Ranjan De

HoD, State Institute of Design, at SUPVA, Rohtak, Haryana

Rohtak, India

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About

A Graphic Designer who has specialised working in the field of Visual Communications with particular emphasis on advertising design, packaging design, design for education and developing educational tools and aids, illustrating and creating innovative books for children.

Currently is expanding into how we can use the simplest tool to develop a "no excuse" education pedagogy that can be applied in a pan Indian situation and can address the needs of school / college / business streams of creativity in both education and at the workplace...both Urban and Rural

For the past 17 years has been developing innovative Learn-shops & Mpowershops and approaches to changing curriculum in both design schools and mainstream schools all over India, as well as reaching out to rural schools.

Also into training faculty and teachers in mainstream schools and colleges to innovate in new approaches to delivering and exciting minds on creativity in mainstream education and even at the workplace...and developing 360 latent talent skills both in the education sphere and at the Industry workspace.

Specialties: 4-color process, 2-colour process, pre-press, storyboarding, character development in animation, die-cut design for packaging, pop-up cards and paper engineering, Freelance writing - film;book & food reviews, children's book illustration, innovative stop-motion animation, puppetry using locally available materials, retail design and stand alone kiosks, travel, performing arts & documentary photography,, innovating & mentoring in design education, teacher training, corrugated board furniture, localisation "no excuse" education approaches, Innovative integrated Curriculum development.
Education
- PGCHE awarded by NTU, UK Higher Education
  
  Pearl Academy of Fashion
  
  2011 - 2012
- Visual Communications
  
  National Institute of Design
  
  1980 - 1985
  
  18 months of Foundation Design and 4 years of Visual Communications - Graphic Design
- +2 English, Economics, History, Geography
  
  Asan Memorial Junior College
  
  1977 - 1980
- School
  
  SISHYA
  
  1974 - 1977
- Patha Bhavan High School
  
  1973 - 1974
- Rishi Valley School
  
  1970 - 1972
Experience
- Founder / Chief Ideator
  
  Jpur BrandComm
  
  Mar 2014 - Present (7 years 7 months)
  
  Brand development and Brand communications for new brands and clients in Jaipur and Western India, Corporate identity, Corporate communications, Packaging, Product development, Retail and In-shoppe signage and identity and all aspects and extensions of Brand Identity and its reinforcement.
- Chief Mentor / Ideator / Trainer
  
  BridgingGaps in India
  
  Oct 2013 - Present (8 years)
  
  Western and Northern India still has not been covered by my earlier BridgingGaps in India Learnshops & Mpowershops. Shifting to Jaipur, and then upwards to Gurugram is to ensure building new networks and working with schools, colleges and NGOs in developing appropriate training material to open and ignite minds in this region of India. Co-learning and Co-creation platforms and collaborative learning will be the norm, along with team building with emphasis on hands-on tactile learning.
- Visiting Faculty - Visual Comunications & Foundation Programmes
  
  DJ Academy of Design
  
  Aug 2006 - Present (15 years 2 months)
  
  Taught courses like Basic Colour1&2, Order in Space - 2D & 3D geometry, Living with the People and its applications to the Foundation Programme, Retail wayfinding & navigation Design, Packaging Design, Advertising Design, Concept Children's Book Illustration, Story-boarding to the 2nd and 3rd year Visual Communication Design students.
- Founder, Innovative Creativity Mentor
  
  BridgingGaps in India
  
  Jan 2013 - Feb 2014 (1 year 1 month)
  
  Returning to the One person NGO that I started to trigger thought processes creativety, I return short term to the entity that I created to bring fun learning through self realisation to schools, NGOs, business houses and Foundation programmes in Design schools, pan India. This time I've tied up with Joe Tun Sein of Syndrilla Education Support Services.
- Innovative Creativity Motivator
  
  BridgingGaps in India
  
  Jul 2012 - Feb 2014 (1 year 7 months)
  
  Looking forward to developing Foundation Design Programmes at other Design / Architecture and Creativity based academys and institutes in and near Chennai and elsewhere in India.
  Looking forward to re-launching BridgingGaps in Indian Learnshops in a new avatar and into Design Education and Applied Creatvity consulting.
- Dean - Academics
  
