INDUSTRIAL DESIGN IN INDIA
Creating harmonious environments which satisfy the physical and psychological needs of people. It shares common roots and aspirations with several contemporary disciplines including architecture and engineering.” In the West the Industrial Revolution provoked a reaction from sensitive people who protested against its ugly manifestations in the physical environment, and design was classified as a “beautifying”, formgiving activity. Over the years it has progressed from a mere form-giving activity to an activity that creates systems and physical environments of the man-made world. During the 1990s, thanks to the great influence of computer-aided science design, the concept of design changed again. It is now being re-interpreted as “design interface”, an emerging category that unifies the act of designing material artefacts with the new computer- assisted digital tools. The scope of design thus extends from superficial styling to strategy planning.
A tiffin carrier (lunch box) from the colonial period By courtesy of S. Balaram
INDUSTRIALIZATION AND DESIGN The Indian Industrial Revolution, if it can be so called, differs from that in the West. Post-independence India started industrialization on the Western model. However, the advocates of the Western model did not realize that India’s problems were different in nature and in magnitude. India is a vast and very diverse country, with a population touching one billion. Its inhabitants speak 400 dialects and write in at least 15 different
A kerosene lamp made of recycled tin sheet By courtesy of S. Balaram
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INDUSTRIAL DESIGN IN INDIA
major languages. It is a rural country with 75 per cent of its population living in villages where survival is the key concern. It has an oral tradition in which only 36 per cent of the population are literate. Nevertheless, India’s 3,000-yearold traditions and culture have endowed it with a rich and varied visual and aesthetic heritage. The situation poses unique challenges to the designer. The Indian designer has to synthesize the highly decorative Indian cultural aesthetic on the one hand and the formalized idiom of the industrial international style, which modern business demands and to which contemporary living aspires on the other hand. The designer as an agent of change plays a central role in India’s struggle to preserve its identity in the process of its modernization.
Traditional skill for a modern need: apparent in turned-wood, lacquered bookends made in Sankheda, Gujarat By courtesy of S. Balaram
Culture-specific Design: a toothbrush-cum-tonguecleaner By courtesy of S. Balaram
THE FUTURE In the initial years of industrialization, India adopted industrial policies to encourage import substitution, that is, the substitution of important products that used to be imported from other countries with products manufactured locally. This policy decision was the catalyst for some very innovative product designs. The oxygenator that won the National Meritorious Invention Award in 1985 is one example. But later, with the liberalization policies of the early 1990s, international collaboration became common for most Indian industries. Collaborations often are not limited by the finances or technological know-how of one partner. Many Indian collaborations import designs, drawings, technology, even moulds “lock, stock, and barrel”. It is perhaps appropriate to call these developments “laboura-tions” — because they are chiefly the exploitation of cheap labour available in the country — rather than
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN IN INDIA
A pedal-operated Inflator By courtesy of S. Balaram “collaborations”, and to characterize the activity as “reproduction” rather than “production” by the Indian industry. Designers in India are faced with a significant challenge related to design and production. The term “mass production” is generally understood to mean production for the increasingly numerous masses by increasingly fewer individuals or corporations. In developing countries, especially the most populous ones such as India and China, mass production should mean production for the masses, by the masses. That is what Mahatma Gandhi advocated throughout his life. But, unfortunately, the unquestioned following of Western technology is polarizing Indian society into two divisions: on one side is a small group, the rich, conspicuously consuming, aggressive, politically powerful, urban elite; and on the other side is a huge group that is poor, rural, and powerless. The poor, lacking employment and purchasing power, are left out of the circle of production and consumption. Add to the situation a constant bombardment of consumption-promoting advertisements in all media, and a potential explosion can be predicted. The Indian designers’ choices of whom to serve and how to serve them thus become exceedingly difficult and extremely critical. Local Indian industrial design does not accord well with the cultural dependence in the country. Required is a minimum level of consciousness of design and self-confidence in the country so that it need not import design from industrialized nations, be they in Western Europe or America. There are many indications that inspire confidence. The Futura pressure cooker, designed by an Indian team of the Hawkins Company, is extremely successful internationally. Its selection for the well-known Museum of Modern Art (USA) collection speaks for its quality of design. A young Indian design graduate, Umesh Shukla, won an Oscar for his special effects design in the film Titanic. As is evident from this and many international competitions won by Indian designers, the local design expertise meets an international standard. But it is underutilized. As Gui Bonsiepe, a well-known German, designer and educator, noted in 1979: “If a country does not perceive autonomous development as its aim, the potential of industrial design as a development instrument
