Prashasti Chandra: On Designing for Everyday
The designer seeks inspiration from everything around her, and creates objects that add a layer of storytelling to your everyday life.
Prashasti Chandra is an alumnus of NID, a product designer by qualification and an experienced designer by profession. As an associate partner and design director at Design Factory India, she leads multidisciplinary creative teams for spatial design projects.
With a portfolio of designing some of the most coveted museum projects spanning across India, her projects focus on the intersection between physical and digital design experiences. A methodology and process enthusiast, the first sketch of the project excites her as much as the design details and realisation on site.
Instrumental in contributing to the curriculum development of The Design Village institute, Chandra has mentored many students and young professionals over multiple research and design projects like the Mandi Project, experience design for Museum of Socialism and many other branding projects like Arthsila Branding. She has actively participated and moderated multiple talks about storytelling, narratives and experiences.
Her recent passion project is the - DShop where everyday products are conceptualised and celebrated to bring forth the stories of India.
How did the concept of d shop come about?
Pure love for everyday products, the constant longing to design them, the mandate of bringing design to a vast audience all put together has led to the realisation of d shop as a platform.
The realisation of my inclination towards everyday objects seeped in during the 2nd year at NID during a project called simple product design. I understood that it is nothing close to being ‘simple’ to design a simple product. From that instant, my never-ending fondness and inquiry for day-to-day objects began.
Later as we worked on multiple visual and spatial communication projects at Design Factory
India, to create an end-to-end experience for the users, we would always go an extra mile to create objects embedded with the narrative of casespecific stories. These products became the part of the overall story that would remain with the user and led to the emergence of d shop as a platform.
What’s the philosophy behind D shop?
I feel products are sentiments that create emotional connections with their users. D shop or design shop as a platform intends to celebrate design in the familiar day-to-day objects. It brings together a range of thoughtfully designed mundane products that provide a fulfilling experience to the user through its narrative, form, or function.
Your journey with DFI…
The journey with DFI began in 2012. While I was exploring on the direction to steer, the opportunity to participate in the up-gradation of the Mandi’s, a system-level thinking design project, came up.
We then explored the world of design with various project typologies ranging from systems to industrial design to visual communication to experiential spaces.
Experiential design is at the core of whatever DFI undertakes, be it an environment, an installation, a book, or a product. The validity of celebrating stories, the ability to quickly move across boundaries of architecture, scenography, communication, and the opportunity it provides to impact the heart and mind of the end-user is what I appreciate the most about DFI.
Take us through the collection. And its inspiration?
The products designed and built for D shop take inspiration from the rich cultural narratives we are all surrounded with - like the stories of our leaders, for instance, the Museum of Socialism, or the history of the organisation of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Museum or the heritage of Red Fort.
The latest range of products - wazan, tatva, tash, all celebrate the life and textures of the fort of India, the Red Fort. Wazan, a paperweight, is designed to enable visitors to enjoy the red sandstone textures. The stone has been procured from Dholpur, the very place from where the stone for the fort was procured hundreds of years ago and is made in the same proportion as the slab of the stone used in the Red Fort walls. Another example is Taash, a set of playing cards inspired by the living culture and traditions of the fort. Tatva, a set of coasters made in marble, concrete, and steel, celebrate the fort’s materials and textures, including the barrack, which are now being restored as storytelling spaces.
Your inspiration…
Many people, experiences and places.
I can never forget the visit to Jasper Morison’s exhibition at the Bauhaus Archive, Berlin, in 2017. The product range is so vast, objects so simple and not a single object that I don’t wish to design at least once in this lifetime. Witnessing
EXPERIENTIAL DESIGN IS AT THE CORE OF WHATEVER DFI UNDERTAKES, BE IT AN ENVIRONMENT, AN INSTALLATION, A BOOK, OR A PRODUCT. THE VALIDITY OF CELEBRATING STORIES, THE ABILITY TO QUICKLY MOVE ACROSS BOUNDARIES OF ARCHITECTURE, SCENOGRAPHY, COMMUNICATION, AND THE OPPORTUNITY IT PROVIDES TO IMPACT THE HEART AND MIND OF THE END-USER IS WHAT I APPRECIATE THE MOST ABOUT DFI”
his thirty-some years of work made me believe in myself. It ignited the spirit to take this love for products seriously! Today as I think of it, my mother’s unsaid belief in me has unknowingly inspired me, and I am truly thankful to her.
What are you passionate about?
I feel passionate about life and everything within it, not one specific aspect but its wholeness. To give my best, I need to feel strongly about it, and I have realised that there are no shortcuts to this. This has made sure that anything we do as a part of DFI or d shop, we intend to be the best and nothing less, and for this, we put our heart and soul into bringing it to reality. To achieve this goal, we are in a continuous learning process. Travelling in a collective has contributed significantly to this process. We are eager to pack our bags to travel to a far-off land soon again!
With d Shop, do you plan to venture into furniture?
Why not! We have already been designing and producing furniture pieces. The mandate is to provide a fulfilling experience to the user. The medium could be an organiser, a piece of clothing or a table. We are keen on designing pieces that align with our vision to celebrate everyday objects and their interaction with the users.
What’s next on the agenda?
D shop is a continuously evolving platform; we are growing in our range, reach and aspirations. The team is currently working towards creating the next range of office accessories and souvenirs for an upcoming museum at the Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata. We wish to extend our reach to national and international platforms and collaborate with designers across the network to collectively curate products with overlapping belief systems.
Where are the products retailed?
The products are retailed at our studio outlet in Noida in sector eight and museum shops across the country. With covid around, we are also curating out products online through social media. You are most welcome to visit us @dshop_ designshop on Instagram to browse through our collection. D shop also custom makes products for memorable narratives and experiences.
WE INTEND TO BE THE BEST AND NOTHING LESS, AND FOR THIS, WE PUT OUR HEART AND SOUL INTO BRINGING IT TO REALITY. TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL, WE ARE IN A CONTINUOUS LEARNING PROCESS. TRAVELLING IN A COLLECTIVE HAS CONTRIBUTED SIGNIFICANTLY TO THIS PROCESS. WE ARE EAGER TO PACK OUR BAGS TO TRAVEL TO A FAR-OFF LAND SOON AGAIN!”