Brain Churning

You don't need a brief to make posters; you could paint them naked.

डिज़ाईन का हिन्दी | Hindi word for Design

Thanks for taking interest and coming up with your own terms for 'Design' in Hindi. The list is continuously growing. Here are some of the entries my friends have sent so far.

डिज़ाईन का हिन्दी | Design ka Hindi

Design is getting bigger and better in the country. A lot of upcoming designers as well as the established ones are pushing the boundaries and bringing good design to the people.

However, till date, there is no hindi word for 'design'. This is a little project I have decided where I am compiling different hindi words for design. The compilation would be finally put together as a small publication.

I request all enthusiasts, designers, non-designers, thinkers to contribute their appropriate term for design in hindi. Due credit and hopefully a copy of the publication (if it gets sponsored) would be later given. This is a fun-project and I would really be grateful if you could also play along.

You are the design

HOW OFTEN have you seen yourself through your own eyes and not merely as a reflection of yourself in others' eyes? A good son, a loyal lover and a proud father -- these are adjectives that exist because you are associated with someone in a certain way.

My idea is not to confuse you with your own identity, but just to mention the fact that identity works only in relation. If you are all by your own, then what is your identity to you? Well you wouldn't go all blank on that. There are so many things that remind you of who you are; little things that have happened and the way you've perceived them. So in a way what matters is how you interpret things through your own mind, how you see through your own eyes and how you experience the world through your own consciousness.

NOW THE OBVIOUS QUESTION that you would ask would be:

What has this to do with design? or What has design to do with this?

Design is becoming more and more personal so that it can touch people at a personal level. And at places where individual taste cannot be satisfied completely, the interest of the community or Target Group (if you are a corporate businessman) is taken care of.

Now let's connect this all to make some sense. What we discussed was:

1. Identity exists because of some relation.
2. Design aims at connecting with you at a personal level.

So this puts the USER at the CENTER of the DESIGN PROCESS. Now how does that help us:

1. As a designer we are interested in the design process.
2. As a user we are interested in the design solution and not so much in the process.

Let's take the case of branding these days:

1. Branding creates loyalty
2. People strongly identify themselves with brands
3. There is a brand preference among users for a certain product or service
4. Branding helps in choosing
5. Branding results in advertising

This is the present scenario. But just pause for a moment and imagine an alternate possibility where: YOU ARE YOUR OWN BRAND.

Let me explain what this would mean:

1. Personalization and customization of products to a greater level
2. Services that would be user centric
3. Generally every consumer would be treated as a prosumer (pro-consumer) i.e. a person who has good knowledge of the product he buys.

Let's take an example now. Imagine you are going to your favorite Nike store. The store manager greets you and requests you to have a seat. The attendant then arrives carrying a e-brochure. You tap the panel a couple of times, select the colors, design and move on to the next stage of customization. You add your slogan: Let's kick some dirt, add the new swoosh you downloaded sometime back and complete the wizard. Then you are taken to the finalization counter where you stand on a fiber board and your feet are scanned for the perfect fit. Your payment is made electronically. You are requested to take your purchase id. You go home. Later in the afternoon, your customized shoe is delivered at your doorstep. The next time you aren't required to visit the store, your sizes are already in the database. You could simply go to Nike.com and order your customized products.

And this is everywhere - from shoes to computers to cars.

So to brief it all, I strongly feel that this is the direction design and business is headed to and this only creates more opportunities for designers to break clichés and create something new, something worth YOUR attention!

Comments invited.