VarnikaDesigns is a museum planning & design consultancy
It is our mission to make museums and heritage spaces accessible and inclusive for diverse audiences, to ensure a wholistic experience.
We undertake the entire museum planning journey: research, curation, design and fabrication.
Planning and creation of Collection and Content Management Systems (CMS) is also our specialty.
Do check our 'Consultancy Projects' page to understand the range of our committed work over the years.
Accessible
Inclusive
Contemporary
Meaningful
Multi-dimensional
Engaging
Immersive
Interactive
Our Museum Planning services comprises of the following methodology:
1.) Meet Up & Discover Phase:
Site visit, and brainstorming workshops with various stakeholders including local communities will be held to know the scope and need for the museum/heritage space.
2.) Analyse & Audit:
Feasibility Report, after analysis of existing collections, audit of the space, budget and available resources, will be prepared.
3.) Strategise & Plan:
Visitor Profiles, Access, Interpretation, Education and Visitor Experience strategic plans based on a realistic project schedule and budget will be undertaken.
4.) Research:
The entire project depends on painstaking research essential curation and design. A team of experts will also be suggested.
5.) Curate:
A curatorial storyline and narrative for the entire museum/collection/narrative space will be created.
6.) Design:
Provide 2 - 3 design concepts, visual storyboards and colour stories. If requested, a branding and identity study will be undertaken for the project’s identity design.
7.) Write Content, Edit & Translate:
Content writing, editing and translation for the graphic panels, installations, films, av’s and any other components in the museum will be done.
8.) Fabrication & Execution:
The project will be executed, including identifying architects, designers, lighting, multimedia and other professionals and liaison with them.
9.) Design Museum Website &
Social Media interface:
We also undertake website design and creation of social media interface.
10.) Identify human resources & propose organisational structures essential for museum functioning and maintenance.
The story of 'VarnikaDesigns':
According to the great Indian artist who initiated the Bengal School of Art, Abanindranath Tagore, the Six Limbs of Indian Painting in Sanskrit are:
Rupa–bheda pramanani bhava – lavanaya – yojanam
Sadrisyam varnikabhangam iti chitram shadangakam
'Vãrnika-Bhanga' or application and appropriate distribution of colour is regarded as one of the Six (Shadanga) Cannons of Painting of Indian Aesthetics in an early treatise, the Vishnudharmottaram, which contains guidelines on painting in ancient India
Abanindranath Tagore explains these six components of painting as: Rupa–bheda (difference between visual and mental form), Pramanani (proportion and harmony), Bhava (expression), Lavanya Yojanam (lustre of texture), Sadrisyam (versimilitude), Varnika Bhanga
Imagine perfect depiction of life, form, texture, proportionate figures and landscapes without colour! If there were no colour any of these would convey only partial pleasure and admiration.
As a consultancy with a blog and digital presence, VarnikaDesigns strives to ensure a platform for multiple voices, narratives and communities.