Towards a new Design CultureToday the industry is rethinking of its approach to its basic premises of its objectives and reworking out the manner in which it should treat the human resources to achieve a better human performance and better human environment. In all these the development the creative and innovative faculties are drawing more attention and the environment is developed accordingly, changing the process of management and the personnel policies. On the other hand, their is now more enlightened executive is changing his character from "the organisation man" to a fuller and much vigorous approach to tune his ‘’working and aspirations’’ together in harmony.It is not enough to achieve the desired production the manner and the process by which it is attempted has become the objective of the management today. The Japanese have given this dimension in this area and the management world over feels concerned about this new thought as a new ‘’Management Culture’’. The ‘’why ‘’ is now put together in direct comparatives with the manner ‘’How’ and not the Object but the Objectivity in the context of Human Factor.
We the designers have to look back today and assess our own Performance in the applications of our creativity aesthetics and what we have done ourselves in the course 40 Years of the social change in acquired and social environment.1. Have we acquired a status on the world design scene with an identity of our own either in approach in presentation of ideas
2. Have we developed any specific methodology and design process to apply our own idiom of expression and its rendering for the kind of task before us?
3. Have we really understood the full significance of our performance that goes deep down to the roots of our cultural aspirations?
Our history has had a vigorous ‘‘Visual Culture’’ a much longer time. How is it then that the Japanese or American Design whether Graphic, Textile, Ceramics. Architecture, or product design have made their way to receive respect of the world Design and help economy to win world markets. Similarly as I was once a part of design school teaching, where equal emphasis is given on the liberal arts curriculum, the students knew more the far eastern and so called western film makers, writers, actors and designers. Don't we have Ghatak and Sen. Don't we have Sathyu and Kasarvalli. Don't we have Girish Karnad. The list may get endless. For them the Graphic Design ends with Paul Rand, David Carson, Neville Brody and Waltor Landor. I'm no one to comment on their legendary design abilities– But as a country we need to give due respect to Sudarshan Dheer, Yeshwant Chaudhary, R K Joshi and many others who were well ahead of their times when India was still considered an absolute third world country. Thats the tragedy about our education system and the educators, who perhaps are not well equipped with the pearls of wisdom.The Culture springs from the grain of the values we respect and faith in the course of our aspirations. It flourishes in tune with newer inputs in the challenges of change and transitions.Tradition to never static tradition gets richer in this course. Else tradition is a dead horse and cannot take you any where. Let us therefore work now towards developing a new Design Culture how not to of the future a few of us are concerned with this and are engaged in giving a movement in our print. As designers, this young and dynamic force, you need to take this up seriously as the design youth as the futuristic generation.No one with a specific specialisation can afford to go alone in this scheme of development of a new Design Culture made that I am talking about the inputs have a wide base and must be vigorously tackled the inputs must come from various other disciplines closely related and far related and studiously handled Architectural even in old times assignments was never handled exclusively by one discipline alone.Once we accept this, we will have to then without programmes where disciplines could be put together various for better understandings. Is LORD MACAULAY listening?
Taking my earlier post as the poetry of the environment further, I need to say that the nature has been extremely influential in my upbringing. Born and studied for a considerable period of my life in the picturesque campus of I I T Bombay has left an indelible impression on not just my mind, but most of us who grew and studied together on the Campus. Basically the Campus had an environment where all aspects of individuals growth were influenced by academic surroundings midst the lavish spread of nature. The entire landscape in the late 70’s through eighties used to be near picture perfect. Surrounded by hills, lakes and a good bounty of greens the place was very close to the scenic country side we see in the Chinese martial arts movies. Simply- SERENE.
The friends were plenty as it was a small community where the concept of politics and protocol was non-existent. As teens we were a group of around 8 guys who were not just trying things at the vast library IIT has, but the places of interest like the Chinko, Rainbow, Boat house (to which the approach was more like a safari, than any thing else), the guest house with the vast expanse of Powai Lake to complement with its grandeur were more instrumental in our upbringing as human beings.
It was a creative crucible, which formed our minds and the way we started to look at things in general. All of us use to gather in the evening at the main building for smoking (WILLS LIGHTS) and spend time discussing on virtually everything under the sky, without any specific agenda. Even the cigarettes used to be a major pool in affair as the pocket money was not sufficed. We used to take turns to sponsor the princely 5 rupees per pack of wills kings. That was fun.
No wonder that few of us finally endeavored in the creative pursuits. Most of us have turned into designers, photographers, and researchers trying to do and offer something new virtually every day. As you grow up the sense of belonging and the nostalgia of the place where you belonged starts to make you sentimental to some point. Any ways, whatever we do as friends to make a reasonable living, we all owe to the place and the people who formed us and that’s I I T Bombay.
Graphic Design is nothing but a perception was the comment of a designer. All right, point taken. But whose perception. Perception of the individual designer? Or of the client? Or the audience you and ultimately your design would be canvassing? I
don't blame the person for the comment, but the institutional learning which has imparted these views on the person.
They say Graphic design is ubiquitous. Then where is the perception. Is individual perception the same throughout the human race. If that’s the case why do have so many streams and schools of thought?
In a country like India, where the creative juices flow even in the deepest of the rural villages is flabbergasting. The illustrate the point, when an artisan is giving shape to the clay to make a deity, it’s a process of making an idol. But the moment, the figurine takes its final form and all the necessary touch-ups and drapes are done, it takes the form of that said GOD or the GODDESS, which we worship. We worship the concept of an institution called the almighty and not just the perception of the skilled artisan who has given the form a credible existence.
