Design Concepts & Concerns: April 2008

Saturday, April 19, 2008

More Design Opportunities Visualised: DCC 2008 scenarios

Image: Thumbnails of several water based scenarios prepared by the DCC2008 class at NID. They are shown below individually at the links listed here below.

Image: Six pages from a 20 page manual prepared by the Desert Rajasthan team as part of their group assignment The group work Design Opportunity Manuals are now available at this site. You can download the PDF files at the links below:
Desert Rajasthan Manual: 20 page pdf 6.1 mb size.
Kerala Rainforest Manual: 26 pages pdf 4.8 mb size.
Northeast Hills Manual: 12 pages pdf 3.5 mb size

More Design Opportunities: DCC 2008
Here is the second batch of scenarios that emerged from the students of the five regional groups, all working on water based design opportunities for the five assigned geographic regions of India, namely, Northeast Hills, Kerala Rainforest, Himalayan Foothills, Desert Rajasthan and Coastal Maharashtra. They are listed below and hyperlinked to the image and email text that was provided by each of the students selected here.

<Items 1 to 5 can be accessed from this link here.

Pragya Singh : Design Opportunities Water (Team – Northeast Hills)

Pragya Singh : Design Opportunities Water (Team – Northeast Hills)

During heavy rainfalls in NORTH EASTERN hills faces flash floods in urban upstream n soil erosion in rural downstream. Winters are dry which leads to lesser cultivation. Since both the rural and the urban areas are dependent hydrologically, I conceptualized integrated management system.

This system consists of many interlinked small watersheds (partly underground) at different levels of the hill to collect rainwater. Grooves are dug along the contours at different levels, which are open and directed towards respective community tanks (every individual house has its own simple rain water harvesting system comprising of a small above ground tank which collects clean roof water for drinking).

During heavy rains we can capture a large amount of water, which can be useful during dry winters for irrigation and domestic uses. During winters water can be pumped up during winters, since the tanks are interlinked....

Planned n thick cultivation (specially above the grooves) to help control soil erosion...
SINCE it’s a complicated n huge system plan, there will be many important considerations and required procedures to make it practically possible.

Firstly, I myself need to be well acquainted with knowledge of north east India n water structure over there...this can b done by research n social interactions.

Secondly, this is not a one man task ...it will need support n direction from experienced n enthusiastic people...to work it up as a team...

Thirdly, field study, environmental perception by directly going to the field is very important ...to identify the problems n find the best possible solutions. By interacting with the field...

Fourthly, proper planning.problem solving, plan considering all minute aspects of design ... like cost effectivness. Resource access, needs n mental build up of people there ...etc.

Fifthly, once we r ready with the plan.we need funds in addition to engineers, transport facilities, labour force, etc to actually make it possible...this could be done by approaching n convincing big influencial people in governmental n non govt. organisation.s.

Sixthly, spreading awareness by promotion, education, n proper expression.... so that we can properly convince the local populations to accept this system ...n its application

This could be done with the help of common awareness methods like internet, television, comic books, poster s... news channel, targeting students ... etc....

AFTER 15 YEARS I see a huge green hill (which is green even in winters).... and a flood free Northeast India..., which doesn’t need to go 1 mile downstream to get water...!!

Pragya Singh : Design Opportunities Water (Team – Northeast Hills)

Abu Basim : Design Opportunities Water (Team – Northeast Hills)

Abu Basim : Design Opportunities Water (Team – Northeast Hills)

Text not yet submitted. Text and picture will be uploaded later when the bandwidth is better.

Abu Basim : Design Opportunities Water (Team – Northeast Hills)

Rohit Goyal : Design Opportunities Water (Team – Northeast Hills)

Rohit Goyal : Design Opportunities Water (Team – Northeast Hills)

NORTH-EASTERN HILLS
DESIGN OPPORTUNITY OF MANUFACTURING WATERPROOF ACCESSORIES.

AS WE KNOW THAT WATER IS AN IMPORTANAT RESOURCE OF LIFE AND NEED TO PRESERVE IT CAREFULL, WE STUDIED THE DIFFERENT METHODS AND APPLICATION OF WATER HARVESTING IN NORTH EASTERN HILLS. AFTER A LONG JOURNEY OF STUDYING WATER FROM DIFFERENT PESPECTIVE AND COMING UP WITH DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES IN OUR AREA IN LAST ASSIGNMENT I DECIDED TO STUDY MY DESIGN OPPORTUNITY OF MAKING SCHOOL BAGES WITH INFORMATIVE GRAPHIC RELATED TO WATER ISSUE I MEET AND TALKED TO LOT OF EXPERTS AND CONSUMERS. WHEN I TOOK MY PRODUCT TO MARKET THE FEEDBACK, WHICH I GOT, WAS GOOD THAN EXPECTATIONS. SO I THOUGHT WHY NOT THE PRODUCT SHOULD BE CARRIED FURTHER.

SO I DREAMED OF OPENING A FACTORY OF WATERPROOF ACCESSORIES LIKE SCHOOL, OFFICE, COLLEGE BAGS, RAIN COATS JACKETS, CAR ACCESSORIES ETC IN INDUSTRIAL AREA OF GUWAHATI, ASSAM MAY BE AFTER 15YEARS FROM NOW.
I STUDIED IN DETAIL OF OPENING A FACTORY AND CAME UP WITH FUTHURE ME BOARD.

EXPLANING ABOUT ME BOARD, ON EXTREM RIGHT OF SHEET WE CAN SEE THE MAP OF CHINA FROM WHERE THE RAW MATERIAL LIKE NYLON SHEETS, PVC SHEETS, REXGINE SHEETS ETC WOULD BE IMPORTING BY FACTORY BECAUSE OF CHEAP RATES AND GOOD QUALITY.NEXT TO IT IS THE PICTURE OF FACTORY WHERE RECYCLING PLANT OF FACTORY USED WATER IS ALSO SHOWN BY WHICH WATER CAN BE REUSED BY KEEPING ENVORNIMENT CLEAN. ON THE ROOF OF FACTORY WE CAN SEE SOLAR PANELS WHICH CAN BE USED FOR GENRATING HOT WATER AND ELECTRCITY WHICH IS USED ON LARGE SCALE IN INDUSTRY FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSE. BELOW INDUSTRY THERE IS A PICTURE OF INSTUTIONS FROM WHERE THE BEST DESIGNER AND EMPLOYERS WOULD BE TAKEN. ON RIGHT OF IT WE CAN SEE A PICTURE OF MULTI-NATIONAL BUILDING, WHICH WOULD BE THE OFFICE OF FACTORY IN COMMERCIAL AREA OF GUWAHATI OR DELHI. THE PICTURE OF TRUCK SHOWS THAT THE PRODUCTS WILL NOT ONLY TARGETED TO NORTH EASTERN ZONE BUT HOLE OF COUNTRY TO THE NEBIOURING COUNTRIES.

ON THE LEFT SIDE OF SHEET THERE IS WHOLE BUSSINESS MODEL REQUIRED TO SET UP INDUSTRY, WHICH WAS INSPIRED BY THE BUSSINESS MODEL OF ANDAWALA.

BESIDE THIS FACTS I THOUGHT OF NAMING INDUSTRY HAS GOYAL INDUSTRY PVT. LTD. GUWAHATI. ASSAM. AND ALSO OPENING OF EXCLUSIVE SHOWROOM OF INDUSTRIAL MADE WATERPROOF ACCESSORIES IN MAJOR CITIES OF INDIA.

