We caught up with Delhi based designer Pranav. Pranav talked to us all about his love for design and sketching starting at a young age, his absolute favourite podcasts and books, and some of the incredible collaborations he's worked on!
Any hilarious stories about you as a kid being creative?
As a kid, I would incessantly draw (logos, taglines, typography) in all of my notebooks instead of taking class notes and that would result in the tightest slaps when all teachers saw was drawings in the notebooks instead of the homework. But that encouraged me to draw even more, because funnily enough, it satisfied me every single time.
What are your three must-read design books/blogs/podcasts and why?
1. The ‘Do Books’ Blog – For its sheer simplicity, valuable insights and light yet significant content.
2. Joe Rogan Podcast – Just because of the variety of people you get to see in their real skin, on the topics they never talk about anywhere else. It’s so real and has perspective that ultimately moves you forward as a person and makes you a better creative overall.
3. The Art of looking Sideways (Alen Fletcher) – I’m sure I’d not be the first one who has that book in the top 3 books list. It just opens up your mind like you’d never have opened it with any other source of information, specially as a writer and a designer. It’s filled with the scenarios that’d make you think differently and shakes your vantage point.
Who are your top five design crushes globally right now?
1. Stefan Sagmeister
2. James Victore
3. Jean Jullien
4. Christoph Neimann
5. Mac Premo
What qualities and skills do you look for in a graduate?
1. Hunger try different things
2. Fearlessness to fail fast
3. Self-motivation
4. Proactiveness
5. Self-initiated projects
Whats the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Fail harder.
Any passion projects/collabs you would like to share?
The Levi’s 501 Day collaboration – where I was one of the 25 artists from India to illustrate on a pair of the iconic 501 jeans. It is my most favourite project because of the fact that it was at a global scale where all the talented artists were personalising and exhibiting the 501 jeans simultaneously in the respective cities of the world.
How did you develop your style as an illustrator and what tips would you have for others?
I developed my style by trying a million things and by waiting for the style to come back to me rather than going in another direction. I think you should not chase the style, just try different things and all of it comes together into a perfect sync, and that becomes your style.
Where to find Pranav:
Instagram: @pranavxbhardwaj
