Talk delivered AT
DESIGN DAY #7
April 20th 2013
@kshitiz , kshitiz@happyhorizons.in
STORY OF DESIGN

We as designers often wonder,
why is it that we have so less
design schools in India, in spite
of its rich legacy in crafts and
culture. Where are we now and
what is the future of Design
education in India ? Do we really
understand what is Design and
the professional practice of
design?
PROLOGUE

Icebreaker activity J

Can you tell Arial from Helvetica ?
Reference: http://www.ironicsans.com/helvarialquiz/

Reference:
h*p://www.ironicsans.com/helvarialquiz/

Reference:
h*p://www.ironicsans.com/helvarialquiz/

Reference:
h*p://www.ironicsans.com/helvarialquiz/

Reference:
h*p://www.ironicsans.com/helvarialquiz/

Reference:
h*p://www.ironicsans.com/helvarialquiz/

Reference:
h*p://www.ironicsans.com/helvarialquiz/

Reference:
h*p://www.ironicsans.com/helvarialquiz/

Reference:
h*p://www.ironicsans.com/helvarialquiz/

Reference:
h*p://www.ironicsans.com/helvarialquiz/

Hello
I am
@kshitiz

• Presently
– Dean & Director - India Operations at L'École
de Design Nantes Atlantique
– Founder of Happy Horizons Consulting
• Previous
– Design Head, Kuliza Technologies
– Founder & Director, Deskala Research and
Design & Consulting
• Education
– MS in HCI Design , Indiana University
Bloomington, USA
– BDes in Communication Design, IIT Guwahati,
India
• Contact
– kshitiz@happyhorizons.in
– Twitter: @kshitiz
– LinkedIn: in.linkedin.com/in/kshitizanand/
– Website: www.kshitizanand.com

Design is the conscious effort to impose a
meaningful order.
- Victor Papanek

Reference: http://www.core77.com/blog/cartoons/core-toon_the_designers_tongue_15700.asp

MY STORY | THE STORY
STORY OF DESIGN

My Story

Oh SO you study Fashion Design!
There is IIT IN GUWAHATI ALSO?
DID YOU MEAN ITI ?
WHY GUWAHATI, PATNA SCIENCE
COLLEGE MEI ADMISSION NAHI MILA?

DESIGN BY CHOICE
ACCIDENT
Can design be accidental?
LUCK

2013
no design know design ?
2001
WHAT IS DESIGN?
design student with design students
in a design school heading a design school
Design is about questioning oneself always

Noun (As an artifact)
Eg: A plan or drawing produced to show the look and
function or workings of a building, garment, or other
object before it is built or made
Verb (As an activity)
Eg: Decide upon the look and functioning of (a
building, garment, or other object), typically by
making a detailed drawing of it.
Design is about simplicity in this age of complexity
DESIGN

PROBLEMSOLVINGINNOVATIONACTIVITYJUGAAD
PROCESSBUSINESSATTENTIONTODETAILSOUTOF
BOXSELFDISCOVERYMAKINGIMPACTSCREATIVIT
YSTORYTELLINGSERVICEOUTOFCOMFORTZONEE
LITISTACTIVISMWAYOFLIFEEXPERIENCEBEAUTY
ARTHAPPINESSDISCIPLINEATTENTIONTODETAIL
CRAFTSCULTUREEVANGELISMTRAVELLOGICINTu
itionHONESTMINIMALISTICUSEFULLONGLASTIN
GSUSTAINABLEUSERFRIENDLYCONSTRAINTS……

Design is such a natural human ability
that almost everyone is designing most
of the time - whether they are conscious
of it, or not.
- Harold Nelson, Erik Stolterman, in ‘The Design Way’

ONE LEARNING
FROM each year in
DESIGN SO FAR

2001: LEARN TO SELL YOURSELF
Design is about marketing yourself and your skills
better

2002: Love for Photography
Design is in the detail

2003: DESIGN MANAGEMENT
Design management is about entire project lifecycles
and people management

2004: BEFRIENDING FAILURE
Understand your strengths. Accept failure smilingly

2005: LOVE WHAT YOU DO
Your critics will always have something to pull you
down

2006: DESIGN UNLEARNING
To Design with Technology, we must unlearn everything
we know – Wilson Miner

2007: A HUNGER TO LEARN
Designers should be well read, express their opinions
through different channels

