Craft Stories
an augmented reality animated interactive documentary on craft artists from South Asia

Krishnokoli Roy Chakraborty

Project Description

Craft stories is a series of augmented reality animated documentaries embedded on the packaging of four different craft articles from Sindh. On being scanned by a mobile device, a framed space on the surface of the packaging displays animated contents narrating the historical and cultural details of the craft articles and the mastery of the artisans and their social situations, to the consumers. This will help the consumer appreciate their purchases better and, eventually, grow into patrons. The project hopes to develop a positive impact on the handicrafts market and enhance the influence and appreciation of artisans. The discursive nature of the project may help improve the social status of the artisans, revive the craft-ecosystems and make it relevant again for the contemporary market and thereby ensure a long term future for the crafts and their sustainable ways.

The products packaged in this specific case are traditional Blue Potteries, Tie Dyed & Ajrakh Printed Textiles and Lac Jewelleries. The visual aesthetic of the animated documentary, and most specifically, its core narrative style, is derived from a regional folk-form of audio-visual storytelling called Phad. While Phad traditionally tells the story of local deities and heroes, it is used as a visual and aesthetic medium to tell the stories of four craft-artisans practicing four different craft-forms (viz. Blue Pottery, Ajrakh Printing, Lac Bangle Making and Tie Dyeing) from Sindh. This specific design prototype can be extrapolated to create different packaging paradigms for different handicrafts, across the South Asian subcontinent.