Ep. 263- Being interdisciplinary with Ruchika Nambiar

Swami Vivekananda once said that “Get extensity with intensity, but not at its expense.” I guess our today’s guest has been trying to achieve both very elegantly in her practice, breadth, and depth at the same time. Happy to have Ruchika Nambiar with us on Audiogyan. Ruchika is an artist, designer, and writer. Her work ranges across media, from publishing books, graphic memoirs, interactive social media stories, design consulting practice for brands and businesses as well as a mentorship program for young artists and designers. We’ll be talking about what it takes to be an interdisciplinary designer. She has some really well-documented videos on her youtube channel and website.

Questions

1. What is your definition of design and what’s your definition of art?
2. What does it really mean to be an interdisciplinary designer or an artist? Is it an outcome to input? How do you compare it with being a T-shaped designer?
3. Can one start being interdisciplinary? As Massimo Vignelli says, “if you can design one thing, you can design everything”. How would you respond to that?
4. What comes first for such designers - Thought or the medium to explore?
5. In your talk “10 Practical Realities of a Multi-Disciplinary Practice” on youtube - you mention, “use your best skill first” - isn’t it difficult to become best at one thing while doing another?
6. I have heard multiple times (recently by Varun Grover) that if you wish to write, do all other things than writing. Then write. Basically, expose yourself to many other things which fuel your creativity. What does an interdisciplinary artist or a designer consume?
7. [personal question] From whatever I gather after researching you and seeing your work, it’s quite a feat. Plus you talk about being a project manager, handling billing, building relationships, and so on… Do you feel you are spread thin? What keep you motivated on so many levels?

Reference reading

1. https://www.ruchikanambiar.com
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVxy7nt3zp0
3. https://www.youtube.com/@RuchikaNambiar/videos
4. https://www.instagram.com/thatruchika/?hl=en
5. https://adplist.org/mentors/ruchika-nambiar
6. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruchikanambiar/