For Siya Golecha, design was by no means a straight line. Earlier than founding Siyart, the impartial design studio she now runs between India and London, her path wound via fantastic artwork, blended media, and printmaking. It was solely throughout a basis yr at Central Saint Martins that she began to think about graphic design as a critical pursuit.
“Considered one of my tutors, whose opinion I strongly valued, inspired me to suppose significantly about graphic design as I had a very good steadiness of creative abilities and enterprise understanding, and saved up with world developments,” Siya recollects. “This perception went on to utterly shift my perspective on what I might do subsequent.”
That subsequent step was a BA in Graphic and Media Design on the London School of Communication, the place she immersed herself in editorial design. Eight publications later, she had not solely mastered the basics but in addition developed a rising fascination with model identification. “I liked constructing a model identification from scratch, serving to form its voice, story and persona,” she says.
Then, the leap into independence got here rapidly, together with her first challenge coming via an Instagram DM. Siya explains: “Engaged on that challenge end-to-end made me realise that is what I needed all alongside – to construct a apply from the bottom up that enabled me to discover myself and my pursuits.”
Two bases, two views
Working between India and London isn’t with out its challenges, however for Siya, it is a important supply of artistic power. “Having a apply in numerous geographies isn’t the best to steadiness logistically, however it’s one thing I actually take pleasure in and profit from,” she says.
In India, she is surrounded by traditions, colors and crafts that naturally affect her work. London, against this, affords publicity to world design tradition, mentors, and cutting-edge studios. Somewhat than treating them as separate worlds, she strikes fluidly between each.
“Transferring between locations makes me adaptable, and opens the doorways to journey, to attend occasions, and to collaborate with purchasers throughout completely different areas,” says Siya. “Somewhat than counting on a single atmosphere, I get to soak up contexts from each, which retains my apply evolving.”
Designing with storytelling, tradition and empathy
Ask Siya what defines her design ethos, and three phrases recur: storytelling, tradition, empathy. Every, she believes, is important for work that resonates.
“For me, good tales need to be informed in artistic and fascinating methods,” she says. “Storytelling is about proudly owning your story and sharing it in a means that feels actual, whereas tradition provides depth and makes a design really feel private as an alternative of generic. Empathy is what permits the work to attach emotionally, not simply visually.”
In a local weather the place AI-generated visuals danger flooding the sphere with surface-level work, she sees these qualities as extra vital than ever. Siya provides, “I feel with AI changing into extra current, there’s a actual danger of dropping your voice.
“Having a powerful sense of your personal story and tradition offers you an higher hand, as a result of it retains the work human.”
Jaipur, reimagined
Of all her tasks, one stands out above the remaining. As a part of an internship software, Siya was tasked with making a model identification for her hometown of Jaipur. Somewhat than approaching it like a traditional metropolis model, she drew from her personal lived expertise.
“The challenge was my submission to an internship software at Designwerk, London,” she explains. “Somewhat than starting with the town as a complete, I made a decision to start with my very own expertise. Jaipur is the town that formed my childhood, and it felt vital to design immediately from my very own perspective.”
The consequence was a heat, textured identification impressed by block prints, hand-painted signage, and the colors of residence. Typography selections had been significantly difficult, although.
Siya says: “I needed one thing that carried a way of custom however nonetheless felt trendy and unconventional, so balancing nostalgia with freshness turned the defining activity.
The result is each private and common, and it is clearly a love letter to Jaipur that sidesteps clichés, whereas nonetheless respecting the town’s historical past. “The objective was to create one thing heartfelt that represented what Jaipur means to me personally, not simply the way it seems on the skin,” she provides. “It confirmed me how design can maintain emotion and reminiscence and never simply look good.”
Empathy in apply
Empathy is usually a type of buzzwords that seem with out substance, however in the case of Siya, it is clear simply how a lot it influences her method to listening and responding in each challenge. She explains: “With purchasers, I attempt to transcend the transient and perceive not solely what they need to talk via their model, but in addition what this story or challenge means to them and the way they need others to expertise it.
“Private tasks, in the meantime, are rooted in her personal reminiscences and cultural context.”
Her reinterpretation of Lotería, the standard Mexican card sport, is a working example. She studied its cultural symbolism and reimagined it in a means that felt each celebratory and rooted in custom. In each Lotería and Jaipur, the purpose was to create work that makes folks really feel “nostalgic, proud, or understood.”
Classes in independence
Operating Siyart has introduced its justifiable share of classes and surprises. “Probably the most vital classes that working independently has taught me is that design is greater than the artistic facet – it is about folks, their story and the collaborative technique of bringing a imaginative and prescient to life,” says Siya.
She has additionally discovered to embrace unpredictability. “Among the most rewarding alternatives arrived in probably the most atypical and mundane methods, like an surprising DM in response to a put up, or a passing dialog,” she provides. Siya additionally believes that persistence and persistence typically matter greater than fast wins.
Wanting forward
Unsurprisingly, when requested what’s subsequent, Siya is eager to tackle extra tasks that mix tradition, storytelling and identification. “Working with way of life, vogue and meals manufacturers significantly pursuits me, as they typically carry robust narratives ripe for progressive portrayal,” she says. She’s equally enthusiastic about experimental work that crosses disciplines and challenges conventions.
In the end, Siyart stays a vessel for her curiosity and a platform for tales she believes deserve a voice. “Over the long run, my objective is to seek out tales I consider the world can profit from, and construct identities round them that really feel genuine, emotional and sturdy.”
