Pragun Agarwal: Mastering The Brush

We caught up with Pragun post the launch of Sona Papers Calendar, which featured some of India’s most established calligraphers. Pragun is a young gun making a name for himself in the field of design, owning his typographic skills through a series of brush experiments. His work stood out as a winner for Kulture Shop’s Create Something Contest held at Kyoorius. We are excited to see new works in 2017 from this artist.

KS: Give us a brief backstory of you choosing Graphic Design as a career?

Pragun: I joined the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad with the crudest understanding of design. After the mandatory one-year foundation course which included vital skill development and a basic understanding of design, each student had to choose a discipline to specialise in. For me, the field of Graphic Design exhibited a great sense of diversity and scope of exploring different areas within it. Subjects like typography, colour and illustration intrigued me, and further nurtured my passion for Graphic Design. Post my tenure at NID, I have tried to work in the fields of branding, illustration and space where I have tried to combine by fundamentals and learnings into a cohesive visual outcome. And even after this small journey of 6 years in this field, I feel there is still a lot to learn and apply.

Seen Above: NID Project, AppeType - A Three Course Typographic Meal

Seen Above: Letterpress foundation at NID

KS: In the last few years of you having been a practising designer, any key moments or highlights that stood out for you?

Pragun: In the last few years, I think winning the Red Elephant Award at the Kyoorius Design Yatra was a personal milestone for me. Me and my batchmate Sudeepti Tucker took part in the illustration category of these awards where the brief was to propose a solution for turning something 'ugly' into beautiful in any part of our city or town.

A more detailed description and the process of our design solution can be found here: Shuttervaar, Winner Kyoorius Student Award

Other than that, working on the custom brand font for Wildcraft was an extremely insightful experience for me. I was working at Codesign Brand Consultants at that point of time and under the guidance of all my seniors there, I came up with a raw and hand-made font that fit in well with the overall vibe of the new identity.

KS: Across the various types of design projects you take up, which medium is your favourite and why?

Pragun: Raw, handmade and textured visuals always inspire me. I feel human engagement and involvement with any artwork really provides it with a unique character that is irreplaceable. I try and use all kinds of mediums like brushes, inks, pastels, paints as well as the digital domain but I am really looking forward to learn 3D software and see how these two sides can meet. I feel the outcome can be extremely stimulating.

KS: It is always exciting to know what an artwork means to the artist, can you talk to us about any one of the works curated by Kulture Shop?

Pragun: The artwork 'Boogie Ride' I did for Kulture Shop was actually a winning entry for the Create Something Sketchbook Contest. The theme for the contest was 'Characters and Monsters' and my inspiration for the artwork was the constant buzz and movement that one finds in and around the streets of India. Its like visual chaos which comes together to create a visual due to the interaction of lines, shapes and patterns.

Seen Here (L-R): Boogie Ride - Coasters | Boogie Ride - Laptop Skin | Rebel Rebel - Framed A3 Art Print | Rebel Rebel - Men's Tee
Rebel Rebel - Mug | Boogie ride - Women's Tee | Boogie Ride - Art Print | Rebel Rebel - Phone Case

KS: What are you up to now? Any interesting things your fans should watch out for?

Pragun: I was invited by the Aksharaya Team to take part in a two-day workshop Sona Papers Calendar Launch that brought together various calligraphers and lettering enthusiasts from all over the country. Each one had to do multiple artworks expressing their unique style and character. At this point, I am trying to venture into different areas that Graphic Design as a field encapsulates. I am working with spaces and corporate environments along with pursuing my own personal projects. I also have plans of studying further.

View Pragun Agarwal's artist page here.

#ArtIsLife