Faculty Bios

Hashim Padiyath
Having done his B Tech. in Computer Science, he found his true calling in design and did his Master of Design in Visual Communication from Industrial Design Centre, IIT Bombay. Working with C-DAC (Pune) and Malayala Manorama (Kottayam), he developed the first set of original Malayalam digital typefaces still popular in the media. Setting up his own design consultancy in Kochi in 1997, he had worked for sectors as varied as hospitals, hotels, pharma, IT, media, publishing, education and NGOs consulting in branding, type design, promotions, packaging, signage, publications, multimedia and user interface design for twenty years before the academic bug bit him again. After having taught at MITID (Pune), Anant (Ahmedabad), Srishti (Bangalore) and DJ (Coimbatore) for a few years, he heads Saintgits Design School since its inception while pursuing his PhD in Malayalam typography at NID (Ahmedabad).

Sharmila Mitra
Sharmila did her Masters in Textile Design from National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. Art and colours were always a passion for her. After completing her Bachelor in Arts, she also did her Bachelors in Visual Art from Government College of Art & Craft in Kolkata. She has worked with Textile corporates like Mafatlal and went on to do many other corporate jobs as a Designer in Sunanda Industries, Arvind Mills in Ahmedabad. She has also worked in the unorganised sector of the synthetic market in Pratibha Syntax as Chief Designer, Rachana Exports as Export Manager. She also did projects with Mrignayani of Madhya Pradesh and Gurjari of Gujarat. She then explored entrepreneurial ventures like opening up a boutique of her own as Antara Boutique in Ahmedabad. Thereafter, she joined academia and became an educator. Starting with being a HOD in Wigan & Leigh, then teaching at Indira Kala Sangeet University as a Textile Professor in Chattisgarh. She has also worked at Viswanikaten Institute of Design, Raigad, Maharashtra as design foundation faculty. Her last stint was at College of Architecture, Trivandrum where she worked as a professor in design foundation.

Vishnu Sukumar
An alumnus of IIT Guwahati, he received his training in Strategic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). He has collaborated with distinguished clients such as Volvo Finance, the Government of India, Toyota, HSBC, and the Government of Kerala, to name a few.
As a Lead Experience Designer at Infosys, his work experience spans 3.6 years, during which he has designed and delivered end-to-end multiple products and services.
Highly proficient in design research, material selection, and the creation of concepts and storyboards based on client requirements and user needs, he excels in enhancing existing products and analysing competitors’ offerings to ensure quality and performance parity.
His skill set extends to translating design concepts into functional prototypes, as well as coordinating with fellow designers to ensure precise communication and efficiency during the design phase. He demonstrates effective People Management skills by collaborating with teams and engaging in productive discussions with other professionals and clients. His passion lies in the overall aesthetics and user experience/user interface (UX/UI) elements of a product, coupled with a comprehensive understanding of industry trends and market conditions.

Roin J Vithayathil
Roin’s passion for design is a result of his underlying knowledge in Mechanical Engineering combined with a Master’s degree in Product Design from MIT, Pune. Having worked in the industry with top brands like Panasonic, he’s had exposure to understand the relevance of design and creativity in business as well as in our daily lives. Being a professor of design in multiple universities across India has given him the edge over the rest, as he blends his creativity and logic to make user friendly and emotionally pleasing designs. Roin wishes to uplift design in all possible ways by encouraging others to visualize as well as understand the beauty and purpose of design and to imbibe it in their day-to-day life and lifestyle.

Jibin Abraham
Jibin is a Visual Artist and an Educator in Art and Design. His passion for Painting, Drawing and Research lead him to a career in Art and Design. He did his Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) from College of Fine Arts, Thiruvananthapuram in the year of 2017 followed by Masters of Visual Arts from Assam University, Silchar in 2019. He had at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam in the Architecture department in 2021 and also at the College of Fine Arts Thiruvananthapuram during 2022-2023.

Ravikiran Rangaswamy
Ravikiran is a photographer and a writer based out of Auroville. He has studied Photography Design from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad in affiliation with the University of Creative Arts, Farnham, UK. He has done photo features for various travel magazines and has a desire to pursue work that includes combining visuals and words to explore stories from around the world. He brought out a set of Postcards with Photographs clicked by him titled ‘Spiritual & Traditional India’. Ravikiran has also diversified into Textile and Product/Fashion Photography. He has authored books titled ‘46+14=06, A Story of a Genius’ and a fiction with photographs titled ‘Camera & Conversations’ with his mother Sapna. He also wrote a fiction for children titled ‘Traversing Through Dreams’. Ravikiran also teaches photography at design schools and institutes where journalism is taught.

Hari Sudhakaran
After graduating in Electrical and Electronics engineering from the Government college of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram and post graduate degree in Industrial Design from the Industrial design center (IDC) of IIT Mumbai, Hari set off on a journey of exploration into various techniques of animation production through his studio Bang Creative Solutions, Mumbai. A hands-on animator to the core, this quest enabled Hari to gain expertise in wide array of production software and animation techniques such as hand-drawn Cel animation, Stop-Motion Animation, 3D Character Animation, Architectural visualization, product modeling and process simulations, Motion graphics, Visual effects, Video based film making, stereoscopic 3D content creation, Mobile Application and Game Development, Development of E-Learning software etc. He has good exposure in all areas of animation production from conceptualization, scripting, storyboarding, production planning, team training etc. For more than a decade, Hari has also been serving as an external examiner at IDC, IIT Mumbai.

Sudith Xavier
Sudhith, a self-taught designer and multifaceted consultant in branding, product development, is a passionate individual with a profound interest in technology, art, economics, history, and various other domains. Currently, he operates the design studio Pixel Nirvana and manages the research platform Route Cochin, while also venturing into the development of a climate-positive platform named AWA.
Sudhith’s journey in the field of design commenced 15 years ago, and his ongoing evolution and learning have been instrumental in shaping his extensive expertise. Armed with an academic background in Sociology and Social Psychology, he brings a holistic, human-centric approach to his design work, deeply understanding the mechanics of society and culture. His abiding passion for design, art, and technology extends beyond the digital realm, encompassing architecture, urban design, and retail experience design. Sudhith’s self-taught journey has enabled him to collaborate with visionaries across diverse industries, from art and fintech to SaaS and hospitality.