we built ICD with people who really want to be on the bus. we tend to look for curious, open, and thoughtful people who have a life that gives them some sort of edge or point of view. or soft corners, come to think of it. some of them aren’t in design roles, but once they get into client problems, the difference disappears.
Itu took a bachelor’s in architecture from School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi in 1984, but retired from that profession to pursue his interest in letterform and graphic design. After freelancing in this and that, he formed Itu Chaudhuri Design in 1997 to design for marketing, corporate and editorial clients. Itu is a lazy columnist, reflecting on design thinking, and the interface between design and everything else. He is a (reluctant) keynote speaker, has served as visiting faculty at NID. Deeply steeped in listening to classical Indian music, and selectively, science.
Lisa joined ICD soon after her graduation in 1997 from the National Institute of Design (NID), where she studied Visual Communication, and has been a principal for a decade. She has immense experience in graphic design, loves striking typography and branding. Lisa leads our UI/UX projects, both ERP and editorial, maintaining a keen, yet skeptical eye on novel developments: new isn’t always better, and content and functionality matter. Lisa has taught and judged at the NID and and has been a jury member, moderator speaker at UX events. And Lata is everything.
Ashok comes with 6 years of experience in packaging design, working with a packaging specialist design studio with multinational clients—he developed a sense of rigour, detail, and a savviness about the shelf. He is greatly moved by visual art, and his expert eye never misses the form, and finish of the pack he holds. A valuable perspective to our packaging and web UI projects.
Pradyut was a Computer Engineer. Looking at his sketches and concepts, a friend recommended he join IIT Guwahati’s newly introduced M.Des programme. He says it was the best thing to happen to him. His idea of a perfect evening is a cup of coffee and a session of craftsy hand lettering. A sports geek, he passionately follows football and tennis. He hopes to see Nadal’s famed forehand in action at the Roland Garros finals someday.
Alok’s interest in computing started late, in the 11th Standard, when he saw his friends make cool applications in computer class and wanted in on the fun. The result—his first programme, a virus to hack his school’s computer network. He then took a BCA and hasn’t stopped making stuff since: a free library, a video editing software. Alok is a Manga addict, which got him interested in design, and working at ICD.
Ayushmaan started out building a digital network for farmers in Nagaland. His time there brought him face to face with the realities of a different kind of life (and the possibility of losing it). An encounter with the agarwood tree in the jungle sparked his interest in the art of perfumery. He shifted base to Delhi, writing and editing a development magazine with a leftist slant. A hungry reader, his polymathic appetite extends to blogs—the Astral Codex Ten blog is a favourite, articles, ghost stories (true!), Reddit groups that prove we are but elements in a matrix. Unifying theme: none.
Our in-house political scientist, completed her BSc from Utkal University. From the time of her joining, Gayatri has handled the studio’s accounts. She makes sure everybody has what they need to work efficiently, from pens to salaries. She is happiest when she is reading books on politics and religion.
Vivek has a Bachelors in design from the DJ School of Design, Coimbatore. A competitive gamer, he ran a streaming channel on YouTube with a highly engaged audience. He is a gifted photographer, with a deep, dark and mysterious style. Vivek, Kandan, Kantan are a few corruptions of Viverkanandan’s name he tolerates, for now. He loves Bengali food on Friday nights. ‘I live in the movement’ is how he articulates his love for the poetry of motion.
Ujjawal likes puns, parathas and well designed products. His dad’s travelling job meant a childhood spread across the country, gathering bits of the culture from everywhere. As must be evident, he’s got the brightest smile in the office. ‘I don’t like digital watches’, Ujjawal, the first product designer to have made that declaration, at the risk of getting cancelled by his own community.
Ujjwal, the second of his name (here), sold insurance straight out of college from IIM Ranchi, a battle-hardening experience according to him. Ujjwal’s roots are in Vrindavan and his formative years were spent in Visakhapatnam, giving him his own north-south cultural bridge. His interest in cricket rivals Itu’s. He likes to read slowly and deeply—books on language, health and business. He’s promised us to start reading more fiction.
Hari is the vibe coder we go to when we want our wild ideas brought to life. He prefers to see himself as a technologist-designer with an eye on scale and the underlying bits of tech that make it all work. Hari’s trips back home brings us a smorgasbord of achaars and snacks: kadukumangai, vazhakkai & chakka chips. We’re grateful, for the snacks and the vibe. Follow him on instagram if you want to see the world the way he sees it, he’ll force a rethink.
Sudiksha is NIFT Delhi graduate in communication. Her time there was spent learning the craft of design. Post graduation she chose to design product experiences for frontier industries deploying agentic AI at scale. She is mother to Noor and claims to have been adopted by her 3 years back. She brings the balance of craft from her training in communication and a propensity to first try things out.
Aditya is part of the tech team at ICD, developing, deploying and then maintaining complex and high value digital products, from ecomm websites to dynamic knowledge websites of emerging enterprise AI companies. He loves to trek and loves exploring locations off the beaten track, quite literally. Aditya has a steely approach to picking up new skills; continuous improvement, bit by bit. His piercing TT backhand is a vivid demonstration.
Sakshi has an industrial design masters from IIT Roorkee. The master’s when combined with the mechanical engineering undergrad give her a formidable rigour in her approach to product design. Sakshi came to ICD with product design experience in fintech. She is a content creator at heart and enjoys capturing our unspoken traditions with an eye for drama and delight.
Jatin is the third of four engineers turned designers in the product design team. Jatin contributed to nascent design functions at a UX studio and a hiring solutions startup. Jatin explores the fledgling Gurgaon art scene on the weekends, thinking about them for a long time afterwards.
Vishnu is an urban planner by training. He absorbed the systems view of the built world at NIT Bhopal; invaluable for a product designer. He grew up in Malappuram and misses its overwhelmingly beautiful greenery. Vishnu’s love for biking takes him places, quite often in the hills surrounding Delhi. He sketches during calls to concentrate. The subjects are mundane; results, wonderful.
Bhumika is a computer science grad turned product designer who’s highly perceptive to the limits of technology and grounds her practice in real constraints. If you sit next to her you’ll be treated to a soft melodious hum of old bolly classics. But she’s also a straight-talker that our graphic design team often employs as a stress tester for ideas on packaging and identity projects.
Divyansh grew up in Jalandhar, a melting point of Punjabi culture and industry. A trained product and motion designer, his work has that poorly labelled quality called ’spark’ i.e. thorough, thoughtful and tested. He trained as a tennis player with his father. It serves him well at our TT table, the flair of his shots easily makes him the only watchable player amongst us amateurs.
Akshay keeps a quiet profile, but enjoys in-depth conversations, mostly on design and the lives of people. Akshay has a masters in Design and is part of our product design practice. He grew up in hilly Nashik, enjoying frequent hikes. He says the ghats of Godavari were a source of peace and calm growing. He’s also an amateur beatboxer, still waters run deep.
Hrithik came to ICD straight from NID Kurukshetra. While he spent his time largely in his room or the library, he managed to get exposed to global cultures of art and design, leading him to look at his own Rajasthani art heritage with renewed admiration. Hrithik has worked with renowned institutions while in college. He enjoys Japanese Kanji calligraphy and cooking. Hrithik firmly reinforces the idea of Rajasthani hospitality in our minds. Dal-bati-choorma anyone?
Raghav is a lawyer turned designer, which gives him the patience to tease out design ideas and place them in the real world. We’ve put his part baritone, part boyish voice to good use for our video projects. His love for language, poetry and most importantly, music, make him an excellent dinner companion. Friday evenings work best, he’ll cook.
