"But if you want to be a true professional, you will do something outside yourself… something that makes life a little better for people less fortunate than you.”
-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

I was commissioned by IDEO, A San Francisco-based design firm to document their research in India for a social-impact project for one of their clients about why and how people give and receive help through donations, volunteering, or knowledge-sharing in different cultures across the world. Their research seeks to understand what motivates people to give. The social & economic landscape around us has rapidly changed in 2020, and people have found new ways to connect, reach out, and be receptive. One of IDEO's key findings is that people help because they seek belonging. People help because of engrained moral responsibility, which is often shaped by religion – the most powerful teachers of doing good. Religious and cultural embodiments are reminders of people’s moral responsibilities of giving. 

One of the important aspects of documenting people, and especially environmental narratives which have an impact on a global level, is portraying subjects with respect and dignity, without stereotyping. In a country like India, and a city like Bangalore with diverse demography, social and religious ethnicities, it is important for me to come into these assignments with as much compassion and respect as possible and be aware of how my images depict people and places. 

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From designing the first manufacturable mouse for Apple to advancing the practice of human-centered design, IDEO has long been at the forefront of creating change through design. As a photographer working with impact-driven brands, IDEO's core value of creating solutions for people first is what resonates deeply with me. I have extended its ethos of empowering communities, cities, and people they create for into the photostory through inclusivity, research, and collaboration.