Sukeshi Dalmia

Proposed Brand Experience, Engagement, Process

This project is about creating a brand experience for the Spy Museum (currently in Washington DC, USA). It explores the process, proposed applications and engagement of the brand. 

The logo is inspired by code, encryption that have played an important role in the history of espionage. The logo itself takes a few moments to read and can be read in multiple ways.

The applications created follow the theme for an exhibit on Historical Spies and the development of espionage during the World Wars.

Relational Experience Design, Art Direction

As designers and makers, we are constantly invested in the process of Re-generation and De-generation. We often use existing material, intellectual ephemera and alter its function, characteristic or structure in order to facilitate its re-birth. 

The creation of the outcome contains a decisive moment where the maker decides that he/she has Re-generated the existing form. This process may also be accompanied by a shift in authorship. 

Through this activity I invited participants to question their own individual measurement of how far the existing form must be De-generated using the given tools in order to be Re-generated.

THE COMPONENTS

STICKERS
Stickers are ubiquitous items in our environment. Their simple existence changes the meaning of the form on which they are put.

STICKERS ARE A TOOL FOR TRANSFORMATION
For instance the existence of a price sticker on any object transforms it into a commodity. Similarly, the sticker is also representative as a mark of identity and authorship. It instantly transforms the function, characteristic or structure of an existing form.

PARTICIPANTS INITIALS ON THE STICKERS
The initials of each individual on their respective sticker is an indication of their authorship. That he/she is facilitating and measuring the transformation.

THE POSTERS
The posters contain found, manipulated images of influential political figures. The choice for the selected political figures was made as they represent people who are globally identified for having played transformative roles. These figures are viewed by us not as regular people but as manifestations of their actions, ideologies and roles. 

System Design, Interactive, Poetic Installation about my family

I realized that for me home is not limited to a tangible location but consists mainly of the relationships I have with my family.

To express this I decided to conduct an activity to rekindle my relationship
with my family. I called each family member individually and asked them to
complete the phrase –
Home is… with their respective association of home.
This association could be sensory or associated with memory.

The installation consolidates all these responses to create a poetic visualization of the concept of home.

The response from each family member is represented on his/her own sheet.

The sheet is color coded based on the generation of the family member.

Each family member has his/her own mark as part of the system of ‘home’.

Each sheet is housed within an individual cylinder within the installation.

The sheets can be moved around and so can the plastic cylinders as they are held together with tension. The sheets are translucent so they create a visual interaction, symbolic of two individuals interacting when overlapped.

These properties symbolize that – 
The people and relationships within the family are dynamic, flexible and constantly moving around.  
The consolidated unit of home is held together by the love that its members contribute to it.
The structure is also inspired by the concept of a joint family where
individuals co-exist together but have their own space within the family unit. 

Event Branding, Concept Development

Cognitive Colloquium is an event hosted by IBM around the latest breakthroughs and future possibilities of cognitive computing. It would serve as a platform for IBM to share its point of view and facilitate the exchange of information and expertise among guests.

The following experience and attributes express IBM's point of view on cognitive computing. They form the fundamental characteristics of the visual expression. A symbol was developed to express each attribute.

Human-Led
An extension of the human intellect. Supporting and supplementing rational thought.

Evolutionary
The next phase of IT, driven by data and permeating the systems of society.

Pragmatic
Working within practical limits, bound by the world’s knowledge and complexity.

Optimistic
An encouraging vision of the future, rich with opportunities for progress.

The Audience at the Event
+ Analysts
+ Academics
+ Researchers
+ AI thought leaders
+ Selected members of the press

This project was designed at VSA Partners

Brand System, Engagement

The Maria and Alberto De La Cruz Art Gallery is an interdisciplinary art gallery of George Town University, USA. The gallery provides a platform to foster and elevate an interest and participation in the arts. It also seeks to provide a space that may be defined and moulded by the community.