Rohit Goyal : (Team – Northeast Hills)

Kabini Amin : Design Opportunities Water (Team – Kerala Rainforest)

Kabini Amin : Design Opportunities Water (Team – Kerala Rainforest)

My visualisation, 15 years from now :

I imagine having started a magazine for youth that deals with issues like water, environmental degradation etc. Teen-targeted publications normally deal with film stars and random gossip. Also a large section of people are moving towards urban areas, where life is seemingly comfortable, and are thus unaware of the rural realities.

I personally think the youth is the strongest asset a country has. Unfortunately in our country, people aren’t considered capable of making decisions until they are well into their 30’s, an age at which they are so part of this larger system that all creative thinking has been suppressed. The youth in the country (in this case Kerala) should be mobilised and sensitised towards making some kind of change. With the magazine I hope to create a new system.

I would begin this by studying the functioning’s of popular youth magazines, by targeting readers, advertising and increasing popularity.

I remember always wanting to act proactively in the society and wanting to help resolve environmental issues, but never knowing how. I wish to inform like-minded people about steps they could take in this direction.

After weighing out all the possibilities, I found that this design opportunity was the most feasible and at the same time the most powerful. When the state/country has an empowered and informed youth, then it is truly a rich land.

This idea may not be exclusive to Kerala, but has the advantage of being flexible so that it can be adapted to any place.

Kabini Amin : (Team – Kerala Rainforest)
P.S. all this would apply if 15 years from now the state of Kerala still exists even after the effects of climate change.

Abhijit K R: Design Opportunities Water (Team – Kerala Rainforest)

Abhijit K R: Design Opportunities Water (Team – Kerala Rainforest)

Buddha, ‘Brand Water' and creative commons

Design scenario visualisation

Buddha is the sign of knowledge dissemination without bounds. In a way Buddha paved the way for creative commons and the idea of sharing as a whole.

After 15 years, once brand 'keyaar' is established, I believe I’ll be able to do the things with very few constraints of time and money.

My idea of design intervention in water related design opportunities and opportunities as a whole, is to create an online learning/knowledge sharing platform. I call it school’e’ for now. I will choose Internet as it's (I hope so) a medium where there is the least discrimination. And in the case of kerala, we have seen the spread of telecom revolution at a never-before-seen rate, and so when we project this to the net scenario, it’s right to believe that by 2023,most, if not every, household will have a computer and Internet access. The access to the site and its activities will be idea-centric unlike the skill centric institutions of these days. The site will hold discussions on society, ecology, design and logic. The principle will be that of 'practice what you preach' and outcomes will be held for peer-group evaluation. As a part of the program, there will be a water portal, both in Malayalam and English (which is a concept I had during the design opportunity mapping) so that in sync with the basic ideology, information will be open and experiential to all.

Besides these I’ll host an online community, wherein the various aspects mentioned above in school'e' concept will be discussed between activists, designers and artists of all sorts. This community and the school’e’ people will be responsible for the product and / or other ideas which the people of kerala will be able to put into practice. One approach will be to tap local resources like the coconut tree and local wisdom, which will be shared online or on the field.
The financial backup will be provided by my design activities, freelance writing and paintings and shares. As for infrastructure, the resources will be minimal, as a computer and a domain name will be enough for he purpose.
As for the strategy, I will be adopting the Adjusters strategy wherein I will use the normal branding procedure used by high paying brands and the Planman type of promoting one brand with another's activities.
On discussion with my peer group I found that the strategy appealed to all, with someone expressing concern over the classless nature of the Internet and the widespread use of the same. The feasibility aspect of this idea was also appreciated.
I have tried to present the idea in a straightforward manner and is based on the business model study we had in dcc, while the information gathered during the process of earlier brainstorms is used as a base.

Abhijit K R: (Team – Kerala Rainforest)

Aakash G V: Design Opportunities Water (Team – Kerala Rainforest)

Aakash G V: Design Opportunities Water (Team – Kerala Rainforest)

Me, Aakhash GV after convocating from NID, might pursue Masters In design (related to PD), then start earning (say after 5-6 Yrs.) The whole idea of establishing an industry that Manufactures Water management systems for various other industries in Kerala and other water related products using the then latest technology is what I dream of in reality. 15 years from now is a reallygood quality time to think upon its establishment,& feasabilty. Coming from an industrial background, my major financial aid will be my dad and my uncle + max. bank loans + my 6-7 years of savings + my bank accounts and policies. Investing such a huge amount, that also after 15 yr. in Kerala, one of the best places to located it would be COCHIN-Industial Zone.

Kerala, basically is abundant of rich raw materials, and resources. Im targetting at industries herethat consume water at a large scale, 15 years frm now. By then, 1000s of industries will be flourishing(if the ecosystem survives, especially water).Kerala also has a favourable, tropical humid climate, high literacy rate---->so good skilled employment and enough raw water supply and rain.These factors influence industries to enter Kerala.

Me and my industry [Aakhash Water Maagement Systems] will plan, design and manufacture products that are cost effective, sustainable, incororating the then best suitable technology and eco-friendly such as :

Various RO systems for industrial waste water purification
UV, Ozonization, Ion exchange process, activated water treatment,
various filter systems and other future technology for effective water purification.
Backwater de-salination by structured RO systems for industrial raw water supply(without affecting the aquatic and the surrounding water systems ) --power for the system driven by wind mills --a very high budget project ( say done later )
Ultra water purifiers for domestic purposes
Other water treatment processes for industries internally.
Permanent Water sprinklers around every industry that maintains greenery/gardens around it to reduce noise pollution and increase rainfall + oxygen.......Plants like grass, flowering plants, coconut grooves, banana plantations, mangrooves, etc.

Awareness :

Once the industry is well set up, then we will invite and offer industrial visits to school students and college students and educate them about the need and significance of the industry and hoe to manage water in the future.

Website designed to educate users on water management by presentations and motion graphics, along with the industrial profile.

Conduct contests regarding water systems at school and college levels and give away prizes.

Employment :

By establishing this industry , I will be providing employment to a lot of skilled and hard-working people related to the field. Major industrial directors, managers and members who mamane the smooth functioning of the industry will also comprise IIT, IIM, and NID graduates who will pave the future of the industry and Kerala.

Aakash G V (Team – Kerala Rainforest)

DIPTI KHOSLA: Design Opportunities Water (Team - HIMALAYAN FOOTHILLS)

DIPTI KHOSLA: Design Opportunities Water (Team - HIMALAYAN FOOTHILLS)

Where I see myself in the next fifteen years working in the Himalayan Foothills:

As I’m aware about the problems in the Himalayan regions quite thoroughly now... I realised that fifteen years from now the people in the upper regions of the country including the Himalayas shall suffer from serious floods as global warming at that time shall be at its peak... and its results shall be evident. In such a situation I wanted to come up with something that can serve as a quick solution to save them from drowning... and also when they are in a relatively drier region they should have a shelter over their heads to save them from the weather conditions considering their houses would have all been wrecked.

So, I thought about a bamboo boat that can be dismantled to make a shelter/roof.

