The Gyaan Project

The Gyaan Project
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The Gyaan Project (formerly Audiogyan) is a podcast exploring creative wisdom. Since 2016, it has chronicled ideas, philosophies, and stories of Indian luminaries—bridging the past with the present to inspire the future. www.thegyaanproject.com

  1. Ep. 325 - The secret to designing for India’s plurality with Amit Das

    6D AGO

    Ep. 325 - The secret to designing for India’s plurality with Amit Das

    Summary Amit Das, SVP of design at Urban Company, has spent years understanding how Indians actually live with their appliances. In this episode, he breaks down what designing for India's plurality really means, from durability and shared usage to what premium looks like across different households. He also challenges the popular idea of smart living and makes a case for convenience over complexity. About the guest SVP of design and native products at Urban Company, Amit Das is a software and hardware designer, blogger and hobby artist. He has previously worked at Housing.com, FusionCharts and Fab.com, and has co-founded two startups. Who should listen * Product and industrial designers who want to understand what designing for India’s real and diverse user base actually looks like on the ground. * Founders and product teams building consumer hardware or home appliances for the Indian market. * Anyone curious about how culture, affordability and everyday behaviour shape the products we live with. * Design students and early career professionals looking for honest, practical perspective on what the field demands beyond aesthetics and trends. Topics discussed in the episode * Rapid fire round: one appliance Indians buy more for hope than utility, buttons or dials, one everyday object that teaches good design, one button you would delete, your favourite industrial product and why, which product has the most emotional value, should products behave like tools or companions, the most over designed product in Indian homes, and manuals or no manuals? * You write about designing for moments rather than steps. How do you see household appliances in daily lives, and does this philosophy apply to digital products too? * India has many Indias. What are the most defining differences you observe in how people use products across different economic and social contexts? * What framework does Urban Company use to understand these diverse user dynamics, and how do you conduct ground level research including in home visits and shadowing? * Why did Urban Company venture into building native hardware products like RO water purifiers, and what was the origin story behind that decision? * How do different Indias define premiumness, and what does premium actually mean across social strata, geographies and product categories? * How should designers think about CMF for durable appliances that sit in a home for many years, compared to trend driven shorter shelf life products? * What does smart living actually mean for Indian homes, and why does the current definition of smartness often increase cognitive load rather than solve for convenience? * How do you balance aspiration versus affordability at scale, and what are the hardest trade offs between design aspiration, cost, reliability and repairability? * How did you transition from digital to hardware design, and what skills, mindsets and experiences should young designers build if they want to get into industrial design? Reference links * https://www.linkedin.com/in/dasamit88/ * https://www.godgeez.com/about * https://www.instagram.com/godgeez/ * https://medium.com/uc-design/amit-das-633fb92042e0 * https://medium.com/@godgeez * How to Become a Senior UI/UX Designer? | The Ultimate Career Framework by Urban Company’s Design SVP * https://www.quora.com/profile/Amit-Das-5 * https://x.com/Godgeez * https://www.instagram.com/urbancompany/ * https://www.urbancompany.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegyaanproject.com

    1h 14m
  2. Ep. 324 – Why boredom is your best creative tool ft. Artist Vishwa Shroff