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN IN INDIA will remain untapped.� Development could be considered as an improvement of the material culture of the majority of a country’s population. So, design for development, through the design of artefacts for the satisfaction of needs, is a tool for the reduction of inequalities between different sections of a society. The most important challenge for the Indian designer lies in the sectors of agricultural production, employment generation, and rural development. Other areas that are in crying need of attention are family planning, disaster relief, and literacy promotion. With the exception of the handloom sector, the craft, cottage, and unorganized sectors remain largely unaided by the Indian designer. At the end of the twentieth century nearly four decades of industrial design in the country could not make significant contributions in these areas of pressing need. Success will be achieved in the future only with the acceptance and active promotion of design by Indian industry and government, the founding of an adequate number of design schools with a well-structured curriculum and well-paid teachers, the establishment of a National Design Council and, most important, a governmental policy on design. *
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S. Balaram, Head of the Design Studies wing at the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, serves on the advisory board of Design Issues (USA) and on the Governing Council of the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology. His publications include Thinking Design (1998), sections in The Idea of Design, Arthaya, Quality Through Industrial Design, Design and Development in South and Southeast Asia, and Handbook on Universal Design, as well as several short stories in Telugu. He is the recipient of the honorary fellowship of the Society of Industrial Designers of India and holds four patents. He won the first international ICSID-Philips Award.
DESIGN FOR SPECIAL NEEDS experience a special need at some time. Some people are born with a physical or mental impairment, and, therefore, have special needs all their lives. Others experience periods of special needs during infancy, pregnancy, illness, convalescence, weakness, and old age. Before examining design for special needs, it is necessary to survey people with special needs and discuss the appropriate terms to be used with reference to them. CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS People with special needs can be divided into five categories. This categorization, DELTA for short, is based on the type of special need, namely, disabled, elderly, less abled, temporarily disabled, and anomalous. Another kind of categorization is based on the condition of the people, such as ambulatory, semiambulatory, and non-ambulatory. Disabled A disability could be congenital (since birth) or adventitious (acquired later in life). People with major disabilities could be: Visually impaired: When they lose their ability to see form and light. Speech- and language-impaired: When they lose their ability to produce sound or to speak coherently. Wheelchair for both adults and children By courtesy of S. Balaram
Hearing-impaired: When they lose their ability to hear. The range of the auditory spectrum for speech perception is between 250 Hz and 4,000 Hz. People with profound hearing loss cannot benefit from amplification.
Touch- and dexterity-impaired: When they experience either a total loss of sensitivity to touch, or have very limited functioning of the limbs that makes gripping, pressing, or other motor movements extremely difficult. This is the case with people who have recovered from leprosy or are afflicted with paralysis. Mobility-impaired: When they experience partial or total loss of leg movement, making them dependent on wheelchairs, crutches, or walkers. Action-impaired: When they lose one hand, both hands, or the ability to move their hands, which makes a number of physical actions impossible. Cognitively impaired: When they experience intellectual or mental impairment that, despite their physical fitness, can affect motor coordination. There is great variation in the degree of cognitive impairment, ranging from dyslexia to cerebral palsy. Elderly People over 65 years of age are usually considered elderly. After this age bodily functions tend to become vulnerable, but it is incorrect to assume that decay sets in then. Many Eastern cultures consider this age as
DESIGN FOR SPECIAL NEEDS the prime of life, and older people are respected for their leadership, experience, and wisdom. The elderly may be classified broadly into two groups: those who are active and independent and those who suffer from ageing disabilities such as difficulty in seeing, hearing, remembering events and people, learning new skills, walking, or climbing stairs, or those who have common old-age diseases or conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, shaking of the hands, and curvature of the spine. The problems of the elderly often stem from psychological, social, and economic causes, which may later result in physical disorders. Less abled Among the other three categories of people with special needs, the less abled are the least mentioned. For every disability there is a corresponding “less-ability”. If a mobility-impaired person needs a wheelchair, a less-abled person would need a walking stick to steady himself. For every visually impaired person, there is another person who has less ability to see. For every hearing-impaired person there is another person who is relatively less hard of hearing. People with night blindness may also be considered less abled. Temporarily disabled People pass through periods that make them disabled for a specific time. The temporarily disabled include pregnant women, convalescents, the wounded and injured, and the bedridden.
