Do the doodledo doodle

Making the leap from the back of the notebook to cushion covers, coasters, mugs and T-shirts, doodling has come into its own as a legitimate, unique and highly customisable form of design art.

Doodling, generally considered the in-between stage before an idea became an illustration, has come into its own in the city over the past year, with young artists offering a growing range of customisable products, and yuppies snapping them up.

The-Postcard-People-will-doodle-yours-or-your-loved-one-s-face-on-a-postcard-as-a-souvenir-or-gift

Medical intern Babita Mahajan, 25, for instance, has bought three notebooks, a set of coasters and a laptop cover, all with doodles on them, over the past year. “I love the handmade look,” she says. “It gives every belonging that extra something that reflects your personality and likes. And they are great conversation-starters.”

As the art form catches on, design fans like Mahajan have a growing range of options to choose from. Seven artists have joined city-based, art collective Visual Disobedience this year with doodling as a specialisation, four new designers have started selling doodled products on The Soled Store, a graphic design e-store. And nine new Facebook and Instagram accounts by budding doodlers have been launched in Mumbai over the past year.

Among these is What’s In A Name? by Apurva Choudhari, 25, a former lawyer. “I spent much of law school doodling in the margins, at the back of my class,” she says, laughing. “After a year as a lawyer, I gave it up.”

Chachi Choudhari, as she is known online, now sells customisable posters, prints and sketches of her doodles via Facebook and Instagram.

“What I like about doodling is how personal it is,” she says. “You don’t need any colour; you don’t even need a specific medium. It can exist on its own, or on any flat surface.”