    MAR 25

    Ep. 324 – Why boredom is your best creative tool ft. Artist Vishwa Shroff

    Every building has a story. Every crack, every stain, every surface holds a memory of someone who was there before you. The question is — are you looking? In this episode of The Gyaan Project, host Kedar Nimkar sits down with Mumbai-based artist Vishwa Shroff for a slow, rich, and deeply thoughtful conversation about the art of drawing, urban observation, and what it means to build a creative practice from the ground up. This episode is part of an ongoing series with MATTER — an architectural design and curatorial practice with a deep interest in design discourse in India. ABOUT VISHWA SHROFF Vishwa Shroff is a Mumbai-based contemporary artist represented by TARQ Gallery and co-founder of SQW Lab. Her practice is rooted entirely in drawing — not painting — and she has exhibited her work internationally in London, Basel, and Tokyo. Her work explores urban memory, architectural space, and the human traces left behind in the built environment. WHAT WE TALK ABOUT 🖊️ Drawing vs. Painting — Why Vishwa insists drawing is a fundamentally different act from painting, closer to writing than to gesture, and why the distinction matters more than the medium. 🐦 Pigeons, Architecture & Memory — How Vishwa arrived at architecture as her subject matter by following the flight of pigeons in Baroda, and how a family home transition sparked a lifelong interest in memory and space. 📷 Why the Camera Captures Too Much — Her complicated, tension-filled relationship with photography, why she believes drawing is an act of editing, and how she uses the camera as a tool without surrendering to it. 🏙️ Reading Cracks & Stains — Why the details most people walk past — the cracks, the stains, the worn surfaces of buildings — are where Vishwa finds her richest material, and how each drawing becomes a time capsule. 📓 The Daily Practice — How her sketchbook works as a living database, why she takes notes even while watching Bollywood films, and how observations spiral into finished works over time. 😴 Boredom as a Creative Tool — Why being bored is not a problem to fix but a creative state to cultivate, and why sitting in your studio doing nothing might be the most productive thing you can do. 🎨 Finding a Gallery — The honest, unscripted story of how Vishwa found gallery representation — and why she describes it as an arranged marriage. 💪 Advice for Young Artists — On discipline, rejection, daily practice, and why art-making is an addiction with no retirement and no exit strategy. KEY INSIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE "Drawing is an act of editing. The camera captures too much — more than what my eye wants to see. Drawing lets you take a mop to things." "The best way to get over a creative block is to be bored. Then you will start to find things to self-entertain." "Be active every single day. Make it the way you brush your teeth. Whatever your material is — just do it every single day." "Art-making is a compulsion. If you take away drawing, cigarettes, and food — there'll be none of me left." ABOUT THE MATTER SERIES This conversation is part of The Gyaan Project's ongoing series with MATTER — an architectural design and curatorial practice with a deep interest in design discourse in India. Each episode in this series brings together artists, architects, and creative thinkers exploring the intersection of space, design, and culture. CONNECT WITH VISHWA SHROFF Follow Vishwa on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vishwashroff/ Explore SQW Lab: https://www.instagram.com/sqwlab/ TARQ Gallery: https://www.instagram.com/tarqmumbai/ CONNECT WITH THE GYAAN PROJECT thegyaanproject.com CHAPTERS (02:13) What is drawing for you? (04:11) Difference between drawing and painting (05:26) What happens when you see an object to draw? (07:16) Why does an artist's subject matter? (13:47) Isn't drawing technical? (14:36) What do you draw? (19:23) How do you connect the viewer to your work? (23:22) How does drawing enrich the person who is drawing? (27:31) How do you decide what to draw? (31:21) How does permanence look in your work? (33:17) Journey of a drawing — from sketchbook to a gallery (36:08) How can one train oneself to be slow and observe details? (40:00) Tips & advice for young artists ENJOYED THIS EPISODE? If this conversation made you stop and think, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts — it helps more curious minds find the show. Share this episode with a fellow artist, architect, or creative who needs to hear it. Stay curious. 🎙️ ---------------------------------------- The Gyaan Project has been documenting Indian creative wisdom since 2016 — 300+ conversations on design, art, culture, and craft with leading practitioners across India and the world. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegyaanproject.com

    43 min
  3. Ep. 323 - How to measure success of a Design school and students? with Dineshwar S

    MAR 4

    Ep. 323 - How to measure success of a Design school and students? with Dineshwar S

    Summary What does it really mean to teach design in India today? In this powerful conversation, Dinesh S, an architect with 35 years of practice and founder of Bangalore School of Design and Technology, challenges everything we think we know about design education. From the factory-like classrooms stuffing 90 students together to architecture syllabi unchanged since the 1980s, Dinesh unpacks the uncomfortable truths holding back Indian design innovation. This episode is for students, educators, and anyone who believes India can do better with how we teach creativity, curiosity, and aspirational design thinking. Topics we discussed * How do you define design, education, and design education in general? * Would you differentiate between education in general versus design education and if so, how? * Could you explain what is aspirational design? * What are the building blocks or framework that you use to make an aspirational designer? * What are the gaps that you see when students are entering into the market and getting a job? * How do you explain to break the rules before knowing the rules? * How can a well rounded multidisciplinary learning experience happen if a design student is wanting to learn design? * Is curiosity diminishing in students and what is stopping innovation in design at a radical level? * If a design school has to have some measure or metric of success, what would be the measure of it? * How do you see the future of design education in India? Reference reading * Bangalore School of Design and Technology * Bangalore School of Design and Technology LinkedIn * Bangalore School of Design and Technology Instagram * BSDT Facebook * Ken Robinson TED Talk * T-Shaped Designer Concept * Bangalore Interior Design Industry * New National Institute of Design This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegyaanproject.com

