on Design from the Events, Declarations

47

2.2 Public Policies on Design and Design-driven Innovation

Design in Visions: Visions of/on Design from the Events, Declarations and Policies in India

Saurabh Tewari School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal

Design and development / Design visions / Design education / National Institute of Design / Industrial Design Centre In the last six decades in India, like many developing nations, Design has repositioned and elaborated in/ by various visions. The research studies these changing positions of/on Design in the events, declarations and policies at different Design schools of postco-

lonial India. A mix of primary and secondary study looks into the timeframe from India’s independence in 1947 to the present and reflect on the nature and making of these positions and visions. Through the people and documents of/about events, declarations,

Introduction The past and present-day discourse on/of Design History has primarily been Euro-centric as the voices from the ‘other’ and developing worlds, like India, are still under-represented in the various anthologies, journals, groups and conferences regarding the discipline and around. As numerous developing nations are witnessing a surge in the initiation of new Design-related institutions, innovation and practices and formulation of Design policies by the governmental organisations, the research aims to unearth relevant clues for various stakeholders in the academia, industry and policy. The study hopes to find intellectual companions in the contemporary design histories of Social Design, Design Education, Design Visions and Design Organisations. Research Focus and Methodology In India, through the years, Design has been repositioned and elaborated in various visions associated with the institutions such as art, craft, architecture and design. The study highlights shifting positions and visions through the various records of Design (Industrial Design and Visual Communication) schools in postcolonial India. It looks into the timeframe from India’s independence (in 1947) to the present, analysing the visions on/of Design of these institutions in its events, charters, documents, working papers, and formal proposals. The study here aims to bring a reflection from the under-represented world of design by discussing the various positions of/on Design through various visions. In the last decade, the emergence of new private institutions dealing with Design in India, like isdi Mumbai, Pearl Academy Delhi, Srishti Bengaluru, mitid Pune and The Design Village Delhi and more, has once again positioned Design as one of the emerging and ‘new-age’ disciplines among the new generation students. These schools too have come up with various design streams and now aggressively conversing about the present and future scenarios which can be influenced by Design. The government institutions too are realising the potential of design education and have approved various courses, departments and schools in the last decade. However, a better historical understanding can avert ‘reinventing the wheel’ process for all these efforts and can contribute to its purpose. Hence, it becomes a critical and beneficial to revisit the various

2.2actes.indd 47

charters, documents, working papers, and formal proposals, it analyses and presents the visions of Design as foundational, developmental, postmodern, neo-liberal and retrospective visions.

visions of/on Design that has been taken and happened in various Design institutions in the country. With an under-addressed ‘wish list’ (Ranjan, 2007) and the demands of recognising Design as a Ministry (Balasubramaniam, 2014) it becomes more relevant to study positions of/on Design in various visions elaborated in the last six decades. The study wanders through the various visions of design from the established design institutions, National Institute of Design at Ahmedabad (nid), the oldest ‘Design’ school in the subcontinent, and Industrial Design Centre at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (idc), the oldest ‘Design’ department in a technological institution, to the recent initiatives. The library and online resources of the above institutions and the associated people become the subject of study with following to be looked into detail: 1. Documents of the individuals, groups, events, at the four identified institutions’ libraries, to act as historical records. 2. Documents and Literature related to the individuals, organisations and events as secondary sources. And, as the research intends to be not unobtrusive, i.e. only include the documents: 3. Personal interviews of the participants (or professionals) related to the institutions, events and policymaking, like the present and retired faculty members, acts as the primary source. Background: Pre-independence Visions of/on Design (before 1947). The beginning of the 20th century India witnessed the initiation of Shantiniketan in Bengal as a revivalist school of learning. Rejecting the European techniques, it accommodated the folk expressions in search of a pan-Asian identity (Nangia, 2004). In the West, Shantiniketan and Sriniketan were seen as the Indian version of Bauhaus as it included the progressive studies of art and craft. However, primarily based on revivalist ideas from the context, its pursuance of ‘universality’ differed from the ideas of International Modernism. In the mainstream political landscape of pre-independent India, Gandhi too communicated a vision based on intrinsic values and social reform mainly through a method of product symbolism (Balaram, 1995). Be it his attire (khadi), possessions (like charkha) or the habitat space (Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad), they all communicated ideas of morality, simplicity, austerity and non-violence.

