Simran Chopra

Mobile: + 91 9737736622 E-Mail: simchopra@gmail.com | simranchopra.nid@gmail.com Portfolio: www.simranchopra.com Skype: simran-chopra

As a New Media Artist and Interaction Designer, I have worked in the areas of intersecting media, designing interactions & installation art. I am keen on exploring the complex linkages between technology, art and culture and aim to design everyday objects and experiences that attempt to establish the same. Education
2010 - 2013 Post-Graduate Diploma Programme in New Media Design, National Institute of Design (NID), India 2003 2007 B.A.(Hons.) Communication Design, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom from Pearl Academy, India

Professional Experience
Present | Centre for Knowledge Studies & Bill & Milinda Gates Foundation Project based undertaking, Project Manager and Sr. Design Researcher for the project Records for Life. January September 2013 | British Council, Art and Humanitarian Research Council, University of Surrey, United Kingdom Assignment based undertaking for the project A Punjabi Palimpsest: Cultural Memory and Amnesia at the Aam Khas Bhag. Working as the interaction designer in the team to developing immersive installations at the Aam Khas Bhag, Sirhind Punjab. January- June 2010 | PricewaterhouseCoopers, India Communication designer, Brand & Communications department, dealing in brand management, print and digital communication material for internal and external purposes. June, 2007 December 2009 | Dentsu Communication Pvt. Ltd. & Citizen Dentsu Pvt. Ltd., India Worked on the art direction for brands like Yamaha, Incredible India, NACO, Delhi tourism, etc. 2006, 2007 | McCann-Erickson (Design), India Trainee in the design department on packaging and communication material for companies such as Unilever (FMCG products), Coke, UB grains and spirits, Virgin Atlantic, etc.

Exhibitions
Alchemy festival, SouthBank Centre, London, United Kingdom Unbox Design Festival, India National Institute of Design, India

Honours
Awarded research Funding for the project A Punjabi Palimpsest: Cultural Memory and Amnesia at the Aam Khas Bhag by the Art & Humanitarian Research Council, United Kingdom Fellowship, British Council - Unbox 2013 (Project UnMap) Awarded silver for the project Re-imagining Adobe Illustrator for tablets in the Students Category at USID India, UX Design Awards 2012 Selectde as one of the top 15 applicants for Stanford India BioDesign Fellowship 2013 Semifinalist, OzCHI 2012 Australia, 24hr Student Design Challenge Semifinalist in UX INDIA 2012 iINNOVATE - UMO Global Student Challenge Awarded for the most innovative, sustainable food packaging, for fruits by HARYANA STATE AGRICULTURE MARKETING BOARD, INDIA, 2012 Awarded for creative excellence, in touch based interface design by ADOBE DESIGN LABS, INDIA, 2011

Areas of Interest
Installation Art, New Media Artefacts Critical Design, and Design Research Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interactions Experience & Service Design, Food Design Practices

Relevant Projects
A PUNJABI PALIMPSET: CULTURAL MEMORY & AMNESIA AT THE AAM KHAS BAGH | BIRITISH COUNCIL + AHRC + UNIVERSITY OF SURREY |Commission | Area of focus : Living Heritage, Oral Histories, Ethnographic Research, New Media & Exhibition Design Dealing with the connection between build heritage and cultural memory. Working as the interaction designer in the team to developing installations at the Aam Khas Bhag, Sirhind Punjab. STORY OF THE URBAN FOOD CHAIN |Thesis | Area of focus : Living Interfaces, Installation, New Media Art, Critical Design It is an installation which offers an opportunity for users to engage in stimulating conversations around the discourse of food through an artistic medium. The installation is an insight into our urban food chain. CIG CHECK | Academic Project | Area of focus : Smart Pack, Tangible User Interface, Data Visualization, Embedded Interaction Personalized Smart Cigarette Pack that has the capabilities of collecting & sending the consumption data over the net, computing the data, generating a graphic in real time and sending back a visual graphical feedback at the end of the day via email/SMS. RE-IMAGINING ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR FOR TABLETS | NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN + ADOBE INDIA DESIGN LABS | Commission | Area of focus : Tablet Application, User Interface Design, Content Creation, Touch Interface The project specied by the Adobe Design Labs, presented a very unique challenge. It was to look at redening the tools in an already existing desktop based environment to that for a tablet. It implicated conceptualization for the translation of Adobes content creation tools like Illustrator to touch interfaces. My concentration was on re-designing the drawing & painting experience for a touch based device. FLUSH | NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN + INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT | Academic Project | Area of focus : Mobile Application, Assistance, User Interface Design A restroom nder mobile application helps one to nd the nearest public restroom facility with effective information. It is a Global Positioning System based application, which narrows down where is the individual positioned and gives the location of the washrooms facilities within a given radius supported by satellite based Geomapping technology. The service is available on Smart Phones & feature phones through user generated data. ETHNOGRAPHY & RESEARCH Understanding the Aural Life World | Mapping the Aural Life World of an ethnic group through research and translating it into a tangible artefact Taj Ganj | National Institute of Design + Uttar Pradesh Tourism | Part of ethnography team to understand the ow of tourist trafc understanding the space incongruity & problems around them inuencing the social fabric of the place around the famous monument Taj Mahal.

Skills
Conceptualization, Visualization, Theoretical or Philosophical research, Ethnography & Design Research methods, Participatory Design, Physical Computing, Iterative Design Process & Design thinking Adobe Design Suite, Corel Draw, Final Cut Pro Prototyping Tools: Processing, Arduino Project skills Collaboration, Team Work, Presentation skills Keen Learner in multi disciplinary environments , Dedicated individual

Workshops
Alchemy Festival, SouthBank Centre. London UNBOX 2013 (Fellowship) Lens Conference 2010, Sustainability in Design Now, Bangalore, India Narrative Art, cartooning workshop by Viveka Foundation at IHC, New Delhi, India