    46 min

  4. JAN 28

    Ep. 322 – Craft, taste and judgment in Software Design with Randy Hunt

    In this concluding episode of the Craft series, I (Kedar Nimkar, Host of The Gyaan Project Podcast) speak with Randy Hunt, Head of Design at Notion and Chair of the MFA Design program at SVA. Randy reflects on craft as a combination of skill, practice, and judgment, and shares how taste shapes meaningful software experiences. The conversation explores speed versus quality, scale versus care, and why momentum can sometimes improve craft. Randy also offers an interesting perspective on how he sees, AI as a material, and explains what stays as tools as technologies change. This episode is for designers, product leaders, engineers, and makers who care deeply about building thoughtful, well made digital products for the long term. Topics discussed (02:14) What is Abecedarium? (04:14) What does craft mean to you? (08:12) How has your definition of craft changed over time? (14:45) Should craft be visible to the end user? (18:04) Can craft and scale go together? (22:28) Any example of great quality with speed? (28:18) Can taste be taught? (38:17) Can craft bring value at an enterprise level? (43:32) How do you look at craft at Notion? (46:57) How do you see the future of craft in the world of AI? (48:43) How do you practice craft at Notion with AI? (51:17) What would your poster say about design? (52:00) How do you see craft evolving in the next 10 years? Reference links https://www.instagram.com/randyjhunt https://www.linkedin.com/in/randyjhunt https://www.randyjhunt.com https://www.notion.com/blog/meet-randy https://books.google.com.sg/books/about/Product_Design_for_the_Web.html?id=paKPAQAAQBAJ&source=kp_author_description&redir_esc=y https://pda.designsingapore.org/jurors/2020/randy-hunt/ https://design.sva.edu/cofaculty/randy-hunt/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=268NRHhPSZ0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ux5g5PnIoY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3Mr1WRvYiA https://www.designweek.co.uk/a-lot-of-this-is-about-rituals-an-hour-with-notion-design-chief-randy-hunt/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4JEl7LHgqI https://www.thegyaanproject.com/p/ep-321-lucy-datyner https://www.thegyaanproject.com/p/ep-320-how-craft-shapes-digital-product https://www.thegyaanproject.com/p/ep-319-craft-as-way-of-doing-things This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegyaanproject.com

    57 min

  5. JAN 21

    Ep. 321: Craft, taste and the future of Design at Canva with Lucy Datyner

    In this episode of The Gyaan Project, I speak with Lucy Datyner, Principal Designer at Canva, about craft, taste, and the future of product design in the age of AI. Lucy shares how craft goes beyond polish into problem solving, why simplicity is always informed by context, and how designers can build taste through curiosity, critique, and making. The conversation explores AI as a co-creator, the importance of keeping humans in the loop, and why junior designers still matter. This episode is for designers, product leaders, and creators navigating design, craft, and AI today. Topics discussed (00:00) Introduction(02:09) What does craft mean to you(04:16) Is craft about aesthetics(04:57) How do you bring craft into your work(07:29) What is informed simplicity at Canva(08:38) How does AI fit into the world of craft(11:05) How do you define taste(13:19) Any rituals at Canva to build taste(16:08) How do design critique sessions happen at Canva(17:31) How does Canva handle not being monotonous(20:13) What is the role of research in craft and AI(22:55) Will designers be left only to curate(24:51) Will we lose the faculty of crafting with hand after AI takes over(26:59) What excites you the most about AI(29:24) What worries you the most with AI(31:11) What will your poster say Reference links - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucydatyner/- https://lucydatyner.com/- https://contentseoul.com/speaker-profile-lucy-datyner/- https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/design--canva/episodes/E10-Lucy-Datyner--Content-Strategy--Experience-Design-Lead-e2i8mak- Tom Harman (Ep 319 - Part 1 of the Craft Series) https://youtu.be/MuDg4y-52Ec- Caio Orio (Ep 320 - Part 2 of the Craft Series) https://youtu.be/JEvWEyIYKbo This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegyaanproject.com

