Talk of contemporary Indian design, and the Foley brothers, Michael and Neil, are bound to come up fairly soon. The youthful brothers are looked upon today as two of the brightest stars in the Indian design firmament. In the comparatively nascent field of industrial and product design in India, Neil and Michael stand out ? and this is thanks not only to the numerous awards they have won but also the mass acceptance of the work they’ve done for Titan industries.

Both the brothers are associated with the Titan Design Studio, of which Michael is the head. He was adjudged Designer of the Year at the NID-BusinessWorld Design Excellence Awards, 2004, while the Titan Edge watch, the ‘slimmest watch in the universe’ designed by him, was named the best accessory in the lifestyle category. At the same awards ceremony, Neil Foley won the award for best lighting design.

While Michael recently collaborated with Swiss watch designer Laurent Rufenacht on Titan’s high-end watch brand, Xylys, Neil’s latest achievements have been winning the Red Dot International Product Design competition, Germany, in 2005 and the Opus award at the international eyewear design competition in Japan last year. On the home front, his designs for the Titan FasTrack range of sunglasses have been a huge hit as well.

Both Neil and Michael have also struck out on their own with individual design studios. Neil is also helped by his wife Pallavi Dudeja Foley, who also works with the Titan and Tanishq design studios.

Michael:

We belong to a family of four brothers. Our Dad was an Army officer, and later, a Member of Parliament. We used to travel together a lot as a family because of his job, and we have always been quite a close-knit family, though we are not overtly demonstrative or sentimental people.

From the time we were kids, both Neil and I had a number of common interests ? and most of these were in the field of the arts or design, though we loved playing together as well. Both Neil and I sketched and painted, we built a lot of models and even took things apart. That is where the common love for design sprung from, I should think.

After passing out from the National Institute of Design, I came to Bangalore and joined the Titan Design Studio in the mid-90s. Neil joined me a couple of years later and we stayed together for around three years, going through all the craziness of bachelor life. Moving house every six months, bundling up all our stuff in an auto-rickshaw while shifting ? we did it all. It was one of the most fun times of our lives. We kept an open house ? friends and co-workers would walk in any time of the day or night, people would come to stay for a few days while on a project and stay back for six months. It was really crazy, but fun.

Working together has been quite a good experience for us. We understand each other’s space and respect our differences. I don’t like stifling anyone’s creativity in a collaborative association. We have worked on several projects jointly without conflict. It’s also a lot to do with how much one accepts and builds upon.

What I really like and respect in Neil is his quiet dedication. He doesn’t like to show what he’s achieved. But I wish he would talk more and let people know what he's capable of. I would love to see him chat more than he does today! I also wish we were not so caught up in our work, and could get together more often.

Neil:

As individuals, both Michael and I are completely passionate about our work. And I don’t think there is any area of conflict there, though both of us are in the same field. I think if, as individuals, two people are good in their own ways and confident about their own selves, there should not be any problem. In our work, Michael and I have reached the point where we don’t have to keep tabs on what the other is doing even if we’re collaborating on a project. Each of us understands the other’s creative inputs perfectly. So, even if we work on something and don’t discuss it while working on it, the end product ends up fitting together quite well.

And although we both also have our own studios and do independent work, there’s no cutthroat competitiveness. India is just waking up to product design, and there’s plenty of work to go around. Sometimes, we collaborate even on our independent projects ? it works out well because both of us are well aware of our respective strengths. There is a certain synergy of ideas that comes through in our work.

We both grew up in the same family and environment, and that has shaped our creativity to a large extent. We are quite close to our parents, and see each other more often socially when they are in Bangalore. We have quite a few common interests ? when we were staying together, there was a phase when we were into playing pool. There was a pool parlour in M G Road that used to be a favourite hang-out. We’re also movie buffs, and used to rent movies and watch them at home quite often. These days, it seems to be just work and more work. Still, we try to catch up every once in a while, go watch a film. We also share a love for adventure sports, and went bungee jumping in Bangalore recently. Someday, maybe, we’ll also travel together to the adventure sports hotspots of the world!

I really admire Michael’s social skills. He’s very soft-spoken and has a real way with people ? the way he interacts with them is something I always try to learn from. What would I change about him? I would really like him to get married and ‘settle down’.

Photograph by Asif Saud