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  • HILL START

    The dreadful wait at a bus-stop rarely is a boring phenomenon for me. I marvel at the massive chunks of engineering that dominate the single lane road in front of me. Of cource, this is the time where my creative identity as a research practitioner (more on this later) takes over and I start to capture things on my tiny iphone 12 mini:

    The bright blue sky with the bright blue truck in the foreground, awkward flat orthographic type view, speaks heavily to the artist in me. In hindsight as I write this, it strangely reminds me of Carl Sagan – Pale Blue Dot (probably because of Artemis II rabitholes I am exploring lately)!

    The Poster

    At first, I really wanted to focus on the blues and play it safe. But then I decided to take a bolder, brighter and wilder stance.

    Warping the photo, added drama. It was a great starting point. It transformed the flat road into a hill and gave notions of a ‘hill start’.

    Then with RGB Yellow and Cooper Black font (design decision inspired from Dennis School of Motoring‘s matchbook design), the poster started to look, as your clients would always want your designs to be – POPPY.

    Using the flow of the truck, I added flames! and more flames! everywhere.

    Fun Fact: The design element on the bottom right uses 5 fonts in itself! It was inspired from the beautiful work of Annie Atkins, especially her Manifesto for working under pressure.

    Inza Galaxies : Auto Devanagari

    I want to create a font in devanagri font which would be used and inspired by the transport industry in east asia. It coud be grotesk or one could typeset a book in it. I don’t know this at the moment. Right now, I am thinking that it would be a somewhat devanagri version of ‘Serpentine‘, but this may change overtime.

    Some inspiration:

    This project has several challenges. The first being that I am not a qualified type designer and I have zero experience in designing a font.

    To get a better understanding of designing a devanagari typeface, I reached out to Janhavi Nikharge to talk about her project ‘Loco Devanagari‘ which I have always been a fan of. In my next newsletter, I will talk about how it went.

    The Observable Universe

    These series of observations are titled: ‘Great typography emerges from the earth’.

    The Unknown

    ‘Your Research Practice Is Your Creative Identity‘ by Zoë Yasemin was a very interesting read. She says,

    Research is when the act of looking starts producing ideas. You are making connections across unrelated fields, noticing patterns, and building a visual argument. You find a photograph in a 1970s Italian architecture magazine, and it changes how you think about negative space on a brief you’ve been stuck on for two weeks.

    I couldn’t help but thinking of my practice of ‘image-making’ as a research practice. I have always followed a very similar process while making these posters but the graphic treatment varies all the time. I have had a very hard time understanding what’s ‘my style’ (or creative identity in this context). But maybe, this ‘research practice’ of looking and capturing things in a certain way is my creative identity. It has definitely helped me make connections across unrelated fields and make creative breakthroughs.

    Thanks for reading! I am off to watching Nasa’s livestream of Artemis II (literal goosebumps, btw).

  • Fridays are for Facebook Marketplace

    Apologies for being off the grid lately. Started a new role at a mom-and-pop print shop where I get to design really BIG things. quite literally.

    Above: 1/3 panels for a scrap metal company.

    On Friday evenings, as I brace myself for the endless chores and scheduling a time for a “break”, I slip into the comfort of doomscrolling on my favourite platform – Facebook Marketplace.

    I truly believe that a lot can be said and studied about Facebook Marketplace in a philosophical, political and socio-economic sense. It’s a fever dream for the anti-consumerism enthusiasts.

    So, to honor this friday ritual, I did what I do best – design a poster!

    The poster
    poster notes
    • The design takes a lot of inspiration from goth design. Probably because I read The thing that wouldn’t die: why Gothic endures in visual culture.
    • Used Aaron Draplin’s “DDC Hardware” font!
    • Broke my celibacy of not using half-tone patterns in my designs.
    • Generated a fictional map using Gemini AI and traced it for the background.

    This poster would actually look sick on a totebag (this is where I invite brand collabs, hehe).

    Inza Galaxies: Racing Car Decals.

    While I was at the Australian Grand Prix, I saw some very cool supercars. Notably, Mr. Lightning McQueen!

    I couldn’t help but think how would I wrap my car in stickers? Like a Indian ethnic maximalist design car would look so cool. This idea is still in its nascent form. Lets see how we go.

    The Observable Universe

    Very very interesting and creative piece of branding spotted in the wild. This is Inza Core.

    The Unknown

    I read It’s Nice That’s article on Dinamo type foundry’s auto-inspired typeface ‘ABC Schengen‘. I wish I had the money to buy that font ISTG!

    But anyways, this font family really made me observant and joyful about the unrecognised real estate graphic design has on the roads.

