At Chidiya Udd, I make art, teach illustration and help people find their way back to creative expression. I am keenly interested in how learning takes place and my fervent hope is to be able to nurture creative confidence in people. I love work that explores oral histories, gender and identity,
and belonging.
As a design consultant & design educator, Kavita Arvind has worked with a range of issues from healthcare technology, education, gender equity, to caste
and inclusion; on projects with Handicap International, KLAY Daycare &
Pre Schools, Labournet Services, Brainsight AI & Buddhi Schools; focusing on design research and innovation.
She studied film at the National Institute of Design, and has a Masters in Design in Education from Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology. As a design educator, she has taught for more than a decade at both her alma maters, leading projects in collaboration with Katha, Tulika, WTI on areas that range from social inclusion, disability, mythology and gender activism.
Illustration for Storytelling
A five day workshop with the students of Crafting Creative Communication, MICA, Ahmedabad
@Chidiya Udd, 2021
Brainsight AI
Our work spanned Design Research, collaborative Design Sprints, UI Design and Usability Tests towards creating an application that offers support for mental wellness and peri-natal depression.
@The Think Factory. 2020
Universal Design
We worked with a team of young adults on a challenging project that looked at creating ‘storybooks’ that would encourage children with typical vision and children with visual impairment engage with curiosity about color.
@The National Institute Of Design. 2019
Design Thinking for Org Building
Organisation building & enabling collaborative conversations for 50 business unit heads for
Labournet India
@The Think Factory, 2019
Buddhi School
Working collaboratively with primary & middle school teachers towards creating learner-centric, student led, integrated curriculum. @The Think Factory. 2019
Labournet
A 2 day design sprint with the team at Labournet to redefine report formats, build capacity and smoothen internal processes.
@The Think Factory, 2019
Klay Daycare & Prep Schools
We worked collaboratively with the organisation towards the planning and strategy for a new product. Our work also included User Testing and Design Research.
@The Think Factory. 2019
Design Thinking Workshop
Introduction to design thinking for women entrepreneurs at the
All India Startups Support Group, Karnataka Chapter
@The Think Factory, 2018
Design Thinking Workshop
Open to public Design Thinking workshops at Church Street Social that are hands on, extremely interactive and engaging.
@The Think Factory, 2018
Understanding Color
Three weeks of teaching-learning with first year students, unpacking color theory and practical applications to design practice.
@The National Institute Of Design. 2018
Speculative Design with Buddhi School Children
We created a toolkit that enables out of the box innovative thinking and can be used across ages for both Design Thinking as well as Speculative Design.
We conducted several workshops with children from the ages of 8 - 14 as well as young adults of the ages of 18 - 22, introducing them to the Design Method.
@Srishti Institute of Art, Design & Technology. 2018
The Unburdening Myth Project
We worked with a team of creative young adults to create narratives that looked to redefine and retell stories from Indian mythology in a way that it heroes the marginalised and stereotyped characters.
@Srishti Institute Of Art, Design & Technology
(Image features Tushar Pant’s rough sketches for his beautifully illustrated graphic novel based on Shikhandi) 2017
The Seeing Hands Project
Led a team of bright young students towards creating tactile and sensory based books and toys for children with visual impairment, working closely with Tulika Books and Chetana Trust. @Srishti Institute of Art, Design & Technology. 2016
(Image features Pooja Ullalkar’s sensory play-mat)
Stories of Learning
I am curious about how people across ages learn, collaborate and create. I would love to share stories from my work and hear from from others as well!
Do get in touch with me for critiques, guest lectures, jurying and facilitating workshops.
2020 - 2022
Design Thinking workshops at TCTD, IIT Bombay; CCC, MICA, Ahmedabad; Jury Panelist at Pearl Academy, Delhi
Interview Panelist for CCC, MICA, Ahmedabad
2018 - 2019
Design Thinking Workshops at IIM Bangalore, WeWork, Church Street Social, Christ University and The Bohemian House under the banner of The Think Factory.
2019
Learning from Design Sprints
Along with co-speaker Amruta Shah. Meet Up @The Indian Design Community
2018
A Living Classroom
Insight Conference @The National Institute Of Design
Navigating The Graduating Project
@Srishti Institute Of Art, Design & Technology
