Illustration, Design
& Art Direction for English-Malayalam
Flash Cards
My clients approached me with a concept - illustrated flashcards that taught introductory Malayalam. Their target audience was NRI Malayalee families, and they entrusted me with creating a product that was playful, humorous, and appealing to learners of all ages.
For Malayalis who are far from home, I wanted this product to fill them with nostalgia and help them feel closer to their homeland. I wanted these flashcards to prompt conversations and encourage storytelling between generations so that children could learn their parents’ native language while simultaneously immersing themselves in the culture.
Being born and raised in Kerala and a native speaker of Malayalam myself, I wanted to create a product that would encourage cultural curiosity alongside language learning. Kerala is an extremely diverse place - it is home to several religions, festivals, types of food, and art forms; and the terrain ranges from beaches to backwaters to tropical forests and hillsides.
As a designer and illustrator, this project was a unique and fun challenge for me as I was responsible for more than just drawing and design. From market research to writing and planning the content, to the final print production and distribution - I managed every stage of building this product.
The final product - Naatil Evideya - is a set of 40 illustrated English to Malayalam flashcards. The name of the product - Naatil Evideya - is a Malayalam phrase that loosely translates to “Where in the homeland are you from?” It’s a phrase familiar to every Malayali and it’s usually the first thing you ask when you meet another Malayali anywhere in the world.