THE COVER STORY

In January 2017, Domus India set out on a new experiment — the cover of the magazine would be specially designed by a designer, artist, architect or photographer in discussion with the editorial and design team of the magazine. Here, we present the covers from the last two years.

January 2017

Cover design: Ajay Shah Design Studio [Ajay Shah, Anil Parmar, Shefali Agarwal]

The distinct curvatures and arcs in the architectural design of the Virasat-e-Khalsan Memorial in Chandigarh — designed by Moshe Safdie Architects — unlocked the potential of creating an artistic interpretation of the iconic structure. Taking inspiration from Ajay’s favourite contemporary artist Nathalie-du-Pasquier, and a subtle style reference to classic Pueblo architecture, a minimal yet bold expression of the design was created.

February 2017

Cover design: Ajay Shah Design Studio [Ajay Shah, Anil Parmar]

The architecture for the project, Ballygunge Retail — designed by Abin Design Studio — is an explosion of contrasts: the coming together of curves and sharp box openings as well as the placement of materials. The building form, arches, material juxtaposition, construction language, layers, textures and patterns provided a cue for the cover. The design abstraction takes place when all forms are traced to fill with colour. An added layer of colour heightens the composition into an art form.

March 2017

Cover design: Ajay Shah Design Studio [Ajay Shah, Anil Parmar, Aakanksha Vira]

The cover design for this issue is in tandem with a feature on the Indian typewriter — an excerpt from the book With Great Truth and Regard: The Story of the Typewriter in India. A typewriter is a complex mechanical machine with an individual purpose of typing. The design concept for the same was to understand, break down and zoom into singular aspects of this mechanical genius and simplify it through a bold, illustrative route.

April 2017

Cover design: Ajay Shah Design Studio [Ajay Shah, Anil Parmar]