Indiya Tupe is a French graphic designer and recent graduate from Central St Martins in London. Initially drawn to photography and writing, creativity has always been an important form of self-expression for Indiya. Graphic design has become a way of bringing these disciplines together in her beautifully understated and emotive work, providing the perfect channel for her to express abstract concepts and emotion.
Conceptual in her approach Indiya finds inspiration by observing light, shadows, shapes, and textures whilst walking both in nature and urban environments. Her current practice is rooted in expressing emotion and/or abstract concepts she’s experienced throughout her life. An example of this is her expertly crafted final major project, titled ‘Of Ice and Tears’ which is a response to ecological tragedy of climate change and the relationship between us and the retreating glaciers. As she tells us, “I decided to investigate and use the power of communication design, to improve comprehension and elevate sensibility, in order to achieve deeper levels of ecological awareness in relation to the fast-disappearing Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice) — epitomizing the experience of the natural sublime I remember fondly from childhood.”
Like many others graduating into a pandemic, with no opportunities for in-person meetings, Indiya had to quickly adapt her online presence as a designer. Suddenly, the whole world seemed accessible to her. After initially, working remotely from her small hometown in the French Alps, she found she was able to collaborate with creatives from all over the world. Which led to her eventually to her current role working for Glasfurd & Walker in Vancouver, Canada: “Never could I have imagined that working from home – in a small town in the Alps – I would have the opportunity to collaborate with some incredible people based in Ireland and Canada.”
We are super excited to follow Indiya as she continues to develop in her career and talked with her to find out more about her sources of inspiration, creative women who inspire her and some excellent advice for other emerging creatives and design students.
Let’s start at the beginning, why did you decide to become a designer?
I was a quiet and introverted child, who always had pencils or paintbrushes in my hands. Being a deep thinker, creating was the way how I expressed my feelings and made sense of the world around me. This is a trait I’ve inherited from my father who is a graphic designer and has been a very influential figure in my life. Even though I’d been introduced to the discipline early on, and already nurtured a sensibility for visual arts, I didn’t instinctively connect with the systems and strategies inherent to graphic design. Since middle school, I knew I wanted to do something that could empower me to express myself freely and capture what I thought to be beautiful.
After graduating from high school, I did a foundation course in fine arts, where I experimented with various media and developed a passion for photography and writing. Most of my projects took the form of a photography series or publications that combined my written pieces with my images. Graphic design therefore appeared as a form of evidence, offering the opportunity to meaningfully expand my love of image and language.
I started university at Central St Martins the following year and became fascinated with, and investigated, how emotions and feelings could subtlety be magnified with material, touch composition, tempo, rhythm, and letterforms. A quote by Robert Bringhurst that continues to guide my practice:
“Typography is to literature as musical performance is to composition: an essential act of interpretation, full of endless opportunities for insight or obtuseness.”― Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style.
Where do you get your inspiration from and how do you approach a new project?
I often find inspiration while walking, in nature or in a city. I’m very sensitive to the serendipitous details and beauty I encounter — a light, a shadow, the shape of a plant, the texture of a rock, the typefaces on signages. Confronted by the greatness of mountains or the stillness of lakes, I feel exalted. Encountering an interesting letterform within a printed object or a signage, I feel stimulated. As soon as I get back home, I start writing down my thoughts, feelings, and reflections I have in relation to the project — usually in the form of lists, poems, notes, quotes, mind maps etc. Something I repeatedly do when I start a project is establish a sort of ‘wishlist’ I can go back to as the project flows through each stage. Writing is an important part of my creative process, and central to my practice as a designer, it gives me immense clarity.
Tell us about a standout project that you’ve worked on and why it’s so important to you?
The final major project of my degree, ‘Of Ice and Tears,’ holds a very special place in my heart. During my last year at uni, I became fascinated with Arne Naess’ Deep Ecology philosophy, which advocates the development and strengthening of a physical, intellectual, and emotional bond with our environment. For instance, the environment in which I experience strong feelings of belongingness are the grand but fragile landscapes of the French Alps — my home-place.
“I became fascinated with Arne Naess’ Deep Ecology philosophy, which advocates the development and strengthening of a physical, intellectual, and emotional bond with our environment.”