YEAR 1: Having some idea in my mind about the form should help me put it down on paper some how.... but I shall still need a bamboo expert and an engineer, preferably a friend of mine (this is because he/she shall not charge me or charge nominal. it will be more interest based rather than money based) who is well versed with boats to tell me about d construction of a boat. We shall work together on making the boat. The finance for all this shall be funded by me. I wish to see how the idea works and help the people in the Himalayas. This shall not be a way to earn from them.

YEAR 2: Then I shall shortlist about 4-5 cities/villages in these regions and head towards it along with my engineer friend and shall interact with d locals there. We intend to educate them about the growing possibilities of more and more flash floods and also educate them regarding water conservation which shall be greatly in need during floods. We work with them and understand their approach towards making boats and dealing with bamboo. We enhance our own skills by learning from them and attempt at coming up with a good, workable design for " dismantlable bamboo boats ". We make several protypes and test them till we decide finally on one.

YEAR 3-4 : The locals learn our design and test it for themselves. They keep it as it helps them in the time of need and is made from bamboo, which is easily available around them. I'm sure the boats shall not be very difficult to make and they would need only basic tools to make them hence it shall be easy for the locals to multiply them and spread it in their neighbouring regions. Once my engineer friend and I see that the design is being put to good use... we leave from the himalayas to our own cities.

YEAR 5-15 : As the technique of making a boat-cum-shelter spreads across the Himalayas, I keep in touch with the villagers and get to know about some more of their problems so that I could once again try my level best along with other professionals to be able to bring design to their aid.

DIPTI KHOSLA: (Team - HIMALAYAN FOOTHILLS)

Prachi Choudhari: Design Opportunities Water (Team - HIMALAYAN FOOTHILLS)

Prachi Choudhari: Design Opportunities Water (Team - HIMALAYAN FOOTHILLS)

The Himalayan Foothills

Design opportunities 15 years from now

As the global warming problem is predicted to be the biggest problem in the coming years. All the advancements, science and technology will work to solve the problem; the best of technology will be used to solve the weather and global warming problem. Like years ago when the world wars were happening then, all the technology and science was directed to advance and work for that,

Hence according to the present situation and statistics global warming is going to be one of the biggest problems in the coming years.

The effect of global warming on the Himalayas currently is melting of the snow, leading to flooding this may just increase to a major extent in the coming years

If current warming rates are maintained, Himalayan glaciers could decay at very rapid rates, shrinking from the present 500,000 square kilometers to 100,000 square kilometers by 2030s," according to a draft technical summary.

In its report, the international panel predicted that as these glaciers melt, they would increase the likelihood of flooding over the next three decades and then, as they recede, dry up the rivers that they feed. "In the course of the century," it warned darkly, "water supply stored in glaciers and snow cover are projected to decline, reducing water availability in regions supplied by melt water from major mountain ranges, where more than one-sixth of the world population currently lives."

So the major problem in the coming 15 years in the Himalayan foothills is flooding due to melting of glaciers.

Flooding would create problems for farming and availability of drinking water.

According to the technological advancements today we have seen making of artificial glaciers. This, done at a very large scale could be very beneficial to the entire place that is the foothills and the increasing decline of the glaciers.

The melting glaciers could be collected in tanks and could be restored during winter months or it could be artificially frozen.

These tanks and artificial glaciers would be places on the mountains and hilly areas so even the water running down could be collected and hence saved from getting contaminated while running down,

Separate pipes could be provided which provide good clean water for drinking purposes to the settlement areas,

As floods will still be a problem like the existing rain water harvesting plants a flood water harvesting plant can be placed at each house this will solve the problem of floods to some extent if this these plants are covering a large area and water purified from that could be then stored and used later for some selected purposes like irrigation,

Bigger versions of these could be placed near farms

For the flood water collection, as the floods pose as a big threat to the farms and as most of the farming in the Himalayas is step/ terrace farming a tank or a water collector leading to a tank nearby, this could stop excess water running down the farm and ruining the crops.

This water could be re used for the farm in times of summer.

I, after 15 years working on this issue will try and influence the organizations and the parts of the government who work in relation to this issue by my ideas,

I will talk and research with experts about the ideas and will further build on them

And to influence the people to implement the various water conservation techniques and I would make effective posters to convey the message to the public

One main thing I would really want to do 15 years from now is to communicate to the public through posters brochures etc to make them aware about the situation, the gravity of the problem, and available solutions.

Prachi Choudhari: (Team - HIMALAYAN FOOTHILLS)

Amol Singh Tomar: Design Opportunities Water (Team - HIMALAYAN FOOTHILLS)

Amol Singh Tomar: Design Opportunities Water (Team - HIMALAYAN FOOTHILLS)

Himalayan range, a paradise to rest of the world but surely not for the people living there, especially the rural women who have to walk for more than 10 kms every day to fetch water. In my dreams, the Himalayas in coming 15 years will have a network of “cable buckets” transporting water from the river flowing below to either the peaks or to the sub stations finally reaching the peak. The river flowing below is generally the source of water and the women have to travel for kilometers to fetch water. There will be stations situated at the base, which will be collecting water from the river and sending it up through the cable system. The empty buckets would be coming down through an adjoining cable system.

The water sent from the transmitting stations is received on receiving stations situated either on a low peak or somewhere in between according to population distribution. People might have to pay for each bucket, if it is required to be purified at the transmitting level or if the cable system is operating through power. The buckets are designed so that they are easy to carry to their near by home on their heads by using leather straps and giving a cavity to fit the bucket properly on once back. Receiving stations would be build according to the population distribution example one for three or four near by villages.

In this way the problem of water transportation will be solved The Himalayan rural women then will then be able to make themselves and their surrounding socially and culturally strong. It might have disadvantages like it spoiling the natural beauty of Himalayas.

Amol Singh Tomar: (Team - HIMALAYAN FOOTHILLS)

Anoushka Garg : Design Opportunities Water (Team – Desert Rajasthan)

Anoushka Garg : Design Opportunities Water (Team – Desert Rajasthan)

Hi. Typing a scenario than illustrating it seems little easy a task because that’s what I’m trying to do. I wouldn’t assure that after 15 years I would be working in the field of water conservation but certainly would be a more aware individual. I do not see myself making rain water harvesting systems for Rajasthan but what I chose relates to Rajasthan because I have been born and brought up in Jaipur and this is what I did in school, plant a tree on my birthday. So this opportunity has a personal twist to it.

THE BIRTHDAY SAPLING, a small packet containing seeds. I think in the next 15 years it can be something every school can adopt not only in Rajasthan but everywhere. It would require some minimal investment of paper, seeds, sketch pens and can be first handmade and tested in schools. I believe it would catch up coz it is something every child would love to do and can emotionally relate to it.

It can further grow with it becoming a brand; these packets can be manufactured and sold to schools in the city and other places via online sales. I want to make this a culture where people have a B.S. club, online community etc. It is a far-fetched idea but imagine a simple thing like a tree can solve a lot of problems man has created for himself and partly the water problem. It is not directly related to water but a thought such as this imbibed in the child will certainly make the child more aware of his surroundings.

With regards
Anoushka Garg : (Team – Desert Rajasthan)

Akanksha : Design Opportunities Water (Team – Desert Rajasthan)

Akanksha : Design Opportunities Water (Team – Desert Rajasthan)

Rajasthan is a place where you will come across vivid, colourful images of the Indian culture and traditions yet when you turn the picture around, you see the disturbing truth of life of the people there. A life with a dearth of water.