2008: EGO CRASH
Become a Design Critic. Embrace Constructive
Criticism

2009: TAKE RISKS and TRAVEL
The world needs more design entrepreneurs, to become
a better place

2010: COME OUT OF COMFORT ZONE
Get involved in multi disciplinary projects

2011: EVANGELISING DESIGN
Attend design conferences, speak about design, express
your opinions

2012: DESIGN EDUCATION
Follow something that really pleases your soul and you
are passionate about

The proper study of mankind is the
science of design.
- Herbert Simon

In a country of 1.2 billion people there
is only around 45-50 Design schools &
institutes
Compare this with
Beijing - which alone Has around 120
Design Schools
Seoul - 80 Design schools
Singapore - 40 Design schools
- Source DDEI Conference, 2013

Design in India is a very old activity
but a very young profession.
- A Balasubramaniam

SO THEN,
WHO IS THE DESIGN
PROFESSIONAL?

A designer can mull over complicated
designs for months. Then suddenly the
simple, elegant, beautiful solution occurs
to him. When it happens to you, it feels as
if God is talking! And maybe He is.
- Leo Frankowski

NATIONAL DESIGN POLICY, 2007

Like all young people, the profession is also impatient: we just can’t
seem to wait to grow. And like all things young, the profession has
several faces. There is the face of professional industrial designer,
competing with global designers in increasingly global markets in
making better cars and phones. There is the face of the graphic
designer creating Brand India. And the social entrepreneur putting
his design skills to create lasting value in society and the
environment. There is the craft designer who is re-interpreting
traditional crafts to suit international markets. There is this
software and UI designer who is piggybacking the IT revolution.
There are also designers becoming brands that are slowly making
progress in marketing their names on products and services.
Emerging in the horizon is the thinker-designer who is seen to be
increasingly applying the process for bettering hospital
administration and making drinking water, safe.
- A Balasubramaniam, on his blog

SUPPLY
DEMAND

Good design resources

• Why is there a severe resource crunch ?
• WHY Many recent design graduates are unemployable ?
• Why are MANY designers wanting to become UX
professionals ?
• Why do design students not have an opinion ?
• Where is the Design rationale behind the Design ?
• Why are they not updated with latest trends in their
domains ?
• Why is there a dearth of originality in work?
-NOTES from Recruitment in DEsign

CAN DESIGN EDUCATION
IN INDIA ADDRESS THIS
PROBLEM?

GLOBALLY DESIGN
EDUCATION IS
REFORMING ITSELF
TOO

MY VIEWS ON THE
THE FUTURE OF DESIGN
EDUCATION IN INDIA

DESIGN
TECHNOLOGY
MANAGEMENT
(1951)
(1961)
(1961)
Nehru had the initial Vision of taking Technology, Management and Design
education as the pillars for progress of India. Institutions were set up around
same time too. IIT Kharagpur (1951), IIM Calcutta (1961), National Institute of
Design (1961).
And we all know that Design Education fell way behind the other two.

Going beyond American
Styling & European
elitism to thinking
rationally on larger
impact of design FOR
SOCIETAL CHANGE

Be Opinionated in
Design

HELP STUDENTS
BECOME GOOD CRITICS

PROVIDE DESIGN
THEORY WITH real
examples to build
STRONG Design
rationales

GET STUDENTS TO
Understand the
BUSINESS OF DESIGN &
STRATEGY

Emphasize on Design
entrepreneurship

It’s better to have
tried and failed
than not have tried
at all

BELIEVE IN
DEMOCRATIZING
DESIGN

MAKE DESIGN
EVANGELISM
COMPULSORY

Engage in
conversations

ENGAGE WITH
INDUSTRY MORE

HAVE PRACTICING
DESIGNERS BECOME
PART OF FACULTY

Have students take
at least one project
Outside their
domain

TEACH COCREATION
with the different
stakeholders

HAVE SENIOR
STUDENTS BECOME
MENTORS

FACILITATE
COLLABORATION
ACROSS DESIGN
SCHOOLS

SOULFUL DESIGNS
THAT REFLECTS
inclusive
development of
society

Design can't change the world.
Designers can change the world.
- Hartmut Esslinger

Design creates culture.
Culture shapes values.
Values determine the future.
- Robert L. Peters

THANK YOUEmail: kshitiz@happyhorizons.in
Twitter: @kshitiz
Facebook: kshitiz.anand
LinkedIn: in.linkedin.com/in/kshitizanand
Website: www.kshitizanand.com