I was asked to develop an Indian coupé for my project. It was given to me as an experiment to derive some Indian design cues or Indian aesthetics. There were no firm boundaries set between research, inspiration and conceptualization; it was more of a free and instinctive exploration, and I kept going back and forth between different ideas to understand and refine them.
Even though I was designing a car for the Indian market, I wanted to strike a very good balance between Indian and western aesthetics rather than solely sticking to the former because I personally felt that the choices and preferences of the Indian population have, for almost a century, been influenced by western products and culture. A western brand name has always been perceived as being higher in quality and reliability. This perception has invaded Indian minds so much that if this factor were to be avoided in design, the product might not convey the real aspirations of an Indian.
I took this as an excellent opportunity to improve my skills and learn a new media of representing my ideas. Finding an Indian inspiration was not that difficult considering our deep cultural heritage in the arts and architecture. But, in order to remain focused, I remained more specific and fixed to themes like contemporary architecture and its influence from the west and music, and rediscovered in them Renault’s philosophy of fluidity in an Indian context.
All through the project, I tried finding the right balance between logical radicalism and emotional value in my work. To a considerable extent, I feel I was successful in understanding and finding cuteness, masculinity, aggression, and emotional value of proportions suitable to an Indian context with a considerable headway in skill development and use of varied media.
