Manish Arora

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Manish Arora
Born	March 2, 1973 Varanasi Uttar Pradesh India
🏳️ Nationality	Indian
💼 Occupation	Assistant Professor, Dept of Applied Arts, Faculty of Visual Arts, Banaras Hindu University

Dr. Manish Arora is an eminent Indian researcher, academician, a Raman Post-Doctoral Fellow (USA), a multidisciplinary digital and graphic artist and designer, photographer, and artist. He has distinguished himself nationally and internationally in the field of Applied Arts and Visual Communication, going beyond his core fine arts and applied arts experience to graphic design and innovation, using contemporary modern advancements to take his discipline and art to impact diverse disciplines, including science, technology, heath, media, culture.

His work cuts across the frontiers of Applied Arts to transcend to current socioeconomic and cultural issues, spanning countries and disciplines. His portfolio of professional accomplishments varies from the academic, such as curriculum development to digital designing, website development and directing documentaries. His career path shows his evolution from a student of Fine Arts and teacher to an innovative graphic designer, photographer, writer, advertising guru who uses his expertise in diverse disciplines to create a socio-cultural impact. He is a teacher, researcher, designer, an avid photographer, artist and painter and nationalist, passionate about India’s legacy to the world (culturally and historically).

Currently, Dr. Manish Arora is an Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Arts, Faculty of Visual Arts at the Banaras Hindu University, where his teaching delves into the larger aspects of Applied Arts: Graphic Design, Illustration, Integrated Marketing Communication Design, Photography, aspects of Advertising Design and Media. His current focal professional and personal interests include work and research on: Two Dimensional Space Division, Basic Elements of Graphic Communication, Art & Science of Graphic Communication, Innovation in Design, Visual Identity for Educational Institutions, Communication Impact on Society (Public Health), Cultural Communication, Communication versus Typography, Communication versus Photography. As the Coordinator - Design Innovation Centre, Banaras Hindu University, he focuses on the larger facets of Applied Arts including Digital Design, Design and Innovations especially in Humanities, Social Science, Art and Science with Technology, and works in collaboration with other institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Allahabad University, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad.

Early Life

Dr Manish Arora was born on March 2, 1973 to Ramsajeevan and Sunita Arora at Assi in Varanasi district. The eldest among 3 brothers and a sister, he was an enthusiastic child, with an avid interest in sports and creative arts. He completed his high school (grades 11 and 12) from C.M. Anglo Bengali Inter College in Bhelpur, Varanasi. While he was considered to be an average student academically, he stood out for his interest in sports, particularly cricket and football. He was noticed for his vibrant and creative imagination, his innovative, out of the box thinking and community and social work.

Though Dr. Manish studied English, Mathematics, Hindi, Physics and Chemistry at the intermediate level, he was influenced by the work of his father who was a technical assistant in the Department of Applied Arts, Faculty of Visual Arts at the Banaras Hindu University. He found himself drawn to visual and applied arts. As a result, he joined the five year B.F.A program at the Banaras Hindu University in 1989. In 1994 he joined the M.F.A program and received his Master’s degree in 1996. During the course of his undergraduate and post graduate studies, he undertook work related to designing, public relations and event management in Varanasi, carving a niche for himself in the market. He also received multiple assignments in photography, typography illustrations, reporting and documentation in cities beyond Varanasi including Delhi, Lucknow, Agra, Aurangabad, Sirdi, Nasik, Kolapur, Fatehpur Sikari and Mumbai. His continued passion and interest in designing as an art manifested in his enrolment for Ph.D. under Professor Hiralal Prajapati. He received his Ph.D. degree in 2003.

Early Career

The beginning of Dr. Manish Arora's marital life coincided with rapid professional development, career growth and a further development of his skills and talents in the field of Applied Arts and presented him with some unique opportunities and challenges. He worked in diverse fields - photography, marketing, advertising, design, advertisements, films and newspaper journalism. During this time, he also met specialists and experts in these domains which had a significant impact on him, and gave him a certain clarity and focus. In 2003 he started working for a reputed advertising agency in Lucknow. He was posted in Chandigarh as their Branch Manager.

After his stint at the agency, he worked as an independent consultant with the country's largest automobile manufacturers - Maruti Suzuki, Hindustan Motors and TVS. He handled their outdoor marketing campaigns, spread across the northern states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh.