29/08/18 21:30

48

Back to the Future [icdhs 10th + 1 Conference] Proceedings Book

In comparison to the philosophical tools of Tagore and Gandhi, Sris Chandra Chatterjee attempted ‘identifiable’ Indian elements in his architecture in the name of ‘Modern Indian Architecture’ and varied from the ascetic ideas of Shantiniketan and Sabarmati. Under him ‘All India League of Indian Architecture’ visioned ‘Indian Architecture’ through creating manuals and books for design practitioners. One of the manifestations of this ideology with visible ‘Indian’ elements is Laxmi Narayan Temple in Delhi (Nangia, 2004). Hence, this ‘nationalist’ vision stressed the need of teasing out the Indian identity through a distinct style of work amplifying the design glories of the past. Post-independence Visions of/on Design No postcolonial study on Indian Design can ignore the first Prime Minister Nehru’s contribution. He famously invited Le Corbusier to build India’s symbol of modernity, Chandigarh. Departing from Tagore and Gandhi’s revivalist approaches, Nehru’s global vision involved large-scale infrastructure building. Other than Nehru’s interest in public infrastructure, Balaram (2009) notes that his commitment to the industrial development was also towards the craft and small-scale industry sector. Foundational Visions: Establishment of School of Thoughts In the year 1957, along with the Ford Foundation, the government invited the famous architect couple, Charles and Ray Eames, from the United States to India to present a proposal regarding the possibilities in India. After visiting the numerous resource centres, bureaucrats, artisans, architects, educationists and people related to craft and small-scale industry the designer couple came up with, now an iconic document, India Report (Eames and Eames, 1958, 1998). Overwhelmed Eames acknowledged the rich design traditions in India, referencing through one of the everyday examples of the Indian design tradition, ‘Lota’. Though the document was primarily for the development of craft and small-scale industries, it can be seen as the first vision document for modern ‘Design’ in India through nid at Ahmedabad. In the document itself, the Eames write again in anticipating the possible influence design can bring in a traditional society: “In order to even approach the quality and values of a traditional society, a conscious effort must be made to relate every factor that might possibly have an effect.” Along with the nid at Ahmedabad, another cradle emerged visioning Industrial Design for India at Mumbai. In 1969, the concepts and pedagogy of western schools like HfG Ulm and the Royal College of Art, London, transported its influence to the Industrial Design Centre, idc. In India’s premier technology education setup, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, the school explored beyond the engineering solutions into the realm of social aspects of design. With both the schools completing five decades of existence, nid and idc, form the foundational vision in the Indian Design History. Developmental Visions: Design and the Real World Works like Schumacher’s Small is Beautiful (1993) and Papanek’s Design for the Real World (1984) turned the world towards the idea of ‘need’ and ‘development’. India too witnessed a similar turn towards the ‘people’. One of the first design voices from the developing world at a global design forum was V. N. Adarkar. An honorary advisor to idc, Adarkar (1973) presented a series of three papers under ‘Design and Man in Developing Society’ at the 8th icsid General Assembly and Congress at Kyoto in September 1973. Adarkar’s first and second essays elucidated

2.2actes.indd 48

the promise, potential and problems of the Indian Scenario. He lamented the loss of identity and increasing nature-culture gap. He argued for a shifting designer’s focus on the neglected geography, rural India and proposed the nature of Industrial Design to be more humane. In the first essay, he predicted and defined the work for Industrial Designers in the future of India. In the second essay, he gives a sense of environmentalism in his writing. The idea of ‘need’ was further taken by one of the early exhibitions, Products for People, from the first decade of idc. This three-day exhibition hosted at the iconic Jehangir Art Gallery received more than six thousand curious visitors. ‘Industrial Design Centre: A decade of design experience’, by A. G. Rao (1979), acted as the precursor to the 1979 icsid event bringing out several themes of early projects such as Design for industrial, domestic, rural, public usage, healthcare and children. In 1979, nid and idc came together to manifest their more considerable commitment and hosted icsid/unido congress. With the contemporary dialectics of social design, another vision of Design (and its education) was proclaimed in India, as Ahmedabad Declaration: Design for Development 1979 (Balaram, 2009; Clarke, 2016). Ghose (1995) notes that it called for (i) understanding the values of one’s society and then defining a quality of life within its parameters; (ii) seeking local answers for local needs by using local materials and skills, while making use of advanced science and technology; and (iii) creating new values, addressing priority needs, and preserving plural identities. Clarke (2016) calls it a “golden moment” and a crucial turning point in recognition of the social potential of industrial design in the developing world. Interestingly, Clarke also defines this event as “an extension of India’s policy-making, rooted in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s post-Independence stance of national industrial development, in which design was viewed as an element to improve the quality of life.” The icsid’s 1979 event’s sole objective was the promotion of industrial design in developing countries (Balaram, 2009). It remains one of the significant landmarks in the discourse of Design for Development, and together with the overall discourse at nid and idc, it contributes to developmental visions of design in India. Postmodern Visions: Diversification and Reflection In his third essay, Adarkar (1973) identified the role of Visual Communication Design in the social development. He argues that communication design can address several social issues of/in the Indian visual environment. A Terminal Report (De and Nadkarni, 1984) presented to undp and the Ministry of Educa-