The Logo is inspired by the concept of space which is defined and redefined by the community. It is dynamic and can take on different forms. It is also inspired by the concept of framing. Framing in art has often been associated with curation and elevating. The space created by the community can be seen to function as a frame; elevating the work displayed.

This project was designed at Form&

Editorial Design, Print, Concept Development

The book was created to inform prospective students about the North Eastern University School of Law. It is inspired by the concept of 'Amendments'. As content for the book various members of the faculty, current students, graduate students were interviewed to express their point of view. Here the idea of 'amendment' has been interpreted as an opportunity to transform, create change and reinterpret.

The book also executes the concept of amending by crossing out the word amendment and adding other words as a reinterpretation. We decided to use handwriting to show immediacy and create a contrast that breaks away from the set typography. 

In the centre of the book we created a fold out that reveals the U.S. constitutional amendments when opened.

At the end of the book viewers are invited to think about how they would amend their world.

This project was designed at Pop Kitchen under the art direction of Richard Rose

Brand system

The system is inspired by the concept that Ebay is a platform where buyers, sellers and meaningful experiences intersect enabling people to unpack their 'perfect'.

This project was designed at Form&

Brand System, Signage, Event & Environment, Illustration, Print

Union Square Partnership is a community based non-profit organization working to ensure the best neighborhood for all who live, work or visit the district.

The design work aims to capture the culture and vibrancy of the nine-acre Manhattan district the Partnership is dedicated to.

I had the opportunity to work with Union Square Partnership for over a year to design and produce materials to brand the neighborhood itself and also for their programming throughout the year, further innovating on the brand identity system.

My Role:

+ Designed signage, park posters, lamp post banners, solar charging station signage for the park

+ Designed and produced the event branding for Harvest in the Square

+ Annual Report and Annual meeting event design

+ Created various event materials for Summer in the Square

+ Innovated on concepts, created graphic artwork and illustrations for summer, fall and winter

This project was designed at C&G Partners under the art direction of Jonathan Alger

View more of this project:

Harvest in the Square 2016
Harvest in the Square 2017
Summer in the Square

Press Received:

British Publication, Transform and Communicate: How to Brand a Neighborhood with Union square Partnership

International Downtown Association (IDA) Conference and Trade Show

UI/UX, Systems Design & Management, Knowledge Sharing

View Website Here

AAAS is the world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific society. Its goal is to advance science, engineering and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all people.

Objective of our Team:
To redesign and restructure the website to align with the goals of AAS and optimize the content to elevate user experience.

My contribution in this project was as follows:

+ Fleshed out the existing visual design system across pages

+ Built and integrated new website features

+ Optimized the use of symbols and the design system

+ Established a nomenclature system for design components

+ Served as the connection between UX, design and development

+ Contributed to team building and knowledge sharing

Results Produced

+ A uniform modular website architecture, design and working methodology was adopted by the team

+ We built a modular website system that streamlined the design, development process as well as customization opportunities for the client

+ New pages were built and design changes could be executed with speed and ease

+ All elements of the complex design system were systematically organized, easily tracked, applied and fluidly handed over for development

+ A positive and more effective team dynamic was achieved

+ Learnings from the project were documented and used as a resource to onboard new members onto future web design projects.

This project was designed at C&G Partners under the art direction of Maya Kopytman

Exhibit

The exhibition commemorated the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death and made public the largest collection of Shakespeare’s work at any public institution.

The project ‘pulls back the curtain on four hundred years of collaboration, confusion, and even literary deception that surround the plays, poems, and life of William Shakespeare.’

 My role in this project
+ Worked with the art director to expand on the concept design and system for the exhibit and projected installations
+ Print and social media promotional materials and exhibition booklet

This Project was designed at C&G Partners under the art direction of Jonathan Alger

Press Received:
Shakespeare Unauthorized in the Boston Globe

User Interface Design, Strategy, Process

The Design Exchange is a collaborative internal platform used by VSA Partners. It is a Wordpress site for sharing in progress and completed work for IBM. Our team consisting of two designers and a UX specialist were given the task of redesigning the current platform.

