In my career as a designer and as a student of design, I count myself very fortunate to have been in the company of these extraordinary individuals. They have played a pivotal role in my journey as a designer, both, as a thinker and a practitioner of the craft of design.
Bill Moggridge.
“What about magic?”
This is what Bill Moggridge said to me and fellow interaction designers while discussing ideas for our Master’s Thesis Projects at the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea in Italy, in 2003. These three words encapsulate the wondrous spirit of this very inspiring designer and design leader, and they have remained with me ever since. They remind me to never forget the power of wonder and the art of magic, to create unforgettable experiences. I was fortunate to have had him as a mentor and he remains an infinite source of inspiration to me.
David Kelly.
Humility
I met David in 2013, during my IDEO 101 induction programme at IDEO’s iconic office at Pier 28 in San Francisco. What struck me most about this gentleman was his humility, passion for design, and his ever present quest to learn more. Looking at David one realises what it means to design with honesty and creative intelligence, and the importance of a learner mindset – being truly open to learning something new everyday. What I loved even more about David though, was his passion for Ducati motorcycles; my passion too.
Hiroshi Ishii.
Humanizing Digital
I first came across the radical work being done by Professor Hiroshi Ishii and his Tangible Media Group at MIT in 2000, while working on a project on creating tangible and intuitive user interfaces sponsored by Xerox PARC. His vision to make the abstract digital more physical, more tactile and more human, way before the world was even thinking about humanizing technology in such a manner, has always been an inspiration for me. I met him in Italy in 2002, and my respect for his thinking and work grew even more then. The way I see it, Professor Ishii’s work is built around 2 core principles common to good design as well – simplification and delight. And that is why he remains a constant source of inspiration for me.
Casey Reas.
Design with numbers
Casey was one of my professors at the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea in Italy. He, along with Ben Fry, furthered John Maeda’s popular ‘Design By Numbers’ (DBN) programming platform to create visuals with code, or “computational illustrations”, by developing ‘Processing’ – a simple programming tool for making pictures, choreographing animation, and creating interactive work, all with code. ‘Processing’ was launched in 2001, and I was fortunate to be around Casey to see him develop it into the unique visual design tool that it became. His attention to details and bias towards keeping things as simple as possible, is something that I took away and have kept close ever since.
Ettore Sottsass.
Form follows fun
Living in the Ivrea, a town made famous by the Olivetti company of Italy that was established here, brought me up close to an enduring and paradigm shifting design object from sixties – the much loved Olivetti Valentine typewriter. Better still I had the opportunity to meet in person its iconic designer – Ettore Sottsass, when he came in to our institute to share his thoughts on design. What was a revelation to me was his deep connect to India, and the inspiration he found here and that informed his designs all through his career, including the design exuberance of the Valentine too. He was a master in bringing alive an element of childlike playfulness and fun to his designs, something that I am always reminded of, refreshed by, whenever I see his work and think of this iconic designer.