29/08/18 21:30

49

2.2 Public Policies on Design and Design-driven Innovation

tion and Social Welfare, detailed the role of idc in and its importance at various levels of existence. The project which intended to “improve the quality of Industrial Design through the improved training of designer” promised to fulfil specific objectives including the initiation of Visual Communication programme, and several other functions like ergonomics, environmental Design, Design and Development Cell, Information, Training and Education, Consultancy at the institution. Through the course, the Visual Communication programme initiated at idc and claimed to be beyond the basic and foundational explorations of nid’s programmes. The admission brochure proclaimed, The Visual Communication Programme at idc will be at an advanced level to create graduates with greater analytical and problem-solving capabilities. The provision of a unique theoretical and applied technological infrastructure at this centre, with an analytical yet creative approach, will put the design in ‘problem-solver’ role, who will in turn influence the Indian design and technological environment (Industrial Design Centre, 1984).

Within the developments, a workshop ‘Designing for Children’ (Trivedi, 1984) conducted by Kohei Sugiura in 1983 prepared the platform for the programme’s launch. It was also one of the first workshops in iit system to focus on Children Books and their needs. The idea was to develop on the post-Ulm ideas and a search for Asian-ness. The initiation of Visual Communication marked a seminal shift in Design Education not just in its purpose but also in its form and meaning. In 1985, a seminar on ‘Indian Symbology’ at idc discussed the role of symbols in Indian culture in RK Joshi (1985) talked about the everyday symbols and myths in India. Further, in 1987, idc anchored ‘Arthaya’ as one of the first international events outside the emerging Euro-centric discourse on Semantics (Sarkar, 1987). Interestingly, ‘Arthaya’ means ‘meaning’ in Sanskrit, and it marked one of the pluralistic turns in the discourse of design. Krippendorff (2006) reflects that the designers embraced the developments in the Product Semantics in multicultural and multilingual contexts. Along with the broader philosophical development in fields like architecture and literature, design in India too witnessed a postmodern turn. Industrial Design’s extension to communication forms the postmodern vision in the eighties. Neo-Liberal Visions: Global Collaborations and Expansion of Design and its Education. As a public-funded institution, idc continued its focus on design and development for the people. Through the course of time, it attempted to do vice versa, develop the discipline of design through dissemination and external collaborations. Through ‘Design as a Strategy for a Developing Economy’ (Industrial Design Centre, 1989), it attempted to build a case for creating Design capabilities in India. This report suggested including design as part of the Government Plan, formalising foreign tie-ups for indigenous design practices and promoting design in Industries. It sought financial assistance for design research activities and craft documentation. It also proposed the propagation of Design Education at higher and basic education levels and vocational training schemes. In continuation, in 1996-97, Nadkarni initiated the Department of Design with the first undergraduate programme of design at iit Guwahati in the North-East region of India (Rane, 2017). It was the first inclusion of the third field of study other than Science & Technology and elective courses of Humanities & Social Sciences in the iit system at the undergraduate level. The period also witnessed the postgraduate initiation of Design Education at technical-education hubs like Indian Insti-

