‘You’re a good designer if you’re also a good storyteller’
Art forms are a powerful approach to tell stories about culture, people, and are even considered as a force for social change. And when combined with storytelling, it has always been the foundation of good design with many believing that ‘You’re a good designer if you’re also a good storyteller’.
One name that often comes to mind is Menuolhoulie Kire who is a multi-disciplinary designer. A product and furniture designer based out of Nagaland who holds a Masters in Design from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, his pet project “Kharu Designs”, a design studio has been merging stories with an alternative approach.
‘Kharu’ he explained, is the traditional gate found in Angami villages, hence, Kharu Designs is the gateway between contemporary world and old craft and culture of our Nagaland. “We take inspirations from the crafts and the culture around us and try to bring contemporary products,” he adds.
Donning many hats, he is one of the top photographers in the State and also freelances as a Graphic Designer. But most importantly, Kire is a storyteller at heart- an outcome of the different things he has done in his career.
“When I was studying designing, I wanted to be a car designer. That was my main focus but later on I realized furniture designing is one area where we can tell stories and where we have lots of stories to tell,” he said. He was inspired by his Grandfather who was into carpentry and used to build houses and other things, adding “When I was 4 or 5 years old I used to follow him to work. Maybe I got inspired and that’s how I got into all this…”
Sharing his thoughts on design narratives, he said he became interested in furniture and product design during college. “For my final thesis I created furniture that was inspired from the craft and culture of Nagaland. Under that, I made a piece called Theja-Ba. Theja means blessing and Ba means seat. We had the base made out of wood with engravings similar to those found on traditional Kharu gate which has different meanings like blessings of health, longevity, wealth, prosperity etc. When I was doing my research, I found out that the idea of the gate is when you pass through the gate you get blessed. So I build the concept that when you sit on the chair with all the engravings, you get blessed. These are the stories I want to tell through my work,” he said.
What makes Kharu different? “Our products will be different from the others in ergonomics because we study them and design accordingly, and also the finishing. Our products are not purely functional or artistic also. It marries form and function together. In design, the rule is that form should follow function but we try to marry them together and do side by side. Adding to this, he admits that the expense factor is always there when it comes to designing but I always try to play around it,” Kire explained.
On being part of the present entrepreneurial-design scene in Nagaland, he said, “It’s a privilege to be able to do something that you love and be in a place where you can take so much inspiration from. I’m in a new market where you are one of the early movers. The problems are many but then the opportunities are also many.”
To aspiring young people he offers this advice: “It’s a great way to express your creativity and to learn a lot about our craft and culture and get benefits from it. You have to be very stubborn and persistent in whatever you are doing because the market will bring you lots of frustrations but you have to believe in yourself and push forward to achieve what you dream of.”
Art and design has so much potential in Nagaland and it is important to target the younger generation to get excited about its endless possibilities. Menuohlhoulie Kire is truly an inspiration who is willing to explore this exciting field. Check out design stories at
www.kharudesign.com or search “Kharu Design” on Instagram and Facebook.
