News & Events

Shaheen Sheriff, founder of Nalloru Studio, Thrissur, took us on a deep dive into his animation journey, sharing how he seamlessly navigates between paper, 2D, and 3D animation to create stunning visual narratives. From sketching on paper to crafting digital magic, Shaheen highlighted the importance of collaboration in animation—because great ideas thrive in a shared creative space. He also shed light on the gritty yet rewarding process of trial and error, where experimenting with different objects, paintings, and video techniques becomes an essential part of the craft.

18th edition of Wednesday Talks on March 27, 2024 was a workshop on Chinese Calligraphy helmed by Woanyuh Zoë Tsou taking students down the history and evolution of Chinese script and its calligraphy, exposing them to the tools and techniques used

Semester 2 Bachelor of Design students from SDS made an enlightening trip to Farmer’s Share, Shornur during March 16-17, 2024 where they were exposed to permaculture, terracotta pottery, handloom weaving and dyeing, handmade paper making and more. The hosts regaled them with a walk to the banks of Bharthapuzha and served them some colourful and tasty food

Wednesday Talks on 13th March 2024 had Automobile designer Chacko Abraham who had worked with Ford, Lincoln and Canoo talking about his works and thought processes with our students.

16th edition of Wednesday Talks on February 28, 2024 had Shaheen Sheriff of Nalloru Studios taking SDS students and faculty through his works in Animation and Game design.

SDS had a stall in the Srishti exhibition conducted in campus on 25 & 27 February 2024 displaying students’ works and disseminating information about the school and it programmes.

This time Students made a spiral Christmas tree with decorations and with a sledge and reindeers in the Atrium to usher in the Christmas season on December 22, 2023. Cake pieces were distributed among them on the last day before they took a week’s break as vacation.

SDS conducted its first Sport Day on 16^th December 2023 at Joyous Sports Arena, Chingavanam. Students matched with each other in 5s Football, Box Cricket, Seven Stones Challenge, Ultimate Shootout and a few other Spot events. Badminton was conducted in the SCAS premises the very next week. Students had fun testing their sporting talents, for a change.  

Prof. Lekha Susan Jacob gave a presentation on the birds in our neighbourhood on 6^th December, 2023. She explained with photographs their identifying features, unique traits, feeding and breeding habits, unravelling to students their colourful and fascinating world.

Prof. Binita Desai, former faculty with NID, IDC and DAIICT conducted a workshop in Material Animation for third semester Communication design and Interaction design students of SDS from November 20 to 25, 2023. Students made short animations with sand and oil paints on light boxes. 

SDS Semester 3 Communication design student Amna Marzooque won a Huddle Designer’s Award at the Branding Challenge contest organised by the Kerala Startup Mission. The award was handed over in a ceremony that took place at Adimalathura, Vizhinjam near Thiruvananthapuram on 18th November 2023. Amna has the distinction of bringing the first award to SDS.

Rahul P R, an Automotive Clay Sculptor from Bajaj Auto, Pune, gave this week’s Wednesday Talk titled ‘Clay Creations’ on November 15, 2023 to B Des. students. He took them through his childhood passion for automobile sketching and miniature model making which finally led him to learn automobile clay sculpting. He explained the steps and processes involved in his projects, giving them an insight into this specialised domain.

SDS celebrated its first Deepawali on 13^th November 2023 in its own inimitable style with festoons, Rangoli and sweet distribution. Students and staff dressed up for the occasion in their traditional best and danced to music. 

The thirteenth edition of Wednesday Talks had Hari Sudhakaran, an alumnus of IDC, IIT Bombay and owner of Bang Studio, Mumbai on 8^th November 2023. He explained the nuances of Motion Graphics and how it has become an essential part of our visual culture with examples from his works and from across the world.

Kochi based Photographer and Designer Sudith Xavier gave Wednesday Talk on 25th October 2023 on Composing with Light: Composition and Storytelling in Photography. He showed a selection of photographs he had taken and explained his techniques, processes and workflow. 