2.2actes.indd 49

tute of Science Bangalore (Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing) and iit Delhi (Instrumentation Design and Development Centre). Their contextual understanding of design, often rooted in engineering design methods, shaped the curriculum and pedagogy of these new centres. A parallel, in 1993 at Ahmedabad, in the new economically liberalised scenario, nid sensed the opportunities in the industry collaborations and held an outreach activity, Think Plastics. Its impact was visible on the plastic industry as a broader event with more exposure followed it, PlastIndia’94 at New Delhi organised by Plastindia Foundation and nowea Germany. Explorations from the associated projects and student competition went to the icsid conference at Taipei in 1996 (National Institute of Design, 2013). It was first of its kind of instance in India when a design Institute explored the plastic, as material and technology, and proposed products with private organisations. With the rise of the new millennium, nid came up with a National Design Policy (National Institute of Design, 2010) which attempted to holistically include the views of the active actors: government, policymakers, industry and academia, along with the forms and practices of Design in past and future. Through policy intervention, nid’s focus was on creating an institutional framework. On the other hand, to broaden the Design education’s accessibility at various levels at grassroots, idc came up with a Proposal on introducing ‘Design and Innovation’ in the school curriculum (Industrial Design Centre, 2010). The event brought along recommendations on three domains, curriculum, learning methods and the implementation of the idea in schools. To bridge the gap between the industry and academia, India Design Council, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, organised “ddei: Designing Design Education for India”. The ideas were to “facilitate improvements in the quality of outcomes from design education leading to highly knowledgeable and skilled design graduates suitable for a competitive world” and develop “a guiding (not binding) framework that represents a common rationale/philosophy for design curricula and its implementation” (India Design Council, 2013). The purpose of this event was also to facilitate the needs of new Design Schools. Further, reflecting and realising the strength and outcomes of design education in India, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, in collaboration with various design, technology, fashion and architecture schools like iit Bombay and iit Hyderabad, came up with ‘Design Manifesto: For a Design Enabled Technical Education’ (Industrial Design Centre, 2014). The vision acknowledges the power of design and design thinking in the problem-solving pedagogy of technological

29/08/18 21:30

50

Back to the Future [icdhs 10th + 1 Conference] Proceedings Book

pursuance at India’s technological institutions. It largely suggested the integration of design in India’s technological schools by introducing design as an open course or elective to foster innovation among engineering students. With the facilitation of economic liberalisation, the period after the economic liberalisation (1989 onwards), the initiation of several design programmes and collaborations initially by two premier design institutions idc and nid, and later by various other agencies formed the neoliberal visions of design in its education and its manifestation as design practices. It focused on collaborations and expansion of Design and its Education and broader collaborations. Retrospective Visions: Search for identity, sustainability and purpose of design in society. With future-oriented events, there have been some visions, which have offered reflections on the discourse of development, design, and its education. ‘Design Education: Ulm and After’, a seminar organised in 1989, marked the twenty years of initiation of idc and evaluated Hfg Ulm’s legacy in the institution and other parts of the world. ‘Readings from Ulm’, an anthology by Kirti Trivedi (1994), carried the discussion further. This collection of forty-one excerpts from Ulm’s teachers like Maldonaldo, Bonsiepe, Aicher, Krampen, Albers, and Gugelot were reproduced in three sections: Issues (Philosophy of HfG), Theory (Design Methodology) and Opinions (Comments and Reviews). The collection, not just restress the Hfg Ulm’s ideas and visions for a better-designed world but also present a vision for further discourse in Design Education. Later in 2003, nid hosted the conference ’Design Education: Tradition and Modernity’ and brought together stakeholders “to tackle issues related to the age-old design traditions, and the urgency to develop a relevant and holistic approach to design education to meet the demands of the global economy” (Katiyar and Mehta, 2007). Numerous Design and related international organisations also joined in exploring reflections, hearing and addressing contextual voices to expand the respective domains like ‘Graphic Design’ at icograda 2007, ‘Design Histories’ in 2013 or ‘Sustainability’ in 2015. Design History Society’s first annual conference outside the Western Hemi-

2.2actes.indd 50

sphere, Towards Global Histories of Design: Postcolonial Design, held at nid in 2013 discussed perspectives to amplify voices of postcolonial design the conference uncovered non-conformist views in Design History (Kachru and Balasubrahmanyan, 2016). In a planet of our own (Industrial Design Centre, 2015) an international event endorsed by Cumulus and hosted by idc, aimed at creating design awareness on sustainability. It came up with ‘White Paper Recommendations’ for ‘Design Practice and Sustainability’ and ‘Sustainability and Design Education’. Developing on the democratic potential of design, in 2014, iit Gandhinagar organised a vision conference ‘Design for a Billion’, which again focused on designing for the people and the real world. Building on the theme, Klaus Krippendorff in his keynote address urged to “invest in the responsible use of discursively informed design”. The organisers included the brochures of the engineering students foraying into the ‘discursive design’, which are reminiscent of social design explorations of the seventies. As the new millennium brought the advent of globalisation in the nation and its design schools, there were attempts of retrospection in the design education to address plural and historical ideas, the journey of design practices, its dialectics within tradition and modernity, and the wicked problems of the developing world. Epilogue Design in India has witnessed various visions of design in the last six decades of its journey. From problem-solving to design for development, from design for the people to design as an economy booster, from an agency of nation branding to maturing as a form of policy, it has travelled as interacting streams in the discourse. The positions and visions on Design in India have shifted, but not faded with time. The attempt here has unearthed several forms of visions. At the same time, can’t be claimed as an exhaustive exercise, as several forms of discourse overlap and continue beyond its chronological boundaries. Perhaps, they converge, amalgamate and diverge with the mechanics of internal and external actors like technology, policy, culture, institutions and people.

