Question: We would like to know if there are incidences and events in your childhood that led you to become a designer?

Answer: Actually I was born in Ahmedabad and I was not keeping good health and my family comes from a rural area; the doctor in Ahmedabad said its better to shift this child to a village for fresh air and all sorts of things. So I went through a reverse process. Normally people go to urban areas for higher education; I went to a rural environment and that was a big change coming from an environment like Ahmedabad to a village which has hardly ten percent good built-up houses, infrastructure and only one school. People started expecting higher levels of behavior and performance from me. So that forced me to struggle to achieve in my rural environment.

I shifted in the 5th standard. And somehow in the first year only it clicked so well. I was good in mathematics and was good in drawing. So my drawing teacher was very keen to promote me as a person interested in art so he pushed me everywhere, when its an inspection etc. In a rural area you paint floors, paint pots and all sorts of things and I thought that is art. My drawing teacher was very happy, with that sort of thing. And it went and I suddenly came in 11th standard. In those days at 11th standard and there was a big speculation, whether I would take a science stream like an engineer or architect; or go to fine arts. Nobody knew about applied arts and graphic design in those days.

I had one senior student of my level, who was the son of a villager. He said “Mahendra, what will you do after doing engineering? Your father is a good businessman, you can go after school and earn money though you don’t require to earn money. So why don’t you take fine arts. Being just one year older to me he became my guru and I somehow liked that philosophy that I don’t require to earn money and my family has a good business so why shouldn’t I take something which I like, which is arts. That’s why I landed up studying fine arts in Baroda.

While I was doing fine arts I realized that my other academic excellence came in my way, since fine arts is very subjective. When you excel in school, its mathematics, geometry, science and you think scientifically. So I started approaching my fine art more logically. And I had continuous conflicts with my teachers, who were involved in emotions and expressive art, whereas and I questioned everything. They said fine art is the last thing you should do. I had good skill; I was an achiever, first or second ranker but never an artist. In my mind I was always questioning the logic behind painting, patterns, good or bad and what is drawing. So I had a big conflict within me even when I finished my graduation as to whether fine arts is the right choice for me or not; but I enjoyed doing fine arts most.

Question: How did you shift to graphic design?

Answer: I finished my fine arts in 64 in painting. I though I’ll go and join my fathers business and do my painting in my spare time. So I went to my fathers shop, started doing his tobacco business and started doing painting. But my sensitivity and what I gained as a fine artist didn’t work in business. I would have to cheat people in order to earn money. It so happened that my father’s partner didn’t like me. So I started giving service to people. If somebody comes and says, “I want five packets of cigarettes” I used to say, “buy six packets instead.” Because cigarettes were sold in those days in dozens. So I started rationalizing his business and they didn’t like it. Somehow something happened to me and I didn’t like the business, even to earn money.

So I went back to K.G. Subramaniam, my professor, and said, “Sir, I don’t like business and painting, but I want to do something with you.” So he gave a very simple example. He said “Jo BA hoke kuch nahi kar saka, woh MA hoke kya karega. Africa mein jake kapde ki dukan kholo.” All Patels are famous for going to Africa to do business. He knows that I had to go to business. He says, “You are no good.” Though you have got first and second rank, you should go back to field and start working. So, he gave me two choices; one choice to be an art teacher, there was Baroda school and some schools he said. So, why don’t you be an art teacher? Now art teachers are always looked down on and so are artists and painters and I was also one of them. I said “I don’t want to be an art teacher.” He said “It’s ok! If you don’t want to be an art teacher, I know these young people in Kalico Museum. They are searching for young people like you. So, why don’t you go and meet Gera Sarabai.” So I went there. I gave an interview with my portfolio. Somehow she liked it. She said we have this Nation Institute of Design, and why don’t you join the program because we’re going to have many consultants. We don’t have students.” And that’s how I landed up there without knowing what graphic design and graphic arts is. I had an illusion about graphic design. I thought its lithography and etching and all sorts of things and I landed up in graphic design.

And very funnily I never used scale. You know as a painter you have everything free; brush and all. And suddenly I had to start working with setsquares, and right angles and a centimeter scale. And some how it was a big change in me, because I had a scientific and logical attitude and suddenly I found a new way of looking at paintings and a sort of extension to my paintings. My first post was with Dura Teek Hoffman on letter design. I started seeing letter design as sculpture, as form and constructing letterforms and somehow all the logic I was waiting to use came into it, and it clicked with this teacher. She said, “You are doing well, so why don’t you do typography?” So from letter design I shifted to typography. And then the journey started. And once you start taking an interest in technology and design; you find a way. And it so happened that all the applied art teachers and colleagues and advertising colleagues, who were with me, were very laid back. They thought they knew everything and I don’t know anything. So I put in more energy and questioned more, and that’s how I started becoming a specialization-oriented person.

So I took interest in letter design and typography. And typography has a lot to do with printing. Unless and until you didn’t know printing that is in the 1960’s 70’s when the letter press was in; your design had no value. Whatever design you did has to be set by those typesetters, block makers and all sorts of things. So I started learning printing, I started working with printers. I started influencing printers about spacing, alignment and other things and it became a benchmark for a printing. So I thought “why shouldn’t I head the printing department as well?” If you are doing good work for printing; you also influence printing. So I went into printing and once printing comes then computer came in.

In between, Adrien Frutiger from Paris came. He wanted to explore what design could do or what type design could do and the look at the opportunities in the country. I had never thought of Indian script or script type of typography. But it clicked in my head that a foreigner who has problem in even speaking English can aspire to do something for India. I am an Indian and know few languages; I love India and Indian languages; why shouldn’t I get into it? So I talked to him. He was very appreciative; he said if you’ll tell me when you can come, we could work together. And that is how I landed up proposing a year of intensive work with Frutiger in Paris. And once you are there it changes everything.