    Also, stumbled across a book on making ‘stick chairs’ (it reminded me of the concept of ‘CAD Celibacy’ – but more on that in the next newsletter). It’s a fun, peaceful read and you can download a PDF copy from their website for free!

    Thank you for reading and don’t forget to lowball strangers on facebook marketplace! And to keep your creative souls inspired, I’d like to end this newsletter with a quote I read from Austin Kleon’s newsletter:

    Have a great week!

  • What to do with rejected designs?

    On many occasions, as a designer, your designs will be rejected by the powers that be. Back in university when one of the professors did not like someone’s design pitch for whatever reason, she wasn’t so subtle about it. She said and I quote, ‘don’t be afraid to kill your darlings’. While this advice is functional and practical, I don’t think it’s neccesary to kill your darlings. You can make them exist in other forms- like art.

    Something similar happened to me last week. I had to design an animated poster for a techno event club and I went all in. I researched on techno aesthetics, spent hours modelling on blender and rendered an animation for it- praying that my laptop would survive this atrocity. Unfortunately, they hated it and I got ghosted.

    But would I waste my labour and kill my darling? I don’t think so. So, I tweaked it and posted it on Instagram! It’s like a beautiful scar. Here is the poster:

    So, I feel it’s really important to have some channel where you can showcase your darlings as art instead of killing them. For me, its my instagram and this blog. Where does your creative dump go?

    Inza Galaxies : Experience in Design Reel

    I posted this reel a few days back and and checked it off my ideas list. It was completely made out of frustration of companies rejecting me because I ‘lacked enough agency experience’. Anyways, I enjoyed working on its typography a lot.

    The Observable Universe

    Saw this in some corner of Melbourne. It was a treat to use so many typefaces in a single block flirting with heirachy, against a red bricked structure – pure vibes.

    The Unknown

    Read Julian’s article : Copyright Won’t Save You. It talks about the history and contradictions of the copyright law and how to survive as an artist in the world of AI. My favorite line in the essay is this:

    To have rights in the United States, it is more strategic to be a business than to be a person.

    Thanks for reading! See you next week.

  • Laundry Day

    When I get tired of the bluelight, I resort to my sketchbook. It’s calming yet a humbling experience. There’s neither a ‘ctrl+z’ nor any demands for perfection. A meditative state.

    In this state, I try to draw the ordinary. A hand holding a sign. A minimalist version of it. What directions do the knuckles point? Should I draw the fingernails? Why am I even drawing this? But I do it anyway- hoping that this would look better once I fix it… in the bluelight. I am tired again.

    The poster

    To be honest, I just wanted to experiment with a different shape (sketch 1) and how that could be used to make a creative label or a sign. Later, I sort of improvised on the design and ended up with this comical poster. I was not proud of it fully and knew there is something more to it. So as I am writing this, I made this:

    I truly believe there are more possibilities to this design. This could be used in a way-finding or an identity design system, or totally something else.

    Inza Galaxies : A Car Tray.

    Since we last left here, I have been learning SolidWorks and it’s been hard. Being in a blender environment for so long, it’s hard to switch gears and learn other 3d interface. But we are getting there (i think).

    The Observable Universe

    I love Suzuki Jimny’s. They have the perfect rounded corners and the shape feels so appealing. Recently I read about ‘shapes in character design’ and I think it applies to automotive design too:

    Lastly, this Instagram reel is a must watch if you’re a Jimny fan!

    The Unknown

    Saw this on Pinterest. I don’t think we appreciate maps enough. I would want to make one (or lots) someday. It would be a great challenge!

    Thank you for reading! I hope first month of the year wasn’t too rough. Cheers to February! 🙂

  • Story of the Strawberry Milk

    Last month’s Sydney trip was pretty cool and I clicked way too many pictures. This one was one of my favourite shots:

    It naturally tells a story without needing additional context. Some people would call this a Documentary Photograph. Before getting into the graphic treatment, I’d like to talk about the photo itself.

    I have been very intentional in representing things in the frame here. Firstly, I wanted the kid to feel much smaller and helpless in this composition. That’s why it’s been shot with the camera way above eye level, looking down upon the scene. The harsh sunlight, strong floor, bigger-than-life furniture, it all helps. The stance he sat in was cherry on top!

    Secondly, the pinks. I just love how his hoodie matches with the drink and how the pink fluid slowly slips out of the frame into the unknown. Having such a strong composition already, I barely had to think of the graphic treatment.

    The Poster

    In this poster, I literally exaggerated what the photograph already told me. Pushed the furniture to be even more ‘daunting’, accentuated the pinks and hardened the shadows to create drama.

