Young Designers

Indian handicraftsglobal overviewsputnik hanging lamp clustersublime of material and colourCompetitiveness vs AcceptanceNikita Bansal, Orange Tree“Internationaldesigners prefercoming to India insearch of inspirationand use ourtraditional skills witha twist to create aproduct that would beaccepted globally.India is steadilytransforming into aglobal research hub.”The design has been an inherentpart of Indian art and culture forcenturies. It is vividly visible in itsarchitecture, handicrafts and handlooms.Indian handicrafts are very vast,colourful, complex yet simple whichappeals to both local and internationalmarket.The recent scenario of ContemporaryIndian handicraft has emerged as aculmination of traditions, regionaldesigns and the latest trends. Theinnovation of craftsmanship hasbecome very important in the role oftrade and business. This results from afusion of traditional craft skills withcontemporary inputs from designersand modern technologies.In India, the craft and design sectorsshare a symbiotic relationship. Throughcraft, the designer connects with thecreative past and abundant sources ofinspiration which existeverywhere–anything visual, tactile orsensual. It’s up to a designer how oneinterprets and communicates a designsource. Product Designers bridge thegap between the market and theartisan, as today the artisan isgeographically apart from his/her client,to be able to understand his/heraesthetic and socio-cultural needs.Designers help in finding the relevanceof craft with respect to the artisan, theconsumer and to the global market.Designers are thus an interface betweenthe past and the present, the traditionaland the modern, trying to match craftproduction to the needs of moderntimes and demands. Their key focus isto get endless traditional craft skillsadapted to contemporary design andmake them saleable locally as well asinternationally. Orange Tree(www.orangetree.co.in) is also one suchdesign house that reiterates the sameprinciple. Here we design newproducts, redesign existing products bychanging shape, size, colour, function,utility and even surface manipulation.We explore new markets and revivelapsed markets by applying traditionalskills to meet new opportunities andchallenges. We also introduce newmaterials, new processes, new toolsand technologies wherever necessary.For instance,Sputnik hanging cluster of 6 Gold: Herethe age old technique of a handrati table lampmonarch table lampparisian table lamp050 Architecture Update July 2015