I have drawn since as far back as I can remember, filling many journals with thoughts, observations, ideas... My diaries are where I think aloud, where I record to remember or share, where I wonder and play. I am known to draw during conferences, while eating and when travelling, and over time, have been pleasantly moved by how many others find joy in my sketches. My diaries are also a space for free, unselfconscious exploration, therefore liberating from the pressure of work. While drawing, I allow my mind and fingers to roam— picking up tools, materials, influences and thoughts at free flow, to be reflected upon only later. In this way, my diaries are not a place where I am clever, I am a bewildered student of my own subconscious mind, of what may ignite its curiosity, of however the dots may connect. This brings immense richness and depth to my work as a designer and artist, and of course, to me as a human being.
I hope you enjoy browsing through some of these meandering musings.
Artwithintent, a lovely initiative, invited me in May 2021, to share my journals with a large live audience on Zoom. Still reeling from and recovering from a devastating second wave of the pandemic in India, these hours together dreaming about travel and enjoying small moments of beauty and connection, became quiet succour. It’s a long video, but if I may say so myself, enjoyable with a hot cup of chai and your feet up.
travel diaries2010–2021
sketch notes2009–2021
From writing to memorise lessons as a child, to embellishing ideas and creating differentiation with lettering, sketchnotes can be seen as a form of quick visual journalism. I draw while at events and conferences, at talks and festivals and discussions, to record and remember, and am happy to find that my notes act as an effective visual shortcut for others as well. I’ve been commissioned to draw live for festivals, and my journals have been published in several design magazines.
lettering explorations2007–2020
