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What is Kriyativity and what role do you play?

‘Kriya’ means ‘action’ in Sanskrit, and we make extremely high-end “kriya” figures of the epics of India. We’re taking some of the most enduring stories in the world and representing the heroes as highly articulating figures to enable families to engage in these stories as interactively as kids play with Spidey or GI Joe.

I’m the chief creative officer for Kriyativity. I’m the funnel through which industry knowledge and application specific content need to find their balance. In fact, balancing numerous intentions, needs and capabilities is what Kriyativity is all about. We’re pushing the limits of materials to better represent the stories – we’re designing the stories into the figures themselves. It’s an amazingly deep well (Indian cosmology) and an extremely interactive and engaging medium. Of course, these figures are supported by a variety of traditional media as well, and creating the visual representations of those full worlds needs to be accomplished before a single figure ever moves to tooling. That’s my job – submersing myself in the stories, thinking "wouldn’t it be cool if...,” and finding a way to make that happen.

How does Rhode Island work for you?

It’s exciting to see what’s going on in Providence’s design community these days, and we’re happy to be a part of it. I came out here from Detroit (guess what I used to do) a few years back in my work with Hasbro, and since then have been very pleased with the variety of resources available within a stone’s throw (sometimes literally). Always appealing is being in this New York, Boston corridor without the stresses of being in either city. I love them both, but with young kids am very happy to have the intimacy of Providence and the cultural opportunities here. A number of my colleagues are leaving their big city offices and trying to find places like Providence – we just might recruit a few new neighbors…

Where did you first gain an interest in Industrial Design?

My father was an Industrial Designer for Alcoa for nearly 25 years. My parents both went to the Cleveland Institute of Arts, my father for ID, my mom for Illustration. You can say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree because my brother and I both attended CIA and got BFAs in Illustration and ID respectively. I knew from early childhood that ID was the world for me – it just seemed you could touch so many disciplines, use both brain and art in equal parts, invent and create beauty. Growing up with my dad, it just seemed natural. Like him, I’m a 3 dimensional thinker. He used to take us into the office and let us explore design tools and see the stuff he was working on - anything from aluminum siding to car wheels to the Pringles can to office interiors for the Alcoa corporate headquarters. I loved the broad materials reach and diversity of thought. I knew I’d never get bored.

What are some of your favorite products?

I have to take the gimme: It's hard not to love the iphone (and everything else Apple is doing). Apple pays off on the user experience exceptionally well - they understand and fulfill the entire process across their product line and lifecycle. I think everyone appreciates the rare treat of beauty and intuitive utility in technological objects, and the even rarer treat of a consistent and well-designed brand experience at every touchpoint. I carry a zippo lighter with me, though I’ve never smoked, for it’s simple, efficient design. It’s iconic, it’s got a distinctive sound – the experience is auditory, textural and visual (and if I do light something, olfactory as well)– it reminds me of the multi-sensory experience we are creating whether we intend to or not. I’ve always been hung up on Japanese arts and crafts, too...

Where do you see Kriyativity 3-5 years from now?

With the pantheon of Hindu mythology, we could be creating Indian figures for the rest of our lives, which will be fun, but there are a lot more stories to tell. We really see an opportunity to create localized heroes of global cultures, based on demand. Studies are just beginning to show media’s impact on cultural identity and individual development, so offering cultures a medium that serves as a cultural transference device just as appealing as the variety of western product on the shelves seems to us like a worthwhile effort. Because these figures are a bridge to culture, each sale supports traditional arts and crafts in the communities we serve.

Can you recommend some tools that you use?

My number one tool is my Wacom Cintiq 21UX. I've custom built it into my drafting table (sometimes I think I should go into business producing those!) I’ve got a Leap drafting chair and therein lies my office. We have a small shop and fabrication setup to make rough hand models and packaging comps and the power trio of table saw, drill press and band saw and a slew of hand tools make it possible for me to fabricate pretty much anything I need to. Other than that, let me recommend a couple gigs worth of Maxtor storage – there’s nothing like external storage, and they’re not kidding when they say do a weekly backup kept outside of the building. We’ve been glad for it more than once.

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