Making Of The Spotlight Girl

Hey guys! How are you all doing? Sorry, I was away for the past week- As a result, I wasn’t able to update my blog. But I am back, and stay tuned for regular insights on fashion, lifestyle and films with full on Bollywood Tadka! Before we proceed, I want to thank each and everyone of you for making this blog so popular. Over 60,000 visitors in 5 months is very impressive (in my opinion) and 83% of you have voted a “yes” for a Spotlight Facebook Page. So a big big thank you J   Working on it ..

Just a few updates: Spotlight won the Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani Jabong.com Bloggers Contest. Yay!!! Heartfelt thanks to Jabong.com !

Ok by now you must have seen the spanking new spotlight ambassador on the left side of the blog. Now the time has come where I officially introduce the Face of Spotlight to you. I wanted a Spotlight Girl who is fashionable, curious, filmy and always on the go. (Psst.. pretty much like me, yes?)

To be honest I had no idea where to start and badly needed assistance to design my icon. And as fate would have it, I chanced upon some brilliant illustrations done by two lovely sisters – HJ Chen & Lee Chen. They run a graphic design company called “Aleph Tav” and amazed by their creative work, I asked if they would be keen to help me out with The Spotlight Girl. And they graciously agreed.

After that, we began our exchange of emails and photo-style references. HJ initially asked me for some of my own pictures as she wanted my anime to be similar to my looks and personality in real life. As much as I loved the idea, I did not want any comparisons to be drawn between the “real” me and my icon (cos obviously The Spotlight Girl is more funky, naughtier, unapologetic and fearless). Nonetheless, there is quite a bit of resemblance (psst..notice the mole on her left chin?) and a good balance between my personality and love for films, fashion and entertainment while keeping it funky and stylish.

So we began the first few drafts of how The Spotlight Girl should look like – should she have a college girl appeal or should she don an Indian outfit? We did experiment a bit ….

And then I started putting together some things I love.

References:

1) At the moment, I am really into quirky colours and prints. What caught my eye recently was designer Masaba Gupta’s collection at the Lakhme Fashion Week. Her outfits have a splash of dynamic and bright colours with very interesting prints. What appealed to me most was this particular camera printed pink dress. We did alter it  a bit though to a toga top but the basic inspiration was from the dress.

2) I am a dancer and anklets (ghunghroo) had to be the best representation of this. I know it’s a little odd to be wearing anklets over black heels but The Spotlight Girl has to make it work!! I actually wanted a fusion of western and Indian. Thus, these pair of anklets went into my bucket list.

3) Now I wanted the con to be holding onto a camera because she puts what she desires under the spotlight. As you can see my blog background is filled with magazine covers. Photography, fashion, paparazzi are things that contribute to the excitement level of Spotlight. HJ suggested a vintage camera would be ideal and I felt it was a fabulous way to retain an old world charm.

4) Lastly the gold belt, skinny jeans, gold chain, cuffs and the ring came into the picture after much experimentation. And I am loving it.

5) In terms of her look, I wanted her to look “Bollywood” : big eyes, pouty lips, big hair and glammed up!

Put all of these together and I got exactly what I wanted ! Tadaa ….

Say Hello to The Spotlight Girl !

© Copyright Spotlight 2013  All Rights Reserved

Honestly, I can’t thank HJ & Lee enough for this. They have been so patient and willing to accommodate at every point. They are simply fabulous! For those who are keen and want to engage their services, here is a bit about their company – Aleph Tav. Aleph Tav Enterprise is a company based in Sarawak (Borneo), Malaysia. Founded by two sisters, HJ Chen & Lee Chen. They started out as a graphic designer & photographer respectively and later decided to pursue their dream by forming Aleph Tav in 2012. The main business of the company comprises of producing handmade products in the form of personal caricatures. Both HJ & Lee believe everyone is unique with individual beauty & strength. This was the key that inspired the concepts of their artworks. Besides handmade products, they have a special series of digital caricature available for overseas customers. Please visit their online stores and Facebook page for more details:

Aleph Tav Art Facebook Page

AlephTavgiftshop Online Store

Aleph Tav Blog

Aleph Tav also helped me to design my new Spotlight logo.  I love it !

© Copyright Spotlight 2013  All Rights Reserved

So there you go guys – do expect a lot more renovations on the blog in the coming few months ahead.
As of now I am very excited and I hope all of you love the look of The Spotlight Girl !!

Thank you HJ & Lee !!