Academic and Professional Milestones

The next professional break took Dr Arora in a different direction - towards academics. He was appointed as an Assistant Professor (Reader) at the Government College of Art, Chandigarh. During his tenure of two and a half years at the prestigious institution, he started the M.F.A program at the college, served as the Chairman of M.F.A Council, founded a modern contemporary Art Lab and revamped the curriculum of the course. Soon after, he joined the University of Kurukshetra as a lecturer. This was followed by his appointment as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Arts, Faculty of Visual Arts at the Banaras Hindu University. Dr. Arora decided to focus his attention on this academic institution and use his learning and expertise to serve the University. He also decided that he would focus on work related to his field and would channelize his learning and skill for innovation and modernisation to turn things around at the university. This eventually also led him on an odyssey of self-motivated and extensive learning as he signed up for courses to enhance his knowledge and skills.

Around this time, he traveled to the United States of America as a visiting scholar for Asian Studies Program and Department of Visual Arts at the University of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA, where he taught two courses on Indian Art and Culture from the perspective of Varanasi. He also took classes on the art of Indian Advertising.

Dr. Manish Arora is credited with some of the major makeovers and progressive changes at the Banaras Hindu University. He conceptualized and submitted the proposal for the Graphic Identity Programme of the Banaras Hindu University. Following design standards, Dr. Arora created a carefully thought out, well-designed graphic identity programme. Because of his vision and work, Banaras Hindu University became the first central university of India with a brand graphic.

Inspired by the success of the Graphic Identity Programme of the B.H.U, he went on to create the Graphic Identity Programme of the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU). He created a new emblem, a bilingual logo type and logo. This involved conceptualizing and creating a colour unique and specific to the institution. Royal purple was chosen as the primary color of the university and maroon as the secondary colour. The bilingual logotype was distinctive and aesthetically created a fine balance in representing the names of IIT (BHU) bilingually, in English and Hindi in the logo, poising the two together.

Dr. Manish Arora applied for the prestigious Raman Post-Doctoral Fellowship, while teaching his courses at the Banaras Hindu University. He was awarded the Raman Post-Doctoral Fellowship (granted by the University Grants Commission to Indian scholars for research in U.S.A) in 2013-14. He visited the Centre for Communication Programme, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA as a Post Doctor Fellow.

(Incidentally, Dr. Arora is the first Indian to be awarded the Raman Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the field of Fine Arts).

During the tenure of the Fellowship, he participated in several academic activities including workshops, lectures, exhibitions, demonstrations and conferences During the same tenure, he attached his assigned work to MICA-Maryland Institute College of Arts. He also participated as a mentor for the GATES Foundation Grant Challenges where his team qualified as one of the top 6 teams for Best Presentation in Innovation.

In 2013-14, Dr. Manish Arora also created the Internal Signage System for the 300-bed Trauma Center, which was set up as a part of the ‘Prime Minister Swasthya Suraksha Yojna’ (PMSSY).

Seminars

In 2012 he organized the successful National Seminar on Modern Trends in Advertising in which 100 research papers were presented.

The following year, in 2013, he organised a National Seminar cum Workshop – KALAKSHAR- Art of Calligraphy, an event attended by over 200 enthusiastic participants from diverse art and culture groups. Rajeev Prakash Khare, the well-known font creator and art director, Shri Mahendra Patel of National Institute of Design, (the only Guttenberg Award (2010) winner from India) and Shri Manohar Desai, the well-known calligrapher and professor from the Symbiosis Institute of Design mentored students, conducted workshops and displayed their works.

In 2015, he organised a National Seminar cum workshop KALAKSHAR - Design Innovation in Language, Art and Technology, which was attended by over 200 students and mentored by renowned calligraphers Shri Achyut Pallav, Mahendra Patel, Manohar Desai, Rajeev Prakash Khare.

In 2017, another National Seminar cum workshop KALAKSHAR -Design Innovation in Terms of Indian Culture with Art, Language and Technology was organised by him. Attended by over 200 participants and mentored by Shri Santosh Kshirsagar, Shri Shubanand Jog, J.J School of Applied Arts, Shri Kabir Tambe, famous calligrapher of Mumbai, this conference proved to be another major hit with students.

From 22nd to 24th March, 2018, he organised Design Picnic - Innovation in Visual Communication. More than 120 participants from different art institutes of India participated in the seminar. The main theme of this event was Visual Communication, Photography & Illustration. It was mentored by Professor D. Uday Kumar (the creator of the Indian Rupee sign), Dept. of Design, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati; Dr. Bhupesh Chandra Little, Dept. of Applied Arts, (Photography), College of Arts and Craft, Faculty of Visual Arts, University of Lucknow; Shri Sanjay Ojha, Alumnus of Faculty of Visual Arts, BHU, an eminent illustrator of India, and now the founder member of the company “Drawing Room” (Gurugram, Haryana); Shri Shital Verma, another distinguished illustrator and Creative Editor (Design) at Nav Bharat Times, New Delhi.

