Dhau: Rethinking the packaging for locally produced yogurt

I was born and raised in the city of Bhaktapur. And it is experiencing a change in its material culture. Exploiting foreign material has disrupted locally sustained design eco-systems. This project aims to show a potential design solution for the locally produced yogurt, involving local materials and people with intergenerational skills. Dhau seeks to understand the people’s relationship with their materials, and through a deep exploration of usability, design scalability and presentation, show how older designs may be rejuvenated to adapt to modernity without sacrificing functionality.

This project showcases the connection between people and design, and how design should anticipate the needs of the people while being meaningful to, and transformational in, the society. My design ethos embraces visual and formal unambiguity – designing objects and graphics takes physical space, but that space is often cluttered with distracting additions or information. I initiated Manankaala Design Studio in 2019 to create transformational and innovative designs to rejuvenate and improve upon traditional objects and ideas.