    34 min

  6. JAN 14

    Ep. 320 - How Craft shapes digital product Design with Caio Orio

    In this episode of the Craft series, I speak to Caio Orio, Principal Brand Designer at Wise, about the role of craft, taste, and practice in modern digital product design. Drawing from his advertising background and work on global fintech products, Caio explains how craft goes beyond visuals to include strategy, care, and attention to detail. The conversation explores taste, open mindedness, brand consistency, design systems, AI, and building meaningful product experiences. This episode is ideal for product designers, brand designers, and design leaders seeking depth beyond tools and trends. Topics discussed: (00:00) Intro(00:01:00) What does craft mean in digital products?(00:02:30) How Caio’s understanding of craft evolved?(00:03:53) Why craft is essential for designers?(00:06:16) Craft in brand design and digital products?(00:09:16) How Wise maintains consistency in craft?(00:10:43) Rituals and practices that support craft?(00:12:07) Bringing craft into the smallest elements?(00:15:02) How Caio defines taste in design?(00:16:03) Translating taste into digital products?(00:16:59) How designers can develop taste?(00:18:03) Caio’s personal journey of developing taste?(00:20:59) Communicating taste across teams?(00:23:55) How Wise inspires designers and design culture?(00:25:21) Balancing speed and craft in product design?(00:27:14) Prioritising craft without clear business metrics?(00:28:50) Digital products admired for taste and craft?(00:30:05) One essential mindset for future designers? About Caio Orio (Guest) https://c-orio.com/ https://www.instagram.com/c_orio/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/caio-orio/ https://www.behance.net/orio https://friends.figma.com/events/details/figma-singapore-presents-designing-wise-the-hidden-layers-in-our-creative-process/ https://wise.com/ https://wise.design/ Join The Gyaan Project A newsletter with 4 curated finds across episodes - TGP SamaChar - https://www.thegyaanproject.com/s/samachar Follow us on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thegyaanprojectpodcast/ Follow u on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-gyaan-project/ Subscribe to our Website to stay tuned - https://www.thegyaanproject.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegyaanproject.com

    33 min

  7. JAN 7

    Ep. 319 - Craft as way of doing things. With Tom Harman

    Tom Harman, a design leader with twenty years of experience at Monzo and BuzzFeed, joins The Gyaan Project to explore craft, taste and the role of AI in modern product teams. He explains how clarity, judgment and shared language shape high quality work. A useful episode for designers, PMs and founders who want to sharpen decision making, move with speed and build trust through thoughtful design. Topics discussed (00:00:00) Intro(00:01:03) What does craft mean to you(00:06:00) Rituals to improve craft(00:11:43) How do you define what great looks like(00:14:21) What does taste mean to you(00:18:57) How do you instill taste(00:22:44) How to keep pushing the boundaries(00:28:49) How is AI a copilot for craft and taste(00:32:38) How to work with AI(00:39:17) Can AI create serendipity(00:41:53) How do we ensure maximum impact and quality(00:47:06) How to handle uninformed decision makers(00:49:26) One poster idea on craft(00:51:32) Future of craft in the world of AI Reference links https://intentional.partners/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomharman/ https://x.com/tomharman https://mastodon.social/@tomharman Join The Gyaan Project A newsletter with 4 curated finds across episodes - TGP SamaChar - https://www.thegyaanproject.com/s/samachar Follow us on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thegyaanprojectpodcast/ Follow u on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-gyaan-project/ Subscribe to our Website to stay tuned - https://www.thegyaanproject.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegyaanproject.com

    55 min
  8. 9th Anniversary Soup - 9 bites from 9 conversations.

    2025-12-24

    9th Anniversary Soup - 9 bites from 9 conversations.

    Today, The Gyaan Project turns 9. And honestly, it feels surreal. Since 27th December 2016, I have been documenting Indian creative wisdom across disciplines and ways of thinking. After 318 episodes, I found myself wondering how to mark this moment and the answer came naturally. So here it is. A small celebration. A warm offering. 9th Anniversary Soup 9 bites from 9 conversations. This is primarily an audio episode. You can also watch it on YouTube if you like. The episode opens with Dr. Uttara Chousalkar from Episode 66, singing a short phrase of Baul music. The episode then closes with a few lines by Mohammad Muneem Nazir (Alif), from Episode 265. The soup brings together these nine questions and voices: What is Design? by B.V. Doshi What is a frame? by Prashant Godbole Should art depict society or should society learn from art? by Varun Grover Is it wise to change your career path in Design? by Ruchita Madhok How was design seen in the 1970s? by Sujata Keshavan What is the measure of a good designer? by Ayaz Basrai Why do we need art? by Rajat Kapoor I hope you enjoy this soup as much as I enjoyed making it. If you would like to give me an anniversary gift - Please share this episode with as many people as you can. And if you have not already, do subscribe to the YouTube channel and The Gyaan Project website. It truly means a lot. Thank you for listening. Thank you for staying. See you next year. Take care. And stay curious. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegyaanproject.com

    27 min
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About

The Gyaan Project (formerly Audiogyan) is a podcast exploring creative wisdom. Since 2016, it has chronicled ideas, philosophies, and stories of Indian luminaries—bridging the past with the present to inspire the future. www.thegyaanproject.com

Information

  • Creator
    The Gyaan Project
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    325
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Kedar Nimkar
  • Show Website
    The Gyaan Project

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