A walker-cumtoilet seat for a spastic child By courtesy of S. Balaram
Anomalous Technically, anomalous people suffer from no disabilities. They are merely people who are a little different from the “normal”. But the very nature of their anomalies creates special needs, and they require special devices to cater to these needs. A right-hand contoured pair of scissors, for example, is ergonomically unsuitable and unusable by a left-handed person. The problem is aggravated if the left-handed person happens to be a tailor who needs to use this pair of scissors frequently. Other anomalous people are those who stutter, have legs of unequal length, are colour-blind, obese, too tall, or too short. However, among the five categories of people with special needs, efforts are largely concentrated on meeting the needs of the first two categories: the disabled and the elderly. TERMINOLOGY The terminology used in referring to a person with special needs is very significant because it can bias society’s perception towards such a person. Words with a negative bias that cause a loss of dignity to people
DESIGN FOR SPECIAL NEEDS with special needs include “deformed”, “maimed”, “crippled”, “afflicted”, “invalid”, “retarded”, or “handicapped”. In progressive societies these terms have been replaced with words that encourage a more positive perception, such as “disabled”, “impaired”, “challenged”, “special needs”, “non-average”, “differently abled”, and “exceptional”. The elderly are referred to as senior citizens. Anomalous Ceramic products for the
DESIGN FOR SPECIAL NEEDS IN INDIA Traditionally, the focus of attention has been the needs of people in the mainstream, while those with special needs remained marginalized. Since design is a nascent profession, designers too were unable to focus their attention on the needs of these special people. Thus, the special people continued with their struggle, often designing and constructing aids for themselves to cater to their specific needs. These were often crude but there was no alternative. However, the scenario is changing now.
Ceramic products for the elderly and for people with a weak grip By courtesy of S. Balaram
India today has one-third of the world’s disabled and half of the world’s visually impaired population. An estimated 90 million Indians have physical, sensory, or mental impairment, which imposes limitations on their day-to-day life. This limitation is not only caused by mere physical impairment, but also by discrimination, exclusion, and humiliation by society. The most severe and deep-rooted social stigma exists against mentally disabled people and those who were formerly infected with leprosy. Including the elderly in India, the number of people with special needs totals 16.4 per cent of the population, which means that every sixth person in India is a person with special needs. With India’s accelerated population growth rate, the percentage of people who have special needs is also increasing rapidly every year.
DESIGN APPROACHES FOR SPECIAL NEEDS Though many design approaches exist, four are particularly significant in designing for special needs: the adaptive design approach, universal design approach, the artefact design approach, and the integrative design approach. Adaptive design approach Time and resources are required for the development, production, and distribution of every product, system, or building. In countries such as India this situation is aggravated because of two main reasons. First, the market demand for special-need products or buildings is comparatively low and therefore they receive lower priority. Second, due to the scarcity of financial resources, special needs are once again given low priority. This makes it imperative to solve the immediate problems of special needs and to modify existing products and spaces to suit actual requirements. Such adjustments require more imagination on the part of the designer. Many people with special needs themselves make innovative changes. Staircases are cut into and made into ramps for wheelchair access; handrails are added to a toilet wall; thick rubber pads are pasted onto the base of ordinary walking sticks to ensure a firmer grip on the ground.