Awards and Recognitions

Dr. Manish Arora was awarded the Raman Post-Doctoral Fellowship for Indian Scholars in USA at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA, 2014, which is a first from India in the field of Fine Arts. He is a recipient of the Banaras Hindu University Research Scholarship in the Department of Applied Arts. He was awarded the first prize in the All India Photography Exhibition “Mother Divine” organised by HT City, Lucknow Camera Club in October 2012. His accolades include a gold medal in poster designing in an art exhibition organised by the Banaras Hindu University, and a Consolation Prize in the all India Poster Competition on “Drugs” organised by the Ministry of Welfare, Govt. of India. As a participant for the Beti Bachao – Beti Parao campaign, he made it to the Guinness World Record in 2016, along with Mr. Jagdish Pillai of Varanasi in October. Dr. Manish Arora is also an honorary and key note speaker. He has spoken on subjects that interest him from Graphic Design to the History of Indian Advertising. He has given a talk on ‘Graphic Design for Health Communication - A Journey of Public Health Communication Design from the City of Light (Varanasi-India) to Charm City (Baltimore-USA)’ at Department of Health Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA in January 2014. He was also invited as an expert in Graphic Design for the ‘Gates Foundation - Record For Life Project 2013’ by MFA Graphic Design Studio, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore MD, USA in October 2013. He has also been invited to address the audience at Better Photography, Bombay and the students at Dhirendra Mahila Vidyalaya. He was a Visiting Scholar for the Asian Studies Program and Department of Visual Arts at University of Buffalo, Buffalo in 2010. He has served as an Honorary Research Associate for major projects at the Banaras Hindu University, and as the Convener for the Committee constituted by Hon’ble Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University, specifically for the branding of the university and its development in the Indian and global education market.

Professional Career

Dr. Manish Arora has been working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Arts, Faculty of Visual Arts, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi since 2007. Prior to that, he taught Commercial Art for a brief period at University College, Kurukshetra University. He also worked as an Assistant Professor in Applied Arts at Government College of Art (Panjab University) Chandigarh from 2004 to 2007. Before his foray into teaching, he headed M/s, Approach Advertising and Exhibitors Pvt. Ltd as the Advertising Branch Head, and as a freelance advertising designer worked for Victor Miles & Smiles Campaign, Fiero, Fiero - II, TVS Motor Co. Ltd.,Maruti Udyog Ltd., IGO TV (a division of Onida TV) with a focus on identity and brand development for designed advertising, promoting products and promotional offers of clients.

Education

Dr. Manish Arora is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Health Communication Design, from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA (2014). He holds a Ph.D. degree in Applied Arts from the Faculty of Visual Arts at Banaras Hindu University. He also holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Fine Arts from Banaras Hindu University, and has taken the N.E.T. in Visual Arts from UGC - University Grants Commission, New Delhi,1998. In addition to these degrees, he has done several academic and professional courses from universities in India and across the world. The courses vary from programs in Liberal Arts, Graphic Design, Film Appreciation to Human Ethics and Morals, Social Innovation and Social Impact.

Projects, Art and Design Works

Dr. Manish Arora has directed and edited a Documentary entitled ‘Jaina Art, Architecture and Iconography at Mt. Samet Shikhar’ (November, 2016). He has also developed and created the website of Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav, a heritage and cultural celebration, which was held in Varanasi in 2016 from 17th to 24th December at Banaras Hindu University, organised by the Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India. He created and developed the advertising campaign (print and electronic) for this cultural Mahotsav including newspapers advertisements, publicity campaigns (internal and external), radio jingles. He was behind the advertising campaign and exhibitions in 2015 that commemorated the 150th Birth Anniversary Celebration of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, the Founder of the Banaras Hindu University. His proposal led to the establishment of a Design Studio and a Unique Souvenir Shop for the promotion of Brand BHU. He played a vital role as the Coordinator in the establishment of Graphic and Digital Media Lab, Digital Innovation Gallery, Innovation Park (Prototype display) at BHU. He presented the idea of a graphic identity for Banaras Hindu University, and completed this unique project in 2013, which led to BHU becoming the first central university of India with a brand graphic. He was also a part of the mega project of the global branding of Heritage Institute of Medical Sciences – HIMS in 2014 and 2015, the largest private Multidisciplinary Hospital and Medical Educational Institution in Eastern UP, Varanasi.