Some students from Life Valley International School –accompanied  by a teacher–visited SDS on October 19, 2023 to see how a design school works. They were shown the classrooms, labs and library and were excited to see students working with clay, plaster of Paris and thermocol, making models and drawing figures. Students went enlightened knowing about design as a career option.

Wednesday Talks on 18th October 2023 saw Santhosh Karunakaran Thampi discussing the subtle nuances of Indian Classical music with design students. He brought out the differences between Carnatic and Hindustani systems by playing musical pieces by various artistes and singing bits to explain aspects for them.. 

SDS celebrated its first anniversary on 28 September 2023 by unveiling an installation followed by a cake cutting ceremony, music, dance, fun and games in the school premises. The event was inaugurated by Dr. Naveen John Punnoose, Associate Professor, Department of MechanicaI Engineering and Chief Digital Officer of Saintgits Group of lnstitutions.

Noted artist and sculptor John Baby conducted a workshop on Coconut palm leaf crafts for students of SDS on 6th September 2023. Students learnt to make fish, bird, insects hats using various techniques under his expert guidance.

SDS celebrated its first Onam since its inception with the new batch of B Des. Students organising a Pookkalam, dressing up in traditional finery, taking part in games and cultural activities. Payasam was served to all adding more sweetness to the occasion. The school took a break for a week for Onam vacation.

New batch of B Des. Students went on an ethnographic and industrial visit on 23^rd August to Coir units in Alappuzha to understand the process and techniques used in the industry and the lifestyle of the workers. Students saw coir being soaked in water, beaten to extract fibres, dried and twisted into ropes manually and also with machines. The coir ropes made are bundled and sent to units where they are converted into mats, carpets and geo textiles They also saw units were coir mattresses and coir composite boards are made. The day ended with a visit to the coir museum where the history of coir industry, technology, processes were on display. Students put up an interesting exhibition after studying and analysing the information collected as a part of their Introduction to Design course.

SDS saw its new batch of Bachelor of Design students joining in on 21^st August 2023 with an event where they had to set their own paper boats to sail symbolically into the school atrium marking their journey into the world of design. Paper boats brought in nostalgia and memories of everyone’s first creative discovery to the fore.

Vinodlal, Technical trainer from Canon India gave an informative introduction to Canon cameras to the Second Semester B Des. Foundation students as a part of Wednesday Talks on 14^th June 2023 at 10.00AM. Students were exposed to the History of Photography, DSLR and Mirrorless cameras, Still and Video photography and differences in lenses. This is a precursor to the upcoming three-week course in Basic Photography for the students.

Saintgits Design Aptitude Test (SDAT) 2023 Round One was held on May 27^th in SDS premises from 10AM onwards, The test had three components viz. an Aptitude Test where candidates’ general knowledge, analytical ability, writing and drawing skills were tested in an our-long written test. This was followed by a Studio test where they were asked to make a specific product with the materials provided within a specified time. Afternoon session had students being called in for a portfolio review and interaction, the marks of all three were added to make the final score. Short-listed candidates will be informed to join within a stipulated time period. The next round of SDAT will be held on June 17, 2023, for which applications will be accepted till June 14.

Eminent Sound designer Nikhil Varma took a session with SDS foundation students on May 10^th sensitising them about the possibilities of sound in various media, showcasing his work and the process. Nikhil runs Moleculz sound studio based in Tripunithura creating sound for movies and advertisements. He was in news recently for the sound design of The Elephant Whisperers which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film at the 95th Academy Awards, making it the first Indian film to win an Academy Award in that category at the Oscars.

SDS Semester 2 students made a day’s trip to visit Vagamon accompanied by two faculty members on May 5^th as part of their Colour Studies course. They visited important landmarks and took photographs which are expected to be used in their ongoing course.

Second semester B Des. students, faculty and staff of SDS created an installation in the school atrium to welcome Vishu, the Malayali New year. The installation made of paper had bunches of an abstract form of Kanikkonna, which flowers during the season across the state. Made and installed over two days, the installation took everyone by surprise.

