Last week, I happen to attend Kyoorius Designyatra 2012--an alarmingly inspiring event that bridges the divide between the popular irrelevance of design as a concept, and it's real global impact. With speakers (some of whom I now call friends) as diverse as design heads of global conglomerates to rural revolutionaries of disruptive innovation, I expected little more than another event cheekily camouflaging itself behind the neocool corporate mantra of design thinking.
On the closing day, I was asked (yes, via Twitter) to share my thoughts on stage. It started out as a little list I scribbled (read: typed on my iPhone) minutes prior to finding myself before a thousand inspired minds. Humbled by several requests to share the list, I put forth my key 7½ take-aways from the event.
Your wife determines everything. (Read: happy wife, happy life).
Courtesy of Robert Wong and Bill Lunderman.
When its from your heart and with humility, money, success, and in some cases your wife coming back, just happen eventually.
Courtesy of Ambrish Arora, Nic Roope and Arunachalam Muruganantham.
When designers move up from the kids table, beautiful things emerge.
Courtesy of Robert Wong and Rodney Edwards.
Branding, marketing, design, advertising, when stripped bare, is nothing but storytelling.
Courtesy of Masashi Kawamura and Kentaro Kimura.
Don't design things. But the experiences they create.
Courtesy of Karl Heiselman, Bill Lunderman and Joachim Sauter.
A picture is greater than 1000 words; but typefaces make pictures out of words again.
Courtesy of Hanif Kureshi, Paul Barnes, Bruno Maag and Marian Bantyes.
A man can go through his entire life and never truly understand the hardships of a woman. Unless he happens to be Arunachalam. We need to try a hell of a lot harder as men.
Courtesy of Arunachalam Muruganantham.
(½) There's no perfect time to get started on your dream. Start playing--now. (As in, stop reading this blog post and get started this very moment)
Courtesy of Nic Roope.
Hat tip to my newfound friend Rajesh Kejriwal for igniting, and seven years on, tirelessly ensuring a design movement continues in India. And for the great company, Wisam Amid and Nehal Ahmed.
More about Kyoorius Designyatrahere. And lookup #kdy12 on Twitter & Instagram.
