CDL (Charuvi Design Labs)

Overview:

Kadambari began her journey at Charuvi Design Labs as an intern and eventually grew into a Design Consultant and core member. As a New Media Design student, she received internship offers from various Design and IT companies. However, she chose Charuvi Design Labs because of her passion for Augmented Reality (AR) based installations, which had intrigued her since her days at Design school. This decision proved to be rewarding as the project offered her a unique opportunity to work on promoting the short film "Shri Hanuman Chalisa" through AR installations.

Project Brief:

The project's primary goal was to create Augmented Reality installations to promote the short film "Shri Hanuman Chalisa" by Charuvi. The challenge was to bring this new and nascent technology of AR into the spotlight while creating immersive and meaningful experiences for the audience.

Contribution:

In this project, Kadambari showcased her expertise in concept development and execution. Despite AR being in its early stages, she successfully ideated and brought to life two installations – one based on directional sound and the other on visuals. Kadambari diligently worked on the latest AR platforms, conducting research and observing the behaviors of devotees at Chattarpur temple, where the installations were tested. Additionally, she introduced the idea of integrating the AR installations with a suspended bell sculpture, adding an interactive touch to the experience and extending the installation to be integrated as a part of the traveling exhibition.

Her contributions also extended to interaction design, conceptualizing the interaction of visitors interacting with the suspended bell sculpture by touching the Khadau (wooden shoes of Rama). In Addition to her design prowess, Kadambari played a crucial role in sourcing and recruiting designers and artists from her network. This was a challenging task considering the innovative and novel nature of the project.

Read the case study of AR installations Divine Response 1 and Divine Response 2

Expanded Project:

The expanded project revolved around the short film "Shri Hanuman Chalisa" and involved creating a traveling exhibition. The scope encompassed exhibition design, 6 feet Holograms, an iPad app, the suspended bell sculpture, a collectible book, Kavad (a storytelling device), figurines, and a video film. While Kadambari did not work on these subprojects like the book, app, and hologram, She was part of the ideation and offered assistance. This multidisciplinary collaboration taught Kadambari invaluable lessons beyond design. She learned about creative leadership, project management, team coordination, and cross-functional collaboration. Embodying Charuvi's vision of not limiting creativity to any medium, Kadambari, as a new media designer, embraced diverse forms of expression.

Impact:

The results were remarkable. The Shri Hanuman Chalisa Project, encompassing the film and exhibition, garnered recognition and accolades, winning the best Indian IP and several awards for Charuvi.

This successful collaboration and the rich experience it provided Kadambari instilled in her the confidence to establish her own design studio. Moreover, this creative partnership endured over the years. In 2017, Charuvi and Kadambari teamed up once again, winning the Prince Claus Fund grant for Sniffing out the differences. Together, they created the installation "Diversity in Us" a project that was part of the Sniffing out the Differences project in a unique and captivating manner.