On Sunday, 18th June at Antisocial in Khar, Mumbai we had Sahil Vaidya and Chirag Gander, Co-founders of The Minimalist.
Sahil Vaidya, Co-Founder
Chirag Gander, Co-Founder
The Minimalist gained popularity as a Facebook page but now it’s a creative agency. At the time of its inception, both were students of IIT, Bombay. They met because they were attracted to fun in design and simplicity. In general, they both had a fantastically unique way of viewing the world and what was happening around them.
In response to a BJP minister wanting momos to be banned.
While still in college, Chirag began by designing a few images and they took a step back and thought, “Hey, let’s get some of this out there and see what people think.” Hence the Facebook page. After they graduated, they realised they had something special in their hands and now, at just 23 and 24 Chirag is not only a Co-founder but also a faculty member of The Miami Ad School.
They joked about how any aunty would say they started well by getting into IIT but would also say they are now losers for not liking it. After working with 100+ clients in two and a half years, they’re far from it. And their work speaks for itself.
In response to Salman Khan being acquitted in the black buck killing case.
When it’s on, it’s on.
They began humbly. From a small office space and paying as just Rs.18,000 in rent and a few interested clients gained through their IIT network, they’ve grown into a team of around 40 people. In two and half years, they’ve worked with’100+ clients and only about 20% of their business comes from pitching to clients. The rest is inbound. They mentioned that the key is to try your hardest to avoid design bloopers.
Would not want to wake up to the sun rising like this.
When you create a design blooper (or a failed design), people laugh at your brand and see you as a joke.
What kind of dentistry is this?
Most designers think differently from the general public and the only way to avoid design bloopers is by user-testing your designs before release.
These bloopers can be very funny but it’s not what you want for your brand. They moved onto the series they created about educational degrees of India. It was focused on being in good humour with innovative wordplay and had a flavour that’s just so The Minimalist.
Their ideas aren’t just for having a bit of fun. They also have great social messages behind them.
A public service announcement.
Brilliant use of a sport to drive a message.
They can be quite astute with our country too. The images you are about to see will be relevant for more than a while.
Did you see Batman’s logo in the negative space?
Was appreciated by the Government of India.
This was shared on Independence Day.
They say that their work is based on the Eureka moment. If the idea is great, they do it. If they don’t have a great idea, they don’t do anything. Some of their work is timeless, some are relevant and some showcase their personality.
This was one of Sahil’s favourites.
Clearly, they aren’t a regular creative agency. They don’t do SEO or SEM, maybe later but not now. It’s not them right now. For now, they do with they do very well and brands like Coca-Cola, TCS, Marico, Kotak, Housing, Godrej and more have worked with them because of the level of quality they bring to their work.
However, as much as they are about pleasing clients, some brands just have strong associations with what’s going on in the news.
And what get’s really crazy is when people start taking what they do online into an offline space. When they posted this picture, people sent them pictures of real rangolis they made that had the same design.
Whatever your inkling, you will find that theirs are the thoughts that echo with all of us. Maybe we all could with a bit more minimalism in our life.
At the end of this MasterClass, Wacom brought some of their wonderful technology for the attendees to tinker around with.
Wacom makes excellent tools for designers and is the top choice for designing on a tablet. If you want to design like The Minimalist or take up your own style, try a Wacom product, it could elevate the level of the designer in you.
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