India has tradition in crafts and designs reached by the need first right from
Mohenjodaro 3000 BC till today from a pot to seals and on to human habitation planning. With reference to ‘’From spoon to Town’’ tradition in India has been ‘’From Graphic Communication to Habitation’’, each designed for a need and has grown into a place of significance in life.
Take the earthen pottery for example. The pot is associated with Indian life at every stage. From the pot, smallest one, used for feeding the first drop of water to the new-born infant to the one full with water and green leaves as a medium in the worship as a ritual in the marriage, signifying the fullness f life the youth and to the one with water dripping out, through back over the shoulder, signifying that the life is gone.
In fashion, red spot on the forehead of a young woman is not a simple decoration but signifies the aspirations to motherhood and the respected togetherness as an
essentiality of man and woman relationships.
In wedding embroidery, the groom’s mother has series of a particular stitch on her
Choli (blouse) than the ones on the bride’s mother, both distinctly different. In colour, the green bangles of a bride signify the youth of age. The
sourashtra village man wears the sky blue predominantly as he believes that he comes down the ages from Lord Krishna with his blue complexion interpreted in folk
lore's.
Are these mere perceptions or pillars of cultural identity or principles being followed for centuries of our evolution as a race?
The reason for all this
gyan is just to understand (as a commercial designer and not as a fine artist), is that the canvas for any designer, is the mass to which his/hers design reaches. As they say - advertising is a medium which bridges the gap between the concept and its consumer. It’s not like painting or graphic print which adorns the wall of a home or corporate to glorify and many a times satisfy the ego of the collector. Its very personal. Its very intimate.
Design on the other hands needs to reach and touch all forms of perception of the designated target audience. It needs to motivate the stakeholder, across the spectrum of reach to react in a positive way and not get put off by mere
jargon's (I can say that, as a very dear friend of mine who heads a large IT company had shot me down literally when I had sent him a rough cut of my organizations introduction letter for his feedback). You need to have a very clear understanding of the kind of imagery, typography, the contents - in short all the ingredients which needs to go in to make a perfect gourmet – again not for your taste buds but for those of your guests’.
So my dear, think and
ideate with great perception-but not for you as a egocentric creator but for the millions who are going to be the witness to your work. Else as a client, why should I spend?
The advent of Technology has begun to invade all spheres of our private and community life, inevitably so, before we have learnt to master its use and control its abuse like a medicine with a double edge. The expanding economy is responsible for the industrialisation. the rhythm of our life replaced by the harsh ills of the massive urbanisation as a result of industrialisation - one such victim is the poetry of the environment, we cherished in this land of rich relationship between man, nature and the environment socially and individually in a harmonious climate of thought and feeling.
It is my intention to probe the conflicts in this harmonious relationship with the environmental implications of the built structures and to reveal the problems, with which the designers and architects are concerned, for the aesthetic form, on one hand, and the society, on the other, with its cherished values if social structure, cultural identity and personal experience.
In the old times, man worked with his hands. The land was the key to his learning and experience. The creation of the object - whether the pottery or his ‘habits’, expressed his environmental involvement and identity.
Today, what we built with the impersonal technology, not as part of the qualitative environmental identity but to assert the massive pressure of quantity, without showing regard to experiential involvement of significant social and individual concern - i.e. embodying and perfecting the man-world relationship with formative disciplines and the human factors - the predicament shared by the artists, designers and architects alike.
Today , it is unfortunate that the ‘saleability’ of building activity has taken over by the environmental abuse and has created a diffusion of values respected by Good Design, making the Man-Environment relationship, not only confused, but Savage and In- Human. To illustrate this point, let us examine the environmental assaults on the human factor in Mumbai and Bangalore city.
The high structure at Bangalore or Mumbai have been raised at a time when an enlightened team of futuristic and dynamic experts in Architecture, Civil Enquiring, Structural engineering, Sociology and other fields, warned us on the evils of the unplanned growth for the city, drawing the massive in-flow in search of livinghood, the shortage of lad for habitation, inadequate facilities for communication and Transport (especially in Bangalore), and other hazards, and proposed the concept of the satellite cities. Whatever its merits, it has had in its hypothesis, its analysis and its concept visualisation was indeed a far-reaching solution. All was ‘utterly’ neglected for ‘butterly’ gains. What a shame that such a decision has landed Bombay city in an irreparable doom - high structures - each enveloping a couple of thousand head of human cattle, kept away from day-light, fresh air, safety and security - the basic needs of the human being. Structures so high that Fire fighting equipment available are inadequate. A five Star hotel, in one of the Indian Megapolis, built so disrespectfullly, where the Fire Smoke travels though the air conditioning ducts suffocating the occupants to the death, no Fire alarm riased. All so Devastating.
Now, look at the exterior environment.
No parks, no open spaces, no walking surfaces and no public conviniences and no public transport terminations, no accomodation for servicing labour - giving rise to slums now, on footpaths and side-fencing, with rapes on public hygine. No space reserved for refreshments - people therefore swarming around the road-side hawkers for their daily and dusty bread, for their noon fills and jaundiced pani-puri for the evening fills.
High structures, as a product of parallel economy and builders’ ‘saleability’ approach to constructions, divorced completely from the basic elements of Good Design - Form, Function and above all the Human Factor, lacking individuality, communal involvement, social identity and environmental entity - with the sequential order.
Structures on the other hand, for Mass Housing, reflect yet another phenomenon - alienation of one family from another, disintegration of the social and family structure. lack of personal identity, sequencial order of planning of the paths, vehicular trafic, signaling system and public heatlth measures, totally uncared for.
