Let's Breathe Stillness:
The Journey of
Kundalini Yoga
SCOPE (Multidisciplinary Design)​
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Research & Conceptualization
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Spatial Design
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Product Design
Summary
"Let's Breathe Stillness: The Journey of Kundalini Yoga" explores the application of graphic design principles in a live interactive space. I designed an exhibition to convert visitors into active participants, engaging all five senses to shape their apprehension of the installation's "meaning."
Abstract
As part of the graduate-level graphic design program, I crafted my thesis around designing exhibitions and establishing successful interactions between art installations and viewers using graphic design principles.
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Exhibition design has revolutionized how we create and exchange information. This research delves into the multi-sensory methods of visualizing knowledge and explores content accessibility within the context of exhibition spaces. My thesis contemporizes a Hindu spiritual practice, Kundalini Yoga, and systematizes it into a visual, tactile, and auditory language that reaches a wide audience. This information and narrative are manifested with a 'minimalist aesthetic,' offering a distinctive spatial, sensorial, and contemplative experience.
Concept Introduction
In this project, I employ the term 'minimalist' to articulate my approach to information and the reception of data. I have employed a minimalist art strategy in my site installation, focusing solely on the six sense organs and their intelligent design application within the space. The minimalist aesthetic serves as a means to reduce clutter and engage the audience in a multi-sensorial exploration of information that is both comprehensive and inclusive.
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Furthermore, I believe that a site installation is akin to architectural development, an invitation to the human body, consistently underscoring the significance of identity, sensorial experience, and tactility by curating for a wider spectrum of audiences. To enhance the audience's perception of the installation, I orchestrated the space to stimulate responses from participants' five senses, along with the sixth sense of thought. This deliberate approach, aimed at minimizing detachment from the environment and fostering togetherness in the atmosphere, has introduced a participatory culture into my site installation. This culture encourages people to share their creative skills.
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Hence, this project seamlessly amalgamates my graphic design techniques with simple forms that are accessible to people through a sensorial experience. Thus, as the concept of 'Let’s Breathe Stillness: The Journey of Kundalini-Yoga' evolves, I aim to raise awareness about the power of senses. Visual observation is often complemented by touch, smell, taste, and hearing, in addition to sight. Yoga, being a wonderful subject that engages both the body and the mind, serves as a fitting avenue. I have curated a space that empowers my audience to acquire new knowledge through an interactive experience.
Problem Identified
While I was once intrigued by complexity, the realization that the language of the complex eludes many has led me to adopt a minimalist design framework. I came to understand that I should shape my subject into a form that I, as the artist, and my audience, as the viewers, both enjoy and appreciate. My aim was to fuse my graphic design sensibilities with forms that are both simple and accessible. Consequently, in my work, I chose to employ straightforward techniques to uphold minimalism as my guiding design principle.
Muladhara Chakra
Svadishthana Chakra
Manipura Chakra
Anahata Chakra
Vishuddhi Chakra
Ajna Chakra
Sahasrara Chakra
Research & Aesthetics
When I commenced the Kundalini-Yoga project, my initial intention was to utilize intricate and elaborate illustrations. However, it soon became evident that I wasn't venturing into anything novel; rather, I was adhering to the same conventional design approach. Due to the limitations of this approach, I found myself circling around these illustrations, pondering what to do next. This realization prompted me to infuse a modern aesthetic into my designs. Embracing a new minimalist approach with negative and positive spaces, I began to acquaint myself with geometry. This journey was followed by the reinterpretation of those exquisite illustrations into an entirely fresh appearance, a transformation that initially risked diluting its essence.
Geometry has played a vital role in the development of the primary identity for my subject, Kundalini Yoga. It has enabled me to present my work in a way that is easily understandable and doesn't allude to anything beyond its essence. Furthermore, my design adhered to a strict dynamical-geometrical control, not only in my posters but also on the room walls (longitudinal rectangular blocks of colors) within my curated space.
Having said that, the walls are incomplete without the right selection of colors. Color is a subjective attribute of design. With that in mind, I've kept colors in my artwork that are simple and utilize a trimmed-down palette to create a sense of effectiveness.
Colors play a crucial role in dictating the mood within my site installation. Hence, I incorporated neutral colors to complement the serene nature of my designs. The chosen colors encapsulate the essence of establishing an aesthetic connection with my subject, Kundalini Yoga, enabling viewers to focus on their sensory experience while immersing themselves in the yogic ambience of the space.
By grasping the design philosophy that attributes relative importance to elements such as color, form, and type, I realized that white space is an indispensable element for enhancing visual impact and information readability.
White Space provides the eye the freedom to navigate the space and uncover new messages. Without space, there is no design; it turns into visual noise. Consequently, white space played a vital role in my curated space. It guided the audience and encouraged them to spend ample time at each section, comprehending or engaging with the artifact. Such interactions formed the primary purpose of emphasizing and incorporating white space in my site installation.
Beyond these aspects, to attain clarity, simplicity, and overall universality in my posters, I also utilized grid systems and a sans-serif typeface, Akzidenz Grotesk, to shape a semantic body of data, lending them a well-defined structure. Lastly, I employed the montage of highly exposed photographs to make the poster stand out and convey an important message.
