Interview with YOCA Pvt. Ltd.

YOCA Pvt. Ltd. ("YPL") interviewed on Thursday, 3 May.

Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?

YPL : I graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and Architecture. Straight out of college I worked with Payette Associates in Boston, MA, on two Aga Khan University buildings that were built in the 2000s. I then established the Najmi Bilgrami Collective (Pvt) Ltd. with my father back in 2006, and now serving as its Director. Together with my husband Zayd Bilgrami and brother Ahsan Najmi, I founded, YOCA, or Young Collective Artists in 2009-a furniture and homeware design brand that uses the notion of synergy to incorporate nature into home couture. Both of these have their challenges but the ethos to design remains the same, which is excellence in design.

How did you become a designer?

YPL : I knew at a young age that I enjoyed design and spending time with my father. Slowly, that world of art andarchitecture engulfed me. It was a natural progression, a place of familiarity, a sense of belonging. Therefore, aftercompleting my Bachelors and my apprenticeship, I took on the profession.

What particular aspects of your background shaped you as a designer?

YPL : When I think of my father, I imagine him sketching, drawing, immersed in his craft. I joined him very early in my life on small trips to his office, and spent many hours on countless sites. I didn’t know at the time, but all that exposure was grooming me for what I was to become. My earliest memories of joining him for his artistic experiments was probably around the age of four, when I would sit and paint in his office while he was working. Once or twice, he would break to help me with a stroke or teach me something. It was a beautiful time in my childhood.

What is your growth path? What are your future plans? What is your dream design project?

YPL : Future plans are to grow internationally, to win projects and to make a mark, where my design sensibilities have no boundaries or restrictions.

What are your advices to designers who are at the beginning of their career?

YPL : Hone your skills. Know the profession. Respect it. That’s number one. This is not just art, architecture is a public safety profession. Please don’t go on breaking walls without checking them first. Other than that, travel, read, explore, and make new friends. As you evolve, so will your aesthetic. I am not a believer in shortcuts. I believe in studying the profession, being an apprentice, and then entering the design world. As a nation, as a person, or as an entity, for Pakistanis to be noticed, we must put in the work.

You are truly successful as a designer, what do you suggest to fellow designers, artists and architects?

YPL : Do not take shortcuts. Go to school, hone your skills and do apprenticeships.

What is your day to day look like?

YPL : My day starts off with the children. I’m not a morning person and I’m okay with that because I set everything in tone at night so that it’s ready for the morning. First thing I do is organize my day in terms of sorting my house and kids. Then I head off to work. I try to be there for picking up my children in the afternoon. We have lunch. I take out time to sort their homework and what needs to be done and then I get back to my design field.

How do you keep up with latest design trends? To what extent do design trends matter?

YPL : Staying abreast in technology as technology improves design, the rest is arbitrary. I don't believe in design trends, I believe in timeless design.

How do you know if a product or project is well designed? How do you define good design?

YPL : Principles of design 1. Evoke an emotion, designers have a responsibility 2. Does it care about its environment and 3. Does it stand the test of quality.

How do you decide if your design is ready?

YPL : No I don't think a design is absolutely complete. A designer keeps evolving and growing so when you look back, you feel like you could have done something more.

What is your biggest design work?

YPL : I am working on a development project by the sea, which will be very challenging as the scale is massive. It’s almost 1.9 million square feet and will have a complete impact on the coastal area.

Who is your favourite designer?

YPL : I admire Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava for his forms and American architect Louis Kahn for his spatial planning. At the moment, I am also inspired by Japanese sensibilities of design. They have a very articulatesensitivity towards design and, more and more, I’m seeing myself evolving towards that. Another thing that inspires me is tectonics, I love repetitive design. I love grids, and when I see that in people’s work it just blowsmy mind.

What are your philanthropic contributions to society as a designer, artist and architect?

YPL : Designed free hospitals for kids with Child Life Foundation. Other initiatives include working with Citizen's Archive of Pakistan and Sirat ul Jannah Orphanage among others.

YOCA Pvt. Ltd. Profile