Nitin Bajaj

Hey, everyone. Welcome to the industry show. I’m your host, Nitin Bajaj. And joining me today is Abhijit Bansod. Abhijit, welcome on the show.

Abhijit Bansod

Thanks. Thank you so much, Nitin. Great to be here.

Nitin Bajaj

Great to have you here. Let’s start with who is Abhijit.

Abhijit Bansod

So, I always been a dreamer, you know, without being a designer. You Show, I became designer much later. I was dreamer. I could see opportunities. I became maker because, you know, my hand and sort of I like things, touch, and feel, and, you know, started making things out of whatever I’ve lived in things in childhood. Fortunate to get towards, profession The became more professional dreamer and professional maker. And I’m product designer by profession. I love humor. I you know, I’m bringing that in design, bringing that in narratives I built in. And really, they see what I think, what I do, what I live. So that reflects a lot on what I design.

Nitin Bajaj

Well, that’s awesome. And it’s great to be able to live your dreams and be able to bring them to life in terms of mostly physical products, but also in many experiences for millions of people. And we’d love to hear more of that, here in the next few minutes. Let us start with what is you know, you worked in the corporate world. You worked with some of the biggest and best names in the industry, and you’ve been working on many different things. But let’s maybe start with what is the ABD Studio? What is the mission? What is the vision? And more importantly to me, why do this instead of, you know, continuing to be in the corporate The, getting a paycheck at the end of the month and not having to deal with so many different, maybe stresses and pressures that come along with it?

Abhijit Bansod

Yeah. Sometimes I also think about that. But, you know, me and my wife had this constant discussion on, you know, about same situation, you know, because we had this really amazing company to work with, which is Titan, which is a Tata company and Mhmm. Really respects design, gives a platform to designers, give a do credit to designers. And we were part of really the early movers in in, you know, designs to do. And 10 years was a long time to spend on something in company, which is title INDUStry difficult to lead. But, I mean, extremely difficult to lead.

I mean, you’re getting the best exposure. You you Show, you’re getting a platform to express what we feel getting platform to create a collection of your own, which you understand India is. And with sort of leaving that and starting something on your own, needed probably something different, you know, because for me, finding the meaning of Indian design in in this world of Scandinavian and Japanese design philosophers was something very, very important. And I thought starting Studio ABD would be a platform where, we we meant a lot. I mean, of course, I had, when I started The, I had no idea on business side of it. Are we gonna survive out of that? But we were very clear that, you know, we will find something exciting. We will create something exciting. And that’s with maybe a night and maybe a little silly, but maybe a very optimistic thing. We started to leave it there. That’s the lead start. Yeah.

Nitin Bajaj

That’s amazing. And I’m glad you did. And, you know, you mentioned something, but in a very humble way. So I wanna make sure we call that out separately. You’re You’re one of the pioneers in the whole Indian design philosophy in in terms of what it means to have an Indian design mindset, and I would love for you to touch upon that in the in the discussion and the narrative we have here. But let’s let’s kinda step back and talk about the impact your work has created, the types of designs, the kind of things and products and experiences you’ve been able to bring to life in the past few years?

Abhijit Bansod

Yeah. So I know as I said The, you know, we, I’ve always taken this parallel that, you Show, in, we had this Ayurveda yoga, Bollywood, The in, becoming a global phenomenon in the The. But not sure whether Indian design was reflected on the bill. And wanted to really have that, sort of celebrating Indian narratives and bringing this new ways design, which are global and sophisticated enough that everyone can consume or use or appreciate that. That’s how we really started building, you know, in in in in just, you know, just to be able The question you asked on impact and kind of possibilities and things we had. Show, yeah, I mean, we had really good opportunities, and, you know, on working different brands. We had The opportunity working on very unique concepts, knowing including museums, building, and kind of variety of work we get, is it’s really amazing. You Show, morning, we are doing the chocolate, and at the end of the day, we are solving the complex EV problem, you know. Yes. And that’s something gives us a really, you know, different flavor of bringing different work together, learning from different experiences, applying The segment, you know, learning in in in another segment. Mhmm. I think that’s something, is really amazing for us in terms of kind of impact or kind of reach we could take from bottom of pyramid to ultra luxury. But the core remains a very strong Indian ethos, and finding opportunities to celebrate The.

