Professor gave a very interesting presentation based on his life experience and importance of the strategy in design business. He very well explained the concept of activity theory and its real-time implementations. He said design is much of invisible.
He mentioned fire as a metaphor for design and explained culture is base and material as fuel. The system is surrounded by the environment and intentions and actions generate value by the system and that gives effect.
We knew that how NID was established with the help of key people including teachers and students from foreign. He also mentioned about discipline and culture at NID.
He shared about his life at his father’s toy factory in Madras in 1970. Rocking Horse was the wonderful product that he explained as strategic choice to produce for both the factory and the market. He said that vendor could sell that product directly at any roadside place. There was no need of inventory or showroom to sell that product. People of all the economy classes liked that product.
He also described about his innovative school projects. He preferred work on making prototype rather
than making sketching in lots of pages. He believes that design is actually making things.
He joined NID in 1972 as a faculty even he had his father’s toy factory for good earning. It shows how eager he is to learn about new things.
In NID, he worked in multidisciplinary projects like graphics design, product design etc.
He had to leave NID for 2 years for some political reasons and afterwards NID invited him to join again with an attractive salary. In those 2 years he explored more in business model of his father’s factory as
MD of the firm. He innovate in business model and process of the production, he got brilliant improvement in profit.
After joining NID again, he is called toy man because he had designed a lots of toys. He made wooden rattle toy that is still in production in Karnataka.
He mentioned the Project Jawaja. NID and IIM together were looking after that project and was a great
example of strategic management. They managed to use the bad quality leather in product very useful
way.
He has made a great research on bamboo products design. He inspired craft education in different way and also explained the concept of the footprints and rain drops in context of action research strategy and field implementation strategy. He also explained the importance of relationship between design action (activities) and society (culture).
