Sujata Keshavan is an Indian entrepreneur, graphic designer and fashion designer known for her iconic design sense, aesthetic and culture. She is the co-founder of Ray + Keshavan and the creative director and co-founder of sustainable luxury fashion brand Varana. Sujata Keshavan is the wife of Ramachandra Guha and her name has been stamped by leading companies like McKinsey & Company, Bharti Airtel, Wipro, Reliance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Dabur etc. for her branding and advertising skills. Sujata Keshavan is the only Indian woman to have won the Graphic Designer of the Year award twice (at the annual A&M Awards).
Wiki/Biography
Sujata Keshavan was born in 1961 (63 years old as of 2024). She grew up in Mumbai and Bangalore due to her father’s job transfer. Her secondary education was in science subjects. However, exposure to art at home through her parents confused her and she eventually pursued a bachelor’s degree at the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad in 1984. She studied for a Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design at Yale University in the United States and had the opportunity to work with famous designers such as Matthew Carter, Paul Rand, and Armin Hofmann. Their ancestral bungalow “Tanqueray” is located in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, India. This is her favorite place to relax.
Sujata Keshavan’s ancestral Coonoor bungalow – Tanqueray
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′7″
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
Sujata Keshavan was born into a Tamil family. Her father Narasimha Keshavan was an engineer, wardrobe architect and designer who worked at Burmah-Shell. Her mother Shanti Chari was a painter and intellectual who loved reading and writing. Sujata’s mother graduated in philosophy and literature from St. John’s College, Agra, India, where she received the college’s first Drew-Sully Prize in Philosophy.
Shanti Chari, mother of Sujata Keshavan
Sujata Keshavan’s parents at their wedding in 1949. Sujata’s maternal grandfather, her cousins (from her uncle) and her aunt (far right) sit with them in sleeveless pajamas.
She has a sister, Soumya, who is an interior designer and founder of Souk. She has been ranked among the AD100 (a ranking of India’s most influential designers) in 2014, 2021 and 2022.
Soumya Keshavan, sister of Sujata Keshavan Guha
husband and children
Sujata Keshavan married Ramachandra Guha.
Sujata Keshavan and husband Ramachandra Guha
The couple had two children, son Keshava Guha, who is a novelist and author of his debut novel Accidental Magic, and daughter Ella. Ira Guha, he is an entrepreneur and the founder of “Asan”. A sustainable menstrual cup brand helping to end period poverty.
Keshava Guha, son of Sujata Keshavan
Sujata Keshavan’s daughter Ira Guha
Profession
Ray + Keshavan Foundation
In 1989, Sujata Keshavan founded the design company Ray + Keshavan in partnership with Ram Ray, her boss and colleague at Response Advertising Agency, where she worked for 6 months in 1985. The company became one of the iconic names in the design branding world, with Sujata and her team undertaking brand transformation projects for Bharati Airtel, Reliance, Kotak Mahindra, Infosys, Hindustan Lever, ITC, Max Group, TVS, etc. and in the international market Established a successful brand image. She was also involved in the logo design of some universities such as Nalanda University and Ashoka University, and in 2000, her work came to prominence after transforming Himalayan Pharmaceuticals into the ‘Himalaya’ seen today. After 25 years at Ray + Keshavan, Sujata sold the company to British conglomerate WPP Group, the world’s largest advertising agency, and began her new career as a fashion designer.
Ram Ray and Sujata Keshavan share laughs at Ray+ Keshavan event
Varana Foundation
Sujata Keshavan co-founded Varana with partner Ravi Prasad in 2017 with a vision to combine Indian craftsmanship with international luxury fashion apparel. Her dream is for Varana to become an international fashion brand where clothes and apparel items are woven and designed using Indian handcraft techniques. The brand aims to reinterpret India’s heritage through contemporary design and uphold the values of sustainable living.
Sujata Keshavan (far right) and Ravi Prasad (far left)
“Design Friday”
In the 1990s, Sujata Keshavan Guha and Nikhil Arni founded a cultural club called Design Fridays, where all people working in or interested in the field of visual arts and design would come together for informal interactions to expand the scope of visual arts and influence in the design field. knowledge base. Held every Friday in Bangalore, each event features a renowned speaker from the design world. Invitation cards have been sent to members of the club. After the speakers finished their work styles and experiences, all members had an informal interactive dialogue to interpret, exchange and explore new design concepts. Sujata Organization Design Friday is 17 years old.
Invitation card design for Design Friday club with Ravi Deshpande as speaker
Awards and Achievements
- The Graphic Designer of the Year award is presented by the annual Advertising & Marketing (A&M) Awards. (1992, 1994)
- Hickel-Collingwood Award
- Outstanding Women Professional of the Year Award from Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)
- Design Icons 2019 Graphic and Communication Design Award presented by India Design Forum
- Named one of India’s 30 most powerful women in 2006 by India Today
- Ranked 18th among the most powerful women in Indian business by Fortune (2011)
Favorites
- Color: black and white
- Subjects: Mathematics, Literature and Art
- Vacation destination: Italy
Facts/Trivia
- Sujata Keshavan is an avid reader and loves driving. She inherited this love from her father, who would drive the family to their ancestral home in Coonoor during summer vacations. The house is filled with books because everyone in their family loves to read.
- She was the first Indian woman to receive a master’s degree in design from Yale University.
- As a schoolgirl, she was one of the youngest members of the Bangalore Art Club, which ran three days a week in a church building on St. Mark’s Road, where she practiced painting.
- When asked about her alternative career options in an interview, Sujata said she would like to be a driver for celebrities like Bill Gates, who has a huge car collection and interesting stories to share.
- Sujata wanted to become a doctor in school; however, she switched to the field of design. Everything in their home was designed by her father, who would recycle things like cribs into sofas. Her mother could draw, read and write.
- Sujata Keshavan left Ray + Keshavan at the peak of its success to start a new journey for her startup Varana.
- The Varana brand name and its logo tell the story of the origins of its philosophy. The Varana River is the confluence of the Varuna and Assi rivers, tributaries of the Ganges. Sujata Keshavan came up with the idea for Varana while inspecting the confluence of these rivers during a family trip to Varanasi.
Photo of the moment of naming and purpose of Varana taken by Sujata Keshavan (seated second from right)
- She gained her sense of aesthetics and design from her parents, who took a keen interest in designing all their homes. Her mother had a wealth of knowledge about gardening.
Sujata Keshavan poses on the lawn of her ancestral bungalow
- In 2017, Sujata Keshavan donated US$5 million to the National Institute of Design to award 3 awards every year, each worth 100,000 rupees, in recognition of outstanding works in the three categories of communication design, industrial design, and textile and apparel design. The award is named Shanta Keshavan and N. Keshavan Award in memory of Sujata’s parents. This has been a lifelong philanthropic dream for Sujata and her husband.
- She is a current member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Design and Innovation.
- She is a current member of the Board of Governors of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.
- She has been invited to speak as a presenter at many international conferences including Japan and Nagoya International Design Center and Design Indaba in South Africa.
- She was a member of the Design Jury at the 2009 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and has served on juries for various other design award ceremonies.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education