In her 20-year career, multi-talented Kanika Bawa—three-time Limca Book World Record holder, Creative Genius Award winner for four straight years starting in 2013, and clientele that includes Bollywood celebrities and businessmen—has used her skills to conceptualise and design spaces as varied as residential, industrial, exhibitions, retail, hospitality, and commercial. Because, in Kanika’s words, “The universe is not black, white, or grey exclusively,” she skillfully combines vibrant hues with delicate patterns to give an air of depth. Bold, emotional, and creative designs are the end product. Kanika is comfortable with all genres, whether they are Eclectic, Pop Art, Contemporary, Intimate, or Giantesque.
Her distinctive style blends sophistication and passionate spontaneity, contrasting the raw with the sophisticated. Since 2013, she has brought her love of art into the public eye by performing Product installations in a variety of locations, garnering spectacular outcomes and fervent acclaim. (ART-I-TECTURE).
Kanika is currently creating the sets for the CEO Boardroom show and the CNBC TV 18 Celebrity show. For her unique interior set designs, she has received a lot of fame from Bollywood celebrities, like Deepika Padukone, A. R. Rahman, Piyush Pandey, Tapsee Pannu, Sonam Kapoor, Shradha Kapoor, and Ayushmann Khurana, to name a few. She participated in Season 1 and is now watching Season 2 on television. For Kiska Brand Bajega on CNBC TV 18, she serves as both the creative director and the art director.
She also participates on numerous Advisory panels and leads design training seminars for businesses. She created, studied, and supervised INDIA’S FIRST COURSE IN COLOR + FURNISHING in 2001.
At the esteemed B.D.Somani school of Art & Fashion technology, Kanika created India’s first and only premium programme in home furniture design on her own in 2001. She not only designed and developed the course, but she also successfully led the department for five years. Since that time, she has continued to be an active educator, lending her knowledge and support to the developing area of interior design and architecture.
Since 2015, Kanika has served as THE AMERICAN CHARITY COLOUR CARES’ EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IN INDIA. She also participates in CSR initiatives for women that use crafts and designs from India. She just co-founded LAUKI LIGHTS N HOME ACCESSORIES with the Bastar indigenous people.
She is also a founding member of WE CELL, a chamber for women entrepreneurs, as well as a participant in INTACH, ADI, IIID, and SDC.
She now holds 3 World Records (INDIA’S INCREDIBLES) for creating giant-size art furniture installations which give a unique perspective on Indian crafts, design and art. These include the largest ecological cushion in the world, the largest Kolhapuri Chappals in the world, and the largest setable art chair in the world. These installations were part of the Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ initiative and one of them was personally unveiled by Union Textile Minister Mrs. Smriti Irani at the Messe Frankfurt show in New Delhi.
In Conversation with Society Interiors and Design Kanika Bawa shares her unique style and future vision:
What is the most unique thing about my portfolio?
At Kanika Bawa Design, we design + construct in MORE THAN 15 VERTICALS OF DESIGN, including product, set, furnishing, colour, wedding set, interior, exhibition, art installations, window display, sustainable materials for interiors, and more. The portfolio has a broad bandwidth and is quite diverse. a huge blank canvas for imaginative inquiry and imagination.
What is the future vision for your firm?
GREEN + SUSTAINABLE DESIGN – Green consciousness in design will be a big responsibility in the years to come. Providing Design + Build with an Organic approach would improve the quality of our living places. Reclaimed wood, stone flooring, rough-hewn beams, and distressed walls can be incorporated into interior design to create a very tactile environment. Second, the revival of Indian arts and crafts will unquestionably be a priority for our projects. A jugalbandi with technologically advanced design elements will be fascinating to compare. Thirdly, the use of waste in design will be at the top of our list of priorities going forward.
