Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Chandan Mahimkar

Chandan Mahimkar shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Chandan, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
For the past 7 years I am serving as a visiting faculty at 2 design schools in Mumbai and have conducted many workshops for participants from various parts of India and the world. I have mentored over 1000 creatives from around the world. Sharing my knowledge and experience with my students and participants has been very fulfilling. I get to mentor young creatives and help them see their potential. Managing my studio, teaching and mentorship is a tightrope walk, but I thoroughly enjoy it. It also helps me understand the challenges and opportunities for young designers.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Well, I come from an advertising background with a keen interest in design. I was earlier Chief Creative Officer at L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, India and also the founder of their design division. After spending over 2 decades in some of India’s top agencies I decided to start my own design studio in Mumbai www.mahimkar.com – focused on creating meaningful brand identities, strategy, packaging, custom lettering, typography & space design. I am also trying to explore art, design, culture and travel through graphic design, lettering and writing.
My passion for lettering and typography is what makes me standout amongst my peers. However, the work that I do is quite multidisciplinary. I have created well known brand identities in many sectors and scales since past 3 decades. Having co-created over 25 restaurants, cafes & bars brands right from naming them to their identity and also their space design. I work independently and also collaborate with design agencies/curators on varied projects. I work on international design projects for editorial, packaging and identity design. I recently finished 2 book title designs for Penguin Books UK and had earlier contributed to Washington Post’s travel website. My custom logo & label design for Monarch Brandy (created for Open Strategy & Design) has been winning awards & accolades this season in India. My most latest design project is ‘Dhol & Soul’ Indian Bistro which launched in August in Eindhoven, where my studio conceptualised the brand from scratch with its naming, branding, visual identity and the full brand narrative, it is my first international F&B design project.
I have been invited to conduct design and lettering workshops at top design institutes in India, Italy, France & Germany. I am also a visiting faculty at Ecole Intuit Lab, Mumbai & Miami Ad School, Mumbai mentoring young creatives & designers.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who taught you the most about work?
Subliminally it has always been my late father – Kishor Mahimkar. His work ethics, process, influences, humility, kindness and humour has had a big influence on me. His keen interest in art, photography, travel, music helped shape my sensibilities since my childhood. His large hearted personality is what stood out the most and I have been doing my own bit on that same philosophy in my everyday life, career and teaching.

What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
I think failure is an integral part of life and also a great teacher. Fresh out of design school, the plenty of job interviews I gave to find a good break were a mirror of sorts. They gave me a clear direction which was missing earlier. I did not have a mentor who would guide me during those younger days. I think finding a good mentor is very essential while you begin your career.
I had to course correct, had be more contemporary in my ideas and respect strategy in my work. I then created a totally new portfolio based on this experience and saw my world changing for the better and landed my first job at a creative hot shop in Mumbai. In the process I found 2 mentors (Creative Directors who first hired me), they instilled in me the power of ideas and craft. I learnt a lot from them and have continued to find my own unique path.
Mentorship has been the key in my past 15 years, where I have been nurturing young talent as my team members and also as my students.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
The power of process and practice is something I deeply believe in. Evolving/adapting the process is essential too. Internet influences creative people and what you see is an unoriginal/seen before output. One has to put in the hours of research, coming up with insights, creating work that is fresh & inspiring requires thorough understanding of the task and purpose. I see creatives finding an easy way out to reach the solution, they lack the patience to work through a process and love using shortcuts. The result is average or below par work that does not move audiences or is not even worthy of their portfolio.
As more and more creatives rely on the same AI tools, their output lacks any differentiation and freshness. So using process, insights and your own intelligence/craft can lead to originality in thinking and execution. The power of observation, to go out and have real world experiences is vital for creatives. I teach these same values when I mentor young creatives.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: When do you feel most at peace?
There are many things that make me feel at peace, but the most I feel it is when I am hand lettering, sketching. I am almost meditating when I draw. The process of sketching allows me to go on an adventure with a pencil and paper. It has helped me in many ways as a person and also in my design practice. To constantly create work for clients and the output being evaluated is what I have to go through every single day. But while I sketch I am totally indifferent to that and in good company of myself, enjoying the creation process. It allows me to freely explore possibilities and then output then becomes a gift.
I look at life beyond my work and design practice, for e.g. appreciating architecture, travelling, food, visiting art galleries, book stores, doing photography and writing.

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