Summary
Designing a coffee table book
showcasing the various traditional
handicrafts of Uttar Pradesh.
Type
Internship project | UG third year, partial redesign | UG final year
Duration
4 months
Hunar Ki Udaan is a coffee table book designed to celebrate and promote the rich heritage of local artisans and traditional crafts of Uttar Pradesh. It highlights the materials, processes, and products of these crafts, offering a glimpse into their intricate artistry. The book aims to support artisans in preserving their craft, which is fast declining due to negligible market demand and increasing competition.
The project was started in October 2022 by U.P. Tourism, as a part of the U.P. Tourism Pro-Poor Development project and ended in February 2023.
The book showcases traditional crafts of Sarnath, Kushinagar, Agra and Mathura through photos of their processes, the raw materials used, the products made by them.
Identifying users
Authentic material and crafting processes
History and origin of the craft and the value it holds
Specific times of year may be favorable for certain crafts
When might the user come in contact with the crafts?
Crafts available in seasonal events and fairs
Current state of artisans and market
Declining numbers of families that continue the tradition
The need to preserve the traditions
A lot of the items are sustainable products
Project locations
Home of the craft
Online buying spaces
What is special about these handicrafts?
How are these crafting skills used to make different items
Why should they be helping these markets grow?
Where to find these handcrafted items?
Who will be reading this?
Keywords
Visual:
Visual narrative
Authentic
Artisanal aesthetics
Storytelling
Traditional
Cultural immersion
Value:
Artisanal revival
Representation
Empowerment
Livelihoods
Craftsmanship
Socio-economic upliftment
Preservation
Evocative
Major contents to mention
Craft Introduction
About the craft and it’s origin
Products made and available for sale
Locations of the artisans
Number of artisans in market, jobs and increase/decrease
To inform readers of the materials and cost of production
The significance, value and heritage it holds
Raw materials
Products
Artisans involved
Project Locations
Craft value
Content
The colours are taken from the most commonly seen colours in the craft of the place.
In the patterns and illustrations they are topped with textures.
#FFD43B
#D33300
#57C600
#F500A2
Headings
League Spartan SemiBold
Body
Armino regular
Size: 11 inch x 11 inch
Pages: 150
The section for each area started with an illustration of an artisan of the place making a product of the ir respective indigenous crafts. Namely, Sarnath: Clay craft(TL), Mathura: Radha-Krishna Poshak(TR), Agra: Zari Zardozi(BL), Kushinagar: Moonj/Sikki craft(BR).
All four places have 4 main crafts, the content covering their origin and history, raw material, tools used, artisans and products along with pictures. The colors for each place are picked from the two most prominently and frequently used colors in the items crafted there. The items being crafted are in golden/bright yellow to highlight them in the illustration.
Iterations for cover
Final
