I have been fortunate that most projects I've worked on have materialised in the marketplace, and most of these have enjoyed sustained success. If you live in India, chances are I've had the privilege of touching your life somewhere, somehow.

Symphony has always chosen to differentiate its products on the basis of superior design, which is why it has consistently led the pack in every category it is in. We decided to make their new Shogun air cooler look totally contemporary as products from other categories - audio systems, PCs, automobiles… The Shogun is displayed at the "Best of contemporary Indian Product Design" exhibit in New Delhi.

What do you do when you have major investments in tea brands, and you find the youth getting seduced by the suddenly-in coffee bars? If you're Unilever (HLL in India), you take them head-on. We were commissioned to develop a new retail identity (from name & logo to interiors, furniture, graphics...) for a chain of "tea-bars" to swing young people back into having tea. This project did not make it into the market owing to some internal issues within HLL about the project.

Water purifiers and fans - these products are essentially Indian. To Bajaj Electricals, one of India's biggest consumer appliance businesses, these were flagship projects. Avoiding the trap of ephemeral and exotic design, we stuck to classical elegance, enhanced use/service convenience and high engineering quality in the design of these products. Launched over a decade ago, these three products are still frontrunners (and moneyspinners) for Bajaj.

Vijay Transport had an ambition to grow from being a local trucker to a national-level transport/logistics service. It needed to drastically upgrade its corporate identity, but was reluctant to drop its 50-year old name and legacy. Its new CI, as "V-Trans" pitchforked it into a higher league instantly, while satisfying the board and employees that it had retained a clue to its rich past.

Skillset
1. Industrial design - consumer apps, semi-industrial products
2. Graphic design - symbols/logos, publications, exhibits
3. Marketing Communication - copywriting, direct mail, promos
4. Branding / Identity - identity/brand audits, strategy, implementation, workshops
5. Computers - all major graphics software (both platforms), a little rusty on 3D design software, all major web / new media software (PC/Win)
6. Languages - Fluent in English, Hindi, Gujarati. Can survive with French, Marathi, Punjabi.
7. Freehand draw/sketch - I love it, and I'm very good at it. I often sculpt my own styrofoam models. I also enjoy drawing caricatures & comix ("graphic novels").

Brief CV
1. graduated from NID, India in 1988 with Industrial Design major
2. worked with ASA Design, an ID firm in Bombay, from 1989-93. involved in a number of successful ID projects.
3. worked freelance in Ahmedabad from 1993-95 in ID as well as Communications/Graphic Design.
4. worked as Creative Director of Ogilvy's design/branding unit Artistree. built a team, led a number of successful branding/identity projects.
5. presently working as consultant in ID, MarCom, Soc Marketing areas at a senior/strategic level. clients include manufacturers, retailers, IT service businesses, ISPs and NGO/CBOs.
6. have taught/lectured since 1993 at various institutes design, communications, design management related subjects.