Activity Theory: Keynote at a conference at the Aalto University

Keynote Presentation at FISCAR 2010 at Aalto University, Helsinki

Prof M P Ranjan

Raindrops & Footprints: Reflections on Design enabled development models for India.
Prof M P Ranjan
National Institute of Design
Ahmedabad, India

Image 01: Screen shots of the visual presentation used to support the keynote lecture at the FISCAR 2010 conference in Helsinki.

Abstract of paper prepared for a keynote presentation at the Nordic Conference on Activity Theory and the Fourth Finnish Conference on Cultural and Activity Research “Perspectives on social creativity, designing and activity” to be held at Helsinki from 23 to 25 May 2010

The author has been a design teacher at the National Institute of Design from the early 1970’s and has been involved in the teaching of design theory as well as conducting design research in the areas of industrial design for development with numerous experiences in the small scale and craft based production situations in India. Much of his professional and educational initiatives are focused on using traditional craft skills that are an abundant ability in India as a development resource that could address severe problems of poverty and unemployment in vast areas of rural India. Each design project experience conducted over the years offered new insights into the complex problems that were being faced by professionals trying to intervene in the sectors of need in India and these insights were translated into visual models that were used to inform students as well as future initiatives in these sectors.

The subject of this conference gives us the opportunity to reflect on these series of insights and to map out the contours of the theory of design based crafts interventions that emerged from the National Institute of Design over the past 50 years of exploration and design action in the field. The author’s personal background of having been born into a family of a craftsman carpenter who later built his business enterprise in the manufacture of wooden toys and furniture for children provides an extended backdrop for this investigation and reflection into the models for development that emerged and were tested through repeated interventions in the field. These refined and partly validated models are offered here with historical and personal references to the numerous projects that helped shape the insights and the specific models of development that have gone to create the “Macro – Micro Strategy for Development” that has been used to build a sustainable village based enterprise that is currently in progress as a test case in the bamboo based enterprises in the State of Tripura in Northeastern India. Each project experience brought in specific insights that are expanded and detailed to give a framework for the theory that has informed our actions over the years.

Learning from the field has been a much repeated mantra at the NID and its education slogan has always been “learning by doing” which in turn meant that those of us who lived and worked at the Institute were privy to hundreds, if not thousands of individual projects, all of which brought back fresh insights that we hope these reflections will reveal at least in part. There is an underlying theory that emerged and it will the attempt of this paper to try and articulate some of the contours of this theory by using the models that have emerged over the years and those that were used in the classes through which generations of NID students have been trained.

The paper will be supported by specific case studies to summarise the progressive findings from the field based experiences and the intermediate and cumulative strategies that were adopted for the numerous field based interventions carried out by the author and his colleagues at NID in the area of design for development. The paper will be accompanied by a visual presentation that would provide visual evidence of the context as well as the design offerings and alongside this will be the theory and the models and strategy diagrams that emerged as an outcome of these investigations, specifically those that were used to advocate future action in the field.

Download Full Text of presentation here as a pdf file 248 kb size

Download Visual presentation as a pdf file 8.3 mb size

Download Voice file of the keynote lecture as an mp3 file 45 MB size

Prof M P Ranjan

Activity Theory: Keynote at a conference at the Aalto University

Keynote Presentation at FISCAR 2010 at Aalto University, Helsinki

Prof M P Ranjan

Raindrops & Footprints: Reflections on Design enabled development models for India.

Prof M P Ranjan
National Institute of Design
Ahmedabad, India

Image 01: Screen shots of the visual presentation used to support the keynote lecture at the FISCAR 2010 conference in Helsinki.

Abstract of paper prepared for a keynote presentation at the Nordic Conference on Activity Theory and the Fourth Finnish Conference on Cultural and Activity Research “Perspectives on social creativity, designing and activity” to be held at Helsinki from 23 to 25 May 2010

The author has been a design teacher at the National Institute of Design from the early 1970’s and has been involved in the teaching of design theory as well as conducting design research in the areas of industrial design for development with numerous experiences in the small scale and craft based production situations in India. Much of his professional and educational initiatives are focused on using traditional craft skills that are an abundant ability in India as a development resource that could address severe problems of poverty and unemployment in vast areas of rural India. Each design project experience conducted over the years offered new insights into the complex problems that were being faced by professionals trying to intervene in the sectors of need in India and these insights were translated into visual models that were used to inform students as well as future initiatives in these sectors.