  Arch Academy of Design
  
  Apr 2013 - Oct 2013 (6 months)
  
  Joined by July 2013 as a full time Dean, to bring in much needed change to Arch Academys pedagogy as well as implementation Pearson Educations Edexcel curricullum across 8 new course offerings, the largest offered from any campus from India. As well as ensure maximum uitilisation of the UKEIRI Skills Exchange grant in the current year, build brand image of Arch Academy through events and in house publications and live industry projects
- Travelling Creative Educational Motivator
  
  BridgingGaps in India
  
  Jan 2002 - Mar 2013 (11 years 2 months)
  
  Travelled the length of and breadth of India trying to figure out and innovate using the simplest of tools and locally available material, of how to make education relevant, in both urban and semi-urban contexts, and recently primarily for Design Schools and NGOs
- Course Leader - Foundation Design
  
  Pearl Academy of Fashion
  
  Oct 2009 - Jul 2012 (2 years 9 months)
  
  Taking care of course delivery, timetabling, mid term and year end assessments and administration work, student counselling, hiring of Visiting faculty, student extra-curricullar activities. Developing new course content to ensure smoother transitions to the next level of the students academic inputs, to ensure lifelong empowerment.
- Associate Professor
  
  Pearl Academy
  
  Oct 2009 - Jul 2012 (2 years 9 months)
  
  Managing the Foundation Design Level 0 course and its overall integration as a feeder course for all other design based courses
- Provisional HOD - Art and Design
  
  Image Centre for Art, Animation & Technology
  
  Jul 2009 - Oct 2009 (3 months)
  
  To try and upgrade a multi-media college tio a more Design oriented one.
- HOD - Pre-Production, Foundation Programme
  
  Access Atlantech Technologies (SAE-India)
  
  May 2008 - Jul 2009 (1 year 2 months)
  
  In charge of developing curricullum, training junior faculty, conducting workshops, for the Animation in Games programmes for Certificate, Diploma and Degree courses.
- Visting Lecturer for Storyboarding amf Pre-Production
  
  RamaNaidu Institute of Cinematography
  
  Mar 2009 - Apr 2009 (1 month)
  
  10 Day course in Storyboarding as seen as a cinematographers pre visualising tool of pre-shoot call sheets and pre-production planning. Also as a visual tool to develop film grammar and influence post shoot edits too.
- Visiting Faculty, Solid Geometry & Corrugated Furniture
  
  School of Design, IILM campus, Gurgaon
  
  Aug 2006 - Sep 2007 (1 year 1 month)
  
  Worked with two batches of 2nd & 3rd year students of Furrniture Design & Visual Comminication, on exploring aspects of Solid Geometry & its application and Corrugation Furniture
- Workshop Consultant
  
  The Lil' Theatre
  
  Aug 1989 - Apr 2007 (17 years 8 months)
  
  Did 8 to 10 innovative workshops a year for various groups and ages between - 4 to 7, 8 to 10 and 11 to 14 years of age.
  Also worked on five productions of their yearly Christmas Pantomimes(in a tie-up with the British Council) as a Properties and make-up designer.
  Was my learning ground for my initial foray into Innovative Education.
- Visiting Faculty
  
  Shristi School of Art, Design & Technology
  
  Aug 2002 - Dec 2006 (4 years 4 months)
  
  Took the module Material Exploration for four batches of Foundation Studiesstudents and took some additional courses too.
- Visiting Lecturer
  
  National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
  
  Mar 2005 - Apr 2006 (1 year 1 month)
  
  Did workshops with the 2nd year PGDP Students of Toy Design, on character development in Toys, and Creating Effective Digital portfolios.
- Freelance Writer - on People & Activities
  
  The Madras Plus - The Economic Times
  
  Apr 2000 - Feb 2002 (1 year 10 months)
  
  After my stint at Indian Express, I had wanted to continue writing and this was the other platform i worked from. I was asked not to do any writing on the Fine Arts, and so concentrated on People, Views and Issues.
- Design Consultant
  
