In Mumbai, where nearly 90,000 taxis roam the streets–mostly old, square-ish, yellow-and-black Fiats–drivers often go to great artistic lengths to make their cabs stand out. Brightly colored graphics, hand-cut from reflective adhesive material, liven up taxis’ exteriors throughout the city, reports Creative Review, in the form of “favorite gods, elaborate geometric patterns, portraits of film stars, and the logos of luxury brands.” The hip graphic-design magazine recently interviewed two of Mumbai’s most accomplished taxi artists, the father-and-son team of Manohar and Samir Manohar Mistry.
Samir: The taxi art form is different. It’s natural, like freehand drawing. You take a piece of sticker and you can cut whatever shapes from it you like. It’s a spontaneous art. There is no set
way to do it. The cutting depends on the skill of your hand and how you use your mind.
The men also worked with Mumbai design studio Grandmother India to create an elaborate type-covered taxi for Creative Review‘stypography issue (that’s the taxi pictured above and on their cover; check out a bunch more amazing photos here).
Source: Creative Review
Image by Aashim Tyagi, courtesy of Creative Review.
