BACK

Model Designer

A designer with a difference, quite literally. That's Rajesh Mirajker for you. Cherubic, thirty-something, calm, the man is a product designer for whom designing is both a hobby and a profession.

And what a profession it has been! One that has won him several international awards, the most recent one being the iDesign Award 2002 in the Professional Manufacturing category from the USA. Says he, "The award is instituted by Autodesk Inc., the largest CAD software producer in the business, their flagship CAD software being a standard drafting tool used by architects and engineers worldwide." Rajesh is one of the 13 worldwide winners. The award itself he explains, "...is given away to a product which showcases cutting edge computer-aided design." Something which comes naturally to Mirajker, a graduate from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad and the Art Centre for Design, Switzerland, where he specialised in Industrial and Transportation design.

The office of Mirajker Designs is choc-a-bloc with awards that he has received over the years from USA and Japan. His Megha Microcar model for instance, won him the Award for Excellence at the Automotive Designers Competition at the Tokyo Motor Show, making him the first Indian to win an International award for car design.

Mirajker believes in moving with the industry to create products that work. "The industrial sector can survive only by innovation and it's time people became more aware of the significance of design," he feels. He should know. For Mirajker has designed for some of the best names in the industry. From Punjab Tractors, Sharp Industries, Mitsubishi-Hindustan Motors Ltd, to Swaraj Mazda, Sundaram Industries, Ashok Leyland and TELCO to name just a few. His designs vary from minivans and multipurpose maxi cabs to electric golf carts, farm tractors and domestic water pumps!

Designs, says Mirajker, must also display practicality. "Beauty and utility can be combined within parameters and a single work of art thus created can be reiterated in unlimited numbers," is what he strongly believes. In keeping with this philosophy, Mirajker has designed the luxury Suncoach for TVS, 40 tonne earth-moving dumpers for Hindustan Motors and the Comet Junior LCV for Ashok Leyland.

"We have to learn to innovate if we want to build a brand that can compete internationally. Long term planning in this area is imperative," he tells us. Citing Telco's experiments with the Indica and the Safari as examples of home-grown design being coupled with commercial viability he adds that, "There is also the pride in building something original that can compete on a global scale that is inspiring for a company."

That Mirajker loves challenges is apparent even from his leisure activity - sailing. The proud owner of a Laser class single-hander racing yacht, Mirajker is the Vice-Commodore of the Royal Madras Yacht Club, where he indulges in his passion for this adventure sport every weekend. A keen member of the Madras Motor Sports Club as well, Mirajker also divides his time between reading automotive magazines, conducting workshops and seminars and authoring technical papers on design for international societies and trade journals. His dream is to successfully build a specialised team of like-minded people who will enjoy creating, innovating and build inroads... into the heart of India's Automobile Industry.