Mention product design in India and it conjures up an abstract and fledgling concept. Even as its link to the shapes, materials and features of products it is made, unfavorable opinions are not too far. The following winning entries in 'Boycott Bad Designs 2005' in Exhibit 1 capture the public opinion, though these are only a few of them are These are a few stray examples of uncomfortable customer experiences inherently built into the product design. But the fact that each component, however small, has to be borne in mind by designers cannot be overemphasized.
At the other end, there are several examples of aesthetic, hassle-free, functional products too. Due to the opening up of the Indian economy over the past decade-and-a-half, competition has intensified in almost all product categories. Increased competition has spurred several marketers to develop better products than their competitors and among the aspects keenly being explored is better design as a competitive differentiator for their products. Availability of skilled design manpower due to dedicated design institutes such as National Institute of Design (NID) has also helped the cause. Institution of design awards, growing academic-industry interface, setting up of design research labs, propagation of a design culture by industry associations, drafting of a national design policy by the Government of India, etc., too are contributing towards enhancing the overall design standards in the country and rise in professional product design.
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