POOL/ DesignIndia Editorial

I have been using this tool from the Danish Design Center to inform my clients of what I do. I have also found it very useful to explain to young designers their future progression as professionals. Though these are seen as four distinct steps, I see them as four different roles that we land up playing in projects – ranging from playing one of them in one project to all of them at other times in the same project. I think playing together, they complete a project in totality. 

The purpose of design, or for that matter, anything, is to bring in clarity. The purpose of education, in general, is to give you enough information and tools to process that knowledge so you can make sense of this world and also make others understand it better. At the heart of every design project is a big question that needs clarity.

It is difficult to see change or believe that this change is likely to stay forever. It all happened suddenly, almost like an accident, and many of us still have to accept the change. We are still hoping that things will soon be back to what we have known them to be. We are putting our hopes in too many things: a vaccine, the human spirit, free markets, talent, and the human quest to do better despite the struggle. 

We know that industry engages in mass production and businesses solve mass issues; they address a mass audience, and want their brand to talk to more people. The purpose of business is to make a profit and make more of it, and for this they need to sell to more people. That’s what we mean by mass. Industry amplifies brand communication and messaging, and reaches out to more and more customers – in this process, it lands up diluting the product or service to appeal to more people.

Judging creative work is a huge responsibility and is extraordinarily difficult to get right. Everyone underestimates how difficult this is because: 

a) Everyone believes they have good taste. 
b) They believe that because they look at quality work all the time, they can instinctively distinguish good from bad. 
c) Deep down everyone is a frustrated designer. 

It almost sounds like the joke we often make in our country — World Famous in India — but it is no longer a joke. You can be world famous in India, and you can be a professional at home. Being professional is an attitude, and you do not need to compromise on that at all.

We recently lost Vikas Satwalekar, one of the best design teachers we have ever had in India, and a friend and mentor to me and so many others. As Executive Director of NID, and Head of its Visual Communication program, he made a deep impression on his students, leading them on to much success in their later lives.

I am writing generally and positively about what we can do to help ourselves at such times. I acknowledge however that people may be going through major problems, trauma, grief, loss, uncertainty distress, and may be in volatile situations, work- or family-wise. Please take help from whomever may be available, talk to family and friends, and don’t suffer in silence.

It is time to repurpose your skills and tools; redirect them to work for purposes that solve survival issues and you will stay relevant. Design and solutions towards essential objects, products and services have a great demand and will remain relevant.

What is the best way to use your forced free time? For designers downtime is more important than working time and most of us do recognize this. In fact, we spend time planning our downtime. The downtime is not called ‘recharging your batteries’ for no reason. Though the currnet downtime is not usual, since it is a forced one, it needs some extra thoughts.