MAM
The Minimalist strengthens leadership team
MUMBAI: The Minimalist, one of the fast-growing design and digital companies, has boosted it leadership team with the appointment of head of interaction design Rohan Saraf, lead, user interface Amit Rajapurka. The appointments also come at a time when the company is looking to expand its presence globally and become an organisation recognised for its domain-specific expertise and thought leadership.
Speaking on the appointments, The Minimalist co-founder Sahil Vaidya said, “We are excited and welcome both Rohan and Amit to The Minimalist. Over the past year, The Minimalist has successfully acquired a wide range of clients across the globe for all three business units. With an increasing level of digitalisation and product focus in the Indian business ecosystem, there is an immediate need for high quality and experienced product design services. Both Rohan and Amit bring very rich sector-specific experience and this will definitely amplify our ability to deliver intelligent products that provide seamless and unique experiences.”
“Most importantly Rohan and Amit share our vision of delivering sterling quality digital products and experiences. In a bid to become the most sought-after player in this space and with the addition of Rohan and Amit, we are sure we are on the right path,” he added.
Speaking on his new role, head of interaction design Saraf said, “I am excited on my new role and to be a part of a team that is diverse and dynamic. The company has a unique energy and the environment is conducive for design thinking to grow on a larger level. We are focused on strengthening our foothold for interaction design services and will continue to invest our energies here. I am excited on this new journey and look forward to solving problems strategically with simple design solutions.”
Rajapurkar added, “The Minimalist is a young organisation overflowing with creativity and fresh ideas. The culture is encouraging and allows one to be vocal about their thoughts and ideas which makes it easy for teams to work with a central objective thus achieving stellar success. The UI/UX domain has been growing rapidly with brands learning the importance of product usability. I look forward to delving deeper into this market, contributing towards the growth of the organisation and working towards achieving our larger goals.”
Saraf who will overlook the interaction design business unit will also lead user experience projects within the SBU. He is a certified usability analyst and a graduate in product design from MIT Institute of Design, Pune. He has worked extensively on user experience assignments for HDFC Bank, Future Group, Standard Bank (South Africa), and Sunlife Insurance, Philippines.
Rajapurkar, on the other hand, brings over 18 years of experience to The Minimalist. Going forward, he will lead the operations and design for UI. In his previous roles, he was responsible for designing UI for leading companies like Axis Bank, Maruti, Hungama, IRCTC and Microsoft. Prior to joining The Minimalist, Rajapurkar was associated with Fractal Ink.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