    Inza Galaxies | Business Card

    I always wanted to make a business card for myself. You’d be surprised how many people still love and prefer printed cards. And of course, personal branding is the hardest endevour for any designer. You have to search your soul, know thyself and attain enlightment to get to a rough draft.

    So, here is where I am at right now:

    The Observable Universe

    Inspiring type design at Queen Vic Market! Its giving wabi-sabi, maximalist, post-modern core.

    The Unknown

    Listened to a podcast episode of the late architect B.V Doshi while reading about Le Corbusier’s work. Doshi says, “India is a place where you become more aware when you cross the road” and then he asks:

    Does an architecture have a form that is designed by theory or convention or something which is rooted in the place?

    This is so interesting. It got me thinking- how can such chaotic awareness be manifested in a form of a structure?

    Thank you for reading! See you next week. Consider subscribing if you haven’t already 🙂

  • “It ain’t a party til’ something gets broken!”

    This quote from the movie ‘St. Elmo’s Fire’ ,1985 was literally stuck in my head since I heard it on Andrew Huberman’s podcast with David Choe, and it just flashed in my mind when I saw this scene:

    The timing was perfect. I shot it from a tram window on an early summer morning in the first week of January. The context just made sense. It was the perfect amount of chaos I needed to make it into a poster.

    Early Thoughts:
    • It was pretty clear from early on that this poster was going to have a satarical vibe to it. At first, I was heavily leaning towards making something that screams, “2025 was the worst! I am glad it’s over!!” (It was a pretty though year to be honest).
    • Then I thought about giving it the survellience aestheic look:
    • Later I researched a bit about the car. It was a Honda Prelude produced between 1987 and 1991. I instantly knew that I want to give it a very 80’s retro racing poster look.
    The Poster
    Notes

    I have used more than five fonts in this poster! Using Futura and Garamond for a 80’s look was a no-brainer. The hand written font is actually inspired from the graphics of the Kendrick Lamar concert I attended last month:

    Overall, I wanted the poster to look and feel GANGSTA with sinister overtones. I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

    Inza Galaxies | A Car Tray

    I am trying to make a 3D printed tray for my car. My plan is to have a tissue paper dispensing system and a small bin to dispose those tissues. It should also have something I can store fuel reciepts in and a place to store coins and probably sunglasses. Let’s see how much of this is possible.

    Progress till now
    • The measurements: I got most of the measurements but I just cannot figure out how to measure the rounded edge.
    • Setting up tools: I have finally understood that Blender 3D has its limitations and is not suitable for designing CAD heavy stuff. Thankully, one of my friend was kind enough to lend me her SolidWorks licence. So, I am setting up my file there (I just have to figure out how to actually use that software now and that might take a while).

    The Observable Universe

    Saw this yesterday as I was walking home. The arrangement of the letters is so well thought of! It’s feels like a very grotesk version of Emil Ruder’s style of design.

    The Unknown

    Came across the work of cartoonist W. Heath Robinson. I found some pages of his book ‘How to Live in a Flat’, and it’s a work of a genius. Definitely a huge inspiration for my future projects.

    Thank you for reading! See you next week.

  • Welcome to Inza Observatory!

    First there are artists who create art and then there are those who have a weekly newsletter about it. I want to be the latter. This blog would be fairly simple and it would revolve around my practice of designing posters and making cool stuff. Inza observatory is like a journal entry, but it’s not a dairy!

    What to expect?

    An observatory is used for a lot of things like gathering data, analysis and making new discoveries. We also follow a similar fashion. This observatory reports four main things from my life:

    • New Discoveries: The latest poster – it’s analysis and process.
    • Galaxies: A personal project that I am obsessing over.
    • The Observable Universe: A physical thing I found interesting (in my mundane life).
    • The Unknown : This maybe an idea in it’s nascent form. A quote, a soundtrack or anything. This could possibly have infinite possibilities.

    Why to be a subscriber?

    To be really honest, I am starting this for myself. Last year I struggled to prioritize things that I wanted to do, and I am hoping that this blog will force me to be accountable for those projects and articulate my thoughts better.

    And, I love to share and talk about my work (unlike the popular notion of ‘DON’T EXPLAIN YOUR ART!!’). So here’s why you’d want to subscribe to Inza Observatory:

    • It’s authentic. No AI. No big words.
    • It’s free.
    • It might inspire you to make cool stuff!

    Thank You!

    Thanks again for subscribing to my newsletter. It genuinely means a lot and I would try to be as consistent as possible. Apologies if there are any typos in the post.