Rajasthan already has a lot of means to conserve water and to use it efficiently, but the problem is that these means are not utilized to the fullest. 'Tankas' or underground tanks exist in a large number of houses there but they are not used because people get their water supply form the municipality.

I see myself getting the tanka owners together and setting up a co-operative of these people. This co-operative will revive the tankas and bottle the tanka water for sale. This will be a low budget system because the tanka water doesn't need to pass through an elaborate purification system before bottling. Thus the water can be sold at low prices to people in times of drought. Bottling the tanka water will give the tanka owners a financial incentive to revive the tankas and thus save the ground water, which is being depleted at a very alarming rate. This is a system, which uses the rain water effectively.

I also plan to spread the message of the 'Tanka Owners Co-operative' by designing brochures and advertisements that explain the system and it's purpose.

Contacting NGO'S through the period of this course will prove helpful later to derive financial assistance to setup this and make it run in the early stages. I realize that this process will require me to talk to people and convince them to join such a co-operative.

But I will make them realize the condition of water and the sorry state our resources are in. Also 15 years from now I expect the condition to be even worse than now. Hence the need to revive old systems of conserving water would be much higher.

Akanksha : (Team – Desert Rajasthan)

Lavanya Naidu: Design Opportunities Water (Team – Desert Rajasthan)

Lavanya Naidu: Design Opportunities Water (Team – Desert Rajasthan)

Spilt mercury from a broken thermometer. The mercury is spilt and collects on the floor. Try and grasp it between your fingers and it seems to slip away. Water is like mercury.

Fifteen years hence, as I sit on a dune and look over the canal, I see the sand lift, fly and settle, but this time it’s going to be different. Silt deposition, is going to be trouble of the past. A vision, to bring an opportunity to existence.

The papers talk about Rajasthan’s budget. Water projects are still an incomplete issue, but the funds are trickling in. Neighboring states sport a cold shoulder.

Approaching the NGO had been a good initiative. My concept was that of a filtration system for the decades back failure of the Indira Gandhi Nehar Project. It was to stop the silt settling in the canals water supply, as a result of which the water reaching the agricultural fields was unfit for cultivation. The filtration system will be derived from available materials. First gravel to remove the bigger deposits and then sand to purify the water further. That water would then be channelized to the fields. Immedia tely after the filtration, the canals would necessarily have to be covered, to avoid any further contamination. Little notifications on the filtration issue, every alternate week, by the village panchayat would prove helpful. As farmers gain awareness the ambiguity on the issue of the measure of water supply shall disappear. The revival of the old traditions of conserving, preserving and harvesting water is in action, however, the situation today is different; what with fluctuations in demand and supply being the only consistent thing.

I am a designer and I shall communicate. To start small but to spread the word. I’ve worked on a few animation short films that I’ve distributed to village panchayats for community screenings. If people can’t relate to people any longer, hopefully fictitious characters will.

As word on the filtration concept spreads to other NGO’s, the funds roll in and the initiation of the project begins.

I shake my kaleidoscope and see a change in the pattern, a better change.What we can’t solve as individuals, we shall solve as a team.

Rajasthan, a future of oases, not mirages.

Lavanya Naidu: (Team – Desert Rajasthan)

Avirup Basu: Design Opportunities Water (Team – Desert Rajasthan)

Avirup Basu: Design Opportunities Water (Team – Desert Rajasthan)

There is a saying that " to change a system you have to be in the system".The reason that i am beginning my design oppurtunity assignment writeup through this quote because i strongly believe ,although how cliched it may sound,what the quote reiterates.It was an introspective look at how do i see myself 15 years down the line as a designer addressing the issues of water in rajasthan.

I see myself working as an animator making storyboards doing concept art or throwing concepts itself after passing out from NID.My education is complete i have a good job and i am enjoying what i am doing,end of the story for me as far as my career is concerned But what happens to the responsibility?what happens to my contribution in such serious issues of water harvesting?...oh well i make an extremely motivating animation film about water conservation and raise my hands and say" i have done my bit,now it's for the administration to apply it".

NO,it's not going to happen this time, i believe visual communication can only promote and create awareness about the problem it is those who work in the ground level who has to solve it. I want to be in the system ,if water scarcity have reached a level where visual communication and awareness campaigns have lost all meaning then i prefer to leave my job and join politics championing the cause of water.There must be a faint smirk in everyone's face as i say this but as i said i believe administerational level and the policy makers have to solve this problem and i prefer to be among them.Joining mainstream politics and campaigining for such issues will not be easy but i will not only be implementing policies as a "designer politician" i will be providing solutions by addressing the designing aspects as well.I intend to bring product designers having experience in these issues from all over the country and give them a free hand in providing a solution tfor such crisis.

That will not be the only way, there will be government support for these proje cts to flourish and i believe if my intentions are right and if i give a clear cut idea of what i intend to achieve to the people no political manipulations can stop me from pursuing my goal in rajasthan. There are several design solutions waitin to be implemented,but restricted due to someone's selfish motives. An ecofriendly environment where industries will be made accoyuntable for the kind of water waste they create,will be implemented and people based projects will be implemented which will provide jobs for the locals as well.

This is how i percieve myself addressing issues of water,and although how radical it may sound i believe it is an achievable dream.

Avirup Basu : (Team – Desert Rajasthan)

Gaurang Nagre : Design Opportunities Water (Team – Desert Rajasthan)

Gaurang Nagre : Design Opportunities Water (Team – Desert Rajasthan)

DESIGN CONCEPTS AND CONCERNS

IMAGINING MYSELF AS AN AUTHOR IS DIFFICULT BUT I ALWAYS HAD AN AMBITION TO WRITE A BOOK ON AN ISSUE WHICH DEALS WITH SOCIAL PROBLEMS.SO PROBABLY I CAN WRITE A BOOK ON WATER PROBLEMS AND THEIR SOLUTIONS AND NAME IT 101 SOLUTIONS ON WATER PROBLEMS.THE BOOK WILL DEAL WITH SOME OF THE MICRO LEVEL DAY TO DAY PROBLEMS ALONG WITH THE MACRO LEVEL PROBLEMS DEALING WITH THE INDUSTRY AND THE STATE OR EVEN THE NATION AND THEIR SOLUTIONS. SOME OF THE PROBLEMS DEALING WITH THE SPECIFIC AREAS WILL ALSO BE DISCUSSED AND TRADITIONAL SOLUTIONS WILL BE MENTIONED.

SOME OF THE PROBLEMS ARE FLASH FLOODS, ROOF RUN-OFF WATER, LOW WATER VEGETABLE CULTIVATION, OVER FLOWING OF DAMS, STORING WATER DURING DROUGHT CONDITIONS ETC. AND THEIR SOLUTIONS ALONG WITH ILLUSTRATIONS SO THAT EVEN A LAME PERSON CAN UNDERSTAND.THE SOLUIONS LIKE CHANNELIZING, RAIN WATER HARVESTING, SAND PIPE METHOD FOR VEGETABLE CULTIVATION, THE ARCH DAM METHOD, THE CHECKDAM METHOD WILL ALSO BE DESCRIBED IN SIMPLE WODRS SO THAT EVEN SCHOOL GOING KIDS CAN UNDERSTAND AND COMPRE HENT. AS A PRODUCT DESIGNER I WILL MYSELF LIVE IN A HOUSE WHICH IMPLEMENTS WATER STORING SYSTEMS LIKE RAIN WATER HARVESTING SYSTEM, CROKERY WASHING SYSTEMS, CAR WASHING SYSTEMS WHICH REQUIRE LESS AMOUNT OF WATER. I MYSELF WILL IMPLEMENT ROOF RUN-OFF WATER COLLECTING SYSTEMS.