After meditating on the role and relevance of my practice to the climate emergency, I felt that developing an empathetic bond to something bigger, wider than our ego, was a potential solution to counteract eco-anxiety. Therefore, I decided to investigate and use the power of communication design to sharpen comprehension and elevate sensibility to achieve deeper levels of ecological awareness in relation to the fast-disappearing Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice) — epitomizing the experience of the natural sublime I remember fondly from childhood.
The concept and ideation for ‘Of Ice and Tears’ were born right before the pandemic hit in March 2020. Having to return to France, as the world shut down, the production of the book — second outcome following the screen-prints — became a huge challenge. However, I couldn’t imagine pivoting the project to create anything else because I had a very deep feeling about the project manifesting itself entirely as printed matter.
Luckily, just before she closed her bindery, Charlotte Wainwright (Wainwright Bindery) agreed to print and hand-bind my book. What a life saver! Charlotte and I got to collaborate virtually after I managed to source the paper from Italy and had it sent to London. A few weeks later, the book arrived in my mailbox. Opening it was incredibly emotional. This unique piece, honouring craftsmanship, is my pride and joy.
How was newly entering the industry during a pandemic, impacted your career journey so far?
When I graduated in 2020, I had many expectations for my first year in the design industry. Most of them were guided by ‘should’ happen — ‘should be’ or ‘should do’. The reality of being back in the Alps, working from home, completely contrasted my aspirations of starting my career at a design studio in London or Paris. Without a degree show and in person meetings, I had to re-think my online presence as a designer; how to newly enter the industry in an impactful and effective way.
In the following months I kept trying, doing, and hoping, but started to drift away from my initial expectations. As remote working became the norm, I realised I shouldn’t limit myself to London or Paris anymore; and suddenly the whole world seemed accessible – this is when I experienced a moment of beautiful serendipity.
Never could I have imagined that working from home – in a small town in the Alps – I would have the opportunity to collaborate with some incredible people based in Ireland and Canada. In the middle of winter 2021 Blok Design in Toronto, welcomed me into their team for six months. I felt like I had finally experienced how powerful my Central St Martins tutor’s motto, ‘trust the process’ could be. This experience gave me the confidence to re-invent myself outside of my comfort zone and I’m now beginning a new chapter in my career in my current role for Glasfurd & Walker in Vancouver.
“As remote working became the norm, I realised I shouldn’t limit myself to London or Paris anymore; and suddenly the whole world seemed accessible – this is when I experienced a moment of beautiful serendipity.”
What top tips would you give to current design students?
If you admire someone in the industry, reach out to them. Ask them questions, tell them about yourself, initiate a friendly conversation – you never know what might happen!
Don’t solely rely on design books and/or other design practitioners to spark inspiration or lead your direction. Instead, turn to the world around you and grasp the beauty, complexity and interconnectedness of art, nature, architecture and people.
Embrace chance and control. Being a true perfectionist – I didn’t truly apply this until my last year at of uni.
Finally letting go of the preconceived ‘ideal outcome’ you often have fabricated in your mind before even starting a project. Allowing space for beautiful accidents, my projects gained a whole other dimension – often greater than what I had originally pictured. I feel that getting actively immersed in the process of creative trial and error is the best way to avoid a creative block.
“If you admire someone in the industry, reach out to them. Ask them questions, tell them about yourself, initiate a friendly conversation – you never know what might happen!”
Name your top three she/her they/them creative crushes currently in the industry?
- Lotta Nieminen: While exploring my design sensibilities during my first year of uni, Lotta was my first great contemporary inspiration. I was fascinated by her beautiful use of colour and elegant style. Later meeting her in person for coffee, I was touched by her kindness and humility. The conversation we had about risk taking has definitely encouraged me to follow my wildest dreams with ferocious passion!
- Margot Lévèque: In addition to her brilliant type design work, I deeply admire Margot’s creative process. Her statements praising the advantages of taking your time particularly empowered me to embrace my own pace and surpass with confidence the need for haste, omnipresent in our age of immediacy.
- Elena Etter: I had the great pleasure of interviewing Elena as part of my dissertation ‘Re-narrating the Ecological Sublime’. Sharing a common love for letters and language, I was incredibly inspired as we discussed how emotional and evocative the use of language can re-narrate the way we relate to the climate emergency. As I longed to open deeper levels of ecological awareness through graphic design, one of her statements deeply resonated within me: “Being an activist might be the most obvious and popular way to engage, but it’s not the only powerful role that enables us to respond to issues.”