STEEL GOES INDIGENOUS THE INDIAN GREEN INNOVATION DESIGNYATRA

News and views NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN VOL.XXVI SEPT & DEC 2007 Rs. 50.00

vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 contents

01 FIRST WORD: INDIAN Design on the move By: Dr Darlie O Koshy 04 news: inside out Indian Design on the Move 47th foundation day + fiat award + chitrakatha ‘07 + icsid + nid films

10 news: outside in corporatising fashion + robots & ipods + printer hazards + steel goes green + computer coffee table + diabetes + nanotechnology + It is well said that design though as old as the civilization is a rather recent pro- garment that treats fession. In India, design has been part of our civilizational heritage as reflected through the crafts, artifacts and performing arts across the country. 13 you opine Design intervention for dvt By: Dr Subir Das ven the first Professional Training in Design said to have started in Kolkata was mainly for Crafts. The commencement of Professional Education in Design can 18 cover story be traced to the defining India Report of 1958 which was initiated by Ms Pupul the world challenge for designers Jayakar, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and Gautam and Gira Sarabhai in a rare coming By: Helmut Langer E together of true visionaries ahead of time. The then Industries Minister who had a look at the India Report is said to have advised for a higher outlay than what was proposed! The 24 design views India Report completes 50 years in 2008 and in a sense Indian Design is completing its Design: A celebration of life Golden Jubilee in 2008. By: Shimul Mehta Vyas Owing to the prevalent protected economy, Indian Design did not receive the kind of attention and patronage as in the case of Science and Technology and Management in 30 exploring indigenous innovations the country. Despite setting up of NID in early years of Post-Independent India in 1961 By: Shashank Mehta & Ravi Mokashi Punekar which was a bold step indeed, Design did not receive sufficient state patronage or industry support during most of the past 50 years. Design languished as license raj, ‘import substitu- 36 designing the past tion’ and Hindu rate of economic growth dominated the Indian economy. Original designs By: Bernard Hoffret or investments in R & D had been abysmally low. Though there has been commendable contributions to revive the dying crafts and struggling handlooms through passionate design 41 identity with dignity by design interventions by NID and other institutions like Weavers’ Service Centres and even help to By: Hasmukh Shah SMEs from NID and IDC in Mumbai and substantial contributions in graphic and com- munication design through the years, Indian Design did not experience any major resur- 44 the indian designyatra gence as it happened in the case of Japan in the Post Second World War period and in Korea By: David Kester in the mid 80s. The 1979 ICSID-UNIDO call for Development through Design at the NID conference was the most significant step in the whole period. 45 cultural revolution in design By: Andrea Pininfarina The economic liberalization process which picked up momentum in the mid 90s, the popularity of easily understood Fashion and Accessory Design along with a nascent fashion 46 concludingly wave in the country, expanding middle class through higher discretionary incomes and organized retail: a tale retold IT and Service Sectors creating high paid employment opportunities for the youth in the By: Mihir Bholey vol xxvi sept & dec 2007 country etc and the other socio-economic changes helped Design to acquire more visibility and increasing acceptance as a tool mainly for Competitive Advantage. The WTO frame-

   STEEL GOES INDIGENOUS THE INDIAN work which encouraged a stronger IPR regime also helped the process. With its slow but GREEN INNOVATION DESIGNYATRA sure entry Fashion Design began capturing the imagination of the campuses and households

News and views NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN VOL.XXVI SEPT & DEC 2007 through fashion shows beamed across the country through the electronic media. With the Rs. 50.00 EDITORIAL COMMITTEE DESIGN & PRODUCTION TEAM published by: success of Fashion Weeks, there has been a great wave of interest in fashion design in the Dr Darlie O Koshy | managing editor Tarun Deep Girdher | designer National Institue of Design country which gave rise to stars among fashion designers. However, the other breeds of de- Mihir Bholey | chief editor Dr Tridha Gajjar | designer Paldi, Ahmedabad 380 007, India signers namely, Furniture & Interior Designers, Product Designers, Animation Film Design- Shilpa Das | member Dev Kabir Malik | consulting designer Phone: (079) 2662 3692 ers, Film & Video Communication Designers, Graphic Designers, Information & Interface Dr Vinod Vidwans | member Dr Deepak J Mathew | photo editor Fax: (079) 2662 1167 Designers have not been recognized by the industry or the public yet. Dr Bibhudutta Baral | member (pg campus) Shirish Shah | production E-mail: [email protected] Dr S Ghosal | member (r&d campus) Bharat Suthar | digital imaging www.nid.edu Dipak Patel | layout design At the turn of the cen- which design fraternity responded with more positive energy than usual. These major steps tury, a major transformational and advocacy of Indian Design, by having a place on the ICSID board in 2001-2003 and agenda was launched at the 2005-07 helped the cause of Indian Design. The value of these far reaching steps and vision- National Institute of Design ary initiatives would only be realized in retrospect few years from now. which itself has been caught After the stakeholders meetings initiated by DIPP-CII-NID, I could formulate the Draft in a lacksaidical phase for a National Design Policy which went through many discussions and revisions at the Ministry. long time to make the institute contemporary through upgradation of its infrastructure, These steps helped in raising the industry opinion in favour of design especially through the educational programmes and national and international reach. As part of such an initia- CII’s First Taskforce on Design, which I had the good fortune to Chair during 2005. All tive and to strengthen the relationship of design with industry and to place design sharply these efforts culminated in the National Design Policy being steered by Shri Kamalnathji in on the corporate agenda, the National Institute of Design and Confederation of Indian the Cabinet to be approved on 8th February 2007. As a result, the entire Design Community Industry collaborated for the first time in 2001 to launch the CII-NID Design Summit as got energized and the designers held group meetings to draw up action plans for Chartered a co-branded Conference. It was a very humble event, modest in proportion but succeeding Society of Designers, India Design Council and Design Education. International interest in right at the beginning to revive the agenda of a National Design Policy for the country and Design in general was visible at Davos in 2006 and 2007 and India became a flavour of the in setting a Blue Print for Indian Design in motion. In the second year, the Design Sum- investing community through the brilliant “Incredible India” campaign. mit grew larger but it was in 2003 when held in Delhi in collaboration with International Meanwhile, the Institutions have been gearing up as it has happened in the case of NID Council for Societies of Industrial Designers, (ICSID) that Design hit the front page of with two more campuses being set up during 10th FYP and more campuses planned during ‘Times of India, New Delhi’ for the first time. With the presence of a huge group of Inter- the 11th FYP while moving to become a University as part of the New National Design Policy. national luminaries in that 3rd edition of CII-NID Design Summit, design really started turning faster. With ICOGRADA and IFI’s meetings in India and many Conferences like The National Institute of Design has been listed among the top BIG, Design for ICT, Design Education, Crafts etc., held at NID Campus, design as such started underwent a churning process. For the first time India’s Commerce Minister himself design schools in the survey published by Business Week, USA came to the CII-NID Design Summit in 2004 at Vigyan Bhavan to announce the intent of the Government to come out with a National Design Policy. This was music to the ears of consecutively in 2006 and 2007 +++ the Design Community and many designers welcomed this as an historic moment and the speech of the Hon’ble Commerce Minister Mr Kamalnath is truly significant as it placed The Design Departments at IITs have come together with a Rs.100 crores plan to Design on the National agenda. With this the National Design Policy was set in motion upgrade the Design Centres in the respective IITs. The private design institutes are also through Stakeholders’ meetings held in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Colcutta under the expanding rapidly especially in Pune, Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. aegis of DIPP-CII-NID. The Design Summit in 2005 had Special Sessions on Design On the professional front of Indian Design studios new models are coming to the fore with Policy and for the first time there was also a session which was broadcast through CNBC. design consultancies becoming more full service models, creating regional networks for under- The Design and Innovation started acquiring a higher profile as the Concepts like Creative taking design consultancy, foreign design consultancies like IDEO and FROG setting up shop Economy, Innovation Economy etc., gained currency. Many private entrepreneurs started in India etc... The design-led industries led by the like of Tata Motors, Titan, Tata Elxsi, Bajaj, setting up Design Institutes though in smaller scale especially in Delhi, Pune and Mumbai. VIP Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra have begun to invest heavily in design and innovation The Design Community started looking at their scope, size and scale and certain design announcing the arrival of design in the manufacturing sector. With the growth of retail and consultancies started new proprietary services like Design Research. Some other consultan- service sectors and media and entertainment industry, the demand for designers have gone cies added foreign collaborations or tie-ups. Yet other consultancies added technologies like through the roof. The “National Design Deficit” continues with the number of designers falling Rapid Product Development and Visualization to their repertoire, following the foot steps of woefully short of the current and projected demand and there is pressing need for scaling up NID which has set up India’s first Design Vision Centre with state-of-art facilities like- co and mainstreaming design education and practice. From the point of view of design education lour Rapid Product Development, 3D Scanner, Haptic devices, interactive 360° visualization there is need for scaling up and placing design in various educational institutes and schools for etc. The 25th Convocation of NID in 2005 and His Excellency, President of India Dr A P J spread of quality design education. From the Profession’s stand point, there is need to recognize Abdul Kalamji delivering the most remarkable and visionary Convocation Address and also design services as an industry and extend support through common facility centres and avail- inaugurating India’s first Design Vision Centre at NID enabled design to acquire a higher ability of venture capital and banking credit. The time has come to revisit and rejig the scale, level of credibility, mainstream status among educational institutions and a critical mass in size and impact of the design sector exponentially. The next 50 years are going to be even more general opinion which later rubbed off on design community as a whole. exciting and productive for the designers, design-led industries and most importantly not just It may be also recalled that to further strengthen and augment the CII-NID Design ini- for competitiveness but for Quality of Life. tiative in 2001, NID had also commenced India’s first Design Centre at ITPO during 2002 and had started BusinessWorld-NID Design Excellence Awards way back in 2003. NID’s association with BusinessWorld succeeded in putting a Designer’s picture on the front cover of a Business Magazine for the first time in India’s history. A landmark achievement for Dr Darlie O Koshy news: inside out

47th03.11.1961—03.11.2007 Foundation Day

NID completed 47 years of its design journey in the pursuit of excellence in design education, consultancy and research on November 3, 2007. It was on this day in 1961 +++ when this premier Institute of design in India started functioning as an autonomous institution under the aegis of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry All these initiatives have been of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India. outcome of a new vision NID worked with in the recent years and the constant pursuit of design excellence it has been ever since its foundation 47 years ago +++

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vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 news: inside out

NID Films Lure Foreign Dr Darlie O Koshy Elected to and Domestic Market the ICSID Executive Board

It’s about reaching the con- The Director, NID, Dr Koshy has once sumer anytime, anywhere, any again been elected to the Executive Board place-that includes social and of ICSID (International Council of So- community network, bloggers cieties of Industrial Design) for the term The International Student Animation Festival and mobile communities. Jerome 2007-2009. The election was held at San hitrakatha’07 Buvet, Head of Telecom, Media Francisco, USA on the October 21, 2007. and Entertainment Strategy Lab, He was elected twice before for the terms highlighted important aspects 2001-2003 and 2005-2007. The Interna- CDuring October 25-27, 2007 NID celebrated the first International Student Animation Festival titled ‘Chitrakatha’ 07. The Animation film design of the modern methods of com- tional Council of Societies of Industrial discipline of NID shared with the rest of the world its 22 years’ curriculum and also showcased its work with the rest of the participants. municating and entertaining Design (ICSID) is a global not-for-profit people at this conference. He also organisation that promotes better design “Foreign buyers are interested in buying focused on the consumer trends and how around the world. Today, ICSID counts he International participants also NID students’ films and other audiovisual the young generation is molding according over 150 members in more than 50 coun- presented their work through this materials on profit sharing basis. Many to their needs. tries, representing an estimated 150 000 period. The festival was inaugurated Indian buyers too such as DMCL, Essel Film and content makers from 98 designers. ICSID members are profes- Tby the Director, NID on October 25, 2007 Group, Shemaro Entertainment, Hinduja countries participated in this fair and the sional associations, promotional societies, at NID Design Gallery. Shri Ram Mohan, TMT, NDTV and Venus, are interested total number of buyers, exhibitors and educational institutions, government bodies, the doyen of Indian animation graced the in screening NID films” says SB Saksena, delegates were 12,500. This year the country corporations and institutions, which aim occasion as the Chief Guest. This three day Faculty, Film & Video Communication, in focus was India and major conferences to contribute to the development of the event was coordinated by Shekhar Mukher- who represented NID at the MIPCOM’07 and seminars on the first day were based profession of industrial design. ICSID jee, Faculty, Animation Design, NID as the Conference in Paris held during October on India and its future as a market. His facilitates co-operation and interaction Festival Director 8-12, ’07. Excellency, India’s Ambassador to France among these societies and supports a global ‘Everything Original’, in the making of anima- The conference focused on the is- Mr. Ranjan Mathai inaugurated the confer- network through which design institu- tion at NID and elsewhere was the broader sue of audiovisual content world market. ence. The keynote address was organized by tions worldwide can stay in touch, share theme of the event. The purpose of celebrating It was organized by RED MIDEM, a FICCI and the speakers included Sub- interests, experiences, and resources, as well this festival at NID was to open up two- way London based exhibition and fair organiz- hash Chandra of ZEE Network, Ronnie as provides an international platform for its traffic between the academia and industry as the ing body. MIPCOM is the trademark of Screwala of UTV Group, Kunal Dasgupta members to be heard as a powerful voice. animation curriculum at NID has grown over the world audiovisual market. The venue of Sony Entertainment and Neeraj Roy. SB His presence on the ICSID Board has the years and is establishing itself through its of the conference was same as to Cannes Saksena also took this opportunity to visit helped in moving forward the International works which are getting international attention International Film Festival. The important the ENSAD design school in Paris and had Design Alliance (IDA) agenda with more and applause. The event also focused on anima- observation of the conference was that good experience sharing with its faculties clarity apart from providing inputs to its tion education, trends in the animation industry there is a major shift taking place in the and students many of whom shown interest lead projects especially to the World Design and its expectations. It was also envisaged to help digital marketing from content to consumer. in coming to NID. × Report. Dr Koshy, by involving design NID’s animation department reposition itself organizations like ICSID, ICOGRADA as a serious global player armed with an enviable and IFI, has spearheaded major national legacy of last 45 years as well as understanding level Design promotion activities by join- of the newgen technology and animation design ing hands with the Confederation Indian processes. The international exposure was also a Industry (CII) and launching an annual good learning experience for the students as well International “CII-NID Design Summit” as the participants and instilled in them a sense since 2001. His contribution at the ICSID of confidence. General Assembly in Berlin, proposing In this first ever festival of animation at NID “Design for everyone, everywhere” had 192 student animation entries for competition elicited widespread support and he has for- were received from 16 countries including India. mulated detailed papers and presentations, Out of this 38 films were shortlisted for the including “Towards Design Democracy”, final competition to be judged by a 5-member delivered in South Africa and “Design De- jury panel comprising of Greg Acuna from mocracy by Service Design” in Bangalore, the US, Jose Belmonte from Spain, Dr Kavita amongst others.× Punjabi from Kolkata, Nina Sabnani, Former Faculty of Animation, NID and Prakash Murthy, NID alumnus from New Delhi. This three-day festival was packed with presenta- tions, workshops and panel discussions. NID students presented their work to the industry, 6 industry evaluated their work, pioneers and 7 experts opined and lots of exchange of ideas took

vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 news: inside out

place. The films screened apart from competing student entries included a retrospect of animation at NID since the past 20 years besides a package The purpose of celebrating this “What struck me was how the students associated the Lancia brand of films celebrating Indian art and craft. All the screenings focused on contemporary trends and festival at NID was to open up with a Gondola, an Indian icon representing superb craftsmanship, explorations in animation throughout the world and their parallel at NID. There were Parallel two- way traffic between the whereas Alfa Romeo was at times the aggressiveness of a Cobra or Sessions from October 25-27 which showed from other international animation schools namely, academia and industry as the the power of a Tiger”—Juan Manual, Alfa Romeo +++ The Royal College of Art, London, National Film School Denmark, Escuela Superior De Dibujo animation curriculum at NID Professional, Spain, Lucerne School of Art and Design, Switzerland. Some other international has grown over the years and NID Student Wins competition including NID. Other design during his visit in June’07. At the final schools of animation participating in the Parallel Fiat Competition schools were European Design Insti- day presentation he said: “The welcome Session included Bazalel Academy of Art and is establishing itself through tute, Turin; Faculty of Design of Milan we received at the Ahmedabad National Design, Israel, Universidad Politencia de Valencia, NID student has once again brought laurels Polytechnic; College for Creative Studies, Institute of Design will certainly be impos- Spain, RMIT University, Australia, Nanyang its works which are getting to the Institute. Mahaan Ghosh, a third Detroit; Coventry University of Art and sible to forget: you could feel the passion Polytechnic, Singapore, Anadolu University, year student of Product Design won the Design, Coventry; Tokyo communications and firm commitment with which the Turkey, University of South California, USA and international attention and accolade of ‘Special mention for the best Arts, Tokyo; Stroganov State University, students tackled their work. Their in depth Filmakademie Baden Wurttemberg, Germany. Italian Design” at “Design the Italian Way” Moscow; Institute of Design and Umea analysis fully captured the identity of our Cartoon Network was the Event Sponsor of applause for his Alfa Romeo brand model. It was a University, Sweden. brands, with some unquestionably interest- ‘Chitrakatha’ 07. Other supporters included Ani- worldwide design competition organized by 200 students of 12 different nationalities ing results. Influenced by a culture taking mac as artistic partner, Autodesk as technology +++ Fiat Auto in Turin during November 2006 participated in the “Design the Italian Way” its inspiration from ‘decorativism’, they pro- partner, Channel V on air partner, CG Tantra, to September 2007. Final presentation for competition. They were divided into three duced some particularly elaborate objects, Animation Express, Animation Reporter, The the event was organized on September 20, groups - one for each brand. Total 100 proj- preferring formal as opposed to conceptual Animation Society of India, allaboutanimation. 2007 at the ‘Style Centre, Officina 83’, -Tu ects were presented. Alfa Romeo chose the research. What struck me was how the com and the Embassy of Spain in India. The rin. Two other students of Product Design three best concepts from each school, one students associated the Lancia brand with event promoted and encouraged student anima- Rustom Mazda and Anand Krishnan were for each brand, which received the grants. a Gondola, an Indian icon representing tors for better filmmaking. In the competition also selected for Fiat and Lancia designs The works of the 24 winners were displayed superb craftsmanship, whereas Alfa Romeo section one winner and two runners up awards respectively. Objective of the competition in an exhibition organized in Turin and was at times the aggressiveness of a Cobra were given by the Chief Guest, Ram Mohan. was to promote innovative ideas, proposals the three projects that deserved a “Special or the power of a Tiger. Fiat, instead, The festival came to an end with the screening and suggestions for future models of Fiat, mention for the best Italian Design for Fiat, was considered a brand where the most of three independent Indian animation films. Lancia and Alfa Romeo. Total six special Lancia and Alfa Romeo” were selected on important features were colours and a fresh They were ‘Painted Rainbow’ by Gitanjali Rao, mention awards were given among the 24 September 20. A winner for each brand was approach to shape and line. This Institute ‘The Friend’ by Vaibhav Kumaresh and Narayan finalists. The other awards covered the Best chosen by each participating school. Most runs courses in industrial design, fashion, Shi and ‘Bheeru Number 1’ produced by Ram Italian Design for the Fiat, Lancia and Alfa of the project work was done by a team architecture, cartoon animation: students Mohan and created by UP, Mehul and Parag × Romeo brands; Best Innovative Material of 2-3 students and represented by one use top-level technological tools with a Use; Best Future Vision and Best Overall member at the final evening. As a reward, laboratory equipped with latest-generation Project Communication. Mahaan Ghose winners are participating in automobile fast prototyping machines. The general level (NID) has tied with Carmelo Giannone- programme providing hands-on experi- of the school is good, very close to that of Istituto Europeo di Design (Italy), for the ence as a study grant covering five months its European counterparts, and the students Best Italian Design for the Alfa Romeo internship at the Fiat, Lancia Style Centers, are highly motivated.” brand. Turin and Alfa Romeo Style Centers, NID students had worked under the Principal Designers, Pradyumna Vyas Milan. guidance of Pradyumna Vyas and Vipul who coordinated the competition from There were 24 participants from NID. Vinzuda to complete the projects on time. NID said the basic features to be incorpo- All of them were from Transportation De- NID was the only participating school rated in projects development were defined sign and Product Design disciplines. Their which used traditional school techniques by the CEO’s of Fiat, Lancia and Alfa first review with Fiat designer Christopher of making the models by hand without Romeo. Respective names of the CEO’s Reitz and Alfa Romeo designer Alessandro any CNC application. For the first time in are Luca De Meo, Olivier Francois and D’Ambrosio was held in April 07. After India, two models were made by students, Antonio Baravalle. Fiat project was focused this round of elimination, 12 students were using industrial clay almost with minimal on dynamism, elaborating concepts for the selected to continue with four participants initial guidance. Later on advanced RPD next Panda model. For lancia, the principle for each brand. After the final jury on technologies were adopted for mak- was elegance and the development of two June 26, 07, Alfa Romeo designer Juan ing wheels, seats and other interior trim. cars addressing two different customer Manuel Diaz selected three students for the Towards the end there was an entire team targets. For Alfa Romeo, focus was on internship. For this, presentation eleven 1:4 of workshop and IT staff, clay modeler sportiness. There was possibility of choosing exterior car models and one interior model Mukesh and RPD specialist Soni who between briefs for three different cars. were presented. worked with the students tirelessly. The 8 Eight best design schools of interna- Alfa Romeo designer Juan Manual whole work was completed in an impressive 9 tional repute were invited by Fiat for the Diaz was very much impressed by NID record time of three weeks ×

vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 news: outside in

...the technology will deliver benefits such as reduced energy consumption and reduced material requirements while increasing steel making capacity +++

Corporatising Robot Dancing to Printer May Cause Computer Fashion Industry the Tunes of iPod Music Health Hazard Steel Goes Green Coffee Table

Fashion Industry is no longer limited to It looks like a white ball wedged between We generally think pollution is only on reen’ steel technology has been invented by Mumbai-born University of New How about eating, working, chatting a Cottage Industry, it is a corporate entity. two halves of an egg- dancing to the tunes the roads and indoors are safe. But not South Wales (UNSW) materials scientist, Veena Sahajwalla, who is also an friend sitting nearby and shopping- all at a Views Ritu Kumar in an interview to a of an iPod portable player, which locks into anymore. Working on this line, Queensland alumnus of IIT, Kanpur. Now millions of tonnes of waste plastic will be recycled time on your coffee table? Move your fin- leading business daily. She looks after the the machine. It is the new 14-inch long University of Technology researchers found ‘Ginto steel, as Plastic is another form of carbon and in making steel there’s essentially no -dif gers like a magician and the whole thing is design side of her company whereas her Miuro Robot developed by a Tokyo based that indoor pollution level specifically in ference between the polyethylene plastic in shopping bags and a natural resource like coal. done. Yes, it is possible as few months back son is the CEO. Truly, Fashion Industry is venture ZMP. During a demonstration offices were three times worse during the Polyethylene plastic contains carbon, an essential raw material in electric arc furnace (EAF) Microsoft launched its innovation ‘Surface’. corporatising. Designers are setting up their in Tokyo on June 3, 2007, the 11-pound working hours. University’s International steel making, which recycles steel from scrap metal and accounts for 40 percent of the It is a coffee table shaped computer, which own manufacturing unit, investing in cor- Miuro pivoted about on a stage in time to Laboratory for Air Quality and Health world’s steel production. Annual steel production is around 1.1 billion tonnes globally and not only responds to the user’s touch but porates and shedding off the responsibilities the beats of a pop music track. Unlike old examined 62 printers and 17 were high the technology currently substitutes about 30 percent of coke and coal in EAF steel making also to the objects placed on it. Unlike most of marketing and PR to the professionals. Miuros, its dance was not programmed but particle emitters. According to Sydney with polyethylene waste plastic, which would otherwise have ended up in landfill. touch-screens, Surface responds to more Fashion Designer JJ Valaya has built, a fac- generated by the robot itself. Miuro uses al- Morning Herald report researcher, Prof. Commercial production of the worlds first ‘green’ steel is underway at the Sydney than one touch at a time. There is no need tory spread over 40,000 sq feet in Manesar gorithms or mathematical rules, to analyze Lidia Morawska said that ultra fine par- furnaces of OneSteel, following a global licensing agreement between the Australian steel of keyboard or mouse. All you need to do near Gurgoan and has about 500 people music and translates the beats into dances. ticles emitted by the printers are capable of maker and UNSW’s commercialisation arm, NewSouth Innovations (Nsi). According to is just touch the icons with your finger tip. working for him. Vallaya concentrates on Scientists believe the technology could one infiltrating the lungs causing lasting dam- OneSteel’s Commercial Manager (rod and bar), Adrian Howard Patents for this technol- Surface decodes the objects put on table by design while PR and other works are man- day lead to robots becoming capable of age on the scale of inhaled cigarette smoke. ogy have been filed in major steel-making countries including India, China and the US.’ He special bar codes. Be it cutlery or gadgets aged by the professionals. Fashion Designer spontaneous motion. Addressing the media The particles are tiny like cigarette smoke also said that the technology will deliver benefits such as reduced energy consumption and like mobile phones. Surface is actually a Tarun Tahiliani has invested in Microsoft’s ZMP President said, “We aim to create a particles and deep inside the lung they do reduced material requirements while increasing steel making capacity. In EAF steel making, Microsoft computer, tucked inside a black ERP ( Enterprise Resource Planning) new form of life that moves freely and the same amount of damage. Health effect scrap is melted at around 16000 degrees Celsius and converted into high quality steel using table base, topped with a 30-inch touch- Software but he too admits that corporatis- spontaneously in ways human beings can’t depends on the particle composition but high-power arcs. As the scrap melts, a layer of gaseous slag foam forms on top of molten screen. ing fashion industry is not easy as there is predict. We are hoping to turn Miuro into hazards can range from respiratory irrita- steel. The new process speeds up this slag-foaming process, reducing power-on time and To start with, Microsoft is planning to a shortage of real skill. Fashion Industry is the ultimate virtual pet.” The new prototype tion to sever illness such as cardiovascular total power use. Total savings include lower power bills and a commensurate drop in green launch Surface models that can benefit its estimated to be around Rs.500 crore, spread is fitted with software based on what scien- problems or cancer. Printers emit more par- house gas emissions from coal-fired power stations, net savings on coke and coal usage and a users in being potential mobile consumers. over 100 odd designers. Abroad, fashion tists call chaotic itinerancy, a mathematical ticles when the toner cartridge is new and longer electrode life span. The moment user places a mobile phone on icons like Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein pattern similar to the movements of a bee while printing graphics and images they Equally significant is the reduction in the power required to run the furnaces using the the table; Surface will read its bar code and have grown up into multi-million fashion circling from flower to flower as it collects require greater quantities of toner. How- new waste plastic injection technology. The process promises significant environmental- ben display information about the handset. User empire, why can’t Indian Designers? Indian nectar. The software allows the new Miuro ever, Report says emission level varies a lot efits in one of the world’s most essential, but energy and resource intensive industries. Waste can also select ring tones etc by dragging market has its own challenges. If you want to act spontaneously and unpredictably just between different machine makes, models, is recycled to become a raw material for EAF steel making, added Sahajwalla. She leads the icons towards the phone. Surface can be a a CEO, the person should not only posses a like a child playing says Tokyo University printer age, cartridge model and cartridge research on Sustainable Materials Processing at UNSW in Sydney. Along with her research point of attraction in hotels where hotelier good business mind but he should have fine researcher Takashi Ikegami, the developer age. Time for us to use our ‘friendly’ gadget team, she works with many companies across the globe, including Mittal Steel, Nippon can play music on it whereas its customers knowledge of fashion. Entry of Interna- of the software. According to Taniguchi, more rationally × Steel ( Japan), Ruukki Steel (Finland), Techint (Italy) and US Steel (US), that support her can order food, buy music etc using credit tional brands into Indian sub-continent future versions of the Miuro will also use research focusing on sustainability of materials processing. A recipient of many international card or reward card tagged with bar codes. and consumer affordable fashionable prêt inbuilt sensors to proactively seek out and national awards, most recently she won the 2006 Environmental Technology Award Hotel guests will be able to learn about lines altogether is a big challenge for Indian people to play tunes × from the Association of Iron and Steel Technology in the US and the 2005 Eureka Prize for nearby tourist spots by interactive maps and Fashion designers × Scientific Research× book their show tickets or make reserva- tions ×

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vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 news: outside in you opine By: Dr Subir Das

Changing Diabetes Barometer

According to one report as Novo Nordisk, a health care company specializing in diabetic care recently launched Chang- ing Diabetes Barometer in Brussels. The Barometer is a tool that will provide healthcare much as 20% reduction of worldwide with valuable information on how to improve the quality of diabetes care, bring down diabetes-related complications, extend patients’ life expectancy and reduce costs. Lise lifelong healthcare costs, can be Kingo, executive vice president of Novo Nordisk claimed at a media meet that the Changing Diabetes Barometer will be helpful in improving the lives of diabetic patients and how to achieved if people with diabetes better prioritize diabetes care. Novo Nordisk will annually publish a report with key findings Design Intervention for DVT: from the Barometer. are diagnosed earlier and before According to one report as much as 20% reduction of lifelong healthcare costs, can be achieved if people with diabetes are diagnosed earlier and before any complications arise. the Lifestyle Hazard any complication arises Disease complications can also be reduced by improving control. Disease complications can be serious, including kidney failure, limb amputations, blindness and cardiovascular disease. +++ A person with complications is three to six times as expensive as a person without complica- tions measured in healthcare costs. The report highlights if nothing is done, healthcare costs, social costs and the cost of lost productivity will increase dramatically as the number of n a nine day trip to Australia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the people with diabetes is increasing rapidly. The disease complications following late detection and poor control put a heavy toll on healthcare systems. U.S Vice President Dick Cheney spent about 65 hours on It’s estimated that the number of diabetic patients will rise to 380 million worldwide by 2025 whereas the Changing Diabetes Barometer report shows that only a handful of a plane and traveled around 25,000 miles. Just after the trip countries have the necessary systems in place to measure diabetes and its effects on the population. Informs Professor Jean-Claude Mbanya, vice-dean and professor of medicine on March 5, 2007, he visited his doctor in Washington com- and endocrinology at the University of Yaoundé, Cameroon. With the help of Barometer, we can improve knowledge, treatment and awareness of the disease × plaining minor discomfort in his calf. The ultrasound showed a blood clot in his left leg, a condition that could be fatal if left untreated. Nanotechnology Garment that Treats ‘The Vice-President’s clot’ a headline story, played a significant role in raising for Thalassemia Diagnosing the mental illnesses like mania, Detection depression and schizophrenia has become awareness of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and later on March 2007 was an- Indian scientists have made Thalassemia so easy. All doctors need is to dress up the detection easier with help of copper nano- patients in a specially designed dress named O nounced as “Deep Vein Thrombosis Awareness Month”, because every year it particles making presence in hemoglobin. ‘Life Shirt’. This designer dress is actually a The hypothesis was based on the theory hi-tech garment packed with sensors that strikes an estimated 2 million Americans, killing around an average 60,000. In prevalent among the goldsmiths that drink- will monitor the heart breathing rate, blood ing the water used for cooling freshly craft- pressure, skin temperature, body move- 2003, NBC correspondent David Bloom died because of DVT after spending ed ornaments is good for health. Prasenjit ments and posture. Initially it was devel- Sen from the school of Physical Sciences, oped to keep a tab on heart disease patients days in a cramped military vehicle while covering the invasion of Iraq. In 2002, JNU and Anjan K. Dasgupta, Department but later it was tested to measure the stress of Biochemistry, Calcutta University have level on body of athlete, firefighters and on their flight to the World Cup Finals in Korea and Japan, manager Sven worked on how hemoglobin interacts with even children. some nano-particles. According to their New thing regarding the technology Goran-Eriksson and the England footballers including David Beckham and study copper nano-particles interact with is that this sensor called ‘Accelerometer’ one type of hemoglobin, paving way for records whether the patient is walking, Michael Owen were convinced to wear special stockings – which may help pre- selectively identifying various hemoglobin moving quickly, standing still or fidgeting, thereby enabling detection of Thalassemia. this way it builds up a picture of his activity. vent the condition. Four years back, the European Respiratory Journal reported It is an interesting study having potential Depression is a brain disorder that causes of providing cheap diagnostic tool. This is unusual shifts in a person’s mood, energy, that a young man from New Zealand was nearly dead after developing DVT what many medical professionals think. and ability to function. With the right A typical Thalassemia test costs between treatment, patients live normal life, return- following long periods of physical inactivity in front of his computer. This year Rs.500 to Rs.600. Professionals claim that ing to work and controlling their moods cost using nano-technology may be much through strict drug regime. in first week of September, a 63-year-old passenger died on board, a Delta Air- less. If that happens, mass screening of ‘Life Shirt’ is lightweight and machine population in a country like India may just washable. It will be helpful for doctors in lines New York-Mumbai ultra-long-haul flight. He complained of chest pain be possible × getting accurate diagnosis by monitoring 12 patients for just 15 minutes× and a doctor on board attended him, but he could not be saved. 13

vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 you opine

ny prolonged period of inactivity places us at risk for DVT -a blood clot that can DVT – The Present Scenario lead to health complications, even death. Just like long-haul airline passengers, of- The available evidences suggest that the overall risk of venous thrombosis is moderately fice workers and taxi drivers who sit for long time at a stretch also carry the risk of increased after air travel. A study in New Zealand showed a frequency of 1% of DVT in Adeveloping blood clots in major blood vessels. Most of the jobs at the call centre require the 878 individuals who had traveled by air for at least 10 hours, whereas a German study found person to work on computer for almost 10 hours a day with two tea breaks each of 10–15 DVT in 2.8% of 964 individuals who had traveled for more than 8 hours in an airplane, as minutes and one 30–45 minutes lunch break. The irony of modern life is that even though compared to 1% in 1,213 controls. In USA, almost 600,000 Americans are hospitalized each we’re on move, there are number of situations that render us immobile such as long haul air year for DVT and its primary complications, and up to 300,000 die contributing to more travel, being caught in a traffic jam or driving to a distant destination etc. deaths each year than AIDS and breast cancer combined. A recent survey also revealed that 60% of Americans do not know about the problem. British Medical Journal showed that What is DVT? around 10 people die from a blood clot in the lungs each year within minutes of arriving at Veins carry blood from the extreme end of the body to the heart and lungs where blood is Heathrow airport. Another study confirmed 500 - 1,000 deaths in UK per year as a result Oxygenated. It flows relatively slowly while passing through the deepest veins in the calf or of DVT relating to air travel. Pregnancies doubled the rate of DVT in teenage girls. Swiss thigh. During prolonged immobility, there is pooling of blood in the legs. Stagnant blood- research showed that professional pilots were less likely to suffer DVT than the general pop- flow through veins increases the contact time between blood and vein wall and also prevents ulation, and 16 out of 27 pilots who did had well recognized, pre-disposing factors. Study naturally occurring anticoagulants from mixing in the blood. Combination of inactivity by the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand showed that out of 62 DVT victims, and dehydration also makes the blood stickier. All these lead to formation of a solid clot - a including taxi drivers, IT workers and managers, 34% were due to long periods of sitting at clump of blood cells, platelets and fibrin - which attaches to the inside walls of veins. Usually work. Seated immobility at work was identified as a risk factor if, in a four week period prior DVT occurs in the lower leg but it can occur elsewhere, such as the arms. Since movement to the onset of symptoms, a worker had been seated for three hours at a time without getting of the leg muscles helps keep bloods flowing through the deep veins, immobilization is the up during an eight-hour shift. Unfortunately, very few studies so far have been carried out most common cause of slow blood flow in a vein. If the clots are small enough, the body is in India. able to gradually break down the clot and there are no long-term effects. Whereas, larger clots may partially or totally block the blood flow in the vein and cause symptoms like swell- DVT Victims, Airlines and Insurance Policy ing, irritation, stiffness and pain. Occasionally a piece of the clot breaks off, travels with the David Hopkins, a former rugby player from Wales, filed a suit against an airline after nearly bloodstream to become lodged in the lungs and blocks blood flow resulting in pulmonary dying from DVT on a long haul flight. In 2002, around 55 DVT victims and their families embolism (PE). This can happen after many hours or even after several days from the forma- filed a suit against 27 airlines including American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Airlines, tion of a clot. It may cause chest pain, shortness of breath and in severe cases, sudden death. KLM and Japan Air Lines and a London court ruled that victims of DVT have no claim In some circumstances, DVT may also contribute to other serious medical problems such to damages from airlines regarding “economy class syndrome,” and that none of the airlines as heart attack and stroke. Factors that may contribute to the formation of thrombi in the could be held liable for the on-set of DVT. In the same year, the World Health Organization veins are age, previous history of DVT, vein disease (such as varicose veins), smoking, obesity (WHO) started a four-year study to find out the possibility of links between air travel and and genetic factors, recent surgery especially hip or knee surgery, fractures, and the use of DVT and the study was supported by the UK government by providing £1.2m to the project medications, etc. Usually, DVT is most common in adults over age 60 but may occur in any in its first two years. However, some members of the British House of Commons claimed age group. that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is attempting to block the research on DVT by purportedly denying the request of a professor working with the WHO to put DVT – The 21st Century Lifestyle Hazard researchers on flights for a large-scale DVT study. In the year 2006 in UK, one of the insur- Prolonged sitting has been linked to DVT since World War II. It was Dr Rudolf Lud- ance companies launched a new travel insurance policy for air passengers to provide greater wig Karl Virchow, who derived his famous triad regarding DVT Formation - blood stasis, cover against flight-related blood clots, offering to pay out £10,000 in cases of death up to changes in vessel wall continuity and hypercoagulability. The link between the sitting 72 hours after flying home. However, deaths from DVT often occur as much as two weeks position and the risk of DVT was probably described for the first time by Dr. Simpson, a after air travel, meaning that many victims could fall outside the insurance cover. After years British surgeon, in 1940. He noticed a considerable increase in fatal pulmonary embolism of denials, the airline industry has accepted that there is an association between long-haul (PE) in Britons who were forced to remain in a sitting position in cramped conditions for air travel and fatal blood clot and representatives from 16 major airlines met scientists at a hours during the London Blitz. In 1988, Cruikshank et al tagged it as the “Economy Class two day conference organized by the WHO in Geneva to decide future steps to reduce the Syndrome”. Later on, Beasley et al propose the acronym ‘SIT’ (Seated Immobility Throm- Incidents of possible health risks involved in long-haul travel. boembolism) syndrome to encompass all forms of seated immobility associated with DVT. The human body isn’t designed for prolonged sitting and recent studies showed that the widespread use of computers in so many aspects of modern life may put many people at risk of developing DVT - the 21st century lifestyle hazard. The human body isn’t designed for prolonged sitting and recent studies showed that the widespread use of computers in so many aspects of modern life may put many people at risk of developing DVT—the 21st century lifestyle hazard +++

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vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 you opine

Managing DVT through Design Intervention As much attention has recently been paid to the potential risks associated with travel related DVT, people are looking for products, which will provide protection. A number of innovations have already been made as an attempt to solve the problems of ‘cramp seating’ while traveling. Some of them are discussed here.

References:

Some Precautionary Measures 1. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2341417. cms accessed on 06.09.2007. Oscillating Pads: DVT Fitness Design: Revamping the Economy Class Seats: Risk of developing a DVT can be reduced by taking some preventive measures. Wherever Jasco Products Corporation has developed a Two Industrial Design students from the Univer- Usually, designers’ interventions are limited possible, one should exercise the muscles of lower legs at least every 2-3 hour; take regular 2. Ferrari, E., Chevallier, T., Chapelier, A. and Baudouy, M. low-frequency oscillating pad to be installed in sity of Technology, Sydney owned the Nuance to somewhat by safety regulations, still they (1999): Travel as a Risk Factor for Venous Thromboembolic breaks from driving; walk up and down the aisle of a coach, train or plane; wear loose-fit- Disease - A Case-Control Study, CHEST 115(2):440-444. seats. It is to be activated by the seated pas- Product Design Award 2002 for designing always try to find ways to improvise some- ting clothing; keep hydrated by drinking water and certainly, wear correctly fitting graded 3. Simpson K. Shelter deaths from pulmonary embolism. senger to stimulate blood circulation which will “DVT Fitness” – an innovative solution to thing here and something there. Designers compression stockings. If there is swelling or pain in leg, or have breathing problems after Lancet 1940; 2:744. reduce the risk of DVT. It is also available as a prevent DVT on long-haul flights and a perfect of ‘Recaro’ have managed to add five centi- traveling, one should seek medical advice urgently. Besides, all the airlines should provide 4. Beasley, R.; Raymond, N.; Hill, S.; Nowitz, M.; Hughes, portable, battery operated oscillating seat pad product for an airport retailer. It is a compact meters to economy class leg room and made pre-takeoff health briefings for all flights, similar to the compulsory on-board safety briefings R. (2003) Ethrombosis: The 21st century variant of venous or cover that can be rented from the airline for kit consisting of a collapsible massage ball and sitting more comfortable with the inclusion of thromboembolism associated with immobility. European and there should be proper DVT information on airline tickets particularly on preventive Respiratory Journal, 21(2), 374-376. use during flights. a flexible stretch band that a passenger can a flexible seat base. The new design reduces action. 5. Beasley, R.; Heuser, P.; Raymond, N. (2005) Sit (seated use to massage the bottom of the foot, hands pressure on the back of the legs and lessens immobility thromboembolism) syndrome: A 21st century Anti DVT cushion: and shoulders. It increases the blood flow and the conditions that could lead to DVT. French lifestyle hazard. New Zealand Medical Journal, 118 (1212), U1376. Stafford Company has developed a new 18” circulation and at the same time stretches the company ‘Sicma Aero’ has created a range of +++ 6. Suzanne, C. C,; Carine, J. M. D.; Hans, C. V. H. and Frits, R. R. square “Ride-the-Pine” ergonomic travel cush- muscles. self-contained living units, the “Sky Lounge”, (2006): Travel-Related VenousThrombosis: Results from a ion as an attempt to prevent seated pressure that allow business-class passengers to stretch Large Population-Based Case Control Study (MEGA Study), Risk of developing a DVT can be reduced by taking some preventive PLoS Med., 3(8):1258-1265. causing DVT. It supports the body weight evenly DVT to Shape Aircraft Seat Design: out horizontally and carry out certain exercises 7. Hughes, R. J., Hopkins, R. J., Hill S., Weatherall, M., Van de and relieves skin pressure by about 50% which The recent Size USA survey showed that the of their leg muscles. measures. Wherever possible, one should exercise the muscles of Water, N., et al. (2003): Frequency of venous thromboem- greatly improves blood circulation. An anti DVT Americans are getting wider now than they bolism in low to moderate risk long distance air travellers: The New Zealand Air Traveller’s Thrombosis (NZATT) study. Cushion has also been developed by a British were a few decades ago when some of today’s Foldable Passenger Seat: lower legs at least every 2-3 hour; take regular breaks from driving; Lancet, 362: 2039. company (Hughes) that offers a choice of three aircraft were designed or put into service. Re- Germany’s AIDA Industrial Design has de- 8. Schwarz, T., Siegert, G., Oettler, W., Halbritter, K., Beyer, J., et exercises to be carried out at certain intervals port, initiated by the Civil Aviation Authority of veloped foldable passenger seat to provide walk up and down the aisle of a coach, train or plane; wear loose- al. (2003): Venous thrombosis after long-haul flights. Arch to improve blood circulation. UK, recommended for a standard legroom and maximum living space. It allows the passengers Intern Med, 163: 2759. widened seat cushions to protect passengers to stand up during flight, as well as to stretch 9. Morris, R. J. and Woodcock, J. P. (2004): Evidence-Based fitting clothing; keep hydrated by drinking water and certainly, wear Compression: Prevention of Stasis and Deep Vein Thrombosis, Compression Devices: against DVT. It also suggested that any new and relax, and also to use the upward folded Ann Surg 239(2):162-171. A number of intermittent compression devices seat designs should be tested to see how they seat like a 7 sit-stand seat. It could be the next correctly fitting graded compression stockings. If there is swelling or 10. Agu O, Hamilton G, Baker D. Graduated compression in a great variety of forms, have been devel- affect crucial blood flow in the lower legs. big innovation for airline seating leading to stockings in the prevention of venous thromboembolism. Br J Surg. 1999;86:992-1004. oped to prevent DVT. All these systems rely on easier boarding and reducing cases of DVT on pain in leg, or have breathing problems after traveling, one should a pump periodically inflating and deflating air Anthropometry and Airline Seating: long-haul flights. 11. Amarigiri SV, Lees TA. Elastic compression stockings for prevention of deep vein thrombosis. Cochrane Database bladders within cuffs that are wrapped around In 2001, the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA), seek medical advice urgently Syst Rev. 2000;CD001484. the limbs. Lower limb compression cuffs for the United Kingdom (UK) and the Civil Aviation Exercise Devices to Improve Velocity of 12. http://www.aida-development.de/en_html/competences/ DVT prophylaxis come with at least five variants undertook an anthropometric study Author- Venous Blood Flow: +++ index_idesign.htm, accessed on 04.05.2007. – foot compression, foot and calf compression, ity (CAA) giving more stress on the health Now a day, most of the airlines are not only 13. Whitelaw GP, Oladipo OJ, Shah BP, et al. Evaluation of calf compression, calf and thigh compression implications of aircraft seating, specially on making airline seats roomier or better fitted to intermittent pneumatic compression devices. Orthopedics. 2001;24:257-261. and whole limb compression. the occurrence and prevention of DVT. It was the passengers, but also incorporating in-flight More Design Intervention to Manage DVT revealed that the existing design could only exercise programmes. As for example, Emirates “Economy Class Syndrome” – the common tag for DVT – is going to change into “Desk- Anti-Thrombosis Stockings and Socks: accommodate up to 77th percentile of the Air is offering devices like the “Airogym”, a small bound Syndrome” and has become one of the 21st century’s lifestyle hazards Actually, it is a Compression stockings are one of the most ef- European population (based on buttock-knee pillow designed by a former British Airways pilot health threat from sitting down too long whether at an office-desk, in an Airliner, working ficient physical methods for protection against lengths) and even fewer passengers (based that allows the airline passenger to exercise with a computer, or driving a car for a long distance. It is unfortunate to see the lack of DVT. These are also cheaper and simpler than on whole-body depth measurements). It was while sitting. The cushions allow plantar and awareness among people and also the lack of information available in most of the schools, intermittent compression devices. Research has recommended that the space between rows of dorsiflexion, which are effective to empty the colleges, institutions and universities as well as at the workplaces. In most of the coun- shown that use of ergonomically designed anti- seats need to be expanded by 3 to 10 inches deep veins by activating the calf muscle, pump. tries designers, occupational therapists and Ergonomists are working together to find out thrombosis stockings creates a gentle pressure to comfortably accommodate taller passengers But one should remember that the exercise solutions to get rid of this lifestyle hazard. We also need to carry out intensive and holistic to the ankle and thereby helps blood to flow and as a result, as many as 100 seats would devices are not effective when not in use, design intervention not only through developing products but also by creating visuals, films, around the body by squeezing it up towards the have to be removed from the economy sections especially while sleeping on the plane. Some etc. to tackle the problem as well as to generate awareness among the young generation × heart, but the stockings and socks used should of airplanes now in service. But if seats are airlines are offering everything from elastic be fitted properly. If it is too tight and cutting removed, ticket prices need to be increased. bands, how-to workout manuals and even yoga (Dr Subir Das is an Ergonomist with National Institute of Design.) into the skin on a long flight, it can increase the While passengers are attracted to low fares, during flights in attempts to improve passenger risk of DVT. these fares are only made possible by a seating fitness and comfort. Still most airlines merely density that could compromise safety. warn their passengers of the risks of not mov- ing around during long flights. 16 17

vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 cover story

for a Global Designers Generation

The world is changing faster than ever before. Growing human populations and economies are driving an unprecedented cultural, social and technological transformation. Our modern world is undergoing a fundamental transforma- tion as the industrial society that marked the 20th century rapidly gives way to the information and knowledge society of the 21st century. This dynamic pro- cess promises a fundamental change in all aspect of our lives, including knowl- edge dissemination, social interaction, economic and business practices, political engagement, media, education, health, leisure and entertainment. Expanding human needs are boosting the demand for freshwater, energy, food, timber and the world other natural resources. The environment is struggling to keep pace. Humanity’s growing con- sumption is overwhelming the capacity of the oceans and atmosphere to absorb our wastes. Industrial emissions ranging from sulphur to persistent organic pollutants to carbon dioxide are re-ordering the chemistry of the natural world. Remaining wilderness areas are being degraded or converted to farmland or housing – threatening the survival of plant and animal species. Additionally our human civilization is struggling to keep the balance of cul- tural variety. Coca-Colonization – synonym for commercialization and Western cultural imperialism – is a force that may in fact be a greater threat than wars to our global cultural and environmental heritage. challenge By: Helmut Langer

he environment is struggling to speed. This loss of culture is beginning to cal, economical, cultural, and human rights keep pace. Humanity’s growing destroy our global heritage. dimensions. It relates to human choices and consumption is overwhelming the A fifth of the world’s population lives quality of life for all. Tcapacity of the oceans and atmosphere to in industrialized countries, consuming and Designers are in a key position to absorb our wastes. Since 1900, fresh water producing in excess and generating massive influence this shift. None of us can tackle consumption has multiplied by 6. Transport pollution – not caring for the future. The these challenges alone. The author proposes is the chief emitter of greenhouse gases. The remaining four-fifths live in developing a fundamental change in design educa- number of vehicles has risen to almost 800 countries and, for the most part, in poverty. tion. There is a need to educate a globally million. Additionally our human civiliza- The Earth’s situation is not irreversible, responsible designers’ generation. tion is struggling to keep the balance of cul- but changes need to be made as soon as tural variety. Extensive commercialization possible. Sustainability is the key word for thinking and Western cultural imperialism the future of all of us. Yet, sustainability is are spreading around the world. As a result, about more than just the environmental 19 the loss of culture is progressing at rapid impact of consumption. It has social, politi-

vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 cover story

The Environmental Challenge In these days, the industrialized countries speak about economic problems. Mind the Since 1950, economic growth has been considerable, and world production of goods and gap. We do not live in an economic crisis; we do live in an imagination crisis. In all areas and services has multiplied by a factor of 7. During this same period, while the world’s popula- fields of daily life. As I said in the beginning, the world is changing faster than ever before. tion has only doubled, the volume of fish caught and meat produced has multiplied by 5. So The environment is struggling to keep pace. Much needs to be done to ensure the future of has the energy demand. Oil consumption has multiplied by 7, and carbon dioxide emissions, our planet. the main cause of the greenhouse effect and global warming, by 4. Humanity – including designers – must learn that we live in a closed system. We cannot Since 1900, fresh water consumption has multiplied by 6, chiefly to provide for agricul- add new or additional planets. Sustainability is the key word for the future of all of us. ture. And yet, 20 per cent of the world’s population does not have drinkable water, 40 per Sustainability is about more than just the environmental impact of consumption. It has cent lacks access to improved sanitation, 40 per cent is without electricity, 826 million people ecological, social, economical, cultural and esthetical, political, and human rights dimensions. are underfed, and half of humanity lives on less than 1 Euro a day. It relates to human choices and quality of life for all. Meat production consumes vast amounts of resources – 10,000 liters of water is needed Sustainability is a global platform. Just as sustainability is not a one-way direction, global- just to produce one kilogram of beef, compared with only 500 liters of water needed to ization should also not be seen as a one-way direction: often the developed / industrialized produce one kilogram of potatoes. countries can learn from the so called less developed countries. In other words, a fifth of the world’s population lives in industrialized countries, consum- ing and producing in excess and generating massive pollution. The remaining four-fifths live in developing countries and, for the most part, in poverty. to provide for their needs, they make heavy demands upon the Earth’s natural resources, causing a constant degradation of Earth provides enough to our planet’s ecosystem and limited supplies of fresh water, ocean water, forests, air, arable Sustainability is about more than just the environmental impact land, and open spaces. satisfy every man’s need, The number of vehicles has risen to almost 800 million, most of these in developed of consumption. It has ecological, social, economical, cultural and countries: 29 per cent are in the United States alone and just 2.4 per cent in Africa. The but not every man’s greed level of ownership is also unequal: there are 790 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants in the United esthetical, political, and human rights dimensions. It relates to States, but just 8 in India. Despite the pollution and congestion in cities, the number of cars MAHATMA GANDHI continues to grow relentlessly. human choices and quality of life for all Transport is the chief emitter of greenhouse gases, and the sheer number of users renders +++ the measures for controlling it complex. Although emissions from industry have fallen since +++ the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, emissions from transport have risen by 75 per cent. For Nature never breaks example, in our Western societies — especially in the cities — people have heavily estranged The Cultural and Human Rights Challenge from nature. Instead of having a walk in the country they buy a Sport Utility Vehicle for Environment and culture are so much interconnected and related to each other. And her own laws driving in the city. The product image of those cars suggests with neo-liberal phrases a it will increase even more as the global knowledge society is evolving at breakneck speed. “green lifestyle” to the customers. But those cars are most dangerous for our environment. Video phone and satellite conferences, the visualization of audio-communication, visual LEONARDO DA VINCI They consume far too much petrol and exhaust far too much climate killing CO2 and other simulation in science and research, the graphic ability of mobile phones, the World Wide dangerous gases. Petrol-guzzling cars have a 50% market share in the US. This American car Web, multi-media, universal mobile telecommunications systems, global networks; all lead +++ trend is a disaster for the global environment. Americans – 0.5% of the world population to the beginning of a visual alphabetization of culture. In other words, this represents a – are responsible for 26% of the worldwide CO2 emissions. Americans consume per capita visual presence from and on every corner of the world. We are standing at the beginning of a 10 times more petrol than the world average. The world now consumes in 6 weeks the same global product and visual culture, and value revolution. amount of oil that was consumed in one year in 1950. Half of it is used for transport. We A new visual culture is replacing the world of linearity. The accelerating convergence have been using electricity for 200 years, yet today over 2 billion people (40% of the world’s between telecommunications, broadcasting, multimedia and information and communica- population) still cannot access it. This is not all. The Earth’s population will have billions tion technologies is driving new products and services, as well as ways of conducting business additional inhabitants, as statistical forecast say. These people will live, for the most part, in and commerce. Never before in the history of humankind have so many had access to such developing countries. As these countries develop, their economic growth will jockey for posi- a wealth of information available for data rendering and application. Access to and under- tion with that of industrialized nations – within the limits of the Earth’s ecosystem. standing of information is the keys to success and to survive in social, cultural, economic, The Earth’s situation is not irreversible, but changes need to be made as soon as pos- technological and environmental terms. Information may be what is presented but knowl- sible. We have the chance to turn towards a sustainable development, one that allows us edge is the goal – the value. Designers, as the communicators and constructors are in the to improve the living conditions of the world’s citizens and to satisfy the needs of genera- process of “changing paradigms,” that is, from information to knowledge to environment. tions to come. This development would be based on an economic growth respectful both of The highest degree of creativity and innovative ability, combined with technological man and the natural resources of our unique planet. Such development requires improving expertise, is required to continue this process of value shift towards re-orienting, re-cycling, production methods and changing our consumption habits. With the active participation of re-using and re-ducing – re-constructing. This will include new consumption patterns and all the world’s citizens, each and every person can contribute to the future of the Earth and new value understanding, such as moving from buying and possessing products to sharing mankind, starting right now. products. To sum it up, the design becomes less material, more immaterial, more social and Sustainable development – the satisfaction of current human needs without deplet- ecological. ing the natural resource base for future generations – is the greatest challenge facing human- Worldwide, design has become more and more significant over the last years in all ity today. Mind the gap: Every day is Earth Day. areas and fields of industrial, commercial, cultural, ecological and social activities. Design Do we realize that if everyone in the world were to consume stuff like the average Euro- is necessarily multi-faceted and multi-dimensional in nature. There is excellent design and pean or North American, we would need other SIX earth planets to provide the necessary traditional craft, avant garde movements and popular culture in every metropolis. Design is resources? Much more needs to be done to reduce the stresses on our environment and expressing, communicating and constructing every typical culture and characteristic value natural resources. We must learn to meet our needs while reducing our burden on the planet. of our civilization. Culture encompasses language, traditions, morals, laws and the art of a 20 As the momentum of global change is so strong, we must also learn to adapt. community. 21

vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 cover story

he extensive commercialization thinking and Western cultural imperialism are Global Dimension for Design Education Helmut Langer The cultural diversity is a spreading around the world. As a result, the loss of the local, regional, ethnic or the Designers are in a key position to influence this change. In fact they are part of it. Design is a freelance national culture is progressing at rapid speed around the world. This loss of culture education has therefore to change dramatically the design thinking, design creation and graphic designer collective strength, which should is beginning to destroy our global heritage. We can see it in Africa, in Latin America; we design understanding and to influence the people. The growing digitalization, the advance working for high T quality visual have it in Europe. You have it here in India, and it is exploding in China. For example, in of globalization, the cultural merging and environmental challenges cause rethinking and benefit the entire world. In this the big Chinese cities one can see more visual pollution than in most Western cities. Which reorienting for all of us. The interaction of multitude and complex positions and the ever- conception and effects will have such domineering foreign culture – and I better should say “un-culture“ – on increasing sophistication of the rapid development are of fundamental importance for global creation for global sense, it should be recognized future generations of Chinese people? Generally, designers are in a key position to influence communication. Therefore the responsibility of designers is gaining significance for society communication this shift. Responsible designers as creators in any cultural process have the power to protect and environment. We can’t say anymore we didn’t know. We do not have an information projects. From and affirmed as a “Common their own cultural heritage, including new categories such as the intangible or ethnographic problem; we have an orientation problem. 1987 to 1993, he served as President and heritage. Individuals and communities will have to adapt to tomorrow’s conditions both spontane- member of the board of the International Heritage” of Humanity. The end of the cold war has created a series of tentative attempts to define “a new world ously and through planning. Both need the highest creativity. The five priority strategies for Council of Graphic Design Associations (ICO- order.” So far, the only certainty is that the international community has entered a period of adapting to change are: GRADA). He is specialized in cultural, social, Therefore, it is important to tremendous global transition that, at least for the time being, has created more social and -These are the fields where designers of all disciplines have to focus on when thinking, institutional and environmental projects, has ecological problems than solutions. We have the end of super-power rivalry, the growing planning and creating design. created many multicultural and global commu- add to the design curriculum North/South disparity in wealth and access to resources, and the beginning of the new sys- -Radical changes in consumption, production and distribution, thinking in a sustainable nication projects of international signification, tem of wealth creation. This new system – the super symbolic economy – of the knowledge sense is necessary for the future of our global environment and culture. Of course there are e.g. for several UN organizations and European another new dimension: The society will soon additionally split the world between the fast and the slow. In fast econo- different answers for different people around the world. Some will choose to consume less; institutions, and milestones for global network- mies, advanced technology speeds production. But this is not the least of it. The speed with most – the poor in the developing countries – will have to consume more! We should not ing in aid of our planet’s environment. His works learning and studying of other which data, information, and knowledge pulse through the economic, social and cultural forget that poverty is one of the biggest challenges we have to face in the future. are published worldwide and are represented systems is the important aspect. This coincides with an alarming increase in violence, poverty Some countries do not yet have such general conscience for the global environment and in major international design collections and cultures and unemployment, homelessness, displaced persons and the environmental destruction. sustainable consumption. But designers as the creatives should always be ahead. Design- exhibitions. He has received many prizes and While industrialized societies enter into the information and knowledge society and ers worldwide must be ready to meet the challenge. None of us can tackle these challenges awards. He is a speaker at international design +++ modern technologies develop and spread at rapid speed. 860 million adults are illiterate, over alone. Therefore I propose a fundamental change in design education: conventions and guest professor at various 100 million children have no access to school, and countless children, youth and adults who universities in Asia, Latin America and Europe; attend school or other education programmes fall short of the required level to be considered 1.Design education worldwide must be totally based on the broader sense of sustainability, which recently he was a guest-professor in Nagoya, literate in today’s complex world. Literacy is about more than reading and writing — it is must become the most important criteria for any design. Japan, and at the Ecosign Academy in Cologne, about how we communicate in society. It is about social practices and relationships, about Germany. Helmut is the chairman of the advi- knowledge, language and culture. Literacy — the use of written communication — finds its 2. A “Merry-Go-Round“should be introduced in the curriculum. Each design student has to be, at sory board of the Institute for Design Research place in our lives alongside other ways of communicating. Indeed, literacy itself takes many least for one term in design education, in another continent. in Germany and a member of the International forms: on paper, on the computer screen, on TV, on posters and signs, and on all everyday Institute for Information Design (IIID), Austria. life products. Responsibilities are common, as well as differentiated. All those involved must be seen to At the same time, previously isolated people are being brought together voluntarily and move for the common goal, even if at different speeds on different routes. And way must be E-mail: [email protected] involuntarily by the increasing integration of markets, the emergence of new regional politi- found to compare effort, so that all are seen to be pulling their weight, pulling their oar in cal alliances, and remarkable advances in telecommunications, biotechnology and transpor- the same direction. Different ways – common goal to educate a global designer’s generation. tation that have prompted unprecedented demographic shifts. The resulting confluence of Other cultures and the knowledge about other cultures are a great resource for the own peoples and cultures is an increasingly global, multicultural world brimming with tension, culture. The knowledge and experience of environmental problems in other world regions confusion and conflict in the process of its adjustment to pluralism. may contribute to a new design thinking and different consumption behavior as well as We must practice intercultural dialogue and respect cultural diversity as a contribution responsible use of resources: preserving through designing – we must think about a new to global pluralism. Our planet counts an endless number of peoples and communities, each (re)productive economy for living in different societies and cultures. with its specific languages, traditions, know-how and identities, which is an infinite source Nature, culture and society are endless resources for designers’ inspirations, in the past, of creativity and as such should enrich our lives. In this era of globalization, where the today and in future. Cultural variety is of equal importance as biological diversity. Global contact with the others is a daily matter, we must learn to use this wealth instead of rejecting reflection and knowledge can create more global awareness. It will provide us with an -op or ignoring it. portunity to deepen the understanding on the values of the cultural diversity and the natural The cultural diversity is a collective strength, which should benefit the entire world. In environment, and to learn to better “live together.” this sense, it should be recognized and affirmed as a “Common Heritage” of Humanity. Therefore, it is important to add to the design curriculum another new dimension: The A global designer thinks and acts globally responsibly. learning and studying of other cultures. Globalization also means cultural understanding A global designer protects the global environment. and cultural respecting on a global basis. This is the other great challenge we face. Culture is A global designer respects global cultural diversity and human rights. more than just culture. It has an ecological, social, economic, esthetical, political — environ- mental and a human rights dimension. And it is part of sustainability. Confucius said, “The human being has three options for intelligent acting - Through reflection — this is the most difficult one, - Through imitation — this is the easiest one, or - through experience — this is the bitterest one.” × 22 23

vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 design views

a Celebration of Design; Life By: Shimul Mehta Vyas

ur migration from the twentieth century to the twenty-first oving from the Industrial Age to Today, as we stand at the helm of the the Knowledge Age has brought knowledge era one is tempted to have a century has dramatically altered the landscape of design and about a paradigm shift in our reflective view on the contrasts of the- in very perception of things. The needs of the dustrial and knowledge age. “The Industrial its role in shaping the contours of our future. The purpose of MIndustrial Society were mainly concerned Age was based on mass production of ma- with satisfying the physical and physiologi- terial goods, supply chains, ‘mass man’ and design in improving people’s quality of life continues to retain cal needs of people. The role of design and ‘mass woman’ and identity defined in terms technology then was largely to satisfy the of ownership, status and possession. The its position. However, the context of design has changed and tangible, functional needs of people. The Knowledge Age is based on digitalization advent of Industrial Revolution and mecha- of almost everything: software and intel- has changed like never before. Design is today required to delve deep into un- nized production in the early part of the lectual property blocks, networks delivering last century followed by striding advance- value, self referential and autonomous in- derstanding what is happening in different societies, cultures and people’s daily ments in Communication and more impor- dividuals, and identity defined increasingly O tantly Information and Digital Technology in terms of access and usage” – Josephine life in order to envision a relevant and meaningful future. towards its later part, have empowered us to Green, Phillips Design. attain our physical needs and comforts to a great extent.

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vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 design views

The mainstay of Refering to Maslow’s theory of Hierarchy of Needs, people as consumers have now gradu- “The Lifestyle Accessory Design post graduate programme will educate and train profes- the LAD curriculum ated to a higher level of needs which are less tangible and more emotional, aesthetic and sional designers to visualize and create lifestyle accessories and systems using different mate- is to: spiritual in nature, thereby changing the premise of consumption. Another cardinal shift that rials and processes, drawing inspiration and strength from Indian and cross cultural diversity is being observed is that earlier our approach to consumption and consuming was passive and craft traditions which have contemporary applications and use in a global context”. The as we were guided by a manufacturing driven market. Having evolved to an entirely new designers from the programme will drive the market and make ‘Designed in India’ a premier 1. Digress from the legendary mantra of Form paradigm and living in a consumer driven economy today, as consumers we expect Design to global brand. follows Function and engage in designing engage us in experiences which closely relate to the softer aspects of our lives. products, systems and experiences which The LAD Programme are emotive and feeling driven Lifestyle Accessory Design is a unique programme which strategically deviates from the Changing Role of Design hardcore industrial design prophecy of form and function based design, and stands to be one 2. Adopt an intense consumer centric ap- of its kind, two and a half year academic programme at post graduate level. It is a context- proach wherein the lifestyle needs, values, Function inspired programme, which focuses to build the design students’ key competence in the aspirations, beliefs and cultural preferences ‚ domains of products for personal use and adornment, and products for spaces. It is con- of the consumer are placed as the core of Function+Aesthetics cerned with an in-depth study people’s everyday lives that are important and meaningful in the programme’s design philosophy ‚ the conception and design of relevant lifestyle products for a broad spectrum of consumers Function+Aesthetics+Performance representing various socio-economic strata. 3. Develop a true trans-disciplinary character ‚ The programme is an unusual amalgamation of the disciplines of Fashion Design, Indus- by practising a multi-material, multi-product, Function+Aesthetics+Performance+Experience trial Design and Design Ethnography. It encapsulates a wide spectrum of lifestyle products multi-context design process ‚ engaging an elaborate range of materials, techniques and processes – both traditional and Function+Aesthetics+Performance+Experience+Lifestyle technological. It emphasizes on the aspects of innovativeness of concept, formal attributes of 4. Profess the exemplar of ‘Learning to Learn’ the product coupled with its functional need and experiential value, its versatility of applica- promoting learning as a lifelong process tions and its consumer and market relevance. The birth of Lifestyle Accessory Design at NID In the emerging scenario, the boundaries of specializations within design are fading and 5. Promote a self initiated learner-centric The Lifestyle Accessory Design (LAD) programme, one of the new age design academic design is actively integrating with management, technology, social sciences, etc. Acknowl- academic culture enabling the students to programmes at the National Institute of Design (NID), India launched in the year 2002 edging this, the Lifestyle Accessory Design programme is broadly specialist wherein the -stu achieve their learning goals and aspirations came into being to train professional designers having core expertise in designing products dents develop competence in a specified area supported with a set of critical, complementary to suit the needs of contemporary living. The aim of the programme is to support the con- capabilities to operate successfully as lifestyle accessory designers. The students engage with 6. Inculcate a strong value system in the disci- sumers’ quest for improved well being and designing products which are reflective of their an extensive range of products in the categories of jewellery, bags, luggage, footwear, eyewear, pline and its students prescribing the virtues identity, aspirations, tastes, preferences, values and cultural lineage. watches, lighting, furnishings, furniture, space accessories and automobile interiors. This open of empathy, ethics and professionalism. ended choice of products and materials is one of the most alluring aspects attracting a -grow Establishing the Context of Lifestyle ing number of candidates to apply to this programme. Unlike the known and familiar realms of material or product centric design programmes, Paradoxically though, this very freedom could be overwhelming to cope with as the the genre of lifestyle is very conceptual in nature. Hence one of the critical tasks during the students could get carried away and may feel tempted to indulge in every possible product conception of the programme was to clearly articulate its meaning and intent so that it is un- segment, thereby not building integrated strength in a particular domain. The role of the derstood in the relevant context and not left to subjective interpretations. Interestingly, in the programme coordinator becomes cardinal here in mentoring the students to achieve the Indian perspective, the term lifestyle is restrictively synonymous to affluence and elitisism. It desired focus and depth of learning. was therefore not surprising that the need for such a programme was initially questioned as it was seemingly outside the purview of pure need based design and was perceived as being Building the LAD Discipline & its Programme Curriculum only aspirational. The broad, all encompassing scope of the phenomenon of lifestyle further Setting up a new design department and academic programme requires clear vision, in- made the task of defining lifestyle evermore significant. Generically, lifestyle could encom- depth planning, perseverant hard work and careful nurturance. It is a profound responsibility pass literally any aspect of an individual’s life -objects and possessions, spaces, clothing, food, to deliver the programme as envisioned to a high level of benchmark. Like never before, occupation, mobility, recreation, etc. Demystifying several erroneous notions about the term today’s generation of young, aspiring students are very focused and career driven seeking to and establishing a well manifested scope of the programme eventually led to its legitimate derive immense professional value out of the programme. Hence it is crucial particularly for acceptance. In concurrence with its dictionary meaning which defines lifestyle as a set of a post graduate programme to ensure that the promise of delivering exemplary professional attitudes, habits and possessions of an individual or group, the authors of the programme education of high calibre is duly accomplished. Building the curriculum of a new genus of perceive lifestyle as the way we live, the way we think and the way we conduct ourselves. It is academic programme which has no legacy to draw from and which is to chart its own inde- the way we choose to live our lives. Thus lifestyle accessories are objects and products that fit pendent design ideology and direction initially seemed quite daunting. This called for relent- into our living and everyday life. less efforts and a countless number of brainstorming sessions on part of the two member core faculty team assigned with the task of curriculum development. A series of draft cur- The LAD Vision riculum were generated and evaluated in the pursuit to develop the ideal curriculum. Most Envisioning the philosophy and premise of the new academic programme and shaping importantly, the curriculum had the onus of training designers to cater to the global as well the contours of its development has been one of the most edifying experiences. Keeping in as indigenous design needs of the lifestyle consumer, employing diverse design approaches view the dual demand of academic excellence and industry expectations on an education befitting distinctly different industry segments. The other equally important consideration programme, the LAD vision is professed to be a suitable blend of an alternative approach was to make the curriculum dynamic and constantly evolving to ensure its relevance in an to design promoting innovative, out-of-the-box thinking while successfully embracing the ever changing industry scenario. An ethos of making the students co-partners in the process emerging need of design and fulfilling its commercial expectations. The LAD vision is the of building the programme has been openly encouraged. outcome of an intense, thought provoking academia-industry brainstorming workshop, 26 which drafted the programme vision statement. 27

vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 design views

The curriculum comprises inputs classi- core faculty team is responsible to navigate the programme and offer inputs in workshop format wherein the students generate their own set of insights after a rigorous fied as core and complementary courses lifestyle related subject areas. Over and above the teaching inputs are drawn from study of the influencing forces. The insights are substantiated with scenario building and to build multi-dimensional competencies NID’s faculty in Industrial Design and Communication Design. The department consumer profiling exercise, consequently leading to generating design briefs for student in four key spheres of: Ainvites visiting experts from the field of academics, research and practice who expose the -stu projects. Assessing the profound worth of being able to project the future, and the opportu- dents to different currents of design thinking and issues. In the emerging academic scenario nities it could lead to both for design and commerce, the LAD discipline aspires to set up a Design Thinking & Practice the role of a faculty is shifting from being an educator to a mentor and facilitator. Recog- professional Trend Research activity at NID. To build capability in creative ideation, concept nizing this, the discipline attempts to expose the students to plurality of perspectives while generation, critical analysis, visualization and encouraging them to develop their own line of design thinking. Global exposure through Moving Ahead application international student exchange programmes are proving to be pivotal in building a macro Reflecting back, setting up the Lifestyle Accessory Design discipline and the academic perspective. For a new department and programme, it is important to document and build programme has been an extremely gratifying experience. The existence of the department is Shimul Mehta Vyas Design Theory & Research a portfolio of student course work both in terms of classroom exercises and concepts which well established amongst its peer disciplines at NID, the curriculum being delivered at a con- To understand and appreciate different design have been realized as prototypes, serving as an valuable reference resource for posterity. The sistent level of quality, the programme well recognized in the industry and the students -step is a Faculty of Lifestyle philosophies and approaches, delve deeply discipline is thus pro-actively encouraging the students in elevating their prototypes to the ping in the professional world as matured, confident graduates. As the Lifestyle Accessory Accessory Design into consumer perception and behavior based next level and converting them into commercial products by offering the necessary incuba- designers embark on their professional journey, there will be multifarious challenges in their Discipline at NID. issues, discover and develop new knowledge tion support. The products thus realized are showcased at NID’s on campus design outlet pursuit to design for the Indian as well as the global lifestyle consumer. Both the scenarios domains Nidus which provides a good testing ground and direct consumer feedback to the students would have their own set of demands, expectations and opportunities. Operating within the on their designs. This initiative has resulted in valuably enhancing their academic learning. Indian paradigm, the LAD designer will have to strike a fair balance in catering to the con- Design Realization Skills The LAD graduates are well placed in diverse segments and are meaningfully contribut- trasting needs of the socio-economically, under-privileged consumers and the aspiring luxury To build dexterity in handling and manipulating ing to the Indian industry. consumer at diametrically opposite ends of the spectrum. The most critical challenge will be materials and processes, engaging upcoming to understand the duality of the upwardly mobile, growing Indian middle class which on one technologies for visualization, design detailing Partnering With Industry hand is deeply rooted in traditional values while on the other hand strongly manifests global and execution It is becoming increasingly imperative for any design academic programme to have close aspirations. The other critical aspect would be to draw on India’s repertoire of rich cultural linkages with its related industry segment as the programme’s larger purpose is to cater to heritage and tacit knowledge existing at the grass root levels and converge it with design and Design Management the design needs of the industry. Being connected with the outside world is extremely crucial new technologies for contemporary applications. To understand vital nuances of business for the programme to establish its industry and market relevance. Hence the task of building On the global front, the designer will have to function with a macro perspective and at processes which enable the design ideas collaborative association with key players in the industry and its trade bodies was initiated all times be aware of the changing demands on design. As highlighted in the introductory ...the psychological aspects to be converted into market reality. Inputs in right from the inception of the programme. The LAD department has successfully built a chapter of the book Designing the 21st Century, the predicted needs of design in this cen- basic design are given in the initial phase of strong industry network which has extended an over-arching support and guidance to the tury would revolve around certain critical issues. In response to the advanced technological of design are also extensively the programme after which the curriculum programme in its formative years. The collaboration continues to grow with many good complexity envisaged, the need for simplification of design is at the forefront. As expressed focuses on independent research and project Indian companies of acclaimed repute offering outstanding industry based classroom project by many design practitioners, there is an urgent need to reject technology driven goods that gaining prominence. Designers based learning. A host of mini and major learning, training and placement opportunities to the LAD students and graduates. Efforts have no regard for human needs and communicative rationality. Designers must hence devise design projects strategically positioned in the are now initiated to expand the ambit of its industry partners and establish international products that are humane, simple, easily understood and used in an intuitive way. do realise the need to go curriculum give students the opportunity to collaborations, which will usher in different kinds of opportunities for the students and the As stated in the beginning of this paper, the psychological aspects of design are also apply diverse design approaches from micro to LAD discipline at large. extensively gaining prominence. Designers do realise the need to go beyond the consider- beyond the considerations of macro, craft to industry and products to spaces ations of form and function and build emotive attributes in products. “Today’s products are to experiences. The programme culminates into Jewellery Design required to make pleasurable, emotional connections with the consumers through the joy form and function and build a rigorous, six month diploma project with the In response to the changing perception of jewellery particularly in the Indian context, the of their use and beauty of their form. Emotionalism is considered by many designers as a industry wherein the students are required to programme is consciously developing a radical ideology and approach to jewellery. The powerful and essential way of facilitating better and more meaningful connections between emotive attributes in products apply their academic learning as professional ongoing metamorphosis of the Indian society is repositioning jewellery from being an object products and their users” -Designing the 21st Century. designers while working on live design projects. of beauty and adornment to being a lifestyle product. A shift in consumer preference from Furthermore, lineage either towards individualistic or universal design solutions have +++ The diploma projects are embedded in the traditionally hand-crafted jewellery to mass manufactured branded jewellery manifesting the cascading implications for the future of design. The proponents of individualism advocate it context of Design Practice, Design Research wearer’s individuality and lifestyle is clearly visible. The programme acknowledges this and as the means for personal creative expression or to cater to consumer demands for individu- and Design Strategy. is developing its own approach to jewellery whereby the students are required to holistically alistic products. The opponents advocate universal solutions that are considered as environ- integrate larger contextual issues in generating concepts to adequately accommodate the mentally sound and have greater emphasis on functional and aesthetic durability. Designers contemporary consumers’ changing expectations from a personal product such as jewellery. need to employ new approaches by which these two distinctly diverse ideologies can be References:

The programme boasts of being able to establish a laudable range of design contexts for reconciled. The future of design thus may lie in the creation of universal solutions that can be 1. KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS ELECTRONICS N. V., 2003. jewellery such as smart jewellery, spiritual jewellery, jewellery for the less abled, jewellery for efficiently adapted to meet individualistic needs. Most importantly the mindless homogene- The new everyday. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers protection, therapeutic jewellery, tradition and culture inspired jewellery. A comprehensive ity triggered by relentless globalization calls for serious attention. Loss of cultural identity 2. FIELL, CHARLOTTE AND PETER, ed., 2005. design process is pursued and the students are expected to independently execute their con- has lead to cloning of products, services and experiences bearing no indication of their roots Designing the 21st Century. Cologne: Taschen cepts in form of finished jewellery pieces. Each year, the collection designed by the student and origin. The need for preserving the geographical and cultural context in design should batch is displayed at prominent trade shows as an exhibition. be the designer’s prime priority. Simply concluding, the designer needs to perceive and propagate the role of Design as something which is not larger than life but which is rather a Trend Research celebration of life. Another initiative of significant consequence is developing competence in macro Trend Research. Globally, trend research is emerging as a new age design research tool to gain vital × insights into forces such as politics, economy, society, culture and technology that impact consumer lifestyles and the choices they make thereof. An understanding of these influenc- 28 ing forces is very important to effectively cater their current needs while predicting future 29 needs and opportunities. Trend research is steered as a part of the LAD curriculum in a

vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 design views

By: lso, to gain new insights and inspirations for innovations, students need to develop Shashank Mehta the attitude to constantly explore and sensitise themselves to their surroundings. The paper describes in detail the authors’ experience of developing and teaching the & Acourse modules titled ‘Indigenous Innovations’ and ‘Craft and Technology’, to the students of Product Design discipline at NID and IIT Guwahati respectively. The course module is Ravi Mokashi-Punekar one such creative attempt to encourage students to explore the indigenous resources that are available outside and through the process, generate curiosity and thirst for new knowledge among them. One would, in day-to-day life, come across quite a few products that may have been in- novatively modified personally / locally to meet the specific needs and requirements of the person or persons involved. These innovation/s could be in the form of non-conventional use of a given product, local improvisation dependent on the felt needs or constraints, new application of the product / materials, or by modification through addition or subtraction or in form of systems. These indigenous resources that are available outside can be used as 31 excellent real life case studies.

vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 design views

The course directs students to look out for such products/ solutions during the vacation, and select one he module ‘Indigenous Innovations’ is introduced at the end of the first semester so such product / solution that they find meets the above criteria and are then directed to document the that they can carry out their assignment during the winter break (Diwali vacation), same. Through the documentation and inquiry, students understand the process of innovation, the while they are traveling back to home or during their stay at home. The assignment specific need to arrive at a solution, the context and the reason to arrive at the specific solution, and doesT not actually require devoting intense efforts or major time commitment, but it makes the previous knowledge and resources that led to the solution. It also helps develop sensitivity and the student conscious all the time to look around and find the solution that corresponds to respect for their surroundings and the society. the course requirement. In the beginning of the course, the introduction to the assignment is consciously kept open ended, yet brief, to maintain ambiguity in oder to motivate students to develop their own understanding and definition of innovation through this process of docu- The module attempts to subtly This paper is an attempt to portray the experience and insights gained by the authors in mentation. When the students come back from their field studies, a display of their work is developing and teaching the course modules in product design with a focus on exploring arranged in the form of a competition among the entire group. Each student presents the arouse curiosity in these young ‘Indigenous Innovations’ at the two schools of design viz. National Institute of Design, solution that he/she has documented and is encouraged to convince and justify his/her solu- NID, Ahmedabad and the Department of Design (DoD), IIT Guwahati. These modules tion to the entire group. Varied and interesting interpretations of the definition of innovation minds by asking them to entail students to identify indigenously innovated, developed and modified products and emerge from their final display. Through the intense deliberations, while selecting the best services from their immediate surroundings and document the same. Through this process ‘indigenous innovation’ documented, major learning and understanding of various types and constantly graze for innovative of documentation students not only understand the process of innovation but also develop processes of innovations take place. Through this journey, while the process of innovation a sensitivity and respect towards their surroundings and society. The module attempts to gets demystified, the student also learns to appreciate the indigenous resources available solutions in their immediate subtly arouse curiosity in these young minds by asking them to constantly graze for innova- outside. Basic criteria that can be used by students as guidelines for selecting products / -ser tive solutions in their immediate environments / surroundings otherwise known to them as vices are provided to them as part of their course abstract sheet. The student needs to select environments / surroundings mundane. Through this process, the module aims to inculcate in a student the vital attitude one such product / solution that he/she finds meets the given criteria and is then directed to of a designer to observe, investigate and learn from the field. “We had to document one such document the same. Students are recommended to explore more such solutions and compare otherwise known to them as product/ solution, over the 3rd semester-end vacation, in our home town. Having recently them from the point of view of innovation before finally selecting one such solution for shifted to Dehra Dun, this course gave me an amazing opportunity not only to explore my detailed documentation. Through documentation and enquiry, students cover the process mundane. Through this process, new home but also to roam around the town’s surrounding areas and come across surpris- of innovation, the specific need to develop the solution, the person’s / innovator’s previous ingly interesting and innovative things. To tell the truth, I hadn’t really expected to find too knowledge and resources available around him / her that led to the specific solution, the the module aims to inculcate in many things of interest considering the relative backwardness of the area, but as it turned context, and the reason to arrive at the specific solution. The quest to understand the process out, I was wrong. And I’m really glad about that” , wrote Dhriti Dhaundiyal, a student of of innovation in the improved earthen diya that was found in Nagpur, took Sonali Gharad, a a student the vital attitude of a Under Graduate Programme in Product Design, after completing one such course module. Post Graduate student of Product Design to a nearby village comprising of about 25 potter It is being increasingly observed that the new entrants at the two design schools arrived families. The struggle for survival has resulted in this new design of the earthen diya (lamp), designer to observe, investigate with limited visual vocabulary and limited interests to explore and learn from their sur- the flame of which now lasts longer than the candles that are available at a lower cost in the roundings. Increasing demands of study at the school, that is heavily theory centric, leaves market. The tortoise shaped form of this new design of earthen diya which is the symbol and learn from the field the students very little time for play and for explorations. Coupled with this, the addiction to of prosperity in the Hindu religion, helps protect the flame from wind and minimises the television and the increasing use of computer pose as major hindrance to the scope for these wastage of oil. Sonali traced the reasons of the popularity of earthen diyas and Nagpurians’ +++ young minds to explore and sensitise themselves to their surroundings. These students with (people of Nagpur) love for festivals and celebrations to the successive dynastic rule of the limited source of inspiration, experience, knowledge and thus inferences, when embark on Maratha kings. “The cosmopolitan impression of these ruling dynasties is clearly seen on the their design projects face difficulty in developing a variety of alternative solutions / -con sociocultural tradition of Nagpurians, though with modernisation the form and style under- cepts. Students also lack in confidence and thus feel hesitant to go out and approach new went significant changes”, observed Sonali. people who may be end users, servicepersons, manufacturers, competitors or new clients, Amit Patankar, another student (year 2004) documented the innovative uses/ affordance and cajole them to dig out the critical insights and understandings for their projects. In of the serving bowl. Serving bowl is a common and versatile utensil that one can find in Through this journey, while today’s increasingly saturated globalised world, as the success of new designs increasingly most of the Indian Kitchens. The bowl is available in various sizes and is used for several depends on the softer and the intangible aspects of products, these weaknesses may prove purposes. Patankar documented the serving bowl being used to mix spices, to make certain the process of innovation major handicap to these young designers. Learning from the field is thus made an integral pastes, in cutting slices of banana, in peeling sweet potato and carrot, for cutting garlic, to part of the curriculum in the design programme. Students are provided with a number of mould ‘idli’, used as a cutting template to cut ‘poories’ of uniform round size out of flattened gets demystified, the student opportunities during their study and are encouraged to go out to the field and learn through dough, to pour and spread liquid on a pan to make ‘dosa’, etc. “The simplicity of the product interaction with various stake holders. ‘Environmental Perception’ and ‘Craft Documenta- made me study its innovative uses by the Indian housewives. The uses (affordance) might also learns to appreciate the tion’ are such unique courses offered at NID that are tailor-made to suit the Indian context, not even have been thought of, before its manufacture”, writes Amit in his document. “The which have been further refined and perfected over the years. Similarly, the Department of simpler the product, the more useful it is, in other words, less is more”, concludes Amit. indigenous resources available Design (DoD), IIT Guwahati introduced ‘Craft and Technology’, a project based course that While Amit was fascinated with innovative uses of a simple kitchen utensil like a serving blends technology inputs and the rich traditional domain of crafts of the northeastern India. bowl, his classmate documented the innovative modification that one of the auto rickshaw outside These courses require students to stay with the artisans / villagers for two / three weeks and drivers in Delhi carried out in his auto rickshaw so as to relieve the wrist pain caused by document their macro and micro lives exploring and learning about their culture, tradition, driving daily for about 15hrs. He converted the brake lever of the front wheel into accelera- +++ profession, artefacts, etc. Various design projects that the students undertake as part of their tor so that the speed can be controlled by pressing this lever. The students, after completing study provide ample opportunities and challenges to face real life situations at the same time. this course, were thus suddenly finding great interest in exploring their surroundings, and Both these modules, ‘Indigenous Innovations’ and ‘Craft and Technology’ attempt to mo- they started noticing these little innovations carried out either by the workshop staff of the tivate students to learn from field, before they embark on their design projects. These- mod institute, roadside vendors, and repair and service people or even by their fellow batch mates. ules have been introduced to the students since 2001 and are offered at both undergraduate Most importantly, students started appreciating these innovations and the people behind and postgraduate levels. Students of both these groups enter into the course with the basic them – the innovators. Nilesh Kirtane (year 2004) documented an innovative pencil sharp- skills such as drawing, sketching and basic understanding of design process. ener that his fellow batch mate of animation film design discipline at NID had developed. 32 An animator, who is always into rigorous sketching, requires his/her pencils to be sharpened 33 at quick and short intervals. Looking at this need for a bigger container for dust collection,