AS A PRODUCT DESIGNER I WILL ALSO DESIGN A CART FOR THE PEOPLE IN ARID AREAS WHO WALK FOR LONG DISTANCES TO COLLECT DRINKING WATER;IT WILL BE CALLED THE HIPPOCART WHICH WILL BE USED TO CARRY THE HIPPO BARRELS IT WILL EMPLOY A NEW TECHNOLOGY OF WHEELS WHICH CAN HELP THE CART TO BE DRAGGED ON SAND.I WILL DONATE SOME OF THE CARTS TO THE STATE WATER MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION WHICH WILL ALLOT THE CARTS TO THE LOCAL PEOPLE ON A VERY LOW RENT BASIS.WHICH WILL ENABLE THE RURAL PEOPLE TO CARRY WATER OVER LONG DISTANCES.I WOULD ALSO PROMOTE INSTITUTIONS WHICH DO A RESEARCH ON WATER MANAGEMENT AND ALSO SOME OF THE NON GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS.

I DO HOPE THAT IN THE MERE FUTURE MY EFFORTS DON’T GO IN VAIN;BUT IT WILL TAKE A LONG TIME FOR THE MENTALITY OF PEOPLE TO CHANGE TOWARDS THE CRITICAL ISSUES LIKE WATER.

Gaurang Nagre : (Team – Desert Rajasthan)

Jyotika Deep Singh : Design Opportunities Water (Team – Desert Rajasthan)

Jyotika Deep Singh : Design Opportunities Water (Team – Desert Rajasthan)

Assignment:15 yrs ?: where do i see myself ???

I would certainly have given back a lot to society by then and would be looking forward to do more.mine is a simple illustration where i have characterised myself as sponge jo for the simple reason that I'm a conservor and would aim on absorbing every drop of water and using it judiciously.for me a period of fifteen years would be workin on a whole lot of activities...ranging from treating sewage water and recycling it so as to make it fit for domestic use and gardening purposes..drip irrigation , where pipes go underground n directly water the roots so as to prevent surface evaporation and seting up water management centres where a check on water is maintained and also on its quality. And I would make it a must that each student visits these centres atleast once a month so as to be in touch with the prevailing water crisis and hence becomes sensitive to the environment. It would be a long process of working on these techniques and developing new machines but hopefully all of it will serve as welfare to the people of rajasthan and other places, as a whole! and yes, thereafter 15 yrs there would be more opportunities, broader horizons and more awareness...

Note: I thoroughly enjoyed the course, especially the vendor assignment and the individual work too... All in all it was quite a wholesome course where I atleast got to know why I was doing, what I was doing!!

thanking you

Jyotika Deep Singh : (Team – Desert Rajasthan)

Surabhi Gangrade: Design Opportunities Water (Team - Coastal Maharashtra)

Surabhi Gangrade: Design Opportunities Water (Team - Coastal Maharashtra)

Scenario 15 years from now…water crisis

During the acute water crisis in the western coast of India,

SURABHI ENTERPRISES takes an initiative with government aid to help harvest rain water for the villages in the valleys of the Western ghats, for a self-sustaining, regular and multi-functional supply of water for drinking, irrigation, normal supply, as well as electricity.

The company uses its initial capital to construct the proposed structure and is then paid by the government for the design solution and opportunity generation in t he villages.

The workforce employed as well as the industries involved are expenditure.

Scope of expansion is large and the generation of opportunities helps out the booming population in the villages.

My presentation is of the system and the field technicalities coexisting in one model.

I have emerged as an entrepreneur that’s not exactly all for profits but also wants to help out for the country’s water requirements. I do understand that the matter of profit here is mostly dependent on the government, but it is a useful venture for the country.

I tried to make it simple as well as visually appealing, for the easy understanding of the design concept and business model.

Surabhi Gangrade: (Team - Coastal Maharashtra)

Kavya Agarwal : Design Opportunities Water (Team - Coastal Maharashtra)

Kavya Agarwal : Design Opportunities Water (Team - Coastal Maharashtra)

A decade and a half...if nursery rhymes could change to words of wisdom...if little mouths would no longer do small talk...as Flynn takes effect...little minds are quick on their feet.... they will be our tomorrow.... a responsible tomorrow....

“Water for Tomorrow” is my social service cum ‘awareness manufacturing’ company, which aims at creating awareness through books, movies, fun facts, games, stickers, and other products for the urban class and reinvesting its profits in uplifting the unfortunate ones.

As most of the resources are exploited by the urban population, this organisation aims to increase awareness in them.

The books produced by us are simple but are backed by strong psychological theories of learning . The leering and habits one forms as a child stay with him forever, hence our products are aimed at young children.

To start with, this company already has a mascot called “Aqui”. This animated freshwater drop is the champion for saving water. A small story book “Aqui and the running water tap” has already hit the shelves.

Our company looks forward on having government aid, so that we can provide customers with cheaper products. Who knows we could come up with an awareness economy in a decade and a half!!!!

Kavya Agarwal : (Team - Coastal Maharashtra)

Nandini Krishnamurthy : Design Opportunities Water (Team - Coastal Maharashtra)

Nandini Krishnamurthy : Design Opportunities Water (Team - Coastal Maharashtra)

THE FUTURE WATER SCENARIO
The word 'coast' conjures an image of an amplitude of water spreading across miles, magical, which when touched for quenching needs, then vanishes, existing as the 'living mirage' of reality. The coastal waters of Maharashtra too, are abundant and salty, far from being 'short and sweet', and this very fact blindfolds the common minds with the availability of huge expanse of drinking water. Till today masses are unaware of the depletion of the limited drinking water, which sounds ironical when the context is referred to Coastal Maharashtra, but alas, the fact is turning true. But, I guess, by 15 years, Design would establish itself in the main market and help the people realize the true picture of water conditions in Coastal Maharashtra. It would spread the fact that rainwater (due to heavy rainfall) could help replenishing the groundwater and could be of more help to our sustenance.

Bringing changes in the architectural features, with the motive to save water, would not really harm the existing scenario of urbanization, rather it would make a huge difference in nourishing the natural resources and simultaneously, save space and energy wastage. This idea could be further progressed by getting the sloping roofs together to collect the rain water to a certain extent. Looking into the details, the roofs sloped inwards tapering to form an enclosed structure with the upper open base. The basic layer of the roofs are made up of concrete for strength and shelter. To prevent the contamination of the collected water, the concrete layer could possibly be over layered by an inexpensive water proof layer for anti leakage and conservation. A mesh-like structure could be placed over the structure to cover the opening and hence avoiding the macro impurities. The pipes taking away the water could contain filter simultaneously filtering the water for general use.

Taking the rising population and urbanisation into account in the next 15 years, I guess, this concept would aid the situation and would keep up the high demands for water if established in large scale. The basic advantages would include factors like less expenditure in establishment, serves the general comfort of shelter and heat (would by then be battling the global warming). There would always be a hope of achieving the best out of the current issue, and I think, 15 yrs, are enough to implement this dream, only IF awareness hypnotises the minds for the good and I also think that its time to get to work for it...

