In times of Corona (Covid-19), human society is being forced to completely reassess its fundamental structures. A Chrcha on ‘DESIGN FOR TRANSFORMING THE FUTURE’ was organized in April 2020. Brussels based Designer, Creative Director, Design Strategist, Author, Speaker, and Past-President of IxDA - Alok B. Nandi, Director at Spread Design & Architempo, was engaged in conversation with Archana Surana and Naveen Verma.
The session brought forth the fact that the Covid-19 pandemic has forced us to think deeply about Design, what it is & what it could do? We have begun wondering about the changes we need to make in the very ‘design’ of our society. From the examination of our consumer behaviour and product consumption, to the analysis of economic parameters and the overall state of functioning of government, the need of the hour seems to be to evolve innovative measures of prevention and implement them.
Alok highlighted the need for policy makers to rise up to the challenge with creative macro solutions that go beyond day to day troubleshooting. Archana pointed at the micro solutions, with little homely innovations for mask production and personal hygiene and health care, that are being applied across Indian households, leveraging their ethnic wisdom and an ancient in-built design sensibility.