Meet our ambassador Pallavi, a multidisciplinary designer who joined us for one of our Virtual Voyages! Now at the helm of her own business, Pallavi works at the intersection of creativity and tech, developing new ways to produce creative work – looking at alternative, innovative methods and materials, including virtual reality and compostable 3D printing. Join us as we talk to Pallavi about finding solutions to reduce the negative environmental impact of the creative and entertainment industries.
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Tell us about yourself!
My name is Pallavi and I’m a designer. I express my creativity in lots of different ways and describe my work as multidisciplinary.
Throughout my career, I have worked in many different industries and each experience has led me to explore the concept of sustainability and what role creativity plays in that. I’ve always been creative and initially studied theatre design, which was really fun, but I found myself questioning the process. Art is, without doubt, of great value to the world, but we also need to think about the true cost and impact of that.
Art is, without doubt, of great value to the world, but we also need to think about the true cost and impact of that.
What is your superpower?
Creativity and adaptability. I always want to try new things and explore ways of making things.
I’ve moved across into different design industries, including set design, stop motion animation and product design. But no matter what I was making, I just kept thinking about how we should be mindful of its entire life cycle rather than the immediacy of what it was needed for.
I really loved making models and designs but we would use so many different materials like wood, metal, plastic, paper, paint and everything would end up being mixed together. Once it’s served its purpose, all these ‘contaminated’ creations can’t be recycled. This notion always really bothered me – I kept thinking there has to be a better way!
When you look at a product you have to ask yourself – how is it made? What’s the material? What process is used to make it? There are a lot of moving parts in production and you’d be surprised how hard it is to pin down these answers. Each industry that I’ve worked in that used plastic always felt careless, no one was asking these questions. For me, as a designer, those experiences really underlined where I wanted my focus to be, and to find a way to use my superpowers to get there.
What drew me towards it was that it focused on showing you what happens at the end of the cycle and trying to find solutions, rather than just the problem.
Why did you join the voyage?
Plastic pollution has always been a big thing for me, especially when I was starting out.
I went to The Adventure Travel Show at Olympia, London and watched some of the panel discussions and speakers. During one of these, I saw Soraya Abdel-Hadi (who was an integral part of the eXXpedition team) and she talked about the work eXXpedition was doing and it grabbed my attention. I went home and did some research and kept an eye out for any opportunities.
What drew me towards it was that it focused on showing you what happens at the end of the cycle and trying to find solutions, rather than just talking about the problem.
What surprised you the most during the virtual voyage?
There were actually a couple of things…because the voyage I did was virtual, it was a slightly different experience from being out at sea… The advantage of this meant we focused on our own local areas; and I was really surprised at just how much plastic there was. I had always noticed the litter but when we started actually counting and logging it, I couldn’t believe it! It was also so interesting because everybody was based in different places around the world, so we could see what different people were logging and then the differences in that data. This just added to the realisation that no matter where you live – there is plastic.
When you throw something or anything away, it has not gone ‘away’. It’s out of sight, but not truly gone.
One of the things that sticks with me the most is that because we did the Tonga leg, I learnt about how tiny this island was – it was like a microcosm of the whole world. For example, if they throw something on one side of the island, it reappears on the other side! And for me, that hit the nail on the head, that’s how it is on a bigger scale too, across the world. When you throw something or anything away, it has not gone ‘away’. It’s out of sight, but not truly gone.
How has the experience influenced what you do now?
Since the virtual voyage, the main things I’m working on is how to be a designer without producing too many physical things; and what I do create, I create more mindfully. I’ve actually got an online clothing brand now called The Gallivanters’ Colouring Club.
It began as a colouring club where I would create drawings each month inspired by my travels around the world, and I would send them out digitally as a monthly colouring magazine to my club members. Over time it naturally transitioned into a clothing line. It’s my way of having a creative outlet and an income in a responsible way without creating masses of stock and waste. All the clothing is made from 100% organic cotton, is made to order and is shipped without any plastic packaging.
Another creative low-waste solution I’ve discovered is virtual reality painting. You can create site-specific art using a VR headset and this amazing software called Open Brush. In one hand you have the palette, and in the other you have a brush, and you can create spatial paintings. You can save the painting afterwards as a digital file or video but it’s a fantastic and innovative way to create an interactive 3D scene without waste!
Image Description: A still image captured of a virtual reality painting created by Pallavi to recreate the story of a procession of gifts arriving at the Forbidden City.
Earlier in 2024, The Science Museum had the “Zimingzhong: Clockwork Treasures from China’s Forbidden City” exhibition. I had all these ideas about how to tell the stories behind the clocks, and using the Open Brush software I created a site specific virtual reality painting to recreate the story of a procession of gifts arriving at the Forbidden City for the emperor. Suddenly the space felt like it all came to life. There’s so much potential for how we can use technology like this to make an impact but with less or no physical impact!
Can you tell us more about Inkwell Studios?
I founded Inkwell Studios as a multidisciplinary creative studio based in London, that explores new ways of producing creative work, looking at alternative, innovative methods and materials and specialises in storytelling, animation, virtual reality and 3D printing. Basically it’s inclusive of everything creative and sustainable. It can be difficult as a small business, or a freelancer, to always pick the most sustainable option but sustainability is always at the forefront of my mind so I always try to put this at the forefront of our projects.
Storytelling has the ability to reach you on a deeper, more personal level and it creates an understanding between people.
What impact can storytelling through design have in terms of topics such as sustainability?
To put it simply, I think storytelling is such a great way to learn and gain knowledge.
Storytelling has the ability to reach you on a deeper, more personal level and it creates an understanding between people, which is so valuable. If the end goal is to inspire people and create change, then helping people become more interested, curious and invested can broaden the impact you have.
What role do you think design has in helping to spread awareness of the issue of plastic pollution?
Design is everything. The whole world around us is designed, and I think we have the responsibility to improve and create more sustainable options for the public. As designers, we should be using our creativity to give people the option of choosing something that is more in alignment with their beliefs on sustainability and the environment.
Image Description: Pallavi’s sustainable clothing designs being showcased on the cat walk at The Good Clothes Show
What keeps you hopeful about the future of the ocean?
Knowing that there’s always room for progress and improvement. Sometimes I look at all the realities of what is going on and it is overwhelming. But if everyone does their bit, it can improve. The world is changing in terms of people’s attitude towards the environment, especially compared to how it was 10 years ago. That’s what keeps me hopeful, seeing that we are moving in the right direction. It’s slower than I’d like it to be, but it is moving.
If you could give one message to the world what would it be?
Always try to do better than yesterday.