Nandini Krishna Murthy : (Team - Coastal Maharashtra)

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Design Scenarios for Water in India: DCC2008 ends with a bang

Image: The Kerala team and the Rajasthan team seen making their group presentations to the class

Design Scenarios for Water in India: DCC2008 ends with a bang
Each of the five groups made very interesting presentation of the numerous design opportunities that the groups had explored and decided to include in their presentation. As mentioned earlier each group had made an initial round of design opportunity capture using the small A5 size format provided and through these they had individually explored a wide range of design opportunities through the medium of small thumbnail sketches and a brief write-up that was appended below the sketch concept in the format that was provided. The groups then presented these explorations to the whole class and each of the groups had a chance to show and tell their design explorations and to get feedback from the class as a whole as well as from the teachers and visitors present. This stage is an important aspect of design since the feedback provided could either strengthen the individuals conviction or help redirect it to an area with greater promise of achieving a good result. This kind of discourse is an integral part of the design exploration journey and the use of sketches, words and texts as well as built models are all part to the process of dialogue and discourse that is inherent in the process of design.

All the groups then went back to their respective spaces and moved into the field to explore the concepts with experts in the field. This gave them a further opportunity to expand on their ideas as well as to clarify specific details that needed such clarification be it technical, operational or socio-economic in nature. The groups continued their research and exploration and then as a collective decided to focus on their next assignment which was the creation of a manual that could be used to sensitise the people of the specific region that had been assigned to each group. Based on this kind of expert input and on their continued imagination and articulation of the design opportunity that was identified by the group the final manual was structured and prepared for presentation and this brought the class to the final assignment that was an individual one, however the teams were still expected to interact and provide peer group supports to the individual by providing feedback and technical support in realizing the objective of preparing an individual scenario. The task as stated and set to the included the exploration and inploration of the concept of the chosen design opportunity with a time horizon of about 15 years through which the individual student was required to imaging all the possibilities as well as challenges that could be faced in realizing the said opportunity and through this process try and figure out ways to help the community or business realize the particular opportunity. The individual student explorations were submitted to the teachers after a gap of three days and since the class was to conclude the grades were decided and the pictures of all the A3 size sheets were placed on the NID server for being accessible to all the students in the class. Each student was photographed with their scenario offering and they had been asked to submit an email with a 200 word description of their individual scenario.

Some of the individual scenarios are shown here below along with the brief text that was provided by the student as part of their submission. I have chosen five such scenarios, one from each group to be shared here as an example of the scenario visualization assignment. These are listed below and are hyperlinked to the individual offering. Here below.

The five groups and the chosen individuals are linked here below:
1. Jasjyot Singh Hans : Northeast Hills: Design opportuinities for Water.
2. Aarti Srikant Lagvankar : Kerala Rainforest: Design opportunities for Water.
3. Kaveri Gopalakrishnan : Himalayayan Foothills: Design opportunities for Water.
4. Geetika Kejriwal : Desert Rajasthan: Design opportunities for Water.
5. Mitsu Shah : Coastal Maharashtra: Design opportunities for Water.

Jasjyot Singh Hans : Design Opportunity - Water (Team - Northeast Hills)

Image: Jasjyot Singh Hans : Design Opportunity - Water (Team - Northeast Hills)

Jasjyot showed me the preliminary sketches that he had made in his sketch book over the last weekend when he had traveled to Delhi and was therefore delayed in preparing the final sheet. However, on the next day he showed up with the final scenario which is a rich representation of his thoughts about the concepts that he proposes for water based opportunity in the Northeast Hills.

Email sent in by Jasjyot about his scenario shown above is quoted below:

WATER AND AWARENESS

For this assignment, we had to imagine ourselves 15 years from now and look at ourselves in whatever profession we see ourselves in and what we could do about the design opportunity chosen in the previous assignment and how we could go about it. I had chosen to work in the area of awareness, as among north eastern India as we figured, the lack of which was the major problem for water related problems that prevailed. I see myself working in the area of animation and hence came the idea of targeting children because they would find the animation films interesting and we could effectively communicate with them through the medium and since they are the next generation and will be facing these problems, it was found necessary to instill certain values towards natural resources and ways to deal with a crisis so they can have a better understanding and could perhaps, inspire others with their truthfulness, innocence and involvement in the cause.

Tying up with an Non-Governmental Organization that works for a similar cause was considered as they could have better reaches in the area and could also have representatives that could make people living in remote tribes and villagers aware of 'what could be done' in their local languages. For this, we made two animated characters that had common middle class 'relatable' names according to their area so children could relate themselves to them better.

With the advancement of the idea, restricting ourselves to just films did not sound very efficient so it was thought that if it could be made a whole package by accompanying it with brochures, posters, flags that could be distributed in schools to the next generation, that is, the children that carried out the message simply but effectively. For controlling landslides and minimizing their impact trees could be planted near downhill settlements. This could reduce soil erosion as well. Schools and other institutions could organize tree plantation programmes that could involve children to help for the cause.

Jasjyot Singh Hans (Team - Northeast Hills)

Aarti Srikant Lagvankar : Design Opportunity - Water (Team - Kerala Rainforest)

Image: Aarti Srikant Lagvankar : Design Opportunity - Water (Team - Kerala Rainforest)

When I visualise myself fifteen years from now in Kerala, my very first step would be to motivate the people to undertake steps for conservation of water. Since it is very difficult to change the mindset of people after a certain age, I believe that the children should be the target.

It is easy to mould a child's mind at an adolescent stage itself. It is very evident that kids have started moving away from books and the age of video games has begun. So I thought of designing an arcade game in which the player will be a droplet of water which has to approach various obstacles (industries, careless individuals, pollution, etc.). At every obstacle, the player would be asked a question related to water conservation. If answered correctly the droplet moves on as it is and if not it becomes polluted and hence the child gets to know what factors create water problems and how to get rid of them.

Similarly, water cartoons could be made. Films are also a great way of creating awareness amongst both the children as well as the adults.

A part of the money earned from tourism (major source of income) could be used to install water recycling systems on a household or community level.

Aarti Lagvankar (Team - Kerala Rainforest)

Kaveri Gopalakrishnan : Design Opportunity - Water (Team - Himalayayan Foothills)

Image: Kaveri Gopalakrishnan : Design Opportunity - Water (Team - Himalayayan Foothills)

Q:15 years hence, what do I see myself doing in the Himalayas with water (reference to previous understanding) ?

Two things close to my heart-art,and children.
Children come up with the best ideas-fresh and from the heart.
The 60s,among many things,were an era of sunny optimism and endless possibilities,besides being one of great unrest and dramatic change.

An eco-friendly art school-cum-ashram, Ketu (shooting star-symbol of creativity on a journey) which aims to tackle issues of waste, energy efficiency and sustainable development in the himalayas.

Since water is a primary issue, being life source, I intend to create a place where individuals can make conscious attempts to make intelligent choices for life, whether young or old. Love for the land and ideologies like 'art for arts sake' will inspire.

Ketu is registered with Eco-schools.org (Britain) and Greenpeace, for guidance in its research center and eco farms (careful use of water and recycling systems) where locals can relearn from their environment. Funds are hence derived, while volunteers trained by myself (or from sister ngos) teach primary children and interested locals of other age groups. Insights from outside sources are turned into working models-work with ngos, stories published In journals, installations,perhaps have the childrens work spread online. Education starts at home, with parents being taught the right way to live.

