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Design education in India needs special focus to generate meaningful employment and entrepreneurship
Design as a skill is gaining importance as a vital component of economic development and social well-being. The power of design can help India to emerge as a competitive stakeholder in the global economy. According to a British Council India & India Design Council report, design in India has matured over the years and is booming. The same report stated that by the end of 2020, the potential market for design in India is expected to be INR 188.32 billion (GBP 1.43 billion).
However, less than 25% of the design market is currently tapped. Therefore , it creates a strong demand for creating skilled manpower through appropriate design education in India. The country needs a sufficient number of trained designers to drive the industry and to offer and deliver innovative design solutions related to emerging requirements , such as, sustainability, smart cities, cleantech, greentech etc.
“We also need the methods of design education to inform the pedagogies of other faculties of learning. In order to secure intellectual leadership of the future and to enhance the innovation capacity of the nation, we need to invest more in design education.”Â
Pradyumna Vyas , Member Secretary, India Design Council
Design Education Landscape in India
Design is an age old traditional practice in India. The strong design heritage of the country is deeply rooted with its diversified culture and well-developed craft tradition. Most of the traditional rituals, practices and festivals of India have profound purpose of design manifestation behind them.This traditional design heritage also provides inspiration towards looking at and understanding modern design elements.
The strength of Indian design is also linked with its growing economic activities. The power of design in an Indian context is magnified
with the large population that needs design solutions. Beyond aesthetics, design has the power to bring change in the lives of people and be an integrator of values, aspirations and culture.
However, the power of design can not be harnessed for socio-economic development in absence of skilled designers. According to British Council report, the number of designers required by 2020 in industrial, graphic, communication, packaging and other design domains will be 62,000, provided the design potential is fully realized. Currently there are approximately 7,000 qualified designers in the country and approximately 5,000 students in design education.
The design education in India has also grown in the last 10 years  driven by the positive demographics, rising educational aspirations, openness to pursue alternate careers, employment opportunities and increased affordability of higher education, the number of design aspirants is increasing every year. However , most of the design education curriculums are focussed on adults or young adults. There is no single integrated design education course available for children.
Cathing Creative Minds Young
According to Psychology Today article and other experts, creative capacity begins in adolescence with configuring developmental tasks. Meaningful creativity begins in early adolescence with the development of abstract thinking capacity. Therefore, the design education can be extremely useful for children in their early adolescence. To address this specific need, Avahita – Anjuman in collaboration with renowned designer Siddhartha Das is offering customized online design education course ‘Let’s Design’ for 10 to 12 year – olds. The course aims to introduce the participants to the basics of design and its disciplines: graphic, industrial, crafts, textile design, exhibition, interior design and architecture. As a part of this course, the young participants will get acquainted with the creative and analytical tools and tasks required in the design process.
The online sessions consists of presentations, discussions, and assignments (during and after sessions).Â
Learning outcomes and objectives
- Basics of design and how it touches all aspects of our lives
- The idea of creativity, innovation and problem solving
- Communicate through design tools and softwares to present ideas
- Understand the various fields of design, and yet how they overlap
- An appreciation of various design professions and possible optionsÂ
- Be able to do design internship and work on the school magazine, posters etc at school after practice
The following foundation skills are introduced into this course curriculum
- Understanding the design process of Creative thinking and problem solving
- Demonstrating skills like visualising, presenting information and ideas
About the facilitator
Siddhartha Das
Siddhartha Das has worked on cultural projects across the world for over 20 years. He has worked across various disciplines of- design, architecture, art and crafts. Das is an alumnus of Rishi Valley School, Hindu College, Delhi University, the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad and Domus Academy, Milan.
He is an Asia Society, Charles Wallace and Nehru Trust Fellow and has received various international fellowships.Siddhartha was awarded the British Council’s International Young Design Entrepreneur in 2009. He has been a visiting faculty at the CEPT and NID, Ahmedabad; Central Saint Martins, London and Willem de Kooning Academie (WdKA), Rotterdam. He has been a contributor to the Arts Illustrated magazine for three years until recently.
In 2002, he founded the award winning multi-disciplinary Siddhartha Das Studio that works on cultural projects. He has worked with over 2,500 craftspeople in India. Key projects include the award-winning curation and design of the Sardar Govt. Museum, Jodhpur; the interiors for the historic Jal Mahal, Jaipur; flagship stores for GVK’s Airports in Bangalore and Mumbai; museum exhibitions at Museum Rietberg Zurich, Crafts Museum and has designed the Indian Institute of Art & Design campus, New Delhi. Das has designed books, theatre sets and credit titles for films and directed a few short films.
About the organizers
Avahita – Anjuman
Avahita Group is an ideation, communication and mentoring group that aims to accelerate socio-economic progress and innovative initiatives. It believes in growth through collaboration and undertakes initiatives in various areas of communication. It has a strong connection with the technology industry and expertise in digital marketing and other emerging digital technology related skill areas.
Anjuman is a group that aims to build leadership skills through the pedagogy of art. It consists of artists, art educators and managers who have come together to facilitate high quality arts education to both, children and adults in both, formal and informal spaces.
Anjuman & Avahita are working jointly in different educational initiatives.