Prof. Sharmila Mitra restarted the Wednesday Talks series for Semester 2 with ‘An Introduction to Indian Textiles’ on 29^th March. Students were shown samples and images of woven, printed and embroidered textiles from all over the country. A few short films were also screened to make them understand the process of making them.

Semester 2 classes for B Des. students began on March 13^th after a two-week semester break. Students were introduced to their new courses and changed rules and regulations. Classes began with Design Geometry 2 where they explored solid geometry and three-dimensional geometry. 

Semester 1 students had their first taste of juried presentations on February 21, 22 & 23 with eminent designer George Paul joining in as the external expert in the panel which also had two SDS faculty members. Students presented their works and learnings and were questioned on their understanding and process.

Students made a one-day trip to Fort Kochi to visit the Kochi Biennale on 26^th January 2023 to experience first-hand the multi-sensory exhibition with paintings, sculptures, video and multimedia installations. They were fascinated by the sheer scale and variety of the event and came back inspired.

Prof. Hashim Padiyath took a session on Communication design, introducing students to the various sub-domains under it including graphic design, animation, film making, immersive media. He also shared with them glimpses from his academic and professional journey through a slide-show. This was held on 18^th January as a part of Wednesday Talks series.

Students attended a Ceramic Workshop conducted by Sanchana Rachel Jacob at Mann by Raell on January 7, 8, 14 and 15, 2023. They were exposed to crafting ceramic objects, working on the wheel, firing and glazing ceramic pottery. They made their own ceramic ware during the workshop.

Prof. Nithin Jacob Eapen introduced the students to the discipline of Product design, taking them through his academic and professional journeys, discovering many aspects of design practice on the way. The session was held as a part of the Wednesday Talks series on 11^th January, 2022

Prof. Helna Merin Jacob took a workshop in Christmas star making for the students on 21^st December 2022. Students made their own stars with paper and decorated the café premises with their colourful creations.

Arya Unnithan took students through the nuances of Indian Classical Music, especially Carnatic music. Concepts like Raaga and Taala were explained to them with the help of popular film songs. This session was held on December 14, 2022 as a part of the Wednesday Talks series.

Students and faculty joined hands to make an installation for Christmas in the adjoining atrium. They made Christmas trees with card and suspended them to create the installation to usher in the spirit of Christmas. This happened over a few days starting from 6^th to 8^th December 2022.

Prof. Nitin Jacob Eapen took a workshop for the students in Tie and Dye Techniques as a part of their Wednesday engagements on 30^th November, 2022. Students had a busy time, tying fabric pieces, dying them with colours and untying them to discover interesting patterns generated in the process.

Deepak Nair took students along a musical journey, introducing them to various genres of Western music. Listening to songs, singing and playing instruments, students had a fun time recalling their favourite singers and songs. This session was held on 9^th November 2022 as a part of the Wednesday Talks series.

George Paul, an alumnus of IDC, IIT Bombay and a design consultant based in Changanassery, took an introductory session on Interaction design to students who will have to choose a discipline at the end of their foundation year. He explained the evolution of this discipline, major milestones in its growth and the future of the discipline. This was held on 19^th October 2022 as a part of the Wednesday Talks series.

Students made a one-day visit to Durbar Hall, Kochi on 15^th October 2022 to see the Centenary exhibition of Satyajit Ray, who was a multi-talented artist. The exhibition exposed them to the mind of a creative genius, his filmography and his graphic work.

Prof. Lekha Susan Jacob took a session on Butterflies, touching upon their identification process, their life cycle, and their habits. Students were asked to paint a butterfly of their choice from those spotted on the campus. This session was held on 12^th October, 2022 as a part of the Wednesday Talks series.

SDS was inaugurated on September 28^th, 2022 in a simple function where Architect Jacob Cherian was the chief guest. Students, guests and faculty lit terracotta oil lamps and put them on the traditional kolam design made in the foyer. After the inaugural speeches, the Dean introduced the students to the programme and it highlights.