The subject of this conference gives us the opportunity to reflect on these series of insights and to map out the contours of the theory of design based crafts interventions that emerged from the National Institute of Design over the past 50 years of exploration and design action in the field. The author’s personal background of having been born into a family of a craftsman carpenter who later built his business enterprise in the manufacture of wooden toys and furniture for children provides an extended backdrop for this investigation and reflection into the models for development that emerged and were tested through repeated interventions in the field. These refined and partly validated models are offered here with historical and personal references to the numerous projects that helped shape the insights and the specific models of development that have gone to create the “Macro – Micro Strategy for Development” that has been used to build a sustainable village based enterprise that is currently in progress as a test case in the bamboo based enterprises in the State of Tripura in Northeastern India. Each project experience brought in specific insights that are expanded and detailed to give a framework for the theory that has informed our actions over the years.

Learning from the field has been a much repeated mantra at the NID and its education slogan has always been “learning by doing” which in turn meant that those of us who lived and worked at the Institute were privy to hundreds, if not thousands of individual projects, all of which brought back fresh insights that we hope these reflections will reveal at least in part. There is an underlying theory that emerged and it will the attempt of this paper to try and articulate some of the contours of this theory by using the models that have emerged over the years and those that were used in the classes through which generations of NID students have been trained.

The paper will be supported by specific case studies to summarise the progressive findings from the field based experiences and the intermediate and cumulative strategies that were adopted for the numerous field based interventions carried out by the author and his colleagues at NID in the area of design for development. The paper will be accompanied by a visual presentation that would provide visual evidence of the context as well as the design offerings and alongside this will be the theory and the models and strategy diagrams that emerged as an outcome of these investigations, specifically those that were used to advocate future action in the field.

Download Full Text of presentation here as a pdf file 248 kb size

Download Visual presentation as a pdf file 8.3 mb size

Download Voice file of the keynote lecture as an mp3 file 45 MB size

Prof M P Ranjan

DCC2008 Theme Food: Design with participation and discourse

Food, Inflation and innovation in India

Image: A macro view of the Food constituency as a system of related influences and opportunity areas, which is by no means a complete picture. Students from many parts of India will work together and fill in the gaps and unfold hidden possibilities with their experience and their imagination

The Design Concepts and Concerns course which is taught at NID helps our students take the macro-micro design exploration route in their study and journey through the various pressing design problems and opportunities that we find in the Indian economy and that which is affecting the people most at the time when the course is being conducted are chosen each year. Design is always to be understood in context with a particular setting if we are to derive any meaning from the activity otherwise the meaning will be provided by the observer and this may not be the intended approach of the designers, in which case it is usually back to the drawing board. This year we have chosen to focus on “Food and Inflation”, two major issues that threaten the continuance of the Government of India if it is these concerns are not managed well enough and the global cues are not very helpful either, what with oil hitting the 145 USD mark over the weekend and with experts talking of a 200 USD level by the year end before things may start to cool off a bit, if at all.

The Indian Government at the Centre, is led by the Congress Party, which is a historic cousin of the Indian National Congress that brought Independence to the country, and in this avatar it is having its own set of problems with its coalition partners, particularly on the contentious issue of signing the nuclear non-proliferation treaty with the USA and the international partner members which will give India some degree of energy security in the age of exploding oil prices. Energy is one of the key drivers of the Indian economy as it is the worlds and with rising oil prices all nations will have to address their energy security, especially if they are as dependent on imports as India is in its efforts to keep growth of the economy at a healthy 9 percent plus for the next few years. Here again it is not clear if going nuclear is the only way forward with a country that is endowed with plenty of sunshine and wind along its coastline, many possibilities could emerge if only we tried. Inflation kicking in at over 11 percent in the last week puts paid to all claims of sustained growth and in a democracy heading towards an impending election across the country the Government is pulling out all stops to help stem the inflation tide, particularly in the very sensitive food price front, which hits the common man in the street the most, and therefore would be a sore issue at the hustings. The search for stability is hard to find in a shaky coalition when the partners are unwilling to budge from the nuclear stand. During the last budget the Indian food situation came into sharp focus this year with many instances of farmer suicides in many parts of the country, especially in the Vidharbha region, and the Government made a magnanimous gesture of waiving all farm loans of small and marginal farmers and promised to support the banks through fiscal supports to provide them the safety net needed. This gesture ran into several tens of thousands of crores, and according to The Hindu, about Indian Rupees 60,000 crores (one crore is equal to ten million Rupees) when it was first announced in the budget speech by the Indian Finance Minister and later modified to a much higher sum, very generous indeed, but the problem that lies at the heart of this dilemma still remains unchanged.
“Loan waivers are at best temporary palliatives to the problems facing rural India. Regrettably, the powers that be and the powers that want to be have rarely been willing to confront the difficult and complex problems.”
A. Vaidyanathan