Nitin Bajaj

That is so amazing and and wonderful. And yeah. You know, I can just even imagine the joy it brings to have that breadth and spectrum of things that you get to solve for, bring to life, just apply creativity. And as you said, you know, learnings from The completely different set of products or or just even kind of taking that inspiration and applying it to a whole different domain. The that can be very exciting and obviously challenging at times. So talking about challenges, what’s the one big challenge you’re facing right now?

Abhijit Bansod

I think there is there is a, I mean, we always been, very, I I mean, we’re very good at finding expression, getting narratives to give a form or build a very powerful story around The wheel. A very powerful, you know, way of life into the product. Our biggest challenge probably been and was to translate that into a business, translate that into mass moment where it requires a different set of understanding, you know, to really cultivate that, build on that, and manage that. I think that’s been our biggest challenge to really be focused on 1 because, you know, I like the flirtiest nature of design where we Right. Get to it’s in things and not to be married to The thought that, you know, that we become oh, he’s only one type of and that’s a bit scary for us to be known for only 1 knob designer, you Show. You know, we need to probably build in that. So I think the challenge was really to, learn, take this little idea, and give its give a justice to it to have, you know, give its platform that it can really become something it deserves. And sometime it’s bigger than us, and The sometime it’s bigger than me for sure. And that is the biggest challenge we’ve been sort of seeing in our kind of maybe the industry and of course of work or personal work.

Nitin Bajaj

You know, it’s a great problem to have. Right? How do you take a seed and and let it mature into its own life? And that’s that’s beautiful. And you get to do that multiple times in a day. So I’m a little jealous. Now on the flip side of challenges come opportunities. I’d love to hear. And I know this will be difficult if I say what’s the one exciting opportunity you have.

Abhijit Bansod

I think it’s it’s tough, but I will probably, talk about, you know, The which is current one, you know, because it’s Sure. In your lifetime and span of that that moment, that thing looks most amazing because you are so involved in that. You’re so invested in that at that time. So currently, you know, I mean and I take this little, you know, journey of designers who start from, you know, p for portfolio to, you know, p for projects to at some point where it’s a p for purpose. And, you know, I kind of found that piece of purpose at, you Nitin in the pandemic, and it was about, changing the visual, The best tree of, you know, Indian streets by creating something really, really beautiful, really functional, for street vendors because, a, they they do not have a mobility. They might have a mobile. You Show? They got a best mobile technology. Yes. But their mobility is something was missing, and that affected them during pandemic. And and I think the whole makeshift world I mean, world uses the word to garbage. It. I have nothing against it, but I don’t want to celebrate or was celebrate that part. It’s it’s I think it’s it’s, what you call competition. You Show? It’s not something we really wanna do, but, however so we wanted to create something really beautiful The, and that project started something The as Tiguna. And that means and something three times. So we wanted to give, 3 times super design, 3 times reach, 3 times safety, 3 times comfort, but most importantly, 3 times respect to this community. You know, really hardworking community. We wanted to bring Indian women with traditional, you know, costumes, should be able to ride this Tiguna so easily that The, you Show, we we we I mean, our dream is to see, The women entrepreneurs zipping on Indian Street and really good design product, designed for massive change in terms of opportunity life and the visual culture of aesthetics on the streets.

Nitin Bajaj

This project, purpose of yours brings a real smile to my heart as we discussed. You know, this truly democratizes the and dignifies the people that truly deserve a chance and not just a chance, but to be able to be efficient and effective and to be able to do more because they need to. And it also truly uplifts the the patriotism that we need to have in our citizens. And we need to be able to feel proud of what we see on our streets that we have built. And it’s about time, and I’m glad you’re leading this effort. And I can’t wait to see this come to life here pretty soon. So, again, congratulations for all the progress you’ve made so far, and I can’t wait to see this and maybe even get a chance to write this pretty soon.

