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AVANT-GARDE AHIMSA

Fundraising for the education of the girl child through mindful, sustainable product design. 




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AVANT-GARDE AHIMSA was designed to instigate mindful consumption in everyday life by the non-profit Handmaking Hope for ︎︎︎ J. B. Petit High School for Girls, Mumbai. 

The project was geared to raise funds for the education of underprivileged girls under the Right-To-Education Act in India while supporting local communities through the production of sustainable, eco-friendly calendars. 


Read More About J. B. Petit ︎︎︎





“AVANT-GARDE AHIMSA was developed through a process of constant iteration and care in hand-crafting special, mindful objects that could guide consumers in their daily lives.”




THE VISUAL IDENTITY—


Rooted in Indian history and philosophy, the visual identity echoed ideas of hand-making and cultivating light and love to remind everyone to ‘start blossoming’ in their everyday life.





PHILOSOPHIES OF TRANSFORMATION: Concept Development
Referencing the ‘Ahimsa Movement’ from India’s Independence Movement this work applies the power of transformation to all aspects of life. Designed with a minimal color palette and aesthetic, each page transforms into a postcard when torn along the perforation on each leaf of the calendar.




MEANING THROUGH METAPHORS: Illustration
From binge eating to self-referential ruminations— the illustrations in the calendar provided modern metaphors for the injustices and acts of violence we commit against ourselves in the contemporary world. Each illustration was carefully hand-drawn on paper and then transferred to a digital platform.





SUPPORTING AND SUSTAINING LOCAL: Manufacturing
The manufacturing process was conducted out of a small print shop in Fort, Mumbai. The process employed 8 local craftsmen who hand-bound and assembled each piece. The paper and inks used were bio-degradable and sustainable.





PROJECT  DETAILS




Client:
          Handmaking Hope  x  J. B. Petit High School for Girls

HANDMAKING HOPE is a Non-Governmental Organization focused on raising funds for the education of the girl child in India through a philosophy of sustainability such that each girl child can sustain themselves through the practice of craft.  

J. B. PETIT HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS was founded in 1860 to provide an education to Indian girls who were restricted from attending British schools in Bombay. With their motto: ‘Ever Forward,’ the school has educated thousands of girls when they were denied their basic right to education.

Timeline:
8 week (Sept-Nov ‘16)

Tools:
Handmade Papers bound in Khadi Fabric, Sustainable Inks, Handmade Jute Pouches, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Procreate


Printing:
450 copies printed and sold to raise funds 

Publisher: Vidhi Digital, Fort, Mumbai, India

Size: A5 

Skills:

        The product development phases included, but were not limited to:
    • Concept Development
    • Visual Identity Creation
    • Graphic Design Layout  
    • Illustration with Digital Manipulations
    • Prototyping & Sampling
    • Final Print & Manufacturing
    • Marketing, Advertising & Product Lobbying for Fundraising
    • Negotiating Deals and Orders with Corporates
    • Packaging, Shipping & Delivering Product Requests


Reflection: 
With each project and each day, we grow and progress  
This was the first time I took on a design project, at the age of 16. With time, I found myself growing and evolving greatly, not just as a person, but also as a designer.

Design is a practice that must benefit your community and people
Working with the craftspeople at the print shop was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. Their love and affection towards their work, the benefit that this project caused their business, and also the girls their product helped fundraise for taught me a great deal.



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YUKTI V. AGARWAL


As a multidisciplinary thinker, my work aims to reimagine societies and futures through engaged research and purposeful design and innovation. 

︎︎︎ About


Brown | RISD Dual Degree Program

Majors 3 
    Textile Design  
    Psychology   
    Mindfulness Studies

Minor 1
    Art and Design History