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Design is rapidly gaining traction across the industry segments, be it
manufacturing, automobile, internet, FMCG. Though design has existed for very
long and the conventional form of design was to create objects for functionality
and thereafter it evolved into making those objects desirable. In the age of
fast changing technologies, design for functionality and design for desirability
are subsets of design for experience.
Any activity of the user requires interaction with a screen, object, device,
appliance, packaging, automobile, etc. and the interaction creates an
experience. Brands perceptions are created through such experiences. Hence, the
custodians of brands want to give great experience to the users to buy their
loyalties.
So, design is commanding a higher value in the minds of brand owners and it is
becoming intrinsic in their business strategies.
Design is a game changer in today’s crowded consumption scenario. Because it
adds tremendous value to the companies and brands, while improving their
profitability and augmenting their growth.
Design is a creative profession that is essentially a combination of aesthetic,
functionality and usability of any interface. So design of a an app, design of a
magazine, design of a refrigerator or a car, deals with making it look beautiful
while enhancing its ease of use by providing features. These features could be
innovation through details in physical and cognitive ergonomics or through
integration of technologies. With the advent of many new technologies, there is
a big opportunity for the designers to make them humane.
There are several professions in design, like industrial design,
graphic/communication design, furniture design, fashion design etc. The list
keeps increasing with new disciplines being added with the evolution of digital
space. UI/UX, Interaction design, etc. are gaining ground at a fast pace.
In-spite of many such disciplines, the core of design profession lies in DESIGN
THINKING, which remains the spine of all such fields of design.
In the last few years Design Thinking has percolated down the industry functions
in a big way. This has immensely helped in giving deeper meaning to design.
Design Thinking is the way designers think! Design Thinking is user centric. It
encourages empathising with the user, at the outset. User empathy helps in
unearthing the user needs and aspirations. Thereafter, solutions are found
through an iterative process prototyping and refinement, based on user testing
and validation.
Design Thinking is a great problem solving tool and is being embraced even by
the functions, such as HR and Finance. Design schools culture their students to
be proponents of design thinking. This has created multi-dimensional
opportunities for designers.
As the profession evolves, there are design companies in the more developed
societies, who are offering Service Design, which is focussed on Fintech and
government sectors to enhance the user experiences and conveniences.
With the Indian economy on the rise and reaching a point of inflection,
apparently design will be one single function that will be the leveller and
differentiator, together. This is well recognised by the government and the
education sector. There are design schools mushrooming in all the big cities of
India and youngsters are opting for design as a profession by choice.
Unlike many other professions, design is a beautiful profession, because it is
inherently creative, and is agnostic to mundane repetitive job. It opens up new
vistas for working on a variety of projects. This keeps the adrenalin rush on a
high, all the time!
India needs a large bank of designers who can influence the government policies,
initiate social innovation and finally change the face of the country.
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