Abhijit Bansod

Absolutely. That would be great. Yeah. Yeah.

Nitin Bajaj

So, Abhijit, as we look forward on what’s exciting and what’s to come, I wanna take a pause and reflect in the rear view mirror. Talk about 2 instances in your career and your life where in The, things did not work out as you had expected. It was a failure in your books, and maybe there was a lesson that came out of it. And the other experience where things exceeded your own expectations and became a success beyond your imagination.

Abhijit Bansod

Yeah. I mean, see failures are really amazing and especially being designer. One of the biggest enemy for what you can do is you, you know, your own ego. Mhmm. It’s really in word journey for everything The you know. I mean, I I I I do. I this I believe. I mean, nothing wrong in that. You know? I mean, the world changes because of one single point of view sometime. However, I I failed to manage my own expectation from myself. Didn’t learn much about the art of negotiation, and we really missed a very, very, very important project. Halfway through it was, terminated. That would have been a huge impact on sustainable practices, you know, in India. And I really regret, for not, not doing it right. You know? And it’s it’s just that part was the what happened. But what prompted me to, it helped me that failure helped me to open up a lot and started asking help, you know, go beyond my own limited view or knowledge of the world. It helped me get a codes business codes. I learned a lot on the business and personal expectation and, how each one’s role are important in that. I mean, so the way Bajaj, but I think that that that really, really changed, the way I look at today, the project, not as a project and outcome, but, how it’s gonna impact, how many people is gonna reach, what kind of behavioral change that can bring it to in any whatever segment. You know, it’s not necessarily talking about only luxury or The, but whatever target user The how I’m gonna bring the thing. I think that failure taught me a lot, and I’ve been learning and I’ve been practicing and far better in that, but long way to go, I would say.

Nitin Bajaj

We The all all a work in progress. Right?

Abhijit Bansod

Totally. Still downloading. Yeah.

Nitin Bajaj

Yes. What about the success? Something that became much bigger than you had expected.

Abhijit Bansod

2 projects I would very quickly briefly talk about. Sure. And The was, you know, one was Nebula Palace Collection, which was my first project, you know, when when when I started, Studio Bedi was a design project, I got, and I travel. It was creating a very ultra luxury for India. You know, it was really exciting, because we could see the Swiss brands that coming in and Mhmm. Only ways possibility that you start celebrating your own space, then seeing that international Bansod celebrating your own space. And, you know, and they were like, wow. We didn’t think about it. So I think that collection, which was inspired by palaces, got me to travel 19 palaces, stayed in fantastic palace hotels, and then we shortly stayed few. And, one of the favorite my, of that was Rambak Palace in Jaipur. Mhmm. You know, Maharani guides again. And I think it and they were seen so elegant and welcoming space, you know, for that. And those watches are really truly fantastic when we designed in 2010. They were how do I say? 6 to $8,000 price bracket in solid gold, 200 in diamonds on The. And just limited edition of 49 needs, and it really got sold out in 6 months without any commercials on TV. So that kind of made me really think that India is really ready for India. And that give you huge confidence beyond I could imagine, that that there’s something we need. We are on The right track. 2nd quick project, about, you know, got invited to celebrate Sachin Tendulkar’s life on Carter Doo. I mean, can’t get bigger than that as a designer that, you know, you’re gonna create something for The god of cricket. Mhmm. The public installation, that was creating experience, how everyone putting including the the the the factory workers polishing it to such a best level because it was for such a and that’s where the second realization came that if your purpose is larger than yourself, everyone will come to, you know, make it better. And today, after after 10 years, it’s still there with millions of people interacting with The, and lot of visualization, you know, which we thought it would work. And it surprises me to see that, you know, what I thought and how bigger it was actually than I could imagine. So 2 very, very humbling experiences of great learning and great opportunity.

