Kayo Siddhi: Designed to impress

KATHMANDU, April 19: Possibly the coolest part about being Kayo Siddhi is walking down the street and seeing people wearing his designs.

At 28, the young graphic designer, who studied commerce for his Bachelor’s degree, has an MBA from Thailand and has carved a niche for himself in more ways than one. [break]

Soft-spoken and entirely modest, he started his own design studio, Aaviskaar, at Bakhundole, Sanepa, three months ago, and has freelanced for Gokarna Resort, Club Himalaya, Saano Paila, and Karuna clothing to name a few.

Republica sits down and talks to Kayo Siddhi, who has made a name for himself in graphic design and set trends in Kathmandu.

So tell us about your work, where do your ideas/inspirations come from?

Well, you can say I come from an artistic family. I’ve always looked up to my older brother who is a painter. At first my family wasn’t too supportive but now since they’ve seen I enjoy what I do and I’ve got my own start up, they encourage me.

The Internet is a great place to browse for inspiration. You can see other people’s work and learn from them. Other times, it just occurs to me - for instance, I was riding my motorbike to work one day and I saw a crammed Safa tempo and thought they should have double-decker tempos.

The double-decker is one of the graphics for a Karuna shirt; tell us about your designs for them.

I know some people at Karuna; at first they approached me with two ideas: the Mechi Mahakali Express and Air Force Nepal.

After that I figured out what they were looking for so they gave me some free rooms. They liked the double-decker tempo as well as the digital Ghanta Ghar.

Based on your work so far, do you have a certain style that you use?

I mostly do graphic design, vector design and photo manipulation. I doodle. Even in school I’d be doodling. I also like the idea of a futuristic Nepal. I don’t like just ‘normal’ art; I like normal with a twist!

Some of my work is humorous like the Karuna shirts. Right now, I have a piece called “Revolution in Facial Hair” that depicts Prachanda with various styles of facial hair. I’ve also been working on ideas for Aaviskaar.

Why did you choose Pushpa Kamal Dahal?

I’m not really interested in politics; I just needed a face that most Nepalis would recognize.

What are your future plans?

I wanted my own design studio for a long time but was waiting for the right time and the right people so I recently started Aaviskaar: Marketing communication for business growth in Sanepa, Bakhundole. So I’m planning on focusing on that. We do any kind of static print - calendars, reports. Actually, right now, I’m designing logos for the International Art Festival 2011.

What’s your opinion of the field in Nepal?

Computer graphics in Nepal is stagnant; there isn’t a lot of competition so there are a lot of opportunities. There isn’t really a network here and I haven’t heard of any workshops or anything like that. I think you can study graphic design here now though.

Are there any places where there are networks?

I’m on Devient Art, it’s a good place to make comments and get feedbacks. There are a few Nepali groups as well.

What do you usually do when you’re not working?

I usually hang out with my friends. I’m in Thamel a lot, especially at Electric Pagoda.

Do you have any advice you’d like to give to those thinking about entering the field?

Having a degree in graphic design might have been nice in some ways, but when freelancing, it’s mostly about the samples you can provide. I learnt on the job. If you want to learn, I think that’s the best way to do it. Institutions will teach you about the tools more than the designs.

You don’t need formal classes; there are a lot of online tutorials you can learn from and there are so many resources available online. I think getting experience is the best.

To see more of Kayo’s work, visit <http://kayo-siddhi.deviantart.com/gallery/> and <http://be.net/KayoSiddhi> or call Aaviskaar at 5010679.