By Naresh Gupta
1. After 10 years, you can reinvent a very successful conference. New theme, new anchor and new energy; things that Kyoorius achieved with great aplomb.
2. Over a 1000 professionals and budding design professionals who attended the Yatra ensured that every speaker was in schedule. This is a massive achievement. Being on time is almost the culture for KDY.
3. The crowd was extremely well-dressed. It was great to see boys and girls dressed impeccably. One look at the crowd and you knew you are at a swish design conference.
4. From Tony Davidson of W+K to Michael Wolff, from Singgih Kartno to Yuko Shimuzu, they all stressed on how culture matters and how culture shaped their craft.
5. Collaboration is the new word I learnt. It was amazing how these gifted craftsmen and craftswomen collaborated with professionals of different skills to offer a better solution to their clients.
6. Design can be used for good. It can be used to raise funds, it can be used to fight a rare disease, it can be used to drive potential students to a university. Design can be used to raise public awareness about a complex disease like Cystic Fibrosis using an extremely sharp but simple insight. Therein lies the power of good design.
7. ‘The client is supreme’. There wasn’t one speaker who did not focus on this one aspect. There is a lesson that lies in this singular statement for all of us in the industry we work in.
8. Yuko Shumuzu left everyone with a simple advise, work for money, and if you do decide to work for free, then you work for yourself and not for a client. If there is no money in a project, then there is no reason to be left out.
9. The moment of the three-day conference was when three mothers took to stage to speak about their sons. The lessons from home and the influence of culture were there for all to see. This was a very cleverly planned session, made even more memorable by Vincent, the new MC.
10. The brands use the wider design community for creating campaigns; I wonder why the mainline advertising agencies do not attend KDY in much larger numbers. There are lessons that mainline agencies have to learn from the wider design community and the brands’ desire to leverage design for communication solutions.
Naresh Gupta is Chief Strategy Officer and Managing Partner, Bang in the Middle
The eleventh edition of premier design conference Kyoorius Designyatra moves to Jaipur this year, with the theme: “Why am I here?†The event will be held at the Pink City’s Fairmont Hotel and spread over a period of three days – September 29 to October 1. The theme will explore facets of creativity – whether we are chasing our passions or just doing mundane work; be it in designing, writing, shooting or exploring multiple avenues for creativity.