Sujata Keshavan

Sujata Keshavan
Born	1961 (age 63–64)
Nationality	Indian
Education	National Institute of Design (1984) School of Art Yale University (1987)
Occupation	Graphic designer
Spouse	Ramachandra Guha

Sujata Keshavan (born 1961) is an Indian graphic designer. She is a co-founder of Ray and Keshavan, a brand design firm based in India. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Early life

Keshavan was born to an engineer father and a painter mother. ^[4]

Education

Keshavan graduated from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad in 1984. ^[5] Subsequently, she obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree in graphic design at Yale University in 1987. ^[6] While at Yale, she studied under designers Paul Rand, Bradbury Thompson, Matthew Carter, ^[7] and Armin Hofmann. ^[8]

Career

After graduating, Keshavan began her career at the advertising agency Response, founded by Ram Ray, where she worked for six months. Following her graduation from Yale, she returned to India and in 1989, co-founded Ray Keshavan with her former employer, Ram Ray. ^[4] Their clients have included companies such as Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, the Himalaya Drug Co, Bharti Airtel, Reliance, Hindustan Lever, ITC, Wipro, McKinsey, Dr Reddy’s, Dabur, Max Group, TVS, MindTree, and several airports across India. ^{[9] [4]}

In 2006, Ray + Keshavan was acquired by the WPP Group Plc. ^[10]

In 2016, Keshavan co-founded Varana Design Ltd., an artisanal luxury fashion brand, along with entrepreneurs Ravi Prasad and Meeta Malhotra. ^[3]

Awards and achievements

• Keshavan has twice been named Graphic Designer of the Year at the annual Advertising and Marketing (A & M) awards. ^[11]
• She won the Eastern Press Award and the Schickle–Collingwood Prize. ^[12]
• She received the Outstanding Woman Professional of the Year, 2007, awarded by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). ^[13]
• In 2006, Keshavan was named among India's 30 most powerful women by India Today . ^[14]
• In 2011, she was placed 18th on Fortune India 's list of most powerful women in business. ^[15]
• She is a member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Design & Innovation. ^[16]
• Since 2016, she has been a Member of the Governing Council at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. ^[17]
• In 2019, she was presented the Design Icons 2019 Awards in the Graphic and Communication Design category by India Design Forum. ^[18]

Keshavan has been invited to speak at international conferences including Design Indaba ^[19] in South Africa and the International Design Center at Nagoya, Japan.^{[ citation needed ]} She was a jury member at ReBrand 100 at the Rhode Island School of Design and a member of the Design Jury at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.^{[ citation needed ]} She served as the Chairperson of the jury at the Business World Awards for Design Excellence, and Chairperson of The Design Yatra Awards for Excellence in South Asian Design.^{[ citation needed ]}

Personal life

Keshavan lives in Bangalore and is married to the historian Ramachandra Guha. They have two children. ^[20]

References

1. "Welcome to Srishti".
2. Keshav, Karunya (7 May 2011). "Image make-overs". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 19 March 2021.
3. Datta, Pronoti (11 August 2017). "Jamdani on Dover Street". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 19 March 2021.
4. Ghoshal, Somak (22 March 2019). "Sujata Keshavan: Making design matter". mint. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
5. "NID: NID gets Rs 50 lakh donation from 1984-batch alumna". The Times of India. TNN. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
6. "A Career of Firsts". Design Indaba .
7. "Sujata Keshavan: We Believe The Taj Mahal Is Beautiful Because We Are Taught So". Forbes India. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
8. "From Graphics to Textile, with Sujata Keshavan".
9. "Female frontiers". DNA India. 10 March 2010. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
10. Bagchi, Subroto (2014). Zen Garden : Conversations with Pathmakers. [Place of publication not identified]: Penguin Global. ISBN   978-93-5118-574-1. OCLC   1132398355.
11. Bakshi, Jahanvi (14 January 2025). "NID Notable Alumni: List of Popular Alumni". College Dekho. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
12. "Asia's top brand designer lives in the city". The Times of India . April 2003.
13. "FICCI Ladies Organisation's annual awards presented". The Hindu. 19 April 2007. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 21 March 2021.
14. "30 Indian women role models: From an investment banker to a singer to an infotech warrior". India Today. 24 April 2006. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
15. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
16. "Global Future Councils".
17. "National Institute of Design - Management". www.nid.edu. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
18. Menon, Rashmi (11 October 2019). "IDF felicitates cross-disciplinary design thinkers". mint. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
19. "Design Indaba Conference 2003". Design Indaba. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
20. "LUNCH WITH BS: Ramachandra Guha". Business Standard.

External links

• Ray and Keshavan Design