My work is meant to challenge your preconceptions, expand your mind, honor the sacred, and evoke feelings of adventure, exploration, and deep spiritual connection.
1.Tell us more about yourself and your life.
I’m a New Delhi based independent multi-discipline, mixed-media artist, designer, treasure hunter, fallen angel, and soul searcher. My work is a personification of my personal spiritual journey. I share my glasses with the world in the hope of inspiring a deeper connection between people through my work. My work is to encourage people to live deeply, love fearlessly, and to appreciate this heavenly place called Earth.
While minimalism and post-modernist thought are the main influence of my work, my work is based on in-depth research on the subject. I aim to create much more than superficially beautiful objects. My work is meant to challenge your preconceptions, expand your mind, honor the sacred, and evoke feelings of adventure, exploration, and deep spiritual connection. I'm honored to have worked with some of the best publishers, media houses, organizations, leaders, scholars, intellectuals, individuals and friends who have helped me grow each day.
2.What is a role and scope of work for a designer like you ?
The scope is endless if one is willing to keep evolving with time, mediums and technology. I do not confine myself into one particular field of design due to my eagerness to know more and learn more which opens up a huge atmosphere of opportunities and hope.
3. Which are some of the tools & software that a graphic designer must be aware of?
Before learning the tools and software, I recommend exposing oneself with the elements of art, design and composition. Exploring various mediums while understanding the foundation of design widens one's mind exponentially as well. Short lessons of the history of design are also very helpful. I might sound orthodox, but I don't believe that your introduction to the field should start with software. After learning and practicing the basics, one can easily find out what software would suit their kind and style of work. In my case, I only use Adobe software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, InDesign and Premiere and Apple's Procreate. These software have so far fulfilled all my work requirements but I'm always up to learning new software if the project demands.
4. How often do you have to keep upskilling yourself?
I need to up-skill myself on the daily basis, whether I'm working or not. As a serious design practitioner, my skills have become my habits. The fundamental skills continue to develop with practice but new skills and knowledge have to be added externally continuously, in order to remain relevant and updated with the ever changing world.
5.What are some of challenges and roadblocks you have faced along your journey?
Illustration is still not considered a mainstream job profile in India, this stereotype sometimes hold you back from starting a new venture.
Another challenge is communication with the client. Misunderstandings can lead to extremely bad failures.
6.What led you into social activism?
I was brought up in a very free thinking family. Due to the exposure of various ideologies and cultures, often conflicting each other, I organically became more interested and expressive about the social fabric of the environment around me.
7.Who is your favorite illustrator and why?
It'd be very hard and quite unjust to mention one favorite illustrator as there are so many who inspire me on daily basis. I'd like to mention two illustrators whose work I recently started to understand and study; William Blake and Satyajit Ray.
Special mention to Anne Poor, Marion Greenwood, Adolphe Cassandre, Herbert Bayer, Alexey Brodovich, Paul Rand, Saul Bass and Milton Glaser for their ground breaking work.
8. What piece of advice would you like to give to future aspiring illustrators?
Keep observing and keep practicing. It will polish both; skills and mind
SIDDHESH GAUTAM
Artist
Interviewed By
Akshaya Rathinavadivel
Social