4: Designing a visual guide with Ruchita Madhok

Today I have Ruchita Madhok with us on Audiogyan. She is the Founder and principle designer of Kahani Design Works; a design studio based in Mumbai. Trained in exhibition design and scenography, Ruchita has worked extensively with corporate organisations and arts institutions in India, the UK and Middle East. She brings influences from visual arts, culture and heritage into Kahani’s creative approach, setting the studio apart as a global Indian design practice.

What practice does Kahani Design works exactly do? What role does research play in your practice? Commissioned or pro-active / pro bono?

Your focus has been narrating a story through visuals in story cities. Be it maps or illustrations. What are the grounds of picking a story and how has that evolved over time?

What goes into making a visual guide / local map? Walks, research, architecting on paper? How long can this process be? How do you decide when to stop? What qualifies to be in the map and what doesn’t?

We as culture are proud of our past but make very less effort to archive / document it. Whats your response to that w.r.t geographical / physical location perspective?

What according to you can be a good start for individuals and groups to start investing time and effort to start telling stories of India visually?