AT A GLANCE
Mathew Kurien
Area of Practice: Decolonial Studies, Museology, Experimental Photography, Communication Design, Publication Design
OVERVIEW
Mathew Kurien is a design educator and practitioner with over 25 years of experience in communication design, museum studies and design education. In the previous organisation in Pune, he led the Graphic / Communication Design department for nine years, working with colleagues and students to build it into a well-regarded programme. He later headed the M.Des in Immersive Media Design, helping open it up from an XR focus into a broader, more experimental stream. He is currently pursuing his PhD, with research interests in design education and decolonisation.
He holds a BFA in Applied Arts and a Master’s in Museum Studies, and his early work in museums still shapes how he thinks about narrative and context in art & design. He worked on Dorling Kindersley’s award-winning travel guides, and later at Ernst & Young and ITC (Classmate), across publishing, brand communication and visual systems.
He is analogue by nature, happiest with paper, type and print, but enjoys experimenting with new technology and sees the two as complementary. In the studio, he balances structured drills with open briefs.
He serves on juries including the A’ Design Award, the Global Footwear Awards and the FICCI Book Design and Production Awards, and Style of India, a book he designed, received the CII Design Excellence Award.
He was elected to the National Executive Committee of the Association of Designers of India.
Education
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BFA in Applied Arts from the Institute of fine arts and crafts (Shilpa Bharti), Jaipur, Rajasthan (1998) – Study Centre: Delhi
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Master’s in Museology (Museum Studies) from the National Museum Institute, National Museum, Janpath, New Delhi (2001)
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UGC NET in Museology (2001)
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Pursuing PhD from MIT Institute of Design, MIT ADT University, Pune (Current)
Work Experience
25 years: design practice and over 10 years in design education.
INTEREST AREAS
Museums, inspiration sources, art & design education, how cultural context and decolonial awareness shape ideation in pedagogy, use of metaphors as a design method to understand systems, wider interests include design pedagogy, immersive and experimental media, publication design and book arts, and experimental photography.
CURRENT PRACTICE AT SRISHTI
Publication and book design courses
Teaching Portfolio
Over eleven years in design education: Pune (2017–2026), Rai University (2003).
Head of Department, Graphic/Communication Design for nearly nine years, and later Head of Immersive Media Design, expanding the M.Des from an XR focus into an open, experimental stream.
Curriculum consultant and BoS for Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University’s BA Digital Media & Design (BCG & Delhi Govt).
Teaching spans communication design studio, data visualisation, systems thinking, design processes (Foundation), art history & media theories.
Every course runs as an experimental research project that questions the practice of design and art. Structured drills sit alongside open briefs, classroom displays, non-conformist inquiry and open-crit assessment that values process over outcome, all aimed at drawing original work out of each student. Students engage deeply with design and philosophy, question their identities as creatives, and learn to think critically and systemically. The projects help them unlearn, challenge the stigma around social issues and turn their way of seeing inwards.
Named among The Design Kids 2025 Favourite Educators internationally, nominated by student entrants worldwide.
Presented and published research papers at international and national conferences and in publications.
Creative/Professional Practise
Communication design, publication and book design, brand and visual systems, art direction and experimental photography, informed by systems thinking and an interest in design and art processes. Fifteen years in practice at Dorling Kindersley, The Outdoor Journal, EY and ITC (Classmate), with film project work for Apple Sales India, Tshirts for United Colors of Benetton and Murals for Ministry of Environment. Jury member for the A’ Design Award, the Global Footwear Awards and the FICCI Book Design and Production Awards.
