Just got back from participating in a panel discussion on Innovation and Design and one of the issues under discussion was 'Is it possible for India to be a design brand? like Italy? In crafts and in jewelry we are, but in the design of products and services, can we? And what is that?' An excellent thought provoking topic for sure. I said a resounding 'Yes we can....in design for the emerging market'.
One of the interesting contentions was - perhaps the excellence bar we set for ourselves is low, which holds us back from becoming a brand.
I did not think too much about it then because the discussion went off into a long-winded academic debate on the ills of infrastructure, society, policies and polity.
But when I landed at Pune's face-lifted airport, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with the big expansive glass doors, aerobridge and escalator (in our little Pune? wow!). Couple more steps and I was welcomed to beautiful granite floors and bright walls creating a pleasant ambience. But alongside were also over-bright bathroom interiors, hastily assembled exhaust fans and misaligned windows, predictably cliched descriptions but besides the point, all representing execution with design intent but lost track for a bit along the way.
When I was launching my educational company several years ago, an experienced educator told me that she advises non literate parents of her students to let one generation pass through vernacular medium before jumping into English medium education, otherwise the disconnect between parent and child may become too wide.
Are we in the same state in Design with a similar disconnect between the designer and the executor? Do we perhaps need an important layer between design intent and execution in the form of an operational quality check in order to maintain and sustain world class systems? Or do we believe in doing up just the living room? Why is this 'Indian brand' so hard to pinpoint?
After much thought and deliberation the question still remains: What IS Brand India Design?
One of the interesting contentions was - perhaps the excellence bar we set for ourselves is low, which holds us back from becoming a brand.
I did not think too much about it then because the discussion went off into a long-winded academic debate on the ills of infrastructure, society, policies and polity.
But when I landed at Pune's face-lifted airport, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with the big expansive glass doors, aerobridge and escalator (in our little Pune? wow!). Couple more steps and I was welcomed to beautiful granite floors and bright walls creating a pleasant ambience. But alongside were also over-bright bathroom interiors, hastily assembled exhaust fans and misaligned windows, predictably cliched descriptions but besides the point, all representing execution with design intent but lost track for a bit along the way.
When I was launching my educational company several years ago, an experienced educator told me that she advises non literate parents of her students to let one generation pass through vernacular medium before jumping into English medium education, otherwise the disconnect between parent and child may become too wide.
Are we in the same state in Design with a similar disconnect between the designer and the executor? Do we perhaps need an important layer between design intent and execution in the form of an operational quality check in order to maintain and sustain world class systems? Or do we believe in doing up just the living room? Why is this 'Indian brand' so hard to pinpoint?
After much thought and deliberation the question still remains: What IS Brand India Design?
No comments:
Post a Comment