DESIGN FOR SPECIAL NEEDS Universal design approach Universal design is an approach that values and celebrates human diversity. “Design for all”, “barrier-free design”, “trans-generational design”, and “design for the broader average”, are some terms that are often used to replace the phrase “universal design”. Designs for the disabled and the elderly need not be exclusive but can be inclusive and therefore universal, being usable by everybody. Apart from cutting the costs of separate construction, space, and maintenance, universal design removes discrimination between normal people and those with special needs and brings them closer. All it needs is a common inclusive approach by planners and designers. A good example is the raised dot on the centrally positioned key for the number 5 on the number pad of a modern telephone, which facilitates a blind person’s use of the instrument. Identifying the central digit 5 on the push button keyboard of the telephone enables the blind person to locate other numbers with reference to this central button. Artefact design approach Artefact designing is the most apparent of all the approaches in designing for special needs. The word artefact is used very broadly to include the design of products, buildings, and spaces. The object of these designs is not only to help people with special needs but also to help those who are supporting them, the family, Daily-use products with and the systems that are involved in their care. Daily-use products with a better grip for the elderly — a bottle opener, a thermometer, a toothbrush, a comb, and a spoon By courtesy of S. Balaram
Therapeutic aids TTherapeutic aids are devices to help the disabled or the elderly, as part of their a toothbrush, a comb, treatment. In such cases, designers work along with, or under, the advice of a and a spoon medical team. These devices could be toys for mentally handicapped children, By courtesy of S. Balaram various devices for physiotherapy, devices for callisthenics, collars, belts, stretchers, and a number of allied products. These are specific artefacts, and they are used in controlled environments. Daily-life aids Daily-life aids help people with special needs to carry on normal daily activities as independently as possible. Such aids include wheelchairs, walking sticks, hearing aids, walkers, Braille typewriters, and callipers. This area is vast and requires great sensitivity on the part of the designer to understand the special need. Residual-capability aids When an individual is deprived of one faculty, this is balanced biologically with some of the other faculties becoming more powerful, flexible, sensitive, and efficient. For example, the visually impaired develop an extraordinary sense of sound and touch. Those with hearing and speech impairment develop a remarkable ability to read body language such as lip-reading. People without hands become extremely agile with their feet and mouths. This transfer of faculties needs some simple aids to assist the process to maximum advantage. For instance, a person without hands can be helped by a specially designed small extensible rod with a hook to assist in dressing, turning a page, and carrying out single need-based activities. Teaching and counselling aids There is a severe dearth of teaching and training devices for people with special needs. Counsellors and
DESIGN FOR SPECIAL NEEDS A lady afflicted with cerebral palsy who holds an important position in a company By courtesy of S. Balaram
doctors often do not have appropriate aids. These devices range from simple visual charts to complicated rigs and equipment. Barrier-free access Several public conveniences are not designed for use by people with special needs. Pathways, road crossings, and entrances into trains and buses are extremely hazardous and sometimes impossible to navigate for such people. For a pregnant woman or an elderly person in India, it is hazardous to get into or out of a bus. Designers, therefore, need to focus on barrier-free access for people with special needs while designing anything, be it a building or its landscape. Aesthetic experience Beyond mere functionality is aesthetics. Products and spaces designed for special needs should not only be convenient but also give joy through the creative use of materials, textures, forms, sounds, lights, colours, and
THE INTEGRATED DESIGN APPROACH Finally, even the best-designed artefact does not solve the entire problem faced by a person with special needs. An integrated approach, which offers complete rehabilitation, is essential. This approach needs the participation of a team consisting of doctors concerned with a particular disability, psychologists, social scientists, and the designer. More importantly, such an integrated approach needs the active participation of people with special needs in the design, development, testing, production, and implementation of the artefact. The aim of rehabilitation is not merely to facilitate but also to ensure the full participation of people with special needs in society. Sustainable rehabilitation is possible only when it is supported by the community as a whole. Design, therefore, should be part of community-based rehabilitation and community-participated rehabilitation. COMMUNICATION DESIGN More than physical barriers, which can be addressed by better design, it is the attitudinal barriers that cause the worst problems for people with special needs. This needs communication design at different levels. Public awareness communication Most well-intentioned people sympathize with, but know very little, about the social and psychological requirements of people with special needs. Pity disregards human dignity and is unwanted. No one needs pity. What is needed is equal status and equal opportunity. Given the opportunity, people with special needs work harder and better to prove their worth to themselves and to the world. This confidence and self-respect are crucial. Disabilities such as mental handicaps are grossly misunderstood. In their ignorance, parents and friends of people with special needs may often do them unintended but serious harm. Many of these notions need correction through well-designed public awareness programmes presented by various media and exhibitions, which would be interesting as well as effective.
