This project was a turning point in my design education. Nokia held a competition in 2011 where teams of young designers were to create a cellular phone application that would facilitate vernacular knowledge sharing.
My team comprised of Ishita Dharap, Gauri Sanghi, and I. Our team was called Surmi, and our application, Pitara.
Most of us gain access to vernacular language by listening to stories from other people. We created a mobile platform wherein people could share short audio stories. These stories were then translated. They also came with read-along transcription.
I am proud to say that our concept was considered the second best in the country. Not only did we win a considerable amount in prize money, we were also presented with the Developers Choice award. Further, I was interviewed by a reporter at the Business Standard.
This project lead me to explore the possibility of dabbling with application design as a space. It is something I'd like to explore further.
