. Pune is not only home for the Punekars but also the residents who came here for business or educational purposes.
While working on identity design, I took inspiration from old window architecture & Shiva mudra. Also for the visual language of the brand, I picked elements from the city itself like Bakarwadi, bridges, theater art, modaks, temples & created minimalistic icons & used them as a pattern.
Can we have a piece of advice that helps you with your own workflow?
Its simple: Research > Brainstorm > Rough Sketches > Digital Rendition > Final output.
So, what are you working on now?
Mostly Branding & Packaging projects; especially FMCG Brands. Also working on my own website 🙂
Where do you see yourself in the future?
Running my own company.
How do you unwind and refresh your creative juices?
Traveling makes me happy because you go close to nature. Nature has always been source of inspiration for me.
Have you ever tried out a completely different creative field? If yes, how did that turn out?
Nothing apart from design. But I started my career in animation and later entered the field of graphic design.
If you had to start afresh in the industry today, would you choose a different path and if so, what would it be?
I don’t think I would change my industry. Because I am enjoying my work & that’s what I always wanted to do since my school days.
If you could claim that any one person’s work in India was yours, who would it be?
Instead of claiming anyone’s work as mine, I would love to develop my skills.
Now that you have a firm foothold in the creative world, what would you like to say to ‘all the haters’?
Thank you, haters, for reminding me that I am everything that you can never be.
Quick Questions
Favourite font?
Favourite movie?
A book everybody should read?
Your quick tip to everybody who does the same job as you?
Do what you love. Love what you do. 🙂
What’s the best project you’ve seen on IndieFolio?
~DEITY KOSH~ Deck Of Hindu Deities by Pooja Bhapkar
Could you make something exclusive for us in the next 5 minutes?
We’re just going to take a moment to appreciate the fact that Vinita has given us a face along with a good interview.
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