I have spent last few weeks trying to find some designers. For various things that I would be doing in this year. And since I cant really afford to hire designers right now, I am having a tough time.

So, I started my search within my friends circle. I sifted through my mailbox and pictures etc and I I realized that I know just two designers. When I say designers, I mean people who can think. Not mere DTP operators. So both these designers, are better than one other. And both of them are in Mumbai and are working at very senior positions with famous advertising agencies. With so much work already on their plate, it is unreal to expect them to take time out and contribute.

Next was obviously the Internet. And I started by making a post on some design groups. I send an email on Design India and Creativegarh. Got some 10 odd responses. Some looked ok. Some weren’t encouraging. Anyways, the summary is that no one seems to be agreeing to my outlandish and magnanimous proposals.

Now I am out of clue. I really desperately need designers.

I am wondering where is it that I am going wrong. Is it money? Or is it tha designers want to work with other more famous designers and famous brand names only? Or is it that I am not inspiring enough? Or is it that I cant contribute enough?

I know that I am no designer but I do understand design. I know it when I see some good design. But like all other critics and armchair activists, I can only comment. I cant do (or create).

Whatever I know about advertising or the business of communication, I have learnt at CLA. Well most of it. And CLA as a company has a very solid foundation in design with Vikram leading the design team. Their design standards are very high. And since I learnt the ropes of the business there, I refuse to accept anything that can’t match CLA standards.

Anyways, coming back to design, in a subsequent post, I will talk about how I look at design and what design means to me and what I expect from my design-partners. Till then, please spread word and help!

Serendipity is defined as “The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.”

Imagine a place that allowed these fortune discoveries to happen? A place where you could plan these accidents. A place where you could flaunt discoveries and may be some inventions and creations.

Imagine having such a place, right here, in Delhi.

Dear Anonymous Writer,

Thank you for your letter, which I must add, was very, moving, for want of the right word. My secretary, who has seen more world than Christopher A. Columbus, was in shivers when she delivered the letter to my desk. She held your letter the way first time mothers hold their newborns. With so much affection that you think the mere touch will hurt the baby. That you will leave permanent spots, ugly and dark ones, wherever you hold the baby from. Such was the shock on her face that I had to leave my putting practice for the charity golfing event next week and attend to her. And trust me, no man worth his salt wants to be interrupted while he is practicing putting. Who else would know if better than someone who uses the 9 iron!

Coming to the matter at hand, you obviously are talking about last week’s double homicide at Civil Lines. I must say that you have woven a very tight story around the evidence recorded at the crime scene. Even the 9 iron. Not even the real murderer would have known the things that you have shared with us. Like the 9 iron. The editor in my head wants to give credence to your letter and declare you the actual murderer. But then the skeptic in me is not allowing me to. And, over the years, I have learnt to go along with the skeptic whenever in doubt. On one hand, your letter could mean the story of the year and on the other, a shot for a Joe Nobody at his 15 seconds of fame.

Talking of Joe Nobodies, there are quite a few like you. You might be surprised to know that just my office has received about a dozen letters relating to the case, eerily similar to yours. May be because of exclusives we ran on the murders or may be because we were the only paper to have dug so much background information on the victim and his lonely life. In fact, the profession I am in, we are bombarded with communication from readers day in and day out. Most of it is the anonymous kinds. In the regular course of events, almost all of it finds its way to the trash can or the paper shredder almost immediately. If not for my secretary and her fear of golf clubs, especially the one that you claim that you put to use last week, your letter would either be resting in my dustbin, along with remains of the sandwich that I had for lunch or would be shredded into thin long paper strips and would have other pieces of unsolicited messages, office memos, even death threats for company.

However I must commend you on the beautiful prose that you have written. You obviously are a man with excellent literary talents. On a different day, I would have offered you an opportunity to intern and may be, just may be, one day, allow you to work here with me in my team and the newspaper that I spend my life building. As a fan of written word, I really want to share your letter with the world but since I respect the institution, the responsibility, the power of media, I will not. But then, I did send a copy to the police station. Trust me, howsoever burdened they might be with all the crime in the city, even they like reading fiction once in a while.

Finally, I would want to offer a piece of advice, before I go back to my practice. In my profession, anonymous letters are not really accorded as much respect. We ascribe anonymity to the writer’s inability to stand scrutiny and often doubt the intentions. Next time you exercise your right to freedom of speech and want to fulfill your unfinished childhood businesses or fantasies or whatever you call them, try using your real name. People tend to take you and your thought slightly more seriously.

I sincerely hope that you use your talents elsewhere and do something constructive! Please do let me know should you think I could be of some help. And please wish me luck for the tournament.

With Regards,
The Editor

Ever since Prof. Bakshi introduced us to mind maps, I have been using them for brainstorming, taking notes, making decisions, and work etc. And its very useful tool. If you use it long enough, it becomes your second nature. So much so that I have a hard time thinking without a mindmap.

Anyways, a mind map is like a hub and a spoke thingy with hub being the topic you want to brainstorm/think/work on. From the hub, you draw out spokes that influence the central idea. And then the node you just created becomes the new hub and you draw out things that might influence the node (and in effect the central decision). And you iterate till you cant think more or you run out of space.

More about mind maps on this wikipedia article.

The best part about using a mind map is that you see everything in one glance to the screen. And then it helps you discover relationships that you would have otherwise ignored. It helps you in making a laundry list of ideas.

Most brainstorming/ideation goes wrong when you either shoot down an idea too soon. Or when you get enamored by an idea so much, that you start digging deeper into it. With a mind map, you save yourself from both these traps. You just take note of the idea/thought. You move onto the next one.

Enough said. Go try it. You may either use a pen and a paper. Or you may use some software. Plenty are available. I use the free version xmind for my maps. Its easy and intuitive. Works fast. And powerful enough to allow me to present complex ideas. Presented above is a mind map I created when I was thinking about a blog!

KWAN. It’s a very powerful word. Its not a word really. I think it’s a statement. It’s a mission statement. If you will.

Kwan is all the seriousness and all the frivolities. Its all the fun and all the boredom. Its what defines and its what you define. All at the same time.

Rob Tidwell (Jerry Maguire fame) says, KWAN is Love, Respect, Community & the Dollars too. I couldnt agree more. All my life I was looking for a word that could describe these 4 things. And there it was. Somewhere on my radar. Somewhere on my toRead list. Somewhere waiting to be discovered. And yet I had ignored it for so long. Its like you have it in front of you and you refuse to look at it.

I think all of us chase KWAN. Its the purpose. Its the reason why we exist. Kwan. The pursuit. The chase. And the life thus spent.

Anyways, I found KWAN in Jerry Maguire, which, IMHO is an ok sort of movie. Done well. Has flashes of brilliance. And it talks about a very interesting business – the business of celebrity management. I shall talk about it in next few posts. Keep watching.

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