‘MAULIK’ by Aarohi Agarwal

Thesis Abstract:

Only Indians know the convenience of having access to multiple spices at once in a masala dabba, or of using a pot gripper to hold patilas and then storing they handle free in the refrigerator. These typically traditional objects are common in every Indian kitchen. As IKEA, a Swedish home furnishing company, opens its doors in India, it needed an market specific range. This project explores products that need to be inherently traditional, inevitably modern and fundamentally functional with a strong IKEA identity.

This project focuses on creating a collection of kitchenware for IKEA. IKEA is a Swedish home furnishing company known for modernist design, simplicity, association to eco-friendliness and attention to cost control and operational details. As IKEA opens its first store in India, there was a need for a range of market specific products. This project looks at market specific kitchenware for India with a strong IKEA identity. Products such as masala dabbas, tawas, chimtas, idli makers and thalis are fundamental to Indian cooking and eating. Despite the multitude of cuisines and cultures in different regions, these tools remain essential to Indian kitchens and become heirlooms that are passed down generations. Designed keeping in mind IKEAs principles of democratic design, these products are modern and Scandinavian while still being traditional and Indian.

Credits – Aarohi Agarwal – Class of 2018