Ignis
Ignis is a tile collection inspired by four traditional Indian art forms Phulkari from the North, Athangudi from the South, Warli from the West, and Alpana from the East. The project explores how these culturally rich crafts can be translated into contemporary surfaces without losing their identity. By reinterpreting their visual language through lava stone, Ignis creates a dialogue between heritage and modern architecture.
Client Name
Mayin_craftstudio ·Celebrating Craftsmanship
Scope of work
Tile and pattern Design
Duration
1 months
Challange
The biggest challenge was not simply adapting traditional art forms, but redefining them for a contemporary audience. The question became: What makes a design contemporary? Is it minimalism, abstraction, materiality, or a completely new visual language?
The goal was to preserve the essence of each craft while removing direct visual resemblance, creating designs that feel fresh and modern yet remain rooted in their cultural origins.
Process
Finding the Contemporary Language
Competitor & Market Research
Before beginning the design process, extensive competitor research was conducted to understand the global landscape of contemporary surface design. Studios such as Pecchioli were studied for their use of material, texture, and craftsmanship in architectural products.
Understanding Lava Stone
Alongside market research, the unique characteristics of lava stone were explored to understand its possibilities and manufacturing constraints. While many existing references leaned towards highly traditional aesthetics, the objective was to discover a new visual language that balanced cultural authenticity with contemporary design.
Pattern Abstraction
A significant part of the process involved identifying which motifs truly represented each craft and determining how they could be simplified, abstracted, and adapted into modern tile patterns without losing their original character.
The project began with extensive research into each craft, studying its history, symbolism, construction techniques, and visual language. Mood boards were created to understand the defining characteristics, motifs, proportions, and rhythm unique to each art form.
From there, patterns were sketched by extracting the fundamental geometric and organic elements rather than copying existing motifs. Through multiple iterations, these sketches were gradually simplified, abstracted, and refined into contemporary compositions that retained the spirit of the original crafts while responding to modern architectural aesthetics.