The ashrams will spread, and the Himalayas themselves become a land of great change. An ambitious project, but one that can work.

Kaveri Gopalakrishnan (Tram - Himalayayan Foothills)

Geetika Kejriwal : Design Opportunity - Water (Team - Desert Rajasthan)

Image: Geetika Kejriwal : Design Opportunity - Water (Team - Desert Rajasthan)

RAJASTHAN is known for colors,culture and tradition and so i have chosen a fair to bring about awareness in the area. WATER UTSAV will be an event in which the community gets together to discuss about necessary water related issues. Like any other fair there will games here but with a twist...there will be a 'camel coaster ride which will go around the area showing water shortages and its solutions leading to a happy ending. A forum for people to discuss there views and get to know about the technicalities and also encourage them to find new ideas. The value water has been known in rajasthan since ever but through this mela they would get to know what exactly can be done. Rather than being taught in books people will experience the whole thing and would feel the need to work for the cause.The mela acts like a stimulant.

In the next 15 years I see the idea transferring itself from the paper to a small village to a district to many other districts and finally the whole area. In the illustration I have shown how the plan is carried forward by first reaching out to a sarpanch of the village, convincing him, arranging for the necessary funds and thus starting on a small scale. The key factor here is succeeding in this and carrying on the task to other villages. As more and more villages organise the fair even the funding would increase. The money earned could be invested to build a community rain water harvester.Rjasthan water day could be celebrated with fairs all over the state. In this way people will have fun and also gain the necessary knowledge.

Geetika Kejriwal (Team - Desert Rajasthan)

Mitsu Shah : Design Opportunity - Water (Team - Coastal Maharashtra)

Image: Mitsu Shah : Design Opportunity - Water (Team - Coastal Maharashtra)

Tourism is an increasing occupation and along with it, there is also an increasing demand of hotels.

Keeping the magnificent backdrop of Konkan in mind, I would like to set up an eco-friendly hotel-cum-rejuvenation centre-cum-camping area.

The centre aims at spreading awareness and promotes conservation of our natural resources.

It targets a very large mass (tourists and locals).

It would be located a couple of hours away from the main cities like Mumbai and Pune, hence making it accessible to the hush-push city-ites who are always in a hurry and run on a very tight schedule.

Since it is the coastal region, the main attractions will be:-

Beaches, diving (sighting of the rare coral which is a great impetus for tourists, both local and foreigners), nature cure, ayurvedic massages, yoga, nature trails, bird watching etc.

The centre will have its own farms where organic vegetables, fruits and herbs will be grown. Its gardens will be full of tropical flowers and healing plants.

It will use alternate energy resources like solar and hydro. It will have an eco-friendly lighting system, compost waste food and bio-degradable cleaning agents.

The garbage will be split up into bio-degradable and non-biodegradable. The bio-degradable can be collected in paper/cloth bags and be taken to the compost pits every day. The non-biodegradable can be sent to the treatment plants.

The centre will also have rain-water harvesting systems that will help in retaining ground water and conserving water from the primary source itself.

Its rooms and bathrooms will have a sensor system, which will help to conserve water and electricity.

To spread awareness amongst the guests, guided tours will be arranged throughout the centre area.

There will be green-room information packs in every room.

Posters and tags will be put up throughout the premises.

Further on, the centre staff will also be made aware of the situation and be educated to the aim of the centre.

Mitsu Shah (Team - Coastal Maharashtra)

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Design Opportunities and Water: DCC2008 nears closure.

Design Opportunities and Water: DCC2008 nears closure.
The five teams worked hard and presented their groups explorations and concepts for the explored and identified Design Opportunities that they saw for enhancing the sustainable use of water in each of their regions. Each group chose their own style of presentation and each had a specific focus when it came to content and emphasis of the presentation and these were influenced by what they felt was critical for the specific region that they had taken up as a group.

The presentations extended over two days, on Wednesday and Thursday last week but when it came to the last group it seems that the energy levels of the class had dropped to a real low and only the presenters and a few others were available and present in the class for the fifth and the last presentation. So once again, the scheduled class session was abandoned and we had a series of discussions in the office but the teachers decided that the final team, The Maharashtra group would make their presentation with whoever was available and record the same on the voice recorder and on digital images. However, the teachers abstained from attending since so many of the classmates choose to absent themselves. The students did have their presentation and a visiting faculty from Poland, Alexandra Giza, a Graphic Design teacher from the Northern Illinois University was present along with a few other interested students and the Maharashtra group made an excellent presentation, after all.

The other groups who had completed their presentations earlier included the following groups in the order in which they are listed below:
1. Northeast Hills: Design opportuinities for Water.
2. Kerala Rainforest: Design opportunities for Water.
3. Himalayayan Foothills: Design opportunities for Water.
4. Desert Rajasthan: Design opportunities for Water.
5. Coastal Maharashtra: Design opportunities for Water.

The images of the group presentations and a brief description are listed below and can be accessed from the hyperlinks provided in the list above.

Digital pictures of all stages of presentation as well as a digital voice recording have been placed as usual on the NID server so that they can be accessed by all students for future reference and for the contemporaneous course documentation that has been a practice as part of this course. This kind of documentation gives the students and teachers access to material on which they could reflect and ponder and the learning is very deep indeed due to the rich recall of details that the medium affords. Now we have the blog which is an extension of the strategy but all the pictures and voice files are made available to all students in the form of recorded DVD that contain the full resources of this course. This is the first year that we have been able to share this material on the DCC blog and we look forward to an active exchange of ideas from other teachers in numerous design schools across the world.

The next assignment that has been given to the students has been listed below where they are required to explore and develop an individual scenario representation and share this with their peers before making the submission of the final artwork to the teachers for a final review and evaluation as a conclusion to this course. We look forward to a highly motivated response from all the students and their individual scenarios will be shared on this blog next week.

1. Northeast Hills of India: Design opportuinities for Water.

1. Northeastern Region of India: Design opportuinities for Water.
The team chose to focus on 12 specific design opportunities that each of the team members had identified as potential applications for water based design explorations for the region. This approach left out many of the exciting possibilities that had been discovered earlier in the sketch stage but somehow the group decided to move in a much narrower area of focus. Perhaps the decision was influenced by the limited time that was available and this gave us the platform to critique their approach since it seemed to miss out on the macro potentials that were seen in the original sketches. Further the team seemed to get fragmented in their approach and therefore failed to leverage the potential of a group think that was possible at this stage of the exploration and articulation.

2. Kerala Rainforest: Design opportunities for Water

2. Kerala Rainforest: Design opportunities for Water
The Kerala team worked together as a close knit unit and produced a very large range of alternate approaches all of which had been classified and structured for the group presentation. The format that had been chosen too was very exciting and full of possibilities since the task was to develop a publication in the form of a manual that could capture and disseminate all the selected design opportunities that the team had discovered as part of their exploration.

In keeping with their task they produced a concertina folded book that could double up as a wall chart and the other side of the wall chart was a huge poster that called for sustainable use of water lest there be a water WAR in the south. The news from the South is quite disturbing with the Karnataka and the Tamilnadu squabbles for the use of the River Cauvery’s water and this dispute has been going on for so many years now. In spite of all the expenses that have been incurred on this dispute on legal and political costs the State and Central Governments have not applied their minds to the possibility of investments in innovation and exploration of the kind that this group has suggested in our class. I wonder when we will learn as a nation that imagination and exploration can find lasting solutions if they are used in a cooperative mode. This was a great show of group solidarity and the result really raised all our expectations for the area of design action in the future by such group action which is very positive.