29/08/18 21:30

51

2.2 Public Policies on Design and Design-driven Innovation

References

Acknowledgement

Adarkar, V. N. (1973). “Design and Man in a Developing Society”. Kyoto: 8th ICSID General Assembly and Congress. Balaram, S. (1995). “Product Symbolism of Gandhi and Its Connection with Indian Mythology”. In: Margolin V.; Buchanan, R. (ed.). The Idea of Design: 129-143. Cambridge, MA: mit Press. — (2009). “Design in India: The Importance of the Ahmedabad Declaration”. Design Issues, 25(4): 54–79. Balasubramaniam, A. (2014). “Ministry of Design, Mr Modi?”. Design Thoughts. https://goo.gl/rKHbxG (last accessed 15/06/18). Clarke, A. J. (2016). “Design for Development, icsid and unido: The Anthropological Turn in 1970s Design”. Journal of Design History, 29 (1): 43–57. De, A. K.; Nadkarni, S. (1984). Terminal Report: Project Findings and Recommendations (UNDP/IND/77/013/A/01/13). Mumbai: iit Bombay. Eames, C.; Eames, R. (1997, 1958). The India Report. Ahmedabad: nid. Ghose, R. (1995). “Design, Development, Culture, and Cultural Legacies in Asia”. In: Margolin V.; Buchanan, R. (ed.). The Idea of Design: 187-203. Cambridge, MA: mit Press. iit Gandhinagar (2014). Introduction of Design & Innovation: ES201. Gandhinagar: iit. India Design Council (2013). Designing Design Education for India: Conference Proceedings. Ahmedabad: India Design Council. Industrial Design Centre (1984). Admission Brochure. Mumbai: idc. — (1989). Design as a Strategy for a Developing Economy. Mumbai: idc. — (2010). ‘Design and Innovation’ in school curriculum. Mumbai: idc. — (2014). Design Manifesto: For a Design Enabled Technical Education. Mumbai: idc. Joshi, R. K. (1985). “Shubham Bhavatu”. idc News, 6. Mumbai: idc. Kachru, T.; Balasubrahmanyan, S. (2016). Towards Global Histories of Design: Postcolonial Perspectives. Ahmedabad: nid. Katiyar, V. S.; Mehta, S. (2007). Design Education Tradition and Modernity. Ahmedabad: nid Press. Krippendorff, K. (2006). The Semantic Turn: A New Foundation for Design. Boca Raton: crc Press. Nangia, A. (2004). “Nascent Nationalism and Indian Architecture”. Boloji.com. https://goo.gl/cFks13 (last accessed 15/06/18). National Institute of Design (2007). National Design Policy. Ahmedabad: nid. — (2013). 50 Years of the National Institute of Design 1961–2011. Ahmedabad: nid. Papanek, V. (1984). Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change. London: Thames & Hudson. Rane, M. (2017). The Design Journey of Prof. Sudhakar Nadkarni. Mumbai: Mandar Rane. Ranjan, M. P. (2007). “Wish List for India’s Design Policy”. Design For India. https:// goo.gl/iZioVz (last accessed 15/06/18). Rao, A. G. (1979). Industrial Design Centre: A decade of design experience. Mumbai: idc. Sarkar, P. (1987) “Arthaya”. idc News, 11. Mumbai: idc. Schumacher, E. F. (1993). Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics as if People Mattered. London: RH. Trivedi, K. (1984). “Designing for Children Workshop”. idc News, 2. Mumbai: idc. — (1994). Readings from Ulm. Mumbai: idc.

The author would like to express his gratitude to the Design History Society, which provided the Strategic Research Grant to undertake the fieldwork involved in the study. The author would also like to thank people from idc iit Bombay and nid Ahmedabad including academics Uday Athavankar, Vijay Bapat, Ravi Poovaiah, Ajanta Sen, Mandar Rane, Praveen Nahar, Tanishka Kachru, Rebecca Reubens, Bhaskar Bhatt, who contributed to the interviews and informal talks undertaken during the study. A special thanks, to Mohan Kumar, Patkar and Divekar who helped in retrieving archives at idc iit Bombay.

2.2actes.indd 51

Saurabh Tewari is Assistant Professor at the departments of Design and Architecture at the School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal, India. He is a PhD candidate at the Design Programme, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. His research interest lies in Design, its history in India, and sustainability. [email protected]

29/08/18 21:30