Dekho: Conversations on Design in India

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Codesign

Rajesh Dahiya Creative Director

Mohor Ray Editor

Abhijith K. R. Designer

Foreword by Kumar Vyas

Foreword by Steven Heller

Codesign, Gurgaon, Haryana, India, 2012, English

Nonfiction, Graphic Design

6.10 x 8.85 inches, Section-sewn paperback, 272 pages

Suggested Retail Price: $42.00

From the Publisher. Dekho is an anthology of inspirational conversations with designers in India, recorded over time, probing their stories for cues to the development of design in India and highlighting approaches that are unique to designing for India.

Nominated for the London Design Museum’s Designs of the Year 2013

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Covers of Dekho, open. Photo courtesy of Codesign

A Designers & Books Notable Design Book of 2013

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Ellen Lupton

On Ellen Lupton’s Notable Books of 2013 list

Dekho is a remarkable new book about design in India, edited and designed by Codesign, a brand and communication firm in Gurgaon, India. The book examines work based in culture, research, and economic development. This is not a picture book of slick brands or vernacular truck signs. Instead, it is a thoughtful exploration of the processes and motivations behind a range of practices, from typeface development for diverse linguistic communities to co-design projects with rural craftspeople.

The book is organized as a series of meaty conversations with nine different designers and teams, including Neelakash Kshetrimayum, a type designer reviving a local script, and Lakshmi Murthy, who works with low-literacy communities to create effective social communication. The page designs are active but reader-friendly, set in Peter Bilak's beautiful Greta typeface. The book ends with a series of responses and visual work by Wolfgang Weingart, Stefan Sagmeister, and Casey Reas.

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