Function
+ To promote consistency and transparency among IBM work
+ Source of inspiration and reference for current and future projects
+ Forum for asking questions and discussing the uploaded work 

Objectives
+ Discovery – Research to uncover underlying problems and user pinpoints that need solving
+ Synthesis – Draw insights from research to solve for pain points and provide direction to the final design
+ Execution – Design according to the insights and introduce new ways of improving usability and content discovery.
+ Culture – Weigh how other disciplines apart from design could benefit from the platform.

This project was designed at VSA Partners

Interactive System Design, Print

The series of stamps celebrates Mathematics. The theme of the series is based on the Platonic Solids conceptualized by Plato. In his dialogue, the Timaeus, Plato theorized that the classical elements were made of these regular solids. 

The solids symbolize the corresponding elements
Cube — Earth
Octahedron — Air
Icosahedron — Water
Tetrahedron — Fire

'A Platonic solid is a regular, convex polyhedron. It is created by congruent faces of regular polygons with the same number of faces meeting at each vertex.'

Each stamp depicts a platonic solid and the element that it represents. The possibility of nesting and discovering the hidden geometries of the platonic solids is made possible by the use of transparency in the stamps. This allows the stamps to be overlapped with each other to discover relationships in the forms of the platonic solids.

Editorial Design, Print, Curation

The books display a curated set of work and quotes of the respective designers, exploring their philosophy, process and work.

Proposed Brand Experience, Engagement, Process 

Light pollution has become a growing concern in cities around the world today. It not only reduces visibility of the night sky, but interferes with the biological rhythms of both humans and animals. It also leads to a wastage of precious resources and enhances atmospheric pollution.

DE LIGHT seeks to light up communal bonding through initiatives that make people appreciate the true beauty of a starlit sky, which they have lost to light pollution. It aims to encourage people to use efficient lighting methods that save resources and focus light where required, rather than emitting it to the sky.

Publication Design, Print, Concept Development

 What Matters: Investing in Results to Build Strong Vibrant Communities is a joint project by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Nonprofit Finance Fund. It features essays on exploring the possibilities of an outcomes-based world, one in which something greater can be achieved by working together in unison.

 The design challenge required translating the book’s theoretical investment concepts into visual imagery.

The cover utilizes the brand’s color pallet, and depicts how several straight lines of string when woven in a systematic fashion, form a curve. This reinforces the motive of collaboration and symbolizes that working towards a common goal in systematic unison produces something greater than the sum of its parts. The single lines of string when focused on a shared outcome are able to create something bigger and complete.

The book was designed at C&G Partners under the art direction of Maya Kopytman

Video, Motion graphics, Art Direction

is a 1972 Indian Classic Bollywood film. The story is based in colonial India in Lucknow. It follows the life of the daughter of a dead courtesan who also becomes a courtesan dancer. She faces the stigma of society and falls in love with a man who leaves a letter on her feet while she sleeps on a train. 

The film title sequence is inspired by the symbolism and colors in the film, the notions of dance, movement, of beauty which is trapped and dying. 

The Film Title sequence was a collaborative project. All the footage was shot on a Nikon D5100 DSLR camera. The sequence was created using FinalCut Pro X.

Poster Design, Print, Infographic

The poster presents an info-graphic, depicting 30 different typographic anatomy definitions with their visual example. It is inspired by the concept of typography being a toolkit that allows for play and creation of numerous possibilities within the structure the designer creates. I expressed this concept through the image of the 'Cat's Cradle' game. I played the game as a child. The string can be wrapped around one's hand and manipulated in many ways to create form. 
 

Poster Design, Print, Concept Development 

The poster is inspired by several aspects of the
context created by a game of Cards Against Humanity.