International and National Art Exhibitions

Dr. Manish Arora has carved a niche for himself in the world of art and graphic design. He has showcased his work in portfolio based solo art exhibitions both in India and abroad. His works in Photography, titled 'Festival of Saints', and 'Moving Culture', and his work in Graphic Design, Identity have been displayed at the Center for Communication Programme, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA in 2014. In April 2010 he presented 'Search', a collection of 12 of his select paintings (oil paint on paper) at Center for the Arts, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY. USA. In India, his diverse body of work: 'Moving Focus', 'Namah', 'Cultural Harmony' 'Transparency of Kabir' were displayed at his solo Photography exhibition at the Faculty of Visual Arts, BHU through 2011 and 2012. 'Dark Space’ was displayed at Nagari Natak Mandali, Varanasi in September 2011. He has presented 25 of his art works - Drawing with Pen & Ink - at the Exhibition of 'Drawing Films’ at the Film & Television Institute of India, Pune, in June, 2009. He has also participated in the International Photography Competition - 'Ray of Hope’ organised by D. S. Research Centre, in Varanasi in February, 2015; the 4th JPS International Saloon of Photography by Jodhana Photography Society, Jodhpur, Rajsthan; International Photography Exhibition ‘Subeh - e - Banaras’ by Regional Art and Craft Centre, Govt. of UP, Varanasi; Advertising Designs ‘India Bazar' of Class ART 447 at Department of Visual Studies, University of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA in April, 2010. In addition to this, he has participated in several other national art exhibitions and competitions. To mention a few: 'Paints for Ganga’ on World River Day by Camlin Kokuyo at Assi Ghat October, 2015; 5th All India Art, Digital Art Exhibition by AIFACS, New Delhi, February 2015; National Art Exhibition ‘Pawan Bhoomi Ka Aakashiya Sansthapan’ by Lalit Kala Academy and Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India, December, 2014 at Ahivashi Art Gallery, Faculty of Visual Arts, BHU, Varanasi, UP, India; 2 Posters - Maa and Beti Bachaon, Beti Paron’ at 32nd UP State Lalit Kala Akademi Annual Art Exhibition, Lucknow, UP; 11th Northern Region Art Exhibition by Camlin’ at the Art Gallery, UP State Lalit Kala Academy, Lucknow, UP, in the Painting Category; 29th Annual Art Exhibition’ by UP State Lalit Kala Academy, Lucknow, 2010 in Drawing category; All India Art Exhibition 2010 by CHIKITUSI, UP, Lalit Kala Akademi in January, Category - Medium Oil Paint on paper; a Photography Competition on ‘International Bio Diversity Day 22nd, May 2009’ organised by the UP State Bio Diversity Board, Lucknow; 75th All India Art Exhibition’ by Fine Arts & Crafts Society, Amritsar in May – June, 2009, (Medium Oil Paint on paper and Medium Pencil in Drawing Category); Swacha Ganga on the Spot Cartoon/ Photography Contest’ organized by Sankat Mochan Foundation, Varanasi in April, 1993; 'Nasha Virodhi’ (Anti-Drug) Poster Art Exhibition/ Competition organized by Varanasi, Junior Chamber. He has participated in competitions for designs and logos as well. His participation includes his submissions in the Logo Competition on ‘Swachh Bharat’ by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation Govt. of India, September 2014; the Logo, Banner and Slogan competition for ‘National Digital Literacy Mission’ by Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Govt. of India, September, 2014; the Logo Competition on ‘Digital India’ by Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Govt. of India, September, 2014; E-Greetings competition ‘Independence Day’ by Govt. of India, August, 2014.

References

www.bhu.ac.in/visualarts/applied_art/

scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=CHTZQCEAAAAJ&hl=en

banaras.academia.edu/ManishArora

art.buffalo.edu/blog/tag/manish-arora/

www.dsource.in/resource/typography-day-papers-2015/national-speakers

https://www.nyoooz.com/.../varanasi/.../national-workshop-on-design-innovation-in-c...

https://umconference.um.edu.my/ICPVA2018=0307fec2cef6aec340b8426490977ef0

External Links

https:www.manisharora.in

https://in.linkedin.com/in/manish-arora-7b112326

https://www.behance.net/manisharora

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