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he developed a sharpener using the empty CD container and the normal sharpener available and facilitating their innovators to further improve the ideas into marketable products. These in the market. ideas also provide good opportunities and scope for designers and design students to take Innovation is typically understood as conversion of knowledge and ideas into something them up as design challenges. The opportunity to work with these grass-root innovators, Shashank new and useful. These case studies of in-depth inquiry of arriving at such unique solu- through GIAN, has led the author Shashank Mehta to redesign the four wheel bullock cart Mehta tions, and subsequent group presentations and discussions have helped students gain vital and the pesticide sprayer. This work has also resulted in inspiring design students to take up is a faculty of understanding of the processes followed to arrive at such innovative solutions. This critical projects in these areas. It has also resulted in setting up of GRIDS design studio at NID. Industrial Design learning, at an early stage of their study, helps students develop their design approaches that Also, to be a member of the jury, since last few years, to adjudge the ‘best innovative and Chairman, would lead to innovative solutions. product’ from the ‘National Craft Fair’ organised every year in Ahmedabad, and attended by Research & Pub- At the Department of Design (DoD), IIT Guwahati, explorations on the innovative use more than 500 artisans from across the country, has been the most enriching, learning and lication at NID of eggshells as moulds for casting bee-wax candles led Divya Gupta to a novel concept of humbling experience for the author Shashank Mehta. Here, one would find solutions that integrating patterns in lit ‘diyas’ for the Indian festival of lights -‘Diwali’. Siddarth Mohan connect and combine traditional skills / technology available to the contemporary needs and on the other hand was fascinated in the manner in which bamboo was being heat bent and markets thereby helping the person / innovator create employment opportunities. A crafts shaped to come up with the concept of a one piece bamboo ‘sittee’. Addressing the demands person – a potter by profession, in a remote village of Gujarat applied ‘teflon coating’ on for basic bus shelter, specifically for the rainy season, Nishant Gupta developed a structure the surface of the earthen hot-plates that are traditionally used by people to make ‘chapatis’ Ravi Mokashi- using bamboo as a sustainable alternative for the rural village bus stop for locations in the (Breads). Teflon provides non stick coating on the surface, while the earthen hot-plate helps Punekar vicinity of Guwahati. A.K Das (Faculty, IIT,Guwahati) was touched by the manual labour much needed slow heat for cooking. Combining modern technology/ materials such as Tef- is an Ex NID involved in the popular means of public transport, the ‘cycle rickshaw’. He addressed the lon Coating with the traditional earthen hot-plate helped this product find an urban market, Faculty and issues of improved ergonomics and basic shade in the form of an overhead hood in fiberglass which was otherwise used only in the villages. presently Associate to bring comfort to both the rickshaw puller and the customer. These are ideas that were While some of them might have evolved over the years, many of these solutions are Professor, generated in a participatory spirit through engagement and dialogue with the local people. developed by individual/s just to solve their personal problems, increase the usage of available Department of resources or to generate employment opportunities utilising their limited resources and skills. Design, One would find innovations at its best and used most appropriately to solve the very basic IIT Guwahati needs. Palm leaf fibre brooms/sweeps (a large size brush) were traditionally used in villages One would, in India, find amazing solutions, so indigenously to clean the floors and large verandah in the villages. As the size of the home reduced and the floors that were traditionally made using cow-dung were replaced with ceramic tiles and developed by the common people to adapt and accommodate in marble floorings, these brooms/ sweeps had lost their market. A crafts woman from the -re mote village of Chattisgarh, one of the states of India, developed a small sized broom/sweep ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS order to make the most of whatever resources and skills available that can be used in the urban households to clean and dust furniture, doors, and windows. Dhaundiyal Dhriti, Gharad Sonali, Kirtane Nilesh, Patankar Amit Product Design students (2001 -04), NID, Ahmedabad This innovation helped her gain contemporary market for the materials that are available at at their disposal. Here, design is not limited only to designers. her doorstep and most importantly, for the skill that she possessed, which would otherwise Gupta Divya, Gupta Nilesh, Mohan Siddarth Product Design students, DoD, IIT, Guwahati have been lost completely. Limitations in terms of resources, skill levels and fewer job Das A.K.; Associate Professor, DoD, IIT, Guwahati There are such indigenous resources available outside that can be used as real life case studies opportunities motivate people to constantly evolve and innovate the for the students of design to learn and understand the process of innovation, and the factors that lead to their final outcomes - innovations. For today’s global markets, innovation is the ways for their survival and sustenance key to any business success. The students of design therefore need to develop critical capa- bilities to innovate. These case studies from the day-today life outside, are the most practical +++ and simplified resources for them to learn and get inspired. Design primarily is an attitude to observe, investigate, and learn from the field and -ap ply the learning and new insights onto the new situations and new problems/ challenges, These innovations could be either to increase the life cycle or usage of the available eventually, to arrive at the solution that is most appropriate in the context. It is therefore resources or products such as the auto-rickshaw used (doubles-up) as a school bus, or it important to imbibe these qualities in design students, at a very early stage of their study. may be to reuse or recycle the available product/ materials such as paper bags made from Developing such creative assignments that arouse interest and curiosity in young minds and used news papers. In addition, offshoot applications are created to best utilise the prod- motivate them to explore their world outside is always a challenge for the course teacher/ ucts / resources available. Banana leaf used as a plate for having meals or washing machine guide. Course modules ‘Indigenous Innovations’ and ‘Craft and Technology’ are such at- used (mainly in northern regions/ parts of the country) to churn buttermilk, are a few such tempts towards this end. As course teachers, we feel satisfied to see that we have succeeded common examples that one would come across in the country. Purpose of innovation here in broadening the perspective and understanding the definition and the process of innova- extends beyond just the commercialisation of the idea. It is carried out to add value, to create tion in these young minds. It has also helped create a respect for the resources that are avail- new opportunities and above all to improve the quality of life of the people involved. By able outside and the needed spark in these young designers to explore the resources to gain their very nature of development, these solutions/ ideas would have inbuilt considerations new insights. of many of its usability, practicality (in terms of its production / fabrication), ecological, × cultural, and sustainability aspects of design. Though, sometimes these innovative solutions/ ideas are locally termed as ‘jugad’ (fix-it-solution), they serve the purpose most effectively in terms of providing the most appropriate solutions for the local problems. As these solu- tions emerge from local knowledge and also utilise the local resources, they also carry great potential for their reproduction and/or replication for others to also benefit from the same. Gujarat Grassroots Innovations Augmentation Network, GIAN, a voluntary agency based at 34 Ahmedabad with its branch office at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati campus, 35 has been doing outstanding work in terms of identifying these solutions, documenting them,

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Designing the Past beyond their normal audience as well as nationally and internationally). The result

This paper contends that contemporary design has a fundamental role to play was spectacular; not only were the artists able to earn a living, but they did so by in maintaining traditional culture, a role that can lead to economic and cultural benefits and may result in a more globalized and secure world. strengthening the bonds of their cultural heritage, expressing the legends of their

The research project it describes addresses the needs of Khmer puppetry through past; their work became better known through promotion and the community of which legends and social traditions are preserved and involves the design of new puppets, which represent traditional characters; it will develop new construction which they were part of, grew both in cultural identity and prosperity. techniques and materials, which will preserve the puppets and make them more du- rable and less subject to the effects of transport and climate. It seeks to design new theatres, easily portable and more practical for transport over long distances. Sets will also be redesigned, extending the visual effect of the performances, exploring a n the early 1990’s, an exhibition was held in Teheran to give These examples consider how fairly minor design developments new range of expressive elements which relate to contemporary society, bridging the identity to Iranian women artists. The exhibition was organized have had a huge impact on the preservation and conservation of gap between past and present, while preserving the relevance of traditional culture to highlight the cultural contribution made by women artists, traditional societies and produced an impact disproportionately to both. Eventually the new developments will be used as the basis of a training pro- which was often ignored by the broader art world and received large in cultural terms. gramme for a new generation of performers, aware of Khmer traditions, but employ- I limited attention in any context. The Iran art world had been domi- The following paper discusses a project in which the Faculty of ing contemporary resources to communicate them. The project is part of a broader nated by male artists and the Teheran Museum of Contemporary Art and Design at Monash University is involved as a partner with programme aimed at restoring the art forms of the ‘Living Treasures’ of Cambodia, Art developed a project to address the imbalance. The exhibition World Education, a non profit organization dedicated to projects the cultural figures whose status and practice was destroyed under the Khmer was designed to create an opportunity for women to raise the profile for economic and social development. The project was arranged Rouge regime and which Cambodian artists are now trying to restore. of what they were doing and to integrate them into the broader through the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development art world. Iranian women artists had seldom received recognition Program (AYAD). It is part of a broader program aimed at restoring This project employs a design sensibility in the regeneration of cultural traditions. It outside the country except when they had chosen to live and work the status and art forms of the ‘Living Treasures’ of Cambodia, the puts design into the immediate service of society, addressing the fundamental hu- abroad. This event attracted ex patriot artists giving extra attention cultural figures whose status and practice was destroyed under the man needs of cultural identity and self respect, while providing a basis from which to the considerable role of female artists generally and especially the Khmer Rouge regime and which Cambodian artists are now trying economic and social benefits can grow. It is hoped the project when completed will significant role their work made to Iranian culture. A major publica- to restore. The program is reasserting traditional Khmer culture, have contributed to the financial, social, cultural and personal well being of the nation tion accompanied the exhibition, which catalogued the scope and reinforcing its forms and values and communicating these to a as well as providing the world with an art form which at present scarcely survives. style of the work. national and international audience. The Cambodian artists involved In 1988, an exhibition of photographs from Romania was held see this as an important reawakening of the historic identity of the in various parts of Europe. The photographs had been smuggled nation. It links a new generation with their cultural foundations and By: Bernard Hoffert out of Bucharest and showed the systematic removal of traditional recognizes the worth of the past, re-establishing the knowledge and Romanian villages under the Ceausescu regime. The destruction prestige of Khmer culture both nationally and internationally. The was total, including dwellings, public buildings, medieval churches, Monash partner project works with traditional puppet perform- historic frescoes and art works, in an attempt to obliterate aspects ers, redeveloping the traditions of the puppet theatre as integral to of the past. The story told by former residents was that about three Khmer cultural expression and providing ways it can access a broad- weeks before the event was to take place, villages were informed er Cambodian audience as well as take the theatre internationally. A they should collect their possessions including animals and move senior Monash Art and Design student has been involved for about ome years ago acommunity of sculptors working in Burkina Faso their families elsewhere by a designated day. When the day arrived, 12 months with this activity as a Project Advisor, bringing a broader large bulldozers came to the village, scooped out a huge pit on creative and design perspective, and she will be continuing to work had become impoverished, without access to a foundry to exercise one side and progressively pushed the entire village into the hole. in Cambodia in 2005. The project, in part, provides administrative Everything disappeared from sight except the large mound of filler, and technical support for the theatre, helping with promotion and the traditional bronze techniques they employed; as a result they which was spread over the pit hiding the remnants of centuries from day-to-day activities, to ensure it becomes re-established. However public view. The exhibition was small, but deeply moving, bringing it is at a broader level that the project has the most impact. were artistically alienated and economically destitute. A project information on events inside a closed and repressive society, from which it was difficult to gain information, to a then divided Europe. was undertaken by the International Association of Art to design a The exhibition caused massive concern throughout the intellectual community and support against the destruction was garnisheered These examples consider how fairly minor small-scale foundry that enabled these bronze castors to use their lost wax cast- through the division of Art & Cultural Life in UNESCO. This exhibition was a mechanism through which public awareness was design developments have had a huge impact ing techniques to express their personal, social and cultural needs, develop their raised and was a contributing aspect to the fall of the Ceausescu regime in 1989. The exhibition was made possible by the design of a on the preservation and conservation of traditional art forms and to project these into the contemporary art context. A portable, light and easily assembled display unit, which facilitated an exhibition being mounted in any location, without dependence on traditional societies and produced an impact S formal exhibition spaces or galleries. promotional video was also designed and produced to explain and advertise what disproportionately large in cultural terms 36 they were doing; (this gave them a promotional tool to develop interest in their art +++ 37

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Context and Resources Association has developed into an international focal point Project Role The main aspect of the activity is to preserve traditions while rede- for training, learning and exchange of Khmer performing arts, Having already established a familiarity with the contemporary Khmer context, the Project signing the processes by which they are communicated. The project allowing the possibility of sharing experiences between foreign Advisor will continue the production of a collaborative show at Sovanna Phum, while assess- involves the design of new puppets, which represent traditional artists and promoting artistic creativity. The Association col- ing the venue’s current capacity and future needs. The Advisor would also assist in adminis- characters; this will develop new construction techniques and laborates with United Nations Non-Government Organizations trative and office work at Sovanna Phum and attend regular Phnom Penh Arts Roundtable materials, which will preserve the puppets and make them more and other institutions in disseminating social, educational, and meetings; this will assist SKA in networking with the growing number of arts organizations durable and less subject to the effects of transport and climate. It health messages, often doing provincial tours. Today, Sovanna in Phnom Penh. A major part of her work will be research, extracting as much detail as can seeks to design new theatres, easily portable and more practical for Phum employs a group of 80 artists. be found from the limited remaining archives on the puppet theatre and it’s functioning; this transport over long distances. Sets will also be redesigned, extend- The projects draw on established resources where they still will assist her in providing a fresh, but informed outlook to re-conceptualize and redesign ing the visual effect of the performances, exploring a new range of exist one being the Buddhist Temple Wat Rajabo, (colloquially the performance process as might be necessary. expressive elements which relate to contemporary society, bridging know as ‘Wat Bo’) which has traditionally been an institutional After six months of work in Phnom Penh, the Advisor will move to Siem Reap to utilize the gap between past and present, while preserving the relevance patron of the arts. Located in Siem Reap, Wat Bo facilitates her skills there. Siem Reap is a smaller city, the former capitol of the Angkorean Empire of traditional culture to both. An integral part of the project is the training in classical dance, shadow puppets (large and small), (980-1440 AD). The area is developing quickly due to the rapid growth of the Angkor designing of new festivals, growing from past forms but broaden- and different forms of music. Wat archaeological park. Despite the significance of Siem Reap in Khmer history, there are ing their references with contemporary contexts. Eventually the In post-conflict countries such as Cambodia, the revival and few legitimate performing opportunities for authentic Cambodian performing arts. Most new developments will be used as the basis of a training program support of traditional and contemporary arts is a vital aspect of performances are uninspired repetitions of traditional dance sponsored by hotels for tourist integrating them with the past through a new generation of per- both social and cultural development. SKA has been success- audiences. The setting and pay are both demeaning to artists and are actually causing dete- formers, aware of Khmer traditions, but employing contemporary ful in re-discovering many lost masters in traditional arts and rioration in quality of performance. resources to communicate them. providing them with the support necessary for their re-estab- In Siem Reap, SKA partners with the Buddhist Temple Wat Bo in reviving traditions. To maximize the impact of projects aimed at social or cultural lishment as respected performers and teachers. Despite their It sponsors music classes, an annual cultural festival and the rare puppet/dance form of regeneration and support, it is necessary to identify activities that high-level skill and cultural significance, indeed because of it, large shadow puppets, ‘Sbaek Thom’. (The Sbaek Thom form has recently been declared a can be feasibly addressed over a relatively short period, using master artists were relocated physically, separating them from protected form of Khmer heritage by UNESCO). The Sbaek Thom troupe has regularly resources that are available. The partnership, which AYAD has their art forms, their students and their cultural role. Often they performed for both rural villagers and tourist audiences, and is receiving greater attention established with World Education, provides a program of action were forced into menial work in an attempt to demean their with the advent of this project and the UNESCO listing. There are office and administration that individuals and institutions can work on bringing knowledge, skills and devalue their knowledge of traditional Khmer culture. facilities at Wat Bo, but the arts teachers and staff have little experience in running a profes- experiences and expertise to specific tasks where there are discern- It is important that these masters re-establish bonds with their sional performing troupe. ible economic and social outcomes and realizable expectations. students and that they are able to continue in their artistic SKA has built a small stage inside Wat Bo, and a theatre for rehearsals and performance This project creates an opportunity for the domain of design to endeavors in an ongoing, sustainable manner. Only in this way adjacent to the temple grounds. Due to high demand for performances in Siem Reap and contribute to the broader World Education objectives of improv- will the richness and diversity of Khmer culture be regenerated the growing number of performing artists working in the area, SKA is trying to help Wat Bo ing the lives of the poor through its programs. These provide and perpetuated for the future. What is required in the context develop a community theatre based on the Sovanna Phum model, but does not have staffing training and technical assistance in non-formal education for of this project is the establishment of increased performance to generate this. It does have a sponsor interested in helping finance the development of a adults and children, with special emphasis on income generation, opportunities both at home and abroad and the development community theatre once a plan is devised by the Project Advisor. The project is hopeful of small enterprise development, literacy, education for the work- of the broadest audience possible. Electronic technology will attracting funds from expatriate Cambodians, many of whom have prospered abroad. place, environmental education, reproductive health, maternal be used to develop publicity. It is expected that mass media will In coordination with the teachers and students at Wat Bo, the Project Advisor will assist and child health, HIV/AIDS education and refugee orientation. provide a crucial resource for the fostering and nurturing of an in the development of performance opportunities in Siem Reap. This will involve assisting Projects are designed to contribute to individual growth as well as audience base. and observing performances of the Sbaek Thom and music classes, helping with administra- community and national development. In this particular project Sovanna Phum has become the leading locally based performing tion and coordination of the annual cultural festival, and liaising with local arts groups and it works through Silapak Khmer Amatak (SKA) (‘Cambodian arts venue, a successful community arts centre that attracts Khmer, patrons of the arts. It is intended that this will help build an understanding between different Living Arts’). ‘SKA’ was initiated in 1998 by Arn Chorn-Pond and expatriate, and tourist audience to regular performances by resident groups of artists and the community perception of their function. a group of Cambodian-Americans and other US based support- artists and visiting performers. They are in a phase of transition, from The Advisor will build on the performance infrastructure of the Wat Bo theatre by ers who wanted to restore dignity to Cambodia’s “living treasures” the initial years of development as a small association into a new phase presenting the collaborative show developed with Sovanna Phum, with the assistance of who had suffered greatly during the Khmer Rouge era. In addition of increased activity and expansion. Additional assistance in the areas Sovanna Phum and Wat Bo performers. This will provide a key link between centers and to its core project to support surviving masters and teach students, of design, publicity and administration will be beneficial in order to artists, as well as support personnel from the respective venues, via a joint production; it will the organization is now sponsoring nearly 20 additional projects capitalize upon their current successes. highlight cooperation and collaboration as well as the Wat Bo Theatre performance space. and initiatives, including a high quality sound and video studio, a Depending on the Advisor’s assessment of the Wat Bo. Theatre’s capacity and the time rare music forms project, and international arts exchanges. SKA necessary to develop the performance, this could be done at the beginning or the end of the aims not only to revive traditional forms but also to inspire a period spent in Siem Reap. cultural renaissance to make the arts Cambodia’s international signature by the year 2020. SKA works both to directly teach and sponsor performances, and as a facilitator to strengthen the Cambodian arts environment. It works closely with Amrita Performing Arts Association, the Royal University of Fine Arts, The Phnom Penh Arts Roundtable, and many other formal and informal organizations. The focus of the puppet project is the Phnom Penh based Sovanna Phum Theatre, started in 1994. The Theatre and its As- sociation were created in order to give Khmer artists the oppor- 38 tunity to make a living from their art, and to bring Khmer culture 39 to a wider audience in Cambodia and abroad. In recent years, the