Image: A Vaidyanathan in The Hindu, Thursday, Mar 06, 2008. (Read on here)

I wonder what would be the impact if even a small portion of this humungous sum of money were invested in the area of innovation in the food and agriculture sectors with a slightly longer term view, rather than by just looking down the barrel of the next General Elections a few months away? The use of subsidies when there is a political and economic crisis is quite commonplace but making investments in basic innovations that can provide long term answers to wicked problems is not seen as a practical move in our land of five year terms of public office and short term politics. Can we continue in this strain for long with all the negative cues coming from the global warming front and the economic downturn that is raising its head from the rising oil prices and to top it all the social unrest unleashed due to pressures of change and transformation like the opposition to the SEZ’s at Nandigram and Singur where the local farmers are up in arms against the TATA Nano project?
The Hindu Business Line, Monday, Jan 21, 2008: Bengal verdict on Singur
The Hindu Business Line, Friday, Jan 11, 2008: Inclusive innovation

Image: University of Industrial Arts, Helsinki’s historic building, the tram that is a sustainable tradition of the city and the Rector, Yrjö Sotamaa speaks out in favour of innovation of a softer kind. (Read more here)

These are not simple problems but we do believe that the boundaries of these problems can be explored through the use of design rather than on the streets through negotiations between adversaries from opposite parties. Design can if given a chance can indeed find and show alternate models that could then be presented to all stake-holders for a negotiated settlement of the conflicts. This form of innovation and change is at the heart of the future of politics and many countries are now beginning to recognize this power of design visualization and a recent example is the Helsinki event that merged three major Universities to form the new Innovation University which has been christened the Aalto University after the great Finnish architect and designer, more about this in my previous post on this subject.

We will not wait for the Government of India to change its policies about education and innovations in India but forge ahead instead with some basic explorations that can be done on our own in the classrooms at NID with the creative human capital that is available in the motivated students who have come to learn design at our school. In my paper titled “Creating the Unknowable: Designing the Future in Education” that I had presented at a peer reviewed design conference, EAD06 in Bremen, Germany in 2005, I have given an outline of the course called “Design Concepts and Concerns” that has been offered to NID students of all programmes over the past fifteen years. The blog that was set up last year to document this course in a contemporaneous manner can be seen at this link below and last year the theme was Water, which happens to be the most contentious issue across India and the world, which is getting worse by the day. Here we looked at the macro-micro design analysis of the context to understand the situation at a personal level of each student participant and then went on to build alternate models to address these issues through design imagination and innovative offerings. The course ended with a long list of design opportunities and some of these were selected by the groups of students to be visualized as scenarios that could make the imagined outcomes more visible and tangible for decision making processes that would be political and participatory, both people and the Government could be stake holders along a long chain of interest groups, al of whom could have an informed say in the matter that would affect all of us. Take a look at what they had to offer and give your comments and feedback for this year’s theme, FOOD & Inflation.

More at the Design Concepts and Concerns blog here.

Innovation University Helsinki: Lessons for India

Innovation University Helsinki: The Aalto University takes shape

Image: Alvar Aalto, the old Arabia factory that houses the University of Industrial Arts, Helsinki and the current Rector Yrjö Sotamaa, TaiK

In a pathbreaking move the Ministry of Education in Finland has decided to merge three existing Universities under a common banner of The Innovation University that is now renamed as the Aalto University after the great Finnish architect and Furniture designer, Alvar Aaalto.

The legislation and the system of funding the three Universities are being reworked and it is planned to launch the new University by August 2009. I met the Rector of the University of Art and Design Helsinki (TAIK) at the just concluded Helsinki Design Lab that brought together 80 design thinkers and professionals from around the world to explore the emerging boundaries of innovation in a very interesting workshop format.

The three Universities that are to be merged are as follows:
University of Art and Design Helsinki (TAIK)
Helsinki University of Technology (TKK)
Helsinki School of Economics (HSE)

The initiatives are backed by both the Government of Finland as well as the local industry that has found it useful to support education and research since they have been looking for global leadership rather than just following the lead of other players in their field.

Image: Classic products by Alvar Aalto, a Tea Table in bent laminated wood and a glass vase

Design is to play a central role and from being focused on Art and individual expression the move is to bring in collaborative creativity and innovation by locating the emphasis on the bringing together of design , technology and business within education at the University level.