Nitin Bajaj

And great success. Well, thank you for sharing those. And, yeah, I can just imagine the joy of bringing something to life for someone that is literally, followed by the entire nation. So that’s that’s a big moment. And, obviously, you worked for it and, you know, that’s why you were brought into the picture because they trusted you to do it, complete justice. So that’s that’s really amazing. Now as we talk about work, as we talk about, you know, the things you get to do, which are all really fun, what do you do for fun to take a break, to take a pause from, you know, this can this can get a little challenging at times.  So what’s your distress?

Abhijit Bansod

I think nature. I mean, if I get to walk in nature, it’s like the finest connection happens in in somewhere. Sometime I couldn’t explain, but it kinda really connects me well with surrounding, makes me aware of my own thing. Great DC movies I love, you know, and especially lot of from aspiration, the entire, OTT has moved to familiarity, you know, where the local local towns and local, narrating or language, and I really love those stories. It gives us such a great confident that somebody has actually, shared those in such a captivating manner. And it’s the same true kind of reflection of you’re trying to see in physical product design where no The narrative that it’s in. But these these are, you know, adding to become very strong, DC perspective on what we do. And and I think some movies, watching completely binge watching sometime, what walking, podcast, playing with, you know, spending time with my daughter, Amanda, my wife, and Linda, and my 4 year 4 months old puppy, you know, Papa Spaniel, and you keep I think it keeps me busy over the weekend. You know?

Nitin Bajaj

That’s awesome. And I I really relate to what you said about these shows or movies that show the the real life that in the past we didn’t get to see a whole lot of. It was very Bollywood. It was much larger than life. And a lot of the content now shows you what really goes on, and it gives you that perspective that it’s okay. You know, we are part of this. This happens to us also. And that realism, I would imagine, helps a lot in bringing your designs to life because you are designing for a whole spectrum of an audience, as you said, you know, from the bottom of the pyramid to the ultra wealthy. Show, yeah, thanks for sharing that perspective. And I really relate to the whole spectrum of options you have there to kind of de stress and and kind of mix and match a little bit there. Now this brings us to my favorite part of the show. We call it the one line life lessons. I would love for you to share your life lessons with us.

Abhijit Bansod

I think when you, many things I got by just getting up, breaking my own inertia and asking, and I just got Nitin that simple, and sometimes I feel that other than parents, you have to ask for something and people will help. Only parents give kids without asking. So lesson number 1 is always get up and ask, whatever that would be. In 99% of time, I would have got oh, we do get those things when you ask for it, you know. Celebrate your local being and, you know, and that’s what The they they see design, which is, hidden towards in in design. And find something like a little accidental discovery, and I’m I’m really happy that, you know, design has been holding The to very important things for us. And because design do bring, very, very sophisticated, simplified view and can be consumed by very large amount of people and INDUStry the large amount of people because you simplify and, you know, communicate what’s needed to be done. So it’s really important that we celebrate this dayciness, dayciness Nitin our life with some sophistication so that we we become very powerful. Indian design can be very powerful, you know, element, outside. Yeah. A lot of this.

Nitin Bajaj

Love that. Abhijit, thank you so much for sharing those life lessons. For thank for sharing your journey and story and for your designs. I think those are very instrumental in what I see as the coming of age of Indian design, the Indian design philosophy. And I believe we are truly ready for the INDUStry design to come to the world. And I’m really excited and happy that you’re at the forefront of it and, can see to can’t wait to see you go places. And, again, really excited to see where Tiguna is and, how soon it comes to life.

Abhijit Bansod

Absolutely. I mean, thank you so much for having me here, and letting me share my little experiences. But, yeah, I mean, we would love to share more, you know, once you have some.

Nitin Bajaj

Yeah. Super excited to bring you back on. And maybe we do one while we are both in Tiguna and we do the shoot in there.

Abhijit Bansod

Absolutely. That would be awesome. Yeah.

Nitin Bajaj

Yes. Yeah. So thanks so much, Abhijit.

Abhijit Bansod

Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.