POOL/ DesignIndia Editorial

While China is preparing to launch a new international design organization, India Design Council (IDC) is ready to launch the ‘Chartered Society of Designers’ (CSDI). It was a stated mandate for the IDC to form a CSDI when it started as a follow up to the National Design Policy announced by the Government of India on 8th January 2007.

One thing that designers need to be really good at is taking in various confusing and ambiguous inputs and creating clarity out of nothing. This is something that many people credit to being creative. I often find myself listening to a client, vendor, friend, fellow designer, or my staff telling me different things about different subjects in different order…and I sit there trying make sense out of it all! 

We were overwhelmed by the quality of entries for IBDA this year, and also by the number of entries. I am glad we have been able to attract great inspiring work from designers, who also presented their work very nicely. Seventy-three awards this year against 37 last year speaks volumes for the reputation these awards are gaining and also clearly indicates that the awards are making a difference to the winners. 

I have been thinking about this for a long time. What is the difference between a product, service, place or even ritual that has evolved over the years, with no conscious working on it, and a product, service, place or ritual that has been designed recently by a designer with design education or practice experience? 

I believe designers without a sense of purpose – designers who do not understand their responsibility towards society, people and the environment – are as harmful as weapons of mass destruction. Creating is the ultimate power that influences, changes and directs the lives of people…and designers who do not understand the responsibility of this privilege are using their creative power for destruction. 

Almost every project for us starts with research, and the most interesting part of the research for me has always been talking to people (users, stakeholders, or just random people). Getting their views, perspectives, reasons for those views, and often unarticulated insights is always fascinating and personally fulfilling. These are also critical for development of an idea without a bias. 

In my opinion all design schools must have at least one session to introduce the SDGs to students. All professional designers must familiarize themselves with the SDGs and prepare themselves by reading track level actionable plans.