Paper Trails
Take a fresh look at everyday objects – a collection of gathered invoices and documents from an afternoon spent checking off items on a to-do list
The thought of running errands isn’t usually accompanied by pleasant anticipation, but for Pavithra Dikshit, that is just the case. She has uncovered a moment of enjoyment during otherwise mundane tasks – picking up art supplies, visiting a doctor, getting a gadget repaired – when those familiar flimsy squares of paper, layered over inky carbon sheets, are marked with inscrutably scribbled shorthands at the end of a transaction. The graphic designer’s eye zooms in on their every detail; to her, no row or column or printed logo is accidental or without a function, and she sees beyond their old-school visual appeal. Physical bills still play a vital part in the day-to-day functioning of our cities’ small businesses, even in this era of e-commerce. Forgotten passwords and other such technical speed bumps are not an issue for your local baniya — ask him for the receipt for your last pack of gum, and he will know exactly which one of his countless ragged ledgers to pull it out from…
Presently working at Landor Mumbai, Pavithra Dikshit is one-third of Postcard People (an avenue to revive the sending out of postcards) and one-eighth of Kadak (a collective of South Asian women that works with graphic storytelling of different kinds). Explorations in the cross-sections of life and design, within the Indian context, outline a major part of her practice as a designer.