Creative Review, one of the world's most respected design magazines, was doing a typography special.We’d met up with Patrick Burgoyne, Editor -in-Chief of CR, at Design Yatra in Goa. Later he visited us in Mumbai, where we’d spent time talking about the city’s rich street typography, and particularly the colourful taxi stickers that turned a nondescript black-and-yellow Fiat car into something so very individual.So we should have been expecting the phone call that came a month ago. CR wanted their cover to be a celebration of this very Mumbai art form. We, in turn did some scouting around. And found Swami Arts in a winding Chinchpokli bylane. Manohar and Sunil, who ran the place, were probably the pioneering taxi decorators in the city.
Cover Design
Article of Taxi art
Back Cover
We put our heads together. The idea formed as we went along. Big flowery type, shadows and Sholay style 3D, rainbows in the corners...all the elements of a true masala design found their way in. A couple of UK flags and the Swami phone number added the finishing touches. The resulting pastiche style was something that every Mumbai resident will know, but which likely has no parallel anywhere else in the world. You can take a look at the results at http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2009/march/the-cr-taxi
