The Artistic Pursuit of Spontaneity

Reshidev RK's journey from conventional aspirations of becoming a doctor or engineer to carving his path in design is an inspiring tale. Despite initial struggles, he found success through adaptability and creative liberty. His artistic acumen shines through in his vibrant illustrations and layered designs, blending tradition with innovation.

For every science student who has switched over his/her career path to the arts, the solution is almost “Sophie’s Choice.” Reshidev is one of those people who defy this theory in more than one way. Interestingly enough, his record states that he was not very good in scientific theories during his intermediate school years, but used to ace his practicals, which became the very revelation of his potential existence as an artist in his futuristic realm.

Hailing from Kannur, a city that was nicknamed the Manchester of Kerala during the colonial period in India, Reshidev, a Design Director at Wieden+Kennedy, belonged to the conventional childhood aspirations of growing up to be a doctor or an engineer. However, his inner conflict led him to adapt to the world of Fine Arts (B.F.A) with a peculiar inclination towards Sculpture art form.

Failing to acquire a seat for MFA at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, he moved to Bangalore to try his fate. While being a recipient of a few freelance projects from Mudra and Ogilvy, he turned his sculptor’s dispositions into a vibrant illustrator at Happy Creative Studio.

What followed next was a breakthrough in his career with Weiden+Kennedy, Delhi as a Designer, when he stepped into the prodigious enshrinement of brand advertisement. From the precipice, Reshi had no plans of finding his footing in the advertising world and yet, once he did, he endured a detailed learning curve of typography, logo, and packaging design.

As his artistic acumen took its soaring flight, Reshi coined his style amongst the different formats that he got to work on. One crude example of his variation is his work with Lee and Indigo. With a saturation level knob set on a specific footing, Reshi works with a combination of red and metallic colours.

Implicating this as the initial stage of his layered design, this sculptor-turneddesigner credits the cultural soul of Kathakali and his fanaticism of the blue sky and the clouds. Prominently, Reshi curates his design inventory with geometric shapes of traditional art forms and concludes every artwork with a handpainting effect to enhance its textures.

When it comes to being persistent, our design virtuoso here believes in creative liberty and adaptability. “I am not as worried about the outcome as I am about the finishing of each layer of my artwork.” As opposed to the stereotypical artistic ritual, he does not follow any set of preplanned routines or processes. Instead, he maintains a sense of the stream of consciousness and lets it flow egregiously throughout his design practice.

While being on the radar of creative expression, Reshi shares one truly crucial lesson for the aspiring artists and designers out there which is to gain a good chunk of profound experience before chasing after your identity or artistic style in any fie ld. Reflecting on his journey, he, microscopically highlights on the fact that amateur artists tend to double down on claiming their style before exploring the art form to its core. In turn, most of the ingenious beginners have to face a median breakdown or creative burn-out for not having an immersive knowledge of their relevant field.