Everyday Design Archive (EDA) is a framework shaped by the Creative Collective of JLX Studio and its collaborators to engage with the everyday as a site of design. It is at once an archive and an experiment—bringing into focus what is often overlooked: vernacular practices, gestures of ingenuity, and voices embedded in lived culture. Through varied formats and collaborations, EDA seeks not just to preserve, but to question, appreciate, and make visible the subtle designs that weave through daily life.
Instagram Link - https://www.instagram.com/everyday_design_archive/
We are local when it comes to our research subjects. We study the visual culture in our surroundings - recent visual research includes images documenting the bitten apple icon on plastic shopping bags, saris, and clothing. Thereby studying icons and trends in consumerist India's marketplace.
We have an extensive archive of visuals and footage on many commercial vehicles for their vibrant decorative art, painted signboards, matchbox labels, scribble pads, and other visual iconography on popular cultural artifacts for further studies. Our quest is to understand the impulse and power of visual communication, emphasizing how design and culture influence a graphic literacy of images and the communication of ideas within an Indian context of popular culture.
Decoart is our Instagram handle that has recent updates on our encounters with Decorative art on commercial vehicles.
Xavier, Jeevan - Dynamics of Craft and Fashion (unpublished work) 2018
Research Paper presented at the NIFT International Conference New Delhi, India, Feb 2018
The paper presented is a personal account of how the mainstream fashion industry and crafts influence each other in the local-global context.
Ende’ Lorry (2013–2020) is a multimedia documentary and research project on truck art in Kerala. At once an archive and an experiment, it explores the visual language and the community it is rooted in. Conducted across 13 towns south of Calicut (Kozhikode), the study documents visuals of over 180 trucks and includes interviews with owners, drivers, craftsmen, and truck enthusiasts. The complete archive is available on written request; selections are available online. Fieldwork team: The Running Studio; associate researcher: Rahul Pulavar.
JLX Studio continues this enquiry beyond Kerala, observing and documenting decorative art on commercial vehicles across the subcontinent—see ongoing visual stories at Instagram: @decoart_jlxstudio.
In our observations, this visual culture is deeply gendered: the makers, patrons, and users are overwhelmingly men, occupying public space and shaping the sentiments that these vehicles carry. What does this tell us about the role of the male gaze in shaping a shared visual environment on the roads we all travel?
Veedu - Vernacular and Traditional houses in Southern India, 2019
Veedu is an ongoing interactive digital documentation of vernacular residential houses in Southern India that were built a couple of generations ago. The documentary records the architectural elements and the stories of the people who call it ‘home.’
Currently, the documentation work is done in the Kozhikode region of Kerala; we are processing the details and exploring possible software platforms to create an interactive experience.
We are open to collaborations in fieldwork and AR.
Our fieldwork team in Kerala - Pura Design collective.
Namma Signage - Photo documentary of painted signboards
Namma Signage is a photo documentary of painted signboards that are fast disappearing from the visual landscape of most urban areas. The documentation covered the road from Yelahanka – Doddaballapur Highway and Silver Jubilee Road part of City Market in Bangalore. Interviews with two of the artists gave us a glimpse into the people behind this work. The original photographs were taken by Christy Raj in 2013.
Nagal - Collection of litho print posters between 2008-2013.
The artworks are hand-drawn and printed on thin recycled paper with kerosene and ink. One could see these bright posters all over Bangalore until a few years ago.
Pinterest Link -
150 Nagal ನಕಲು ideas | litho print, cinema posters, how to draw hands (pinterest.com)
Warp and Weft of Bangalore
Installation (2021)
Artist – JLX Studio Team
This documentary project juxtaposes data, facts, materials, images, and memories of Bangalore’s textile industry in a linear format. The focus has been on commercial textiles produced in and around the city, specifically woven fabric. We have sought to humanize this brief history, keeping it multifaceted rather than a singular narrative.
The project began as part of the Urban Fabric Project, initiated by Suresh Jayaram at 1Shanthiroad, who invited us to study and present a work on Bangalore’s textile legacy. The initial research was funded by India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) with 1Shanthiroad Studio.
A second iteration of the work, with additional data and a revised format, was presented at the Indian Institute of Human Settlements’ annual event City Scripts in 2024. The project has also served as a teaching resource—students of Management Studies from IAE Paris Sorbonne visited to learn about Bengaluru’s industrial history as a way to better understand the city.
Stitch by Stitch presents a documentary exploration of Kaudhi, centered around the experiences of one individual's extended family, neighbors, and friends, emblematic of their social ecosystem. This collaborative effort, facilitated by a quintet from Bengaluru, has yielded a collection of Kaudhis, stories, photographs, and experiences, deepening our understanding of this rich tradition.
Through our documentary work, we delve into the intricate world of Kaudhi, shedding light on its cultural significance and the stories embedded within each quilt. Our first edition exhibition showcased portraits by Selvaparkash Lakshmanan, prose by Vasudendra, original Kaudhis, photographs, and a wall mural directed by JLX Studio, curated by Muthatha Ramanathan. This inaugural event, held in December 2022 in Mattancherry, Fort Kochi, marked the beginning of our journey into the heart of Kaudhi within this particular social ecosystem.