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Kyoorius Designyatra 2024 brings The Academy of Play
Mumbai: Kyoorius Designyatra, an anti-disciplinary design conference, presented by ZEE5, is all set to make a grand return in Goa on the 26, 27, and 28 of September 2024. The three-day conference continues to champion numerous facets of design – be it architecture, interiors, branding, communication, digital, experiential, graphic, motion, packaging, product, spatial or visual.
This year’s theme, Academy of Play, highlights the importance of playfulness in creativity and design thinking and urges everyone in the design community and fraternity to assess, identify and build on the role of play in the process.
The conference features an exceptional roster of “Professors of Play”, who are set to inspire, stimulate and educate attendees with insights, learnings and tips from their illustrious careers.
Among these distinguished speakers are Malika Favre, the French illustrator known for her bold and minimalistic style; Chip Kidd, the acclaimed graphic designer celebrated for his iconic cover design for Jurassic Park, as well as his memorable designs for Peanuts, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, and Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84; Aaquib Wani, the highly popular talk-of-the-town Indian designer responsible for team India’s kits at the 2024 Olympics and on the international cricket field, amongst various other platitudes; and Nassia Inglessis, the innovative artist and engineer behind transformative interactive installations.
They will be joined by many other industry leaders, including Akanksha Deo Sharma, In-house Designer at IKEA; Amna Elshandaweely, Fashion Designer at Amna Elshandaweely; Eva Cremers, 3D Artist & Animation Director at Eva Cremers; Gianmauro Vella, VP & Head of Design APAC & AMESA; Habibeh Madjdabadi, Architect/Owner at HABIBEH MADJDABADI Architecture Studio; Johannes Torpe, Interior Designer, Product Designer, Furniture Designer, Industrial Designer, & Architect at Johannes Torpe Studios; Kaja Solgaard Dahl, Stone Sculptures and Product Design at Atelier Kaja Dahl; Kimya Gandhi, Typeface Designer at Mota Italic; Mark Williams and Joe Weir, Founders and Creative Directors at That Thing; Matt Alagiah, Editor-in-Chief at It’s Nice That; Moritz Waldemeyer and Nazanin Farahbod, Product Designer and Co-Founder at Studio Waldemeyer; Paul Cocksedge, Artist & Designer at Paul Cocksedge Studio; Rob Keller, Typeface Designer & Artist at Mota Italic; Somnath Bhatt, Designer, Artist, and Writer; Tanu Sinha, Head Of Design at PepsiCo India & South Asia; Wade Jeffree and Leta Sobierajski, Designer and Art Director at Wade and Leta and many others.
Kyoorius founder and CEO Rajesh Kejriwal shared his vision for this year’s theme saying, “At Kyoorius Designyatra 2024, the goal is to explore the role of play. In the Academy of Play, we’ll hear stories from top industry players and learn tips and tricks to improve our creative processes. ‘Play better’ is our mantra, and with our amazing Professors of Play, the conference will bring this theme to life.”
Kyoorius Designyatra 2024 promises to be an unmissable event for anyone passionate about design. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in interactive sessions, workshops, and networking events, fostering a collaborative and enriching environment. The conference will conclude with the 2024 Kyoorius Design Awards Night, featuring the 2024 Kyoorius Young Blood Awards, celebrating emerging talent in the industry.
For more information and to enrol, please visit designyatra.com.
eNews
PNB partners Kiwi to launch credit-enabled UPI for users
Targets 180 million customers; RuPay card offers 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent cashback
MUMBAI: Swipe, tap, or scan credit is quietly slipping into the rhythm of everyday payments, and Punjab National Bank wants in on the action. The state-run lender has partnered with Kiwi to roll out credit-enabled UPI payments for its 180 million customers, marking a significant push to blend traditional banking with India’s fast-evolving digital payments ecosystem.
At the centre of the collaboration is the launch of the PNB Kiwi Credit Card on the RuPay network. The card is designed with a digital-first approach, offering fully online onboarding and seamless integration with UPI, allowing users to transact via scan-and-pay while accessing credit.
The offering also brings in a rewards layer, with cashback ranging from 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent on online transactions, positioning the product as both a convenience play and a spending incentive.
The move comes as UPI continues to dominate India’s digital payments landscape, increasingly blurring the lines between debit-led transactions and credit access. For PNB, which operates over 10,000 branches around 60 per cent in semi-urban and rural areas, the partnership signals a targeted effort to extend formal credit to segments that have traditionally remained underserved.
The collaboration also reflects a broader industry shift, where banks and fintech platforms are converging to embed credit directly into payment flows, reducing friction while expanding access.
With RuPay credit cards gaining traction and UPI evolving beyond peer-to-peer transfers, the PNB–Kiwi tie-up positions both players at the intersection of scale, accessibility, and the next phase of digital finance in India.
