Design Policy 2.0 for India.

Another upgraded version of the India Design Policy is scheduled to be released on the next Independence Day. What should it aim at? What should it have? Who will benefit from this? I have put together a few bullet points just as ADI, the professional body of Designers, is putting together details. I would be happy to present this to the ministry as President of ADI-NEC, but there are some personal favourites of mine which may not reflect the majority view. So, here goes my wish list:

1. Promoting the value of design. 
2. Creating a more supportive environment for design. 
3. Empowering designers. 
4. Promoting design entrepreneurship. 
5. Celebrating design excellence. 
6. Connecting designers with businesses and projects.

1. The India Design Policy announced in 2011 was good for a profession getting up on its feet. But it has become mostly dated and needs a fresh look at the definition of Design itself. Design has moved on from being just a profession making pretty products and communication and we need to define the description and the impact as to what Design can do.
2. The India Design Council is now practically defunct and needs new infusion of people. and finance. It should be also given teeth and muscle. This will come only if the council has relevant, well-meaning design professionals are given an opportunity to serve in it.
3. There is a need to promote the value of design in India. Many businesses and organizations still do not understand the importance of design, and this can hinder the growth of the design industry. Design needs to be seen as a strategic investment that can help businesses to improve their products, services, and bottom line.
4. The new NIDs that have come up as a result of the recommendations from the DESIGN POLICY 1.0 need to be upgraded and must be brought to par with NID Ahmedabad. A revamp of course contents and new programme disciplines should be advised to NID Ahmedabad.De
5. The profusion of Design schools in Universities all over the country is a case for celebration and doubt. The reason why it’s professing is because it is being seen as the ‘flavour of the season” and it does not have any regulators. Getting a new regulator is like shooting on your foot. You are exposing yourself to interference and inspection. It will be like returning to the license Raj’. How about a self -regulating body of educators, professionals and officials from the ministry who will rule on them? It will have the blessings of the admission-seeking aspirants.
6. Govt of India needs to invest more in design education and research in order to produce a skilled and innovative workforce. This could be done by establishing research centres in design institutes like Atal Incubation Centres and by providing financial support for design projects.
7. The Good-Design Mark should have more new categories and expanded, qualified and sensible. It should have a budget for publisizing the event.
8. The policy should mention the fact that there should be an autonomous body or a ministry of design that would contribute to the projects and strategies that the government proposes. Just as the environmental ministry is a consultative minitysry that sanctions clearances for mega projects.
9. Designers should be able to negotiate a better tax regime for design consultancies. A reduced GST for professional design projects, a tax-break for design-led industries and a mega fund for subsidising design projects.
10. The govt must encourage international collaborations in Design and make it easier for designers to get global connections through the offices of the external affairs ministry and help in visas and work permits.
11. The government could create platforms that connect designers with businesses. This would help to ensure that designers have the opportunity to showcase their work and get their ideas into the marketplace.
12. Design for industry and economy cannot be the only yardstick for measuring the success of design intervention. Social impact through design must be included as well.
13. The government must encourage creating Indian designer brands that can go global, Potential brands / designers must be identified and encouraged by subsidising exports etc,,
14. Designers should be called upon to work on global issues like climate change, sustainability, waste management, health, etc., and should be ably supported by the government.
15. The government could create design awards and other initiatives to celebrate design excellence. The Padma awards need to consider designers for thisThis would help to raise the profile of design in India and encourage more people to pursue careers in the field.
16. Industries that produce products that contribute to pollution should be mandated to take on designers on their payrolls and make changes in the design and manufacturing.

These are from my own Wishlist in no particular order, as they should have been. But this will hopefully reach the right corridors of power to be considered when putting together a brand new policy document.

Design and Rights

The Design community in India is agog on social media since yesterday. Christian Dior, no less, has been accused of copying a surface print design, designed and executed by People Tree, a design studio based in Delhi. An outraged Orijit Sen, on his Facebook post, shows enough proof that the design has been developed by their studio, years ago in conjunction with artisans and block makers. The outfit that Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor sports on the cover of the Indian version of ELLE, has the allegedly plagiarised print in the same colour and form.

PIC Courtesy : Orijit Sen’s Timeline on FACEBOOK

Christian Dior has not yet reacted to the allegation, although the media has been quick to judge. To prove originality of concept by a small studio against a large corporation, is tedious. Then, there is the question of Design registration. The studio, may not have registered it, although they have proof of selling the print for decades. And the legal process is long and winding.

Design studios, in a country like India, find the going tough and is not geared up to fight court battles against large corporations. The fight is not just about the rights. It is also about ethics.

Design businesses are hit, both ways. It is difficult enough to convince clients who think Copyright is a ‘right to copy’. Small businesses still find it easier to pick up stuff from catalogues and make them with impunity.

PIC Courtesy : Amazon India

A quick look at the Amazon India site  today showed several small manufacturers of sports shoes using the famous ‘Swoosh’ and are blatantly selling them online.

It becomes a designer’s moral duty to educate small and big businesses to appreciate original design. While’ Design rights’ will give protection, the brazen manner by which originality is disregarded is enough cause of worry.

