CEO Insights Magazine

Introducing extraordinary glamour to buildings, its façade, indoor, and its peripheries; interior designing is now envisioned as a comforting necessity rather than a luxury statement. Trans forming people’s imaginations and aspirations into a breath taking reality by molding innovative concepts with contemporary tools of designing, FYI Design Studios has emerged as one of the elite and phenomenal brands of the interior designing industry. From modest 2000 sq.ft condominiums to sprawling office floor plates and bungalows, FYI Design Studios proudly boasts a diverse and extensive portfolio spearheaded by Vijay Karthik Menon and Sammyukta Karthik Menon. A corporation with professionalism as the key and transparency, fidelity and satisfaction as its backbone, FYI Design studios is blossoming to make its impression on a global podium under the guidance of Vijay and Sammyukta.

Engaging in an exclusive interaction with the CEO Insights team, Vijay Karthik Menon & Sammyukta Karthik Menon shed light on their voyage of becoming prominent industry stalwarts of the Interior Design domain.

Tell us about your educational and professional background prior to FYI Design Studios. How has your expertise helped in molding the company’s operation?
Vijay:Being self taught & having no formal education in design, I have learned everything about my profession from committed ground zero working in various projects. An engineering background has certainly sharpened my expertise by enabling me to take a sturdy technical approach towards design. To me, Design is not like any other art. It is the confluence of both an impulse of creative intuition that conceives in the heart resulting in its beauty as well as a logical calculative approach from the mind which renders its usability. Not being a qualified designer has proven to be quite advantageous for me as I have understood design from more practical mentoring than that of an academic standpoint.

Discovering that executability is the underlying aspect of every design, the inherent features of the material, the joinery/engineering, the blend with adjoining components, the environmental impact and most importantly the budget became the key focus. Considering the aforementioned parameters and with all of our designs conceptualized inhouse, we soon ventured into larger projects and developed a more consolidated working style. I was a freelancer working out of my car and coffee shops for the first few years of my career before establishing FYI Design Studios in 2010.

Sammyukta: Similar to Vijay’s situation, I got my design call pretty early in life. I have been exposed to a lot of different styles of designs during my overseas travels which gave me a very strong edge in terms of understanding various unique aspects and styles of designing. Traveling across the world has helped me tremendously to understand multicultural facets of design and how it can be implemented ingeniously across various platforms.

What were the initial challenges that you faced during the establishment of FYI Design that taught the basic lessons of leadership?
Vijay: The key challenge, which most first generation entrepreneurs face is capital. Being completely bootstrapped and being dependent on the profits from projects to keep the boat afloat, creating a second line of leadership by dishing out the high-level salaries was a tough call right from the beginning.

Though our struggle to bag propitious projects was inevitable, onboarding the qualified architects & designers into our talent pool was something I found to be quite difficult considering my academic shortcoming. Eventually, this was sorted as we started building a massive project portfolio.

We today can confidently join the dots looking backward on the difficult times and the learning that came with it to project forward to be able to lead with more confidence and wisdom.

Sammyukta: Not having professional education in design, I used to communicate my designs to various vendors through hand sketches and verbal instructions rather than conventional technical representa tions. Eventually, I realized the glitch and now through years’ of learning and exposure, I provide extensively detailed high precision architectural drawings for our projects. I am glad to say that now I have got a very strong hold of it and can deliver drawings of international standards to my clients.

The various people who have been part of our journey, the tough interactions, the painful learnings all contributed to the solidarity of my foundation and humbled me over the years. This facilitated my journey into leadership.

What different roles and responsibili ties you both have been undertaking in FYI Design?
Vijay: As the creative head of the organization, I set out the expectations of the intended output of the projects along with certain new design development. The design team then takes it over from that point to the conclusion. From a blanket perspective, I take care of the overall corporate governance of the company which includes all the facets right from the design to execution, financial, marketing, and more. I ensure everything within the organization is well oiled, functioning and moving forward without any anomalies.

Sammyukta: I have a pragmatic approach towards the depth of the design. I run the operational portion of the company which includes the delivering of hyperspatial drawings and understanding a lot of details at the deep levels. I also take care of the color coordination and texture of the design to provide a space inspiring in all respects. I also ensure the documentation of the projects to a level wherein an executor will understand the vision, intent & language of entire design seamlessly.

How has been your journey so far? What has been your most unique experience till now that gave you utmost satisfaction?
Vijay: We have been growing exponentially ever since our incep

tion. Currently, we are associated with some eminent Real Estate Groups, resulting in continuous repeat business. In September 2018, we were invited to partake in an invitees only design preview fair in Milan as a part of the delegation from India. We were amongst the 20 participants who were a part of an all expense paid delegation from India. This was the greatest eye opening for me as to how the global design industry works.

What will be your advice for the budding leaders across this sector?
Vijay:India is gradually becoming a premium hub for budding leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs across the interior designing domain. To succeed in this industry, the newage leaders should have a keen eye for various aspects of innovation and corporate governance, along with an undoubtedly undying pursuit for cutting edge designs.

Sammyukta Karthik Menon, Co-Founder

How do you keep up-to-date with changes in Business trends so that you could always steer your organization towards the zenith?
Sammyukta:We constantly remain up-to-date through the modes of traveling. We are mostly present in all the top-notch fairs in the world. We have maintained constant touch with top design houses of Europe and South east asia. We regularly keep ourselves abreast with them, simul taneously working on our levels of innovation.

Vijay: With the big entities planning to venture into the interior design market in the next decade or so, innovation and scalability are going to be the key aspects that are going to keep one afloat. We also need to consider the fact that our industry is responsible for a huge quantum of deforestation to this planet. So, understanding the ecological impacts of our industry and moving forward towards a sustainable as well as an innova tive line of products is going to be the future of this industry. And people who understand this and realize the fact that we need to start working with nature rather than against it are going to find themselves in long term solidarity in the industry.

Vijay Karthik Menon, Co-Founder, FYI Design Studios
Equipped with exceptionally advanced skills across the interior designing domain, Vijay Karthik is lauded as a world class Interior and Furniture designer with a keen eye for finishing & detail. Based on his industry experience, Vijay established his dream venture FYI Design Studios in 2010. He was joined later in 2017 by his wife Sammyukta who became the COO of FYI Design Studios. Having the privilege of designing luxury homes & spaces for some of the best families and brands in the country, Vijay Karthik delivers prolific results coupled with cutting edge engineering with the help of his team to bring a design to life.

Sammyukta Karthik Menon, Co-Founder, FYI Design Studios
An explorer at heart, Sammyukta is a hodophile with a keen eye for design and a flair for colours. Starting her career in designing with her Fathers Villa in Whitefield Bangalore, Sammyukta was encouraged by her family and close friends to pursue a career in Interior Design. With vast experience working as a freelancer, she joined her husband FYI Design Studios in 2017 to head a key position.