Matrika Bhandari

Matrika is a design researcher based in London, New Delhi and Kolkata. 

Design has a way of being impersonally personal. Coming from a commercial textile background, ‘design’ was industry and trend-driven, focused on what the market wanted. At the same time working with traditional craft practices led to discovering the importance of connection and people through design and textiles. This led to two distinct viewpoints that played key roles in her work as a designer and as a researcher. 

She has worked with multidisciplinary design and textile studios. She engaged in different parts of the research and design development processes as well as using design strategies to create new systems. 

Her journey at RCA began with understanding sustainability through various dimensions, it evolved into investigating how it is linked to the social responsibility of creativity and the ethical impact of design.

Achievements: 

-       Low कल: MA Research paper on Regenerative approach to sustainability- awarded Distinction at RCA, 2020

-       Srijan: Design intervention and research- presented at Heimtexil Exhibition, New Delhi, 2018

-       Most Creative Design Award, NIFT, New Delhi, 2018

नील वर्ण (Neel Varna): The Blue Letter

Sustainability and its different dimensions have been the key element of my explorations at RCA. My investigations into the impact of traditional and cultural practices, on regenerative sustainable development, through Material, Technique, Design and Market led me to the question, 

‘What is the Indian way of sustainable thinking?’

‘नील वर्ण (Neel Varna): The Blue Letter’ is a design research project rooted in sustainability, culture, and knowledge. 

Craft is centred on indigenous, handmade knowledge and creativity that transcends generations and is linked with identity and kinship.

In the case of Asia, although Design is seen as a modern profession, it becomes both endogenous (an ancient activity of craftspeople) and exogenous (linked to development as it is framed in western terms). 

It has the ability to either integrate or marginalise cultural practices.

Herein lie the two aspects of the Indian way of sustainable thinking- the artisan way and the designer way. What can amalgamate the two thought processes together?

I draw inspiration from the various cultures and locales I have experienced. Connecting them led me to Indigo, and thus Blue.

The process involves different design research techniques, through virtual interaction as well as field study and is based on the exchange of knowledge. The various existing dynamics between artisans and designers are explored parallelly. 

I designed research processes based on Conversing, Mapping, Making and Creating to redefine Blue. 

The methodology follows design research and cultural innovation to develop frameworks and systems, rooted in equity and inclusivity, for collaboration between designers and traditional artisans. It represents a new innovative means of collaborating to collect and analyse ways of thinking and ways of making. 

RCA has been a journey of evolution, not only professional but personal as well. I realized through the course of my MA, that the process was about being in the constant evolution of thought, questioning and critiquing the current systems and introspecting my role within them. 

I want to take this research forward and put the framework into practice in the industry. This could lead to a foundational shift grounded in empathy and equity to create a collaborative platform for co-designing. I am working towards establishing and developing my practice as a cross-cultural collaborator.