DESIGN FOR SPECIAL NEEDS Interpersonal communication At present there is an enormous communication gap between people with different types of special needs and between various voluntary organizations and individual experts working for this cause. There would be enormous mutual benefit if experiences and resources were shared. It is important to ensure optimum communication by designing various communication devices in different media, including press, film, radio, and television. New forms of communication may be created. Computer technology and the Internet can be used to make this possible by networking. Bridge communication Elderly and disabled people are usually segregated from others because the products they use are different. By designing “bridge” products that could cover this gap and help interaction between these diverse groups, a designer could help solve the problem of segregation. For example, with a Braille writer that prints in English script and an English script that can be read in Braille, a visually impaired person can communicate with a sighted person in writing and can get a written reply that he or she can Gadi — a low-level ground mobility device in use By courtesy of S. Balaram read in Braille. Sociocultural contexts A design is effective only if it is appropriate in the social, economic, and cul- By courtesy of S. Balaram rural contexts in which it has to operate. The following cases illustrate this point in the Indian context: Jaipur foot is the name by which this artificial limb is now known worldwide. The average Indian farmer mostly walks barefoot and often has to work in waterlogged paddy fields where the standard artificial limb would fail. An Indian doctor, P.K. Sethi from Jaipur, Rajasthan, evolved this design using local materials and local craftsmen including blacksmiths, cobblers, and sculptors who had expertise in handling traditional materials. The result is a lightweight, indigenous, rubber foot which looks like a bare foot; it is flexible enough for a person to climb trees and durable enough to facilitate work in slush and mud. More important, this new foot is many times cheaper than comparable existing artificial limbs, making it affordable for the poor villager. Gadi is a mobility device designed at the National Institute of Design (NID) Ahmedabad, Gujarat, by a group of students and Canadian experts. Rural women in India who are lower-limb impaired cannot use the standard wheelchair as most of their household activities are performed at the ground level. The uneven mud floors and small houses make it impossible to operate a wheelchair. The Gadi was designed as part of a community-based rehabilitation project. It is a simple, ground-level device, which can be easily manipulated in Indian village homes. In addition, its material and construction are simple enough to be made and maintained by village craftsmen. A wheelchair to suit Indian conditions was designed by Shailendra Yagnik and was one of the seven projects to win the ICSID (International Council of Societies of Industrial Designers)-Philips award in 1977. This design used local materials and methods of manufacture, was adjustable according to the user’s requirements, and was affordable. It could be produced by small-scale industries.
DESIGN FOR SPECIAL NEEDS USER PARTICIPATION India’s problem is unique because 80 per cent of its population lives in villages and remote areas. Poor infrastructure facilities make marketing, distribution, and providing service to these areas extremely difficult. Products need to be so designed that they can be produced, maintained, and repaired by the concerned people themselves, or by local craftspersons. The use of standard materials is ideal because of easy availability and low cost. Moreover, a device made with the participation of a person with special needs will ensure its ready acceptance. S. Balaram, Head of the Design Studies wing at the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, serves on the advisory board of Design Issues (USA) and on the Governing Council of the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology. His publications include: Thinking Design (1998), sections in The Idea of Design, Arthaya, Quality Through Industrial Design, Design and Development in South and Southeast Asia, and Handbook on Universal Design, as well as several short stories in Telugu. He is the recipient of the honorary fellowship of the Society of Industrial Designers of India and holds four patents. He won the first international ICSID-Philips Award.