Design is a ubiquitous six letter word and its applicability in day-to-day life is greater than six factorial. Even though the list is endless, web design, graphical design, fashion design, vehicle design are a few to mention. One might ponder if design is all about making what you think visible? If not what design actually is? Defining design is not easy, but I wish to share the best quotes of the lot. Design can be art, design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple that’s why it is so complicated. Robin Mathew, a design entrepreneur quotes “Design is where science and art break even”. The idea of thinking made visible is just a subset of design, but design is thinking made work and look aesthetic, where making an idea work should be the primary aim. Design involves research, thought, modelling interactive adjustment and refinement to make an idea work and look aesthetic. If you are passionate about design and have an idea that can be useful to the society, there are enough opportunities in our motherland to conceive your idea and streamline your path in achieving your goal.
Common Entrance Examination for Design (CEED) is an all India examination conducted by IIT Bombay on behalf of the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India. The objective of CEED is to assess the candidate’s aptitude for design, involving visual perception ability, drawing skills, logical reasoning, creativity and communication skills. Top institutes like IISc Bangalore, IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IIT Guwahati and IIT Hyderabad offer postgraduate courses in design called Master of Design (M.Des) to nurture and hone the skills of creative and passionate individuals in various disciplines of design, such as product design, industrial design, visual communication, animation, interaction design, vehicle design, and transportation design. Moreover these premier institutes have incubation centers where they support students with space and money to start a company. But all you need is to have an idea which can transform the society. These institutes have the necessary infrastructure and facilities which will transform your idea into a design.
An example of how a good designer can transform the world is Pranav Mistry. Pranav Mistry, an alumnus of design programme in IIT Bombay is a renowned computer scientist and inventor. At present, he is the head of Think Tank Team and Vice President of Research at Samsung. He is best known for his work on Sixth Sense and Samsung Galaxy Gear. World Economic Forum honored Mistry as one of the Young Global Leaders 2013. He is one of the top 10 inventors of the digital world. Pranav took up keen interest to join Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s team as the technical advisor. In an interview to The Economic Times, Mistry said “I am keen to serve one-sixth of the world’s population where the miracles of science and technology would multiply manifold for betterment of mankind”. If you have an idea that can serve for the betterment of the mankind, then this programme will streamline your path in achieving it. Last but not least, let me end this with the words of one of the best designers the world has had.
Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works”
-Steve Jobs