+ The ritualistic, communal nature of playing a game. It involves people coming together
+ The act of reflection that occurs when players respond to each other
+ New interpretations, humor and absurdity created by juxtaposition of otherwise unrelated things (words and phrases in the card deck). Players derive a sense of fun and pleasure from this. 

Editorial Design, Print, Art Direction

The book is a combination of carefully curated quotes and photography of Annie Leibovitz and Patti Smith. It brings to light the many facets of being a woman.

After learning about Annie Leibovitz and Patti Smith, I was very fascinated and intrigued by their work, personality and life experiences. To me they stood out as two powerful, strong women who were open to exploring the intensity of experience that life has to offer. They whole heartedly perused their desires and dreams even during times of strife. What inspired me most was the fact that they successfully utilized every experience to rediscover themselves and pursue latent potential.

My book, is inspired by the various forms of the mythological Hindu female goddess, ‘Shakti’, the female energy, who realizes her potential and forms through self–discovery. She represents every woman and the roles that she embodies. ‘Aham Asmi’, ‘I Am’, in Sanskrit, refers to the realization of the existence of self and discovery of its true potential. 

The Book is divided into 9 Sections - I AM...

VOICE

PERSUING DREAMS

WORK

SELF

A LOVER

A MOTHER

A DAUGHTER 

PERCEPTION

THE WORLD

Strategy, User Experience

IBM SmartCloud Meetings is a platform that allows IBMers and their clients to conduct meetings remotely. Our team was given the task of redesigning the landing page. 

We took several concepts into consideration 

+ To promote the idea of collaboration
+ To make users feel like they are a part of a bigger network
+ To take into consideration the psychological stress associated with a meeting
+ To customize the experience for users
+ To manage user expectations and educate them about how the platform works.

 This project was designed at VSA Partners

Artistic Collaboration, Interactive Installation, Performance

 This project was created in collaboration with Midnight Radio Show (an award winning theatre collective)

The Happiness Tree is an interactive installation and performance.

The Happiness Tree invites everyone to share a moment of unexpected happiness in the form of a drawing or writing on a paper tag; hang this tang on the Happiness Tree and see what others have shared.

It creates a space that one is invited explore, fill and co-create with one’s own memories.

The installation then becomes part of a story, told through shadow puppetry, song and dance. Here Yamaya, a cat princess is inspired by the Happiness Tree to see the joy and love all around her.

The Happiness Tree has Visited:
Many community gardens through the New York Restoration Project
Lucas Lucas Art Gallery
C&G Partners After Hours Exhibit
The Rubulad (Art Space in Brooklyn)

Collaborators

Story, Shadow Puppets, Art Direction — Charlotte Lilly Gaspard (Art Director and founder of Midnight Radio Show)

Dance (Kathak, an Indian classical dance form), Choreography, Happiness Tree installation, Story — Sukeshi Dalmia

Original Sound Track and Songs — Ezra Bloom

Photography for fun

The photographs were created using an LED flashlight. They experiment with long exposures captured on a Nikon D5100 DSLR Camera. 

Iterative Branding Proposal, Concept Development

Saint Paul’s School (Pre K -8) is located in Clearwater, Florida. The following set of brand systems was presented to the client, 3 of which are elaborated upon in this presentation. The school’s existing mascot is a knight (one of the logos recreates the night using the initials ‘s’ and ‘p’ as part of the knight’s plumes) The school was also considering a re-naming; choosing from the following names; ‘Saint Paul’s school’ and ‘Paul’s Prep’.

This project was created under the art direction of Richard Rose at Pop Kitchen.

Strategy, Design problem solving for a social cause, Situation of limited
technology and funds

This project explores how design thinking can be used to find solutions in a situation of restricted technology and funds. 'Protect' is a proposed solution for a discreet, wearable alert mechanism targeted specifically towards the Indian woman who grapple with sexual harassment. 

I studied the problem, situational circumstances and used my findings to then derive the proposed solution.