Just because I could draw well and am very choosy about my bedroom colors, did not necessarily mean I am an artist in making. These are some indications at best, but nof proofs. so how do I decide if Art College is for me?
In my Grade 10th, as an IB (International Baccalaureat ) student, I had to submit an original project. Earlier summer, we had come from Florida where there was Zika virus outbreak. So we went to CDC and WHO websites looking for zika informatio. I found these sites full of technical terms. Given India’s mosquit issue, I decided my project was to create a Zika brochure that was easy-to-understand, in Indian native languages. I also decided to add lot of illustrations while ensruring little or no medical termInflight. I showed these brochures to school service staff, bus drivers and maids..
One thing was clear... explaining zika prevention and symptoms with graphical illustrations, in native language and without much technical terms, made people with limited education comfortable and thus interested. They all were looking for a copy. So we started looking at sharing mechanisms as physical copy was not easy to distribute.
Next summer (my Grade 10th), I and my twin sister Alka came up with MedCards. MedCards, essentially, are illustrative digital images of diseas information of prevention, symptoms and general informatio. Most important, these images can be easly shareable on the mobile social media. And they are in native language.
Could you imagine, two Grade 10 girls, just came up with a solution for lightening fast distribution of critical medical information. And it brought out the power of illustration and social media. Interestingly, I didn’t need to be a doctor or a computer engineer for it. It was an awakening. Art had its place. And it was critical for communicatio. While developing these info-graphics, I started on disease information, yet, I ended leading info-graphics. My focus was on aesthetics and user experience. That was the turning point for me!