Craft Research & Documentation
Project Type
Art Direction, Graphic & Publication Design, Photography
Team
Akshat, Aman, Anoushka Singh, Anoushka Srivastava, Ananya, Anmmol
Role
CREATIVE DIRECTION | ILLUSTRATIONS | LAYOUT
Craft Research and Documentation is an initiative by NIFT under the Ministry of Textiles, Office of Development Commissioner (Handlooms), and Office of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), India, where students are exposed to fieldwork and handicrafts at the grass root level.
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The age-old Ajrakh has accumulated a stunning history in its four thousand years of existence, from the riverbanks of the fertile Indus Valley to the arid desert of the salty Kutch.
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This project is a collection of a Research Document, a Product Catalogue, Posters, Postcards, a Brochure, and a short introductory video.
Postcards
The series of three postcards developed after our deep fieldwork take the viewer on a journey through the history and development of Ajrakh and the genesis of Ajrakhpur, the village. From the dry deserts of Kutch, trekking across the sands in search of a river, to the settlement of Ajrakhpur - the postcards submerge you in the marvel of it all.
The envelopes accompanying the postcards are patterned in motifs significant to the craft of Ajrakh, with a window in each that gives way to the meaning of these motifs.
Posters
Similar to the postcards, the posters are present in a set of three. The aim of these posters was to highlight the true toil and dedication that it requires to create one piece of Ajrakh, and illustrate why these efforts are nonetheless extremely valuable.
The first poster is a rustic style illustration of all the natural ingredients used in the making of Ajrakh. The second poster is a winding illustration of all the steps in the Ajrakh making process depicted through the village of Ajrakhpur, and the third poster is a tessellated pattern of Ajrakh motifs with original poetry .