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Designing the Past to Shape the Future This project employs a design sensibility in the regeneration of The project advisor will fulfil the following specific roles: cultural traditions. It puts design into the immediate service of so- ciety, addressing the fundamental human needs of cultural identity Identity with Dignity by Design 1. Provide administrative as well as technical and creative expertise and self-respect, while providing a basis from which economic and in the areas of shadow puppetry specifically and community based social benefits can grow. It is hoped the project, when completed, We must have missed out the first big bang, but can surely view the second one theatre in general. will have contributed to the financial, social, cultural and personal right before us. There is a total explosion of knowledge from ideas, cultures, 2. Prepare development plan and designs for Cultural Centre in well being of the nation as well as providing the world with an art technology, products, services, processes, communication and in almost every- Siem Reap, including consideration of needs of local communi- form which at present scarcely survives. thing we see in different scale, scope and size. The boundaries have ruptured ties, financial sustainability, cultural importance and technical This example recognizes the crucial importance of design in and everything seems to be galloping as if the world is not going to end tomor- requirements. the preservation and development of tradition — a role that will row but in the next one hour. Things have changed radically and rapidly. 3. With SKA staff creates a plan for the form of the Cultural Centre be increasingly important as the divide between industrialized and and prepare preliminary designs. agrarian communities becomes more extreme. Valuable work is 4. Identify needs of local communities in relation to the develop- already being undertaken in this area. I note that in recent years ment of a portable theatre based in the Cultural Centre at Wat Design Plus has referred to several projects as part of the National Bo, Siem Reap. Institute of Design’s ‘Outreach’ program, which employs modern ut, this is not the only picture. The cart may be moving, but the 5. Stage collaborative shows in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. design concepts in the preservation of tradition. Workshops in the 6. Assist Sovanna Phum in exploration and development of new design of paper craft at Jamnagar, the workshop on design aware- man sitting inside may still be stationary. While, everything is approaches to designs, techniques and materials to be used in ness as part of a project to revitalize the famous hand block printing conjunction with traditional approaches. at Kalamkari and the design development project for handloom becoming speed and efficiency driven, we still breathe at the 7. Train local staff in these areas via the development of collabora- products at Warangal are all examples of the application of design to tive puppet shows. activities which aim at improving economic returns and strengthen- same pace and take nine months to come out of the womb. 8. Identify and implement strategies for developing and promoting ing traditional culture. local performers in an ongoing capacity. In concluding, it is important to make the observation that the There are certain things that cannot be ignored or overlapped 9. Establish and develop relationships between local performers and problems addressed by the World Education programs in Cambodia relevant in country organizations toward increasing local employ- result from a reign of terror; the cultural instability and economic just to make the right collage. For instance, the moment sewing machines -ap ment opportunities. destruction that resulted from political oppression. Parallels exist 10. Establish and develop relationships between local performers in the levels of insecurity resulting from modern day terrorism. peared, it was like a cutting edge technology, but what we failed to see was that and relevant Australian or other international organizations, for Although it will not be developed here, there are contentions already ongoing inter cultural opportunities. found in policy, which argue that true security can only result from a it jeopardized not just the breads of the craftpersons but their confidence, skill 11. Foster the development of technical and creative expertise in multidimensional approach to strategy where emphasis is placed on Sovanna Phum and Siem Reap. cultural and economic stability along with defence and armament. B and most of all pride. But, I wonder, was it the sewing machine or us? 12. Build administrative and financial sustainability at Sovanna Design supporting tradition builds security of culture and medi- Phum and Wat Bo. ates the move from past to contemporary values. As a result, global 13. Assist in the organization and design publicity for an annual change and social transition do not confront, nor are they irreconcil- cultural festival held at Wat Bo. able with the past, rather they can be integrated with it to perpetu- ach time that I pass by Law Garden (at Ahmedabad), and in a community forum using design as tool is the key to living 14. Increase opportunities for performance in Phnom Penh and ate traditional activities, products and sensibilities, for a new world. I remember how I bought a purse with about 100 beautifully a happy and harmonious life. Designers are the arbiters of culture Siem Reap. placed beads and some nice intricate bharat work for a mere by imbibing art, aesthetics and technology and coming out with the 15. Develop expertise in the use of electronic technology for public- In designing the past we can shape the future. E125 rupees. At the same time, I see how I bought a skimpy Benet- expression of creativity. The strength of design is to protect, promote, ity. ton top for Rs 750. The top and the handbag may go really well, but assimilate, provide financial stability and bridge the gaps in the socio 16. Explore the use of multimedia techniques to reach a broader × is it all well? It is a gradual but consistent change that is making economic status. audience. some people very rich and happy, while painting a gloomy picture Consider the sari worn by Indian women. Even after thousands 17. Provide recommendations for future planning. for the others. Mahatma Gandhi has also said, “There is more to life of years Indian women still wear sari. But today, the sari is much than simply increasing its speed”. simpler and subtle. Initially the saris were more ornate and the drap- I stated that, just to ponder. The point is that, we are living in a ing used to be more complicated, but with the changing lifestyles dual world. The challenge is to bring a harmony of the two. For the there has been some variation. Interestingly, French anthropologist Bernard Hoffert is a professor, head of the Department of Fine Arts, and Associate Dean for same, design can be a powerful tool. Let us take the example of the and author Chantal Boulanger in one of her books has recorded External Affairs in the Faculty of Art & Design at Monash University, Australia. His paintings, instal- Indian kitchens. Initially, the concept of kitchen was that it used to more than 100 different styles of draping of sari. The concept of lations and presentations have been shown at major international art events, including the Second be in open, with lot of space, big vessels, chulha, the smoke, washing wearing sari in India is that, it is quite comfortable, easily available Asian Art Symposium, New Delhi, India; the Fourth Asia and Pacific Art Exhibition, ukuoka,F Japan; area, etc. But, today the modern Indian kitchens are quite compact, (silk in south, cotton in west), allows easy movement to women, who Seoul 600, Korea; international surveys in the Museums of Modern Art in Korea and Mexico; and ad- may be a 6X8 m2 space. The point to be observed is that, though have to walk at home and in the village/ town, feed the children, and junct exhibitions to the Venice and Sao Paolo Biennales. He has authored four books and more than the kitchen is compact, it has all the facilities and amenities that the most of all aesthetically looks graceful and feminine. Thus, a sari is forty articles of art and art education, and he has published more than three hundred art reviews. He traditional kitchen had. It has the gas stove, the exhaust, the wash- an example that talks about both the “function and the fashion” part served as World President of the International Association of Art, UNESCO; from 1992 to 1995, (the ing space, a small store room, a refrigerator, an elevated platform, of design. Also, it unites the women from different states and strata Association is the non-government organization of UNESCO, which represents art and artists). He is infact even all the spices, condiments and other ingredients that any as most of the women in India wear sari. Honorary President of the International Association of Art, UNESCO, and Honorary President of the Indian household requires. So, essentially the concept of a kitchen NID is currently working on the project on packaging of Tam- Asia-Pacific Regional Council of the International Association of Art, UNESCO. is still intact, just the design has changed. On a macro level, it has ilnadu Saris. Design has a role to play not only during production, had its effects on the way of living, the markets, the economy etc. It but also in promotion and more importantly positioning. Also, the 40 Email: [email protected] can be extrapolated to any extent, but striking the balance between regular training workshops that happen at NID lay a lot of emphasis 41 the preservation and adaptation of culture and ideas with nature on marketing and enhancing the acceptability of the traditional

vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 design views

products in the modern context. NID has also carefully distin- followed now, it will be very difficult for the artists to survive and basic raw material is even now, extensively used in furniture and To produce these behaviors, nothing needs change but the design of guished the sari in the cultural and the corporate context. The sari lead an average middle class life also. As, everybody have TV sets in other household items. The bamboo furniture is still in vogue and the physical situation. that a working lady drapes is quite different according to the work their houses or the umpteen Bollywood related shows that happen has lot of buyers. This is good example of adapting and establishing Design may soon become the byword of leadership and manage- environment and her role. across the city that have captured or diverted the audience. So, can oneself according to change. The designs keep changing, but the ment. Because of the growing recognition of its power to influence During the initial conceptualization of NID, Charles Eames design contribute here? The answer is yes; today instead of long pro- simplicity and the basic material remains the same. positively or negatively affect human behavior, increasing numbers highlighted the significance of Lota and connected it to the basic grammes they do shorter and more frequent ones. They, also have This is how the society which is living in two different worlds of organization specialists think executives should adopt a design rationale or objective of design. He described that, a Lota is a very to alter their lifestyles a little by doing some other simultaneous job. needs to meet. The speeds are hardly matching, the same house perspective. Management guru Tom Peters says it flatly, “Everything symbolic, auspicious and multifunctional object. It is being used Thus, the entire design changes here. Ideally, there are two things where the child eats pizzas, burgers, etc outside, goes for night outs is design.” Much earlier the IBM chief had said, “Good design is almost right from the time that human existence has been dated. It that can be done, either popularizing the dance form or adapting to each weekend with loud music and booze, wears three fourths and is good business”. We are just discovering the power of design in the is still being used in various contexts. Right from its association as the changing environment. Thus, it’s about moving along with time living on his cell phone instead of oxygen, has his mother not going emerging knowledge economy. the source of water, place in puja (worship), during the birth of the while retaining the roots. kitchen without doing her regular ablutions and visit to the temple. Design should not be restricted to marginal changes but radi- child or the death, its eco-friendliness, thermodynamic properties With all the due respect the clerk in the office has a better status This is what brings the friction, so how this should be resolved or cal ones. For instance the work done by Shri Anil Gupta is quite and many more, it has a very crucial role to play. And relate this with and security in the society than an expert or a very skilled artist or minimized? commendable and inspiring. Bringing design to grassroot levels and the simplicity in the design of the object. So, lota is symbolic as the the carpenter or the potter or the mechanic. While the fact is that For example, Khadi is also a very interesting case study that I helping make lives better. All of us have been taught, how to create product for a particular time and with a particular placement. It also these people and skills is what makes a society sensitive, cordial and would like to discuss. Though, there has been successful explora- the difference by design, but I would like to introduce to bridge and conveys the concept of ‘value’ of a product. The investment in the complete. With this dynamic society and fast changing life styles, tions and design implementation in the fabric and its apparel. Khadi merge with design. As Dr. Koshy says there is a need for Design product vis a vis its applications is self-explanatory. So, the design- millions of artists are being marginalized. It is important that all are is still more of symbolic. It is more of the emotional reason why democracy which is about providing affordable designs which have ers need to create lotas of their time. On a much deeper level it also made part of the brave new digital world. How do we harness them people want to buy it. Also, the khadi showrooms across the country no status or strata attached to it and can be used by almost everyone. communicates the process of evolution pf products and an attitude to the main stream? don’t do so well throughout the year but only in the month of Octo- Today, Design Education uses the study of design movements of looking at things. The Globalization can be a boon or a gloom for the people. The ber. It is still associated as the poor man’s clothing. Thus, an attempt and their sociohistoric significance to teach progressive solutions to When Government of India invited the renowned design team dominating western culture and the fast growing eastern industrial- needs to be made where design not only brings the Physical but also human problems. The sociohistoric significance of design encom- of Charles and Ray Eames, the initial objective was to recommend a ization may have provided lot of opportunities and cheaper goods, the psychological transformation. There have been many success passes every change and interaction between people and their programme of design to serve as an aid to the small industries. The but in no time will wipe off us of our core competencies and confi- stories in the Handloom sector however. environment. The use of design education in classrooms and colleges aim then and even now is to provide a multi-disciplinary approach dence. I m not saying, we can or we should ignore it, but at the same to design, to satisfy the complex problems of India’s changing envi- time it is required that one also relates oneself to ones environment ronment. NID in the same spirit has over the years contributed to and become part of the larger society. evolving design thinking in the country. The basic objective behind As they say, before you reach your home from the showroom, Design may soon become the byword of leadership and management. Because of the growing the National Design Policy is also to have a design enabled Indian your technology is already obsolete. Economies like the US, had Industry which could impact both the national economy and the 200 years to adapt, but we don’t have that much time. In country recognition of its power to influence positively or negatively affect human behavior, increasing numbers quality of life in a positive manner. like India, we have bullock carts coexisting with the Jet Plane and It was also the essence of the India report, which talked about the village potter and the glass blower with the automated glass of organization specialists think executives should adopt a design perspective +++ the investigations into the values and the qualities of the Indian or and ceramic factories in the same place. We have to somehow make for that matter any cultures, that hold important to a good life, that sure, both survive while keeping in mind the existence of the other. are close to the scrutiny of those elements that go into the make up At the same time, the biggest challenge is to position oneself in the of standard of living. And, it was added that this search would actu- society. To work with dignity and have ones own identity. People talk of changes on the industrial scale, but most of can mark an active commitment to human conditions rather than ally start at the village level. For at least, last 200 years, we have been living in a multi-cultural the changes are happening at the social level. The rising trend of passive intake of information for commercialization. Developing courtiers should evolve an adequate technology and world. But, initially most cultures tended to think of themselves Nuclear families is one good example. The entire selling and buying There is a need to augment education of design and related an infrastructure for mainly industrial and other disciplines of- de as paramount and others as backward or barbarian. Besides, the process changes, where four brothers stayed together and watched human resources in all countries including different means of col- sign which is simple, inexpensive, easy to maintain, labour intensive exposures were themselves not so large or deep. Cultural groups of the same TV, today, there are four separate TVs in the four small laboration and ‘team’ based creative methods and delivery systems. and compatible with the basic socio cultural patterns. It must allow similar ethnicity and economic levels tend to merge into each other apartments and accordingly four different directions of thinking. Design education must prepare students to be culturally sensitive popular participation, increase productivity and income, and assist and develop common or composite characteristics. A cultural group The ongoing battle of the kirana stores with the supermalls or and respect the local and other contexts. It must draw upon multi- in the distribution of income and power, as well as increase self of more developed economic or technological level tends to over- the normal vegetable vendors with the bigger and fresher malls is all disciplinary and cross cultural sources to facilitate originality and reliance. power one with the less. Cultural groups with pronounced ethnic again a big challenge of the changing design of the market or which innovation. It should be geared to improve the quality of our lives Let us take the simple example of documentation. Initially it was differences take longer time to get close to each other. But more is true conversely also, as the need for the change in design. It’s no through a careful consideration of physical, cognitive, social, cultural, on tad patras or tamra patras etc, then bark of the tree and parch- than this, the forces unleashed by modern industrial development more just the requirement based business but a total entertainment emotional and other real needs. ments, later it became papers, then came the era of digitalization, tend to reduce different cultural groups to a common denominator, and amusement package. It is the package today which has assumed Let us all contribute our little and make a cohesive effort to where it was all computerized, now there are even more efficient faceless producers and consumers in total. more importance. make a more conscious, aware and a harmonious happy society. systems and gadgets. Thus the concept of documentation remains Today, changes are not happening with the turn of the centu- On the corporate front also, have you ever noticed the difference × the same but the way of doing it and the design changes. ries, may be not even decades, but every 4-5 years. There are hardly between a meeting held at a long rectangular table and one held Design is not restricted to tangible things; it’s about ideas and any long term enduring trends, so anchoring oneself in such an at a round table? The time spent, the agenda, and the participants solutions almost everywhere in day to day life. Recently I was read- onslaught is the need of the hour. It has primacy over many other may be exactly the same, but the meetings are completely different. ing a magazine, and came across an article on Kathakali. It was quite things. As these changes are transforming us without us being aware The discussion at the round table is more informal, the leadership is baffling to know, the grace, subtlety and the mental and spiritual of it. And design will have a very important role to play in this. shared, the communication more personal. (The article is the NID Foundation Day Lecture delivered on Nov. 3, 2007 aspects of the dance form apart from the obvious physical benefits. Talking about female cosmetics, where women initially just had Making further changes in the physical design of the meeting by Hasmukh Shah, Former Chairman, NID GC) It was also interesting to know that, children of the age 3 or 4 are her parlor in the kitchen, with turmeric, butter and rose water etc. amplify the effect. Eliminating the table entirely and sitting in a put to the exposure of Kathakali dance practice. Also, initially it Till recently owning a Lakme or Revlon was a matter of pride, circle, removing jackets and neckties—or to promote a decidedly used to take at least 18 years of practice before the artist would today who knows what one is using as the markets are cramped with relaxed discussion, removing shoes and sitting on the floor—all 42 actually perform on the stage. Also, the dance performance would over hundred foreign cosmetic brands. predictably shift the conversation in directions that are increasingly 43 go on for 3 to 4 nights in a row. But, if the same thing has to be One of the good examples is of bamboo. Bamboo which is a very open and comfortable, with participation more evenly distributed.

vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 design views design views

The Indian Designyatra Design: What Is Needed Is India’s thriving design industry is grappling with wildly contrasting challenges while trying to hold on to national identity. by: David Kester a Cultural Revolution

Today, it is normal for the market to demand a perfect blend of beauty and functional quality, design and efficiency. However, achieving this perfect amalgam has become the main professional challenge for successful designers for some years now. ifty years ago a new independent India was born. Ten years industrial giant Kirloskar that led to a plan to re-vamp 100 products into his administration, amidst the turmoil of “midnight’s within six months and design 100 new products within the next five children”, Prime Minister Nehru’s government invited years. The examples continue across every sector from automotive FCharles and Ray Eames to travel the nation, talk about design and and computing to banking and telecoms. recommend how it could shape India’s future. What a far-sighted The surge in demand for design, from clients and consumers move! The now legendary India Report, with its disarmingly poetic alike, has had interesting unanticipated consequences. There is a real ifty years ago, projects focused mainly on economic and combined with attention to functionality and to seconding nature allegory about the design of the Lota – the classically perfect pot- sense that creativity and design are providing a new expression of technical factors, with aesthetic aspects taking a back seat. also with regard to the use of materials. The link between shape and tery water vessel unchanged for thousands of years – sets out the Indian identity. This is largely at a national level but evidence points Although custom body manufacturers created beautiful cars, function must inevitably be sustained by research. Pininfarina has precepts for a modern design industry of polymaths with deep roots to it extending internationally, like Bollywood. For instance, in the Fthese did not have any significant spillover on large series produc- carried out research projects and introduced many innovations that in culture and craft, new skills in design and broad, open minds to UK, Kingfisher is a premium bottled beer while in India it’s an tion. Aesthetic appearance, then called “styling”, started to gain have anticipated possible solutions in the field of aesthetics, safety, tackle the social and economic challenges facing India. expressive brand competing successfully in the new arena of budget ground much later, in the Fifties. aerodynamics, new materials, protection of the environment. Recent India today is reaping the rewards of the investment it made in airlines. Fabindia is a fair-trading, no-logo clothing and houseware The industrial concept of “styling” first appeared in the United creations include Metrocubo, a 1999 research prototype that exploits design education when, following the Eameses’ Report, it estab- chain that’s now opened in Milan. But in the rush to bottle and sell States more than 70 years ago when it was launched by Alfred the special characteristics of the Michelin PAX tire: a vehicle with lished the National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedebad, new India, writer, historian and creative guru Rajeev Sethi, who led Sloan, then President of General Motors, who predicted that “styl- hybrid power train able to accommodate 4 or 5 passengers although India’s nearest equivalent to the Royal College. Dr Darlie Koshy, the government’s taskforce on cultural heritage, sees a downside in ing” would become the most important factor in promoting sales it is only 2.58 meters long; the Ferrari Enzo of 2002, a supercar the current Director, boasts proudly of his alumni, many of them the potential eradication of ancient traditions and crafts, many of and set up the first car industry “styling centers” which scheduled produced in a limited series, the maximum expression of technology now the creative brains behind India’s most successful business which are unrecorded. regular renewal of product styling. In Europe – on the contrary transfer between F1 and Ferrari granturismo road vehicles; the 2004 brands. On visiting one of the country’s biggest independent design For a government wrestling with how to implement a new – each new model was designed with the aim of remaining as long Nido, a research prototype in the field of safety; the Peugeot 1007, consultancies, Elephant Design, I discovered that all the partners National Design Policy, the surge in demand from industry pres- as possible on the market, continuing to attract customers with their stemming from application of monovolume architecture to a small met while at NID in the late 1980s. Another leading light of brand ents a potentially troubling capacity issue. On the one hand,TC innovative technical aspects and styling: to mention some of the cars vehicle: high driving position, maximum visibility combined with design, Sujata Keshavan, a graduate of both NID and Yale, affirms James, from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is seeking to produced by Pininfarina, it is worth recalling the Alfa Romeo Spi- exceptional brightness, generously-scaled internal volume, maximum the importance of a rounded education which roots the best of establish new institutions, such as a new Indian Design Council to der, produced for 27 years, and the Fiat 124 Spider (20 years). More modularity of the cab, unusual accessibility afforded by its sliding western-style design practice within thousands of years of Indian promote design to hundreds of thousands of SMEs. On the other, recently, the Peugeot 406 Coupé, with a record-breaking output of electric doors. tradition. he is painfully aware that exponential growth in demand may be 100,000 units. Taking a broader view of the general situation of the automotive India’s savvy new industry is wide awake to the urgency and scale unsupportable by the design sector, even with predicted levels of Hit by the oil crisis in the seventies, the United States were also industry, we discover that design is now much higher on the list of of its calling. Hot product designer Mukul Goyal explains that, growth from within education. The increasing disparity in earnings to forced to “rethink” the car in a more rational manner; not just an priorities of manufacturers, aware that comparative studies of design, “the future of design in India does not lie in the hands of designers between public-sector design teachers and professional designers exercise in styling but design, i.e. a more aware approach to design- in order to offer the widest possible choice, cost relatively little in but in the expectations of a billion people”. The point he and others raises added concerns about quantity over quality. The influx of ing the shape of the car: the creative talents of styling were trans- relation to the overall cost of the investments. make is that there are at least two Indias which are set to make very western design consultancies may provide part of the solution. Firms formed from “poets” of the pen into real designers. Styling started In the future, the most important challenge will be that of rec- different but ever growing demands on India’s design and creative like Landor are already important training grounds for indigenous to become “design”, a term that embraces all the aspects of a project: onciling design and function with regard to safety and the environ- capabilities. One India is the much vaunted success story with a talent. WPP has a good presence both through Fitch and its recent appearance, technical aspects, functionality, production requirements ment, in particular as regards reducing emissions. Future challenges 9.2% annual rise in GDP, a middle class of a quarter of a billion, 45 purchase of multi-disciplinary Bangalore consultancy Ray & Kesha- and those regarding use. This marked the start of the contemporary include, for example, hydrogen-powered power units, offering both million graduates in 2007, and a twentyfold growth in US patents van. Others are hovering. The right style of partnership will help to phase of design which, today, is a “project” in the most complete and hydrogen engines and conventional fuel engines and directing in the same year. In the other India, 500 million people rely on meet industrial demand and develop the sector. noble meaning of the term. research towards the fuel cell system. These new technologies will agriculture for survival, the majority in Bihar live in poverty, hand- Before leaving India I had the pleasure of speaking at the Design would not have assumed such an important role without trigger a revolution also in vehicle architecture. loom weavers in Benares commit suicide as their livelihoods are Designyatra, a mega design conference in Goa and the brainchild of the support of new computerized methods even though, in fact, cre- At this point, it’s up to the designers to take a cultural leap lost to the mills, the road infrastucture can’t cope and the cities are entrepeneur and philanthropist Rajesh Kernwal. The event coin- ativity is still the exclusive realm of man. Today, however, technology forward and invent revolutionary shapes, to be combined with new choked. Both of these pictures are real and both, in different ways, cided with the religious Festival of Dahi Handi. at which young has taken a revolutionary step forward: with the introduction of mechanicals: a challenge that will pave the way to new, exciting offer huge design challenges. people traditionally gather to form improbably high human pyra- Computer Aided Styling (CAS), the machines make it possible to chapters in design. Lastly, design will have to come to grips with Rapid industrial and technological growth is providing Indian mids to smash clay pots full of rupees. It’s a re-enactment of a story view a project from different angles, in its natural environment with globalization which has promoted uniform buying styles that design professionals with colossal and demanding commercial as- about optimism, appetite, fearlessness and vitality – all very much in many different reference points even before starting to construct a have brought Europe and the United States, China and India ever signments alongside a live learning environment unparalleled in the evidence within what is arguably the fastest-changing design scene model. closer in just a few years. But the peculiar aspects of the individual West. Retail designer Darryl Noronha from Retailscape has been in the world. Despite the advent of technology and the immensurable dif- markets, linked to tradition, culture, the functionality requirements working with Unilever to help transform the environments of 7,500 × ferences between the creative process adopted today compared of individual consumers must not be forgotten; a further challenge local grocers, or Kiranas so that these “Mom & Pop” stores become, with the past, conception of a project is still regulated by the same for designers. 44 for better or worse, effective channels to market for global brands. In (David Kester is Chief Executive of the Design Council, Britain) guidelines: a search for clean lines, well-proportioned volumes, × 45 another example, Elephant Design ran innovation workshops with harmony between empty and full, for a technical-aesthetic ideal (Andrea Pininfarina is Chairman & CEO of Pininfarina S. p. A., Italy)

vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 CONCLUDINGLY

skilled workforce alike. Organized retail has obituary of this unorganized sector. They no doubt improved the shopping experience further point out the dichotomy that while with better design interface, safety and con- the Gandhian and Nehruvian concept of venience. Its appeal to the urban population stakeholder of CSR is still idealised, the Organized Retail: is almost instant. We can’t ignore these and ‘Western-style’ ethical stances are- be some other apparent advantages. ing promoted by the corporate ever since Organized Retail: A Tale Retold the liberalisation in 1991. The clash is Corporate and State Social imminent. This is not intended to be an Responsibility anti-thesis to organized retail but an effort A Tale Retold But is this the end of the matter? Perhaps to explore what can be done. Perhaps there not. The issue is also related to corporate is a need to bring the unorganized retail From the unkempt friendly Kirana of the neighbourhood to the glitzy impersonal The Threat; Real and Perceived social responsibility to an extent besides the sector under the purview of CSR and SSR Mega Malls, Indian retail has come a long way. More than transition, it’s an But despite the boom and promises, growth state’s social welfare policies. CSR in India (State Social Responsibility). There must be evolution of a market which until recently was considered sluggish, not lucrative of retail has started heated debate at the is a relatively new concept. But it’s gradually some combined initiative for level playing. and uninnovative. But not anymore. 9.5% rate of growth in GDP has perhaps social and political levels as well. We have becoming important because more than Looking at the issue from the design angle Proper design intervention sufficient energy to propel the economy into a new trajectory where aspirations also seen the violent protest against a retail government it’s the corporate entering the which now talks of creating a ‘retail design occupy the driver’s seat. The instant success of the organized retail in India chain in some parts of the country. Besides domains which traditionally belonged to experience’ there is greater challenge for the can create the experience of personified in Malls also speaks of the rising aspirations of the great Indian the potential of growth which it offers to the state. To allow parallel growth of the designers which lie in turning the unorga- middle class. the service economy there’re deep ap- unorganized retail sector, creating better nized retail around by design interventions comfort and convenience which prehensions about its social sustainability. physical infrastructure and a consensus at several levels. They can change the look What will happen to the small time retail- to yearmark and leave certain sectors and and feel, design cost effective basic ameni- this sector lacks and also add his is happening despite heated debate and violent protests against big players flex- ers, vendors and millions of hawkers who products for them may be included in the ties, storage system, cleaning devises and ing their muscles on turfs which were traditionally the domains of the unorganized make their living selling fruits-vegetables, corporate social responsibility agenda. The many other basic requirements which it some amount of dignity to the sector. Unorganized retail still comprises nearly 96% of the market share and exists grocery, confectionary, toys, utensils, ho- real problem is being perceived not by them lacks. No doubt for such design interven- poor man’s enterprise Tparallel at the same time. A Study conducted by FICCI puts the retail industry in India at siery-undergarments, hardware and so on? as much who have an established setup tion government and corporate sector will $328 billion in size out of which 96% is unorganized. Nevertheless, the “aspiration” aspect Will it create as many jobs as it will take than by those who are either small timers or have to come together and set up some- puts up a strong justification to the rising “Mallification” and organized retail business away? Their displacement and consequent hawk and sell to earn their living. There’s no thing like ‘Parallel Retail Complexes’ (PRC) +++ amidst heated debate and protests. It’s also the aspirations of a growing economy which unemployment are now major issues which organized market for them, their merchan- for small time retailers at different vantage makes the “organized retail” currently 4% of the whole retail business, envision a growth of are creating an ideological divide. There is dise is exposed, unkempt, their method and points in a much improved format than $64 billion by 2015 whereas the overall retail sector is expected to grow at the rate of 40% no doubt that the whole debate has some manner of selling is primitive. The products the existing ‘Bazar Samitis’. Space may be by 2010-11. As per the estimate of Technopak, a business consulting firm, retail in India will genuine and some perceived threat percep- they sell are either unbranded or a poor designed for fixed retail and hawking. Small grow to $427 billion by 2010 and the international retailers are planning to invest in tune tions. There is a huge constituency which copy of a brand. But, then we also don’t time retailers can be the stakeholder and of $30 billion in the next 5 years. The signs of big growth are too strong to ignore. Footfall feels that the new system will affect their have to pay any premium for maintaining it may be run on a tripartite public-private in the Malls is also on increase. As far as its popularity among a certain sections of urban livelihood and thus the situation becomes a brand which belongs to someone else. and stakeholder partnership basis. Proper populace is concerned, it can be assessed from the fact that Malls as an average count ap- volatile. Can there be a design solution, not There’re still many products which we buy design intervention can create the experi- proximately 30-35 thousand footfalls on a normal shopping day! just in terms of physical embodiment but at for their utility rather than for their ‘brand ence of comfort and convenience which a system level? Can we design a new system value’. So what this sector needs is some this sector lacks and also add some amount Physical Expansion which may help circumvent social ten- state and corporate support to improve and of dignity to the poor man’s enterprise. If we just look at the space Malls have occupied in the country in the last five years, we will sion, protect the interest of those who feel survive. Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate intervention can also be made in find the figure amazing. From a modest two million square feet in 2002 it has become over threatened and organize the unorganized and matching initiative by the state can developing entrepreneurship and orienting 21million in the last 4-5 years and rising with more players entering and more infrastructure retail by creating a parallel system which is become the driving force for change. them to learn contemporary business prac- References: 1. Taneja, Amitabh, ‘India Retail Report 2007’, India Retail developing. No doubt, infrastructure and business friendly policies of the government have equally vibrant and viable? Surely this will tices. Government’s intervention can ensure Forum & Images Multimedia Designing Parallel Retail Complexes played a major role. A survey of the presence and expansion plans of the big players of orga- involve commitment of the policymakers, institutional support in terms of finance, 2. Balasubramanian, N., D. Kimber and F. Siemensma, 2003, Emerging Opportunities or Traditions Reinforced? nized retail published in India Today (September 10, 2007) gives us the glimpse of the up- corporate sector, design, architecture and In a study of the CSR model in India insurance, social security and so on. A An Analysis of the Attitudes towards CSR and Trends of beat mood. Reliance Retail for example with its presence in 10 cities and 100 stores (Super management professionals. After all it’s Balasubramanian, Kimber and Siemensma sensitive political and corporate governance Thinking about CSR, in India, JCC 17, Market Format) has an expansion plan of setting up 1000 Hypermarkets across the country. our responsibility to ensure growth with (2005) emphasise that “CSR emerges can turn the ambivalence into an opportu- 3. Saxena, Karunesh, Corporate Social Responsibility a Fad?, August 2005, Business Environment Big Bazar which has 36 Hypermarkets as of now across 26 cities will expand it to 80 by homogeneity and visible social justice. Not from corporate responsiveness to: charity nity of marked benevolence. Surely, the tale 4. Nayak, S.K., Corporate Social Responsibility An Indian 2008 and 225 by 2010. Similarly, Vishal Megamart which has presently 46 stores in 28 cities that organized retail is all that bad. It has and support of those in need; state-driven of retail can be retold and with much more Perspective, May 2003, Effective Executive in India is planning to set up 410 in next 2 years. Spencer’s, which has a modest 7 stores all its advantages too. The biggest being the notions of responsibility defined by legal conviction. over India will grow to 60 by 2008-09. The list goes on and here we’re not mentioning other elimination of middleman who’re held requirements; the need to sustain business × retail brands like Westside, Pantaloon, Shopper’s Stop, Home Town etc and their expansion responsible for higher price of a product based on fulfilling risk takers’ expectations; plans. Organized retail looks promising to the Indian and foreign corporate sectors. In this and the ability to reach out to the bottom and the need to take account of all those af- single sector, there is tremendous parallel business opportunity for many other sectors; real of the supply chain who is the producer so fected by corporate decisions—society and estate, infrastructure, logistics, supply chain management, service sector, architecture, design that the buyer and the seller get benefited. the environment as well as the economically and so on. It also helps products specially food items, interested stakeholders.” There is a need fruits, vegetables etc from getting perished to look at the whole retail debate in this and enhances their shelf life. It has created context; how the corporate sector and state 46 new opportunities of employment for the can come together to provide a sustainable 47 professionally qualified to the semi and un- alternative model rather than writing the

vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 Design showcase I Design showcase II

Graphic Intervention Curvoplane

Standardisation of the existing Logo of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Student : Moneet Chitroda Curvoplane is a compact its application on SAIL’s stationery items Batch : 2003 electric wood plainer Discipline : Product Design designed for plaining Designer: Pravin Meghpara Project : Technically Complex Project curved surface. It allows con- Project Head: Anil Sinha Project Guide : Vikram Panchal tinuous variable curve, unlike Vipul Vinzuda other plainers in the market.

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vol.xxvi sept & dec 2007 National Institute of Design Phone: (079) 2662 3692 Paldi, Ahmedabad 380 007, India Fax: (079) 2662 1167 E-mail: [email protected] www.nid.edu