Each week New York Art Life recognizes and selects from a wide range of creative candidates, an experienced artist, and a creative professional to shed light on its achievements and honors. Let’s not forget that we are in New York where the creative proposal is wide. This week our editorial team chose Heer. An international designer who knows how to successfully and beautifully create a brand identity that consumers can easily recognize.
NY Art Life
Thank you, Heer, for taking the time to sit down and speak with us! We know that you are very busy working at KCSA, the major design firm.
Heer Mandalia
Absolutely! It’s an honor to have been selected by NY Art Life and it really shows how much my work is appreciated and recognized within the arts sphere. And, above all, I love this city which is always a great source of inspiration. You are right, lately, I am really busy at KFCA where we are working on new projects
NY Art Life
Can you tell us about projects that you have worked on at KCSA?
Heer Mandalia
KCSA is a major design firm and I have been selected to design some important projects such as the redesign of the logo. This was a huge responsibility that required me to understand the brand identity of the company and our mission. I also needed to understand how our current clients would potentially react to the new design. While we wanted to attract new clients, we did not want to alienate our current clientele. This was an amazing project because I was selected to work with the president of the company.
NY Art Life
Yes, this is a huge achievement. But you are used to working with major brands.
Heer Mandalia
Yes, previously I served as a Designer at MOD Worldwide. I designed internal and external communication assets for Comcast-Xfinity, which is a major telecommunications company. I also designed additional communications materials for CVS Aetna.
NY Art Life
This is so great. You clearly have a strong understanding of big brand objectives and how to translate them to their clientele.
How does working in India compare to working in the US?
Heer Mandalia
This is an interesting question, my history as a designer arises from a strong union between the rich Indian tradition, and the great technology and marketing resources that the United States historically possesses.
Designing in the US and India both have allowed me to work with major brands. In India, I designed the monogram for the coffee brand Coffee works. Coffee Works is a woman-owned, third-generation family business specializing in high-quality Indian coffee since 1941. I also designed the logo for the film Khape, which was directed by Suchita Bhatia. Khape had its world premiere at the UK ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL (May 29th- June 7th, 2021)- MAIN VENUES were WATERMANS LONDON, BELGRADE COVENTRY, AND VIRTUALLY AT MODERN FILMS. Also, at PHOENIX Leicester where it won the Ray of Hope Igniting Flame Commendation award.
India’s design focuses on our very rich visual elements. US design tends to be minimalist and simple. Both are great visualization forms that provide different results for clients.
NY Art Life
Your well-rounded experience in the field is why we selected you this month!
Heer Mandalia
Thank you! I think what sets me apart from my peers is that I had lots of experience in India prior to working in the US. I also worked in Mumbai and designed social media and marketing materials for brands such as Amy’s and Parle. That was a great experience because designing for social media is very different than designing marketing assets.
NY Art Life
How so?
Heer Mandalia
Designing brand assets is very intentional with a strong focus on aesthetics. It’s not necessarily that the brand is trying to gain more clients, but the brand is trying to communicate its culture and mission.
Designing for social media has the purpose of trying to increase engagement and sales.
NY Art Life
That’s so true. Thank you for that insight! Can you give any parting words of advice to our readers?
Heer Mandalia
Creativity is something that must be nourished every day, through a thousand experiences. Sometimes we have a limited view of what experience means. Everything we create is the result of our experience. So, the suggestion is to study, work, travel and compare, all seasoned with a good dose of passion and determination. We can say that New York is certainly not a city without experience
NY Art Life
We fully share your words. Thank you very much for dedicating your time to us, we hope to have you back on the NYARTLIFE editorial team for your next projects. Let’s meet our readers next week for a new interview with a new artist.