  Design Consultants for POP-UP Cards for ITC Expressions cards
  
  2000 - 2002 (2 years)
  
  Freelance Consultant for their Expressions Greeting cards Division, primarily creating Complicated Pop-up cards and associated graphics.
- Freelance Writer - on Fine Arts & People
  
  Tne New Indian Express
  
  Aug 1998 - Nov 2001 (3 years 3 months)
  
  I started as a Photojournalist, Illustrator for the new Indian Express, but soon graduated to covering and writing about all the Art, Artists & Art shows in town. Also did Movie and Restaurant reviews
- Graphic Design Consultant
  
  Rubecon Communications
  
  Mar 1997 - Sep 2000 (3 years 6 months)
  
  Worked at this amazing Design Hot Shop in the years before it turned into an Advertising Agency.
  We were all Design Consultants in a structure that was devoid of heirarchies.
  Worked with clients like Sara Lee Bakeries, RPG / SAREGAMA Music, ICI Pharma, ColorPlus Clothing etc.
  Worked on things like Brand Identity, Packaging, Retail Display, Website design, Brochure and Newsletter Design, Collateral Design
- Art Editor
  
  Tulika Publishers - Childrens Books Division
  
  Mar 1994 - Apr 1997 (3 years 1 month)
  
  I joined this publisher when it was initially started in Chennai.
  I started by creating its Crow Logo.
  Then went onto illustrate and create some of its earliest books, including "Ekki Dokki", written by Sandhya Rao, which remains one of their best selling titles.
  Do still freelance for them as an illustrator.
- Art Director
  
  TnQ Corporate & Financial Communications
  
  Jan 1994 - Jul 1994 (6 months)
  
  Designing Corporate communications, supervising location photo-shooets, creating small advertisements.
- Art Director
  
  RK Swamy BBDO
  
  1992 - 1994 (2 years)
  
  Joined as an Junior Art Director in the A team. Worked on many ad campaigns and corporate communications, packaging and on brands such as GEC Alstrom, Moods Condoms, Old Monk Rum, Nutrine Confectionary, Sumeet Mixies etc.
- Partner
  
  TeamWork Design Studio
  
  1990 - 1991 (1 year)
  
  Set up this organisation with three other partners. Prasanna - an expert serigrapher, Hans Kaushik - Design, Theatre & Art Professional, and Rajan Iyer - Furniture Design.
  We worked on projects on Industrial Photography, Exhibition Design, Corporate Communications, Print Design and Interior Design
- Visiting Faculty - Basic Photography and Basic BxW Darkroom Photo-Chemical Chemistry
  
  Loyola Institute of Visual Communications (LIVCOM)
  
  Apr 1988 - Sep 1990 (2 years 5 months)
  
  My first experience at teaching anything. Basic Principles of Photographic seeing, Camera handling and Principles of Composition and the other workshop was the magic of BxW Darkroom Chemistry and Image Developing.
  It was early days but I did bridge gaps with ease and I really enjoyed the sharing and the mentoring...a few those students are doing well and are names in the documentary photography circuit in Chennai
- Art Director
  
  Interpress / Kalamkriya Corporate Communications
  
  Sep 1988 - Apr 1990 (1 year 7 months)
  
  Was in charge of design layouts for all manner of Corporate Communications for the industries in the Chemplast and SanMar Group of Companies, and other corporate houses like Ashok Leyland, Chemoleums and such like. Also supervised the corporate & industrial photo shoots.
- Senior Visualiser
  
  Ogilvy, Benson & Mather, Chennai
  
  May 1985 - Aug 1988 (3 years 3 months)
  
  Was my first job after leaving NID, Ahmedabad.
  In those days there were'nt many openings for a Graphic Designer so Advertising or Print-Publishing were the kind of openings we were offered.
  One learn't a lot of things at Ogilvy, Benson & Mather which turned into O&M, India in 1988. But after meeting David Ogilvy, when he had come down in 1988, i realised that this line of work didn't quite suit me.
Skills
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@bgii2007, member since 2007
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