3. Himalayan Foothills: Design opportunities for Water

3. Himalayan Foothills: Design opportunities for Water
The Himalayas team explored all the ideas that had come up during the earlier phases of their design opportunity search and they decided as a group to focus their efforts on the building of a specific business opportunity with an integrated set of water based uses on which they could focus. They too had narrowed their field quite dramatically when the chose to focus on the building of one hotel chain to deal with the climate and terrain potential of the Himalayan foothills which was their field of play. They proposed a new hotel chain which would work on the development of ecological uses of water in a sustainable manner and for this objective they proposed many specific strategies and product solutions that could be developed and applied in the chain of hotels that they propose to build and operate as a sustainable business venture in the future.

4. Desert Rajasthan: Design opportunities for Water

4. Desert Rajasthan: Design opportunities for Water
Rajasthan is a desert state with a huge and recognized water scarcity problem and the team addressed the issues at hand with all the seriousness that it deserved. The range of illustrations and the levels of strategies that they proposed were stratified at the individual level, the community level, the State governance level and at the National policy levels, all well integrated and expressed in their group presentation to the class. The wall chart was huge and very detailed in their illustration of each of the solutions that were offered. The very interesting offering was the creation of a communications strategy that used new institutional infrastructure that could bring interested villages and children together so that the various issues of water could be addressed by the people in a participatory mode. The group presentation was rich and extremely expressive.

5. Coastal Maharashtra: Design opportunities for Water

5. Coastal Maharashtra: Design opportunities for Water
The Maharastra group prepared an illustrated book of many pages, each richly illustrated and containing texts that explained the concepts. These were organized into groups of concepts that were arranged by the strategy that the group chose to focus on and they converted the whole document into a digital file that was presented as a slide presentation to the class using a digital slide projector. The images were impressive due to the scale but the sequential nature of the mode of presentation removed the possibility of the creation of an overview that the other presentations could give, and this is a trade off that technology tools make us take during such presentations.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Design Scenarios: Water based Design Opportunities

Image: A visit to Calico Museum as part of the DCC course in 1999 by Debashree in an assignment created to teach scenario visualisation, learning by doing.

Background: Scenario visualisations in Design
Scenario visualisations can be made at any stage of the design journey. In the early stages these are typically rather abstract and with a low content of details, although some parts may be vividly expressed if these components or parts are already clearly conceptualized due to either historical reasons or if the larger scenario is being around this part which is already. Design visualizations can cover many attributes of the system that is being modeled. Some could show the structural and formal attributes of the system while others can go on to include an expression of several intangible aspects as well as those that can be seen and felt. These can also include the relationship between the components of the system and help give us an overview of the total system which is a perspective that would need to be considered when taking major decisions at the design stage itself. Many strategic decisions need to be taken at an early stage and these scenario visualizations provide the framework for appreciating the particular solution that is on offer. Several alternate scenarios can be examined before taking a particular decision and some decisions may not be reversible without incurring a huge cost or effort and therefore these need to be subjected to much advance planning and participatory modes of decision making in a democratic framework. Our cities and its future can be determined by a design process that is both visible as well as informed by expert action if we were to adopt a way forward that could accommodate such processes that may be required to make visible major infrastructure offerings as well as details of cost and impact assessments, all done in a manner that can be appreciated by the common man in the street. This means that the language of discourse would need to move from economic models in an abstract mathematical formulation to a more visibly appreciated modeling system that can show and tell the intended structures and the affects on our lives. It is here that scenario visualization in the form of picture stories or rich picture representations can make a huge difference to our understanding of the complex phenomena that go into many such projects of public good.

In our attempt to teach the art of scenario visualization we devised an assignment that could get the involvement of an entire class of design students at a high level of motivation while undertaking these experiences. The introductory phase of the scenario visualization assignment has the student sharing with the class, in one composite rich picture, an introduction to themselves in an attempt to show who we are. This assignment is the first of many visualization tasks done by the design student jn the DCC course and here they are expected to introspect and identify aspects of their lives that have significantly contributed to shaping their attitudes and abilities as they are today. Students are them asked to express their imagination in the form of images in juxtaposition on a single sheet of paper which they could use to tell their story of themselves. This is a first experience in show and tell about something that they are very familiar with already, themselves. The next stage is the experiencing of an interesting space or event in the city which can be done as a group and after the immersive experience the students are aslked to represent the experience in all its facets, again as a single rich picture representation that can be shared with the whole class. This time the event or space that is visited is common for all the students but it becomes clear that each student brings back their own point of view that is unique and which is shaped by their past experiences as well as their belief systems and cultural roots when it comes to styles of representation chosen. Going from a familiar but usually ignored representation of the self to a common space with different points of view are quite revealing when taken together for a discussion.

Image: DCC2008 students admiring Debashree's 1999 scenario artwork in my office today.

Calico Museum Visit and the DCC Course
The students are then given topics that they could examine in depth through the processes of group brain-storming and modeling in order to make sense of the complex interplay of factors that influence the situations that are being studied. These processes too lead to visual modeling of a variety of kinds and at the end of these collective journeys the students build a model that helps categorise the forces that influence the situation as well as discover a metaphor that can give meaning and a memorable setting for the structure that is discovered by the group. These structures are not sacred truths but are tentative offerings that can be discussed and debated leading to appropriate modifications, but as they stand they represent the current understanding of the situation and this does bring a great deal of clarity to the complex situation that is being handled by the group. In the DCC class of 1999 we asked the students to visit the Calico Museum of Textiles in Ahmedabad and after an immersive experience of that visit they were asked to make a rich picture scenario of their visit with all the details shown in one large format picture. The experiences that were sequential are now represented in a spatial manner with images juxtaposed and expressed on one single sheet and the variety of expressions were truly staggering. At the end of the major assignment the students are once again asked to show the design opportunities that they had imagined and this time they are to express a scenario of a pure imaginative landscape and an expression of the possible future with all the associated details that would make it both viable as well as desirable. This is a great introduction to design scenario visualization that can be used in all attempts to model the future solutions and make these visible to an interested and informed audience with a certain degree of credibility.

Image: DCC Blackboard with the assignment description as a structure model.

Water based Design Opportunities for India
This year we have assigned the mapping of Design Opportunities with Water in each of five geographic regions of India. Each student from the respective group would choose one specific design opportunity in which they have a personal conviction and through a process of imagination, dreaming and exploration build a visual scenario that can be shared with the class as an image in a show and tell mode of presentation. Each group would meet in a round table presentation for a per review and feedback session where the visual scenarios would be presented and based on the feed back from the group members each student would send in a 200 word email to describe their scenario and the specific design opportunity that they have developed for the future keeping a 15 year time horizon for having built an enterprise to roll out the design into the real world. We look forward to seeing all the presentations and to sharing it with the world through this blog in the near future.

For further reading look at this paper on Design Visualisation from my website. (pdf file 691 kb)

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Friday, April 4, 2008

Design Concepts & Concerns Blog:

Interesting Sites for DCC

Blog Archive

Contributors

Posts on Topics of Interest

Visitors

Snap Shots