Photographs held a central position in my posters. I transformed these images into graphic assets rather than mere 2D pictorial representations. This contributed to the dynamic elegance of the page layout. The heavily processed photos on the walls of my installation space echoed an intimate experience with my posters.
When all these attributes—grids, color, type, and images—are combined, they aim to achieve simplification in the eyes of my viewers.
Description of Work
Typography is inherently essential and has become a critical element in my work. Type is central to me and signifies much more than legibility. Through typefaces, I aimed to create tension in my viewers' perspective while simultaneously suggesting dynamic activity by generating tension with the vertical-horizontal axis of the sheet. Additionally, images serve as powerful and compelling tools for communication in my posters. They convey not only information but also moods and emotions. I employ an image-based motif in my work because I see a photograph as an invisible series of lyrical sentiments. The significant human figures serve the purpose of eliciting an intimate experience with my posters.
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Finally, I establish hierarchy through color, shape, size, and type. Utilizing bold shapes, small typefaces, large images, and asymmetrical grids typifies my approach of introducing contrast into my designs. My artworks aim to achieve a simple fusion of type, color, and photograph, providing a dramatically elegant effect.
My subject, Kundalini Yoga, is a Hindu spiritual practice. One can attain this soulful state after establishing a deep connection with all seven chakras: muladhara, svadishthana, manipura, anahata, vishuddhi, ajna, and sahasrara chakra, within the human body. To evoke responses from participants concerning my subject through their sensory organs, I also focused on artifacts that bring forth the nuances of Indian culture. This is because each chakra can be holistically healed through sensory modalities such as aromatherapy, color therapy, and sound therapy, ultimately leading to the enlightenment of the soul.
Muladhara Chakra: Through the installation of Potted Basil, I incorporated aromatherapy into my space to heal the first chakra. In India, Tulsi or Holy Basil is revered as a sacred plant and referred to as the 'Queen of Herbs.' Possessing spiritual properties of natural detoxification, it is known to restore balance and harmony. In my site installation, the Potted Basil served the same purpose of rejuvenation, allowing viewers to connect with the curated culture of Basil either by gazing or inhaling.
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Svadishthana Chakra: To heal the second chakra, I integrated the significance of herbs in chakra treatment, shedding light on the profound Indian Herbal Culture. Inspired by India's earthy spices, I decided to educate participants about the importance of fennel seeds, a herbal mouth freshener. With this, I enabled viewers to engage with the culture by tasting fennel seeds paired with rock candies or simply inhaling their refreshing scent.
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Manipura Chakra: The incorporation of a yellow wall into the space aimed to stimulate intellectual engagement. Each chakra corresponds to a specific color that indicates the current physical, emotional, and spiritual state. Yellow signifies the third chakra. Hence, the painted yellow wall invited viewers' attention to optimistic words, hoping to spread positivity within them. The use of sight by the audience defined the purpose of the space—interactivity.
Anahata Chakra: The essence of my space was to stimulate all five senses of the audience. With the fourth chakra, I aimed to evoke a tactile sensation in participants. By placing a yoga mat in my site installation, I provided the audience with a space to perform yoga poses. Their participation added unique content to my site, ultimately fulfilling the purpose of installation: to encourage interactivity within a museum setting.
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Vishuddhi Chakra: The fifth chakra is associated with the sense of sound, and it's linked with the healing tone of HAM, which aids in achieving enlightenment. In the museum space, I aimed to pique viewers' curiosity by allowing them to experience the power of music through sight rather than just hearing. This concept of observing music with the eyes, not the ears, motivated me to raise awareness of multi-sensory design among my audience. Additionally, by permitting viewers to interact with all artifacts, I observed that they eagerly engaged. They interacted with the salt granules, keenly observing the vibrations, resulting in the spilling of salt on the surface—an unexpected addition to my site installation.
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Ajna & Sahasrara Chakra: The sixth and seventh chakras correspond to the sixth sense. By incorporating a kiosk for viewers to share their thoughts on meditation, I considered their participation as the addition of an artifact to my space. Such interaction and involvement from my viewers fulfilled the purpose of my site: curating an exhibition accessible to a broad range of audiences.
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In introducing minimalism as a formal element in my designs, I constructed a framework that was easy to comprehend. I focused on necessary forms for functionality, emphasizing simplicity over intricacy. Other attributes like color and typography drew attention to an extremely pared-down palette and a simple sans-serif typeface. This design approach justified the overarching theme of my posters: simplification of form.
Muladhara Chakra - Smell
Svadishthana Chakra - Taste
Muladhara Chakra - Smell
This project has explored the boundaries of interacting with artifacts within an exhibition culture, ultimately delivering the essence of a minimalist environment. It concludes that a museum is a space with the potential to expose visitors to objects of historical, artistic, and scientific significance. As a minimalist designer, I comprehend and create environments that can activate our sense organs and their functional modes. This has led to the successful introduction of the concept of multi-sensory designs in my site installation.
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'Let’s Breathe Stillness: The Journey of Kundalini Yoga' embodies the application of graphic design principles to a live interactive space. My exhibition has been meticulously crafted to transform visitors into active participants—individuals whose five senses contribute to how they apprehend the 'meaning' of the installation.
