Designs that tell stories

There are four areas in Indian design today that are extremely progressive — intelligent homes, digi-real, power to all and inspiring India.

These focus on what we do here in India and the impact on the people who consume it. As the founder of a design studio, introducing change to design outlook is but a natural course. At Studio ABD, the key focus is on celebrating the Indian way of life. Each design is a story and each story focuses on building a powerful Indian design vocabulary.

Intelligent Homes
The way we live in our homes is going to become very futuristic through what is called home automation — the power to get your home working even when you are not present. This trend is going to be a key factor in influencing design. Home automation and integration services will enable you to watch your home when you’re off on vacation, open the door to your kids when you’re late from work, integrate the home’s music and television system, open curtains, heat food… it’s amazing how much impact this is going to have on our nuclear families. This technology is going to change the way we live, change life the way we know it.

The digi-real world
Our technology today has allowed us to combine reality with the virtual world and in a sense, created what is called augmented reality. You are going to be carrying a touch pad with a projector that enables you to make your calls, create presentations and project them as well. Maps are becoming intelligent, communication is highly portable. You have this one little thing with which you do everything — watch movies, play games and music as well. This is growing in a big way in India — not just the demand for smart products but the very development, design and manufacturing, giving both app-creators and app-users a platform to innovate. It gives Indians an Indian perspective to how we carry our world with us.

Power to all
We as a country are extremely power hungry. One segment of our people constantly search for a plug-point to charge their gizmos while yet another have no power to start with. Decentralising power will work wonders for countries like ours. Designers and innovators have today come up with matchbox-sized inverters that can be carried along. Young, smart concepts have literally invaded power-management. The concept is a little visionary but there have been advancements in the field. It’s work in progress.
Inspiring India

This is a concept that is very, very dear to me. Inspiring India is to celebrate things from India and our way of life through our designs. Indian designers should try and focus on human relationships, our mythology, culture and traditions. Finding inspiration from India will create a new wave in design, both within and outside the country. I frankly find no point in trying to imitate designs from countries that are far beyond our own. It’s time India created a unique position for herself by sharing our stories with the world. And, the good news is that there is a simple way to do this.

My approach is to work bottom-up. India is teeming with young talent, start-ups and innovators. We work with them, for free, sharing their risks and profits. We call this ‘Creative Venture Capital’. We work right from designing their product, up until branding, giving them the right amount of boost to showcase their innovations. If more people work in this way, our design industry will see huge developments.

Another method is to work with handicrafts. This is not restricted to simply designing the products but also infusing technology. What will create a new wave for designers in India and set a trend for the coming year are concepts that are Indian at heart. Design coexists with culture. A design that does not respect cultural values will barely do well.

As told to Vishwadha Chander