Gudgudee is an international award winning design firm started by two NID graduates that envisions to transform public spaces through design. They design and build out-of-the-box playspaces for children and outdoor furniture for modern urban spaces.
Inspite of modern materials and new technologies nothing has changed in public spaces in India, they look and feel exactly the same as they did decades ago. Public spaces like parks, gardens, bus stops, squares etc lack imagination and are not designed keeping in mind the needs of children, elderly and differently abled children. There is currently a need for innovative, inclusive design solutions that improve the quality of public spaces.
Gudgudee currently has two main offerings; playspaces for children and outdoor furniture.
With play spaces, they go beyond the conventional swing and slides to create installations which integrate sensory elements to make it fun for children. Since the play spaces Gudgudee designs are sensory in nature, they allow children of all abilities to play together. Their outdoor furniture range is called ‘Oblique’. At Oblique they design everything from seating, bollards, lighting, planters and outdoor installations for public spaces. Apart from a catalogue of outdoor furniture that customers can choose from, they also collaborate with architects and landscape designers to create custom made designs based on the need of the project.
About the FoundersGudgudee was founded by Anjali Menon and Aditi Agrawal, both industrial design graduates from the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad. They dream of transforming urban spaces through design. After graduating from NID, Anjali has worked with design studios in Mumbai and Bangalore where she handled several large and small industrial design projects. She has an eye for detail and knack for working with different materials and processes. Aditi was a part of the Young India Fellowship(YIF), which has given her an understanding of connecting design with society. She has also been awarded with the Ford Foundation grant, Park elle decor award and Bosch India Changers Award.
Inspiration & StoryBeing students of National Institute of Design, the duo — Anjali and Aditi, got to visit special schools for research, under the course — ‘Design for Special Needs’. During their research they encountered that the available play equipment in the market lacks imagination and restricts special children from using them. Play being such an integral part of a child's growth, they realised the need to develop inclusive sensory play experiences where children of all abilities can play, learn and grow together. During their time at NID they did extensive research on the subject; interacted with child specialists, teachers, spent time with the children and built a play area within the premises of Blind People’s Association (BPA), Ahmedabad. This was their pilot project which was very well received. Kilkariya, the playspace they built at BPA was awarded the iF Concept Design Award 2013 by International Forum, Germany. After graduating from NID, this idea evolved and they realised that there is a need for innovative inclusive solutions for public spaces. Exploring other aspects of urban space design like outdoor furniture, planning & landscaping was a natural transition. They set up their own design studio in August 2014 to pursue this dream further.
USPUser Centric Design is the main USP that Gudgudee has to offer. Be it playspaces or street furniture, they are all born out of research on behaviours, needs and requirements of users and the context. Gudgudee provides turn-key solutions; They not only design but also help build. Turn-key solutions help customers realise the design in the best possible manner.
Market Size, Revenue Generation, Early TractionGudgudee partners with architectural firms who are the major influencers and collaborators for projects with schools, institutions, real estate and local government bodies. The available market is large, with smart cities being planned, there is an increasing emphasis on the need for good quality public spaces.
Within two years of its inception Gudgudee has done projects across India with clients like Jai Vakeel School (Mumbai), Northstar School (Rajkot), Ashoka University (Sonepat), Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre (Lucknow), Aamby Valley (Pune) and Avinash Builders (Raipur). They are also a part of the
Global Play Allaince; a community of playground builders across the world.
Gudgudee is also a part of AIM smart cities accelerator working sponsored by Microsoft Ventures, Ashoka University, ISB Hyderabad, Dalmia Group and Holostik.