This is what needs to be addressed by the design community: build a constituency for good and original design. Whether it is a small shoe manufacturer or a large design brand, the immoral act of copying should be condoned at all levels. We need to build awareness about the perils of copying. That, it is both illegal and immoral to plagiarise. The design bodies representing the profession must step up and show up for doing this. Build case studies to educate and fight court cases for the professionals who are aggrieved.

And impress everyone that being original is the only right way to design.

And the award goes to..

Last week ended with a design-award ceremony. Not for designers or designed products. There was a ranking of institutions teaching design in India, and the representatives were awarded and felicitated by MediaDesignEdu.com.

The people behind the awards and the jury that selected them are not known. The site itself is a website that clearly promotes private design institutions.

This is not to mock the awards. Any serious attempt to give a ranking to institutions should be welcomed, in the interests of students aspiring to get there. But if the criteria is not clear and 9 institutes, all big names, (of which seven are in the private sector), share five of the top awards, it seems like an amateur attempt at ranking.

Even by its own admission, the website had 84 award categories, which were won and shared by 50 institutes. Some institutes won multiple awards, since there are only limited number of schools teaching design.

Even a cursory scrutiny will reveal unexplained anomalies. While Pearl Academy, Delhi gets the national ranking of 2 and NIFT, Delhi is in 4th position, their ranks change in the Northern region awards. NIFT Delhi gets 1st position and Pearl is pushed to the 2nd position!

The omissions of some popular and reknown institutes are glaring. IDC at IIT Bombay and IIT-Delhi’s  and SPA’s Industrial Design Programme are not present in any category . IICD, Jaipur, a reputed craft design institute, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kanpur are also notable omissions.

Some awards are questionable.NID’s robust Product design programme is apparently not worth considering over DSK and other private colleges.

There is no doubt, there is a need for such a ranking but the methodology should be made public and the criteria announced in advance. The evaluating jury should be announced, too.

This was one of the jobs of the India Design Council and I am not sure why it is dragging it’s feet to do an evaluation and ranking.

This is the admission season, when I get calls from harassed parents and aspirants about how to choose one school over another. Is Srishti good for Product design? Is DSK worth the expenses? Is MIT better than Symbiosis? A transparent ranking is sure to help. It puts them in their place.

In the absence of that, here is a check-list of criteria to consider, before you choose:

• How reputed is the institute?
• How successful are their alumni?
• Does the institute have respect within the design community?
• Are their programmes current and relevant?
• Do they have good faculty?
• Do they have faculty?
• What facilities are present and how updated are these?
• How well-connected are they with the industry and other organisations?
• Are fancy buildings and labs tom-tommed, instead of decent faculty and programmes?
• Do they have a placement programme?

Do your home work.

Ask, ascertain, inquire, request, search, research, seek out, google, do everything in your capacity to find out.

This way, you may or may not win any awards, but you will certainly be rewarded with an excellent career in design.

Ministry of Design, Mr Modi?

Dear Prime Minister,

Your landslide victory in the elections and your swearing-in as the new Prime Minister has given the vast majority of Indians, the audacity of hope.

It is now clear to all that you believe in change. If there is one profession that can match up to that belief, it is the profession of Design. We believe in change, too and often question the status quo, just the way you have done.

Having been in Gujarat, home to NID, the oldest and the most prestigious design institute of this country, you are probably aware already, what design can do. Having allocated land in Gandhinagar for NID’s PG campus, you have already done your bit for Design as the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

But, now, as PM, your canvas is larger. The expectations are mounting and so are the problems. I want to draw your attention to do something dramatic, as is expected of you. Please create a new ministry: Ministry of Design.

The Ministry can be the think-tank, you need that will kickstart design thinking for governance. You need design thinking across all the 230 sectors of the economy. Take for instance, primary education. The Pearson report on education says that “Technology can provide new pathways into adult education, particularly in the developing world, but is no panacea. There is little evidence that technology alone helps individuals actually develop new skills.” So, I hope you will not fall for the free laptop or cheap tablet phenomenon and focus on training our children, new skills like Leadership, Critical thinking, Problem solving and team-working, which will help them become global citizens.

Introducing ‘Design Thinking’ at school-level prepares them for the world and this has been amply proved by the ‘Design for Change‘, a program that germinated in Ahmedabad and is empowering children world over with creative confidence.

We all are aware of your concerns for Energy, Water, Transport, Health and the Environment. Do you also know that there are projects big and small, done by designers that attempt to solve problems in a systemic way? Whether it is the d*light project of lamps for the common man or the Daily Dump‘s project in home-composting, these are enough to convince you that design needs to get it’s due.

You need to also look at the great Indian resource of hand-made crafts. For decades, designers have been working with artisans,from Kutch to Katlamaran, Srinagar to Chennapatna not only to make beautiful products, but also make them economically independent and socially acceptable. The pride you have for all-things Indian, will come to the fore, I promise.

Does this mean, you need to start more design institutes? Maybe, not, Mr Modi. I hope you have the time to familiarise yourself with the VISION FIRST think-tank that demonstrated the need to embed design across sectors. We need more nimble, small design centres envisioned as part of existing schools, colleges and institutions.

I hope you would empower the India Design Council to take this agenda forward. And make design accessible to all. You may want to make it more outward-looking and create an agenda, beyond superficiality.

The Ministry of Design can be the agent of change that you want to see. And you can count on the design community to join you in this cause.