Meet the Jury

The Kyoorius Design Awards follow a comprehensive multiple-round judging process, where jurors base their decisions on three criteria.

In the categories relating to craft, work is judged first on the strength of the craft, then on how it contributes to the success of the idea.

All decisions pertaining to judging and winning are solely the responsibility and onus of the jury.

Judging Criteria

Our Elephants have to fulfil all three criteria:

  • The idea is the foundation of a great piece of work. The judges will look at the strength of the idea in terms of its originality, in whatever shape or form it may be, as it’s subjective. But they’ll also ask questions such as “Has it generated a new perspective on an old problem? Has it added something new to the advertising industry, and the world, at large?”

  • The test of a great idea lies in its execution. Have you brought out the full potential of the idea? Does the craft raise the overall level the idea? And is it well produced for the mediums it’s meant for?

  • For any piece of work to be impactful, the context of the culture, the product, the environment and the time it’s been created in is extremely important. Is it resonating with the people it was made for? And is it fit for the purpose that it was intended?

The A&ID Jury

  • Stay tuned for the A&ID Jury

The Design Jury

  • Founder & CEO,
    Lopez Design Pvt Ltd

    Anthony Lopez is a leading Indian designer and prominent speaker at local and international conferences, leading initiatives that promote responsible design. His award-winning firm, LOPEZ, has always been guided by a clear vision — Dare to be authentic. Its prestigious client list includes the Murugappa Group, PwC, Mercer, VIP, Ace2Three, the Government of India, the Bihar Government, UNICEF, Magic EdTech, and Accel.

  • Graphic Designer, Art Director, Founder,
    Studio BigFat

    Aniruddh Mehta is a graphic designer and the founder of Studio Bigfat – a multi-disciplinary design studio based in Mumbai. His work ranges from traditional Graphic Design where he works with brands to help actualise their vision as well as practicing Visual Arts across multiple mediums. Through his work he attempts to explore the organisation of things whilst also making a mess.

  • Global Head of Design,
    Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL)

    A creative impact strategist and designer with 15 years of experience across Asia and Africa, Darshan Gandhi recently founded The Darshan-Gandhi Design Company. This future-forward practice combines design with business fundamentals, empathy, and innovation. The company's core purpose is to democratise and institutionalise 21st-century design across various industries. Integrating creative processes with design interventions, Darshan founded GCPL Design Lab and continues to serve as a senior consultant on key strategic projects. She is also a mentor at the Design Studio at Godrej Properties and teach design strategy and management at premier design institutes. In her spare time, Darshan indulges in pottery.

  • Head of Design - Product & UX - Watches, Wearables and Accessories,
    Titan

    Mahendra Chauhan is a distinguished design leader with deep expertise in product design and interaction design. He has crafted some of the most iconic products and has been honored with numerous national and international design awards, including the prestigious 'Red Dot' and 'Good Design Award,' which signify excellence and quality in design. Mahendra is a regular speaker at various design forums. Currently, Mahendra heads the design team at TITAN, India's most renowned lifestyle company.

  • Co-founder,
    CoDesign

    Mohor is the co-founder of Codesign and has led brand identity transformation for many of India’s loved legacy and challenger brands across two decades of professional practice. A graphic designer by training & NID alumnus, Mohor has built a unique practice at the intersection of culture, commerce and craft for branding. She is the editor of the internationally acclaimed Dekho—an anthology of conversations on design in India, and has been published by several Indian & international platforms like Bloomsbury, What Design Can Do, The Hard Copy, amongst others. Mohor has also curated programming for creative platforms, and in the past co-founded platforms like Unbox Festival & Project Rising.

  • Founder,
    Design rGD

    Rabia Gupta is one of the pioneers of Graphic Design in India. A product of Wesleyan University, Macon, Georgia, USA and NID, Ahmedabad, India, she has set benchmarks within this Industry with effective and culturally valid designs for nearly 2 decades. Rabia’s work is conceptual, original and always contextual.

    Her Mumbai based studio was set up in 1996. She has since provided strategic design and branding solutions to a range of clients in India and abroad.

    Her landmark projects include - The Bombay Book, Verve Magazine, Dabhol Power Identity, Pipapav Port Identity, Invision Air Identity, Good Earth Store Re-Branding, Magic Bus Re-Branding, Crossword Book Store Identity, Bluefrog Branding, Sula Wines Packaging, TP Sangria Packaging, Colorama Packaging and Ultramints Packaging to name a few.

    Rabia has won several awards and has been featured in many leading publications like Times of India, Economic Times, The Eye (UK), Business World, Telegraph and Elle-Décor.

  • Co-founder & Type Design
    Ek Type

    An alumnus of Sir J. J. Institute of Applied Art, Sarang specialises in type design and calligraphy. In 2005, he founded ‘WhiteCrow’ – a type foundry and design studio based in Mumbai. With clients such as Vodafone, Virgin Mobile, Star Network, Coca Cola, Flipkart, Future Group, Godrej, Facebook and Pidilite, his studio has steadily found its niche in multi-lingual branding, designing custom typefaces across Indian scripts and calligraphy.

    Sarang is also a part of ’Aksharaya’, a group that channelises their collective efforts to document, promote, explore and create awareness about Indian scripts. He is a member of Alliance Graphic International (AGI). Apart from his commercial ventures, Sarang conducts workshops related to multi-script typography in conferences, advertising/design agencies & design schools.

  • Founder & Principal Designer, Pollinate Labs

    Siddharth is the founder and principal designer of Pollinate Labs, a multidisciplinary design company focused on human-centered design. An alumnus of the University of Sydney with a Masters in Design, Siddharth began his career with Martin Lindstrom and has worked at MullenLowe, Fitch, and VGC. He has led large-scale branding projects for Tata, Hinduja, Essar, and Aditya Birla Group, and worked on multidisciplinary projects for Unilever, Nestle, Sony Liv, The Park Hotels, Pidilite, Oberoi Realty, Dhanlaxmi Bank, and Vodafone. Before Pollinate Labs, he ran The House of Two, a globally recognized design practice. His work has been featured in Graphis, Communication Arts, Kyoorius, and One Show. An artist who paints with typography, Siddharth's work has been minted as NFTs and featured in niche design publications. He is currently creating his own line of products and enjoys rock climbing, nature, philately, and travel.

  • Head Of Design,
    PepsiCo India & South Asia

    Tanu Sinha joined PepsiCo in 2019 as Head of Design & Innovation for the India Business Unit and now leads design for India & South Asia. She integrates design thinking into PepsiCo’s culture to drive business growth across brands like Pepsi, Lay’s, Mountain Dew, Kurkure, Gatorade, Tropicana, Doritos, Aquafina, Quaker, and Mirinda. Previously, she served as Design Director at Nestle Design Lab, partnering with 50+ Nestle India brands. A graduate of the National Institute of Design (NID, Ahmedabad), Tanu has worked with leading design studios like Fitch and Elephant Design, collaborating with clients such as Britannia, Heinz, Coca-Cola, Godfrey Philips, and Volkswagen. With 17 years of experience, she has built brands, teams, and relationships throughout her career.