While there are many skeptics to this move it was perhaps the most open and transparent process possible with over 8000-contributions and arguments made on a year long exchange platform that offered access to all stakeholders along with a multi-stakeholder process of committees and task groups. The participants were drawn from all three Universities and included Administrators, Teachers and Students.

Image: Prof M P Ranjan at Hotel Katajanokka which is an old jailhouse that has been repurposed for use as a hotel

I do think that we need to re-examine our University structure and objectives in the light of these experiments taking place in Finland and with NID being considered for a Deemed to be University status can we think forward and see how the technology and business areas can be brought to focus on innovation in the days ahead. We are all in our own mental jails till we get liberated by an imaginative thought that can change our belief. I came here to participate in the Helsinki Design Lab and found that the organisers were thinking far ahead with the Innovation University and new education paradigms.

Innovation at Work: New serial on CNBC TV 18

Image: Suresh Venkat, Satyashree Gandham, Charulata Menon and Prof M P Ranjan at the CNBC TV 18 studio in Mumbai after the shoot.

A five part serial titled Innovation at Work is being aired by CNBC TV 18 from next week on the following schedules. The programe is anchored by Menaka Doshi, Associate Corporate Editor of Network 18
and the guest experts are Prof. M P Ranjan, NID and Mr Cyrus Driver, CEO, Helix Investments which is a global venture capital fund looking at India.

The programme has been announced yesterday on the channel immediately after the shoot was completed at their studio in Mumbai. The show will go on air on Wednesday, 25th June at 7:30 pm with a repeat on Saturday and Sunday at 6:30pm. The modules will then be aired each week over the next five weeks.

Do take time of your busy schedules to look at this offering about exciting innovation of products, services and businesses in India today. Unfortunately I will miss the first screening since I am off to Helsinki to attend the Helsinki Design Lab organised by the SITRA, Finland Fund for Innovation. More at this link below:
Helsinki Design Lab Blog
SITRA - Helsinki Design Lab: Home

More from Finland and I propose to visit UIAH after the SITRA event and meet friends in Helsinki.

Service Design for India: Change in Design & Management Schools needed

Image: A page from the booklet "Design for Services" launched by SEE Design Network of Design Wales, Cardiff. Full pdf files can be downloaded from the links below.

Service Design for India: Change in Design & Management Schools needed

Service Design is an emerging discipline that lies between the various fields of Design and Management. It is the cusp of both these major disciplines, which in India have rarely met or exchanged expertise in an educational setting. Design schools do not teach management in depth nor do management schools teach about design, leave alone design management. We have thousands of management schools in India when the pressing need is for the creation of experts who can innovate great services across a huge number of sectors of our economy. In my view design is needed critically in as many as 230 sectors of our economy and I have written about these in the past.

Across the world many management schools have started embracing design and innovation as a core offering to their students and in this the charge is led by the Rotmans School of Management, Toronto and a less known school in Scandinavia called the KaosPilot, both of which have been covered in previous posts on this blog. In the 80’s the London School of Business had produced a book on Design Management and at both the Stanford University, USA and the University of Industrial Arts, Helsinki, there have been concerted efforts to bring together Design, Technology and Management through a planned series of projects that bring together faculty and students from all these disciplines in a transdisciplinary format. The Design Council, London had spearheaded an initiative called RED where a series of innovative design and management exchanges had led to the development of some very interesting new services, all designed by keeping users in mind. The Design Wales too has been working with SME’s and local businesses to assist them to refine their service offerings and their booklet on service design is a very refined offering that can be downloaded as a pdf file. (see link below)

Several unusual experiments have been taking place in this space and the work done at the Mayo Clinic, USA is one that stands out in using the IDEO methodology to improve the service offerings of the medical establishment and their hospital chain, which has been covered in an earlier post on this blog. This year the KaosPilot school from Sweden has deputed 35 of their students to spend their “Outpost” session of three months in the field at Mumbai, and they are in the city till the end of May 2008 to explore the creation of new and compelling services that can build local entrepreneurship in a number of areas of service offerings from transportation to health systems. The Welllingker School of Management in Mumbai has started a masters programme in Design Management and NID Ahmedabad has a programme on offer called Strategic Design Management, but these are very little for a huge country like India and many of the other management schools should consider offering such programmes if we are to make headway in improving our services with the use of design and innovation, all managed by expert hands that are trained to do the job. The National Design Policy must take this into account when we try and take design forward in India.

There are many online resources that provide insights into service design and its emerging boundaries and some of these are listed below for immediate access:

1. Design Council, UK: Service Design

2. Rotmans School of Management, Toronto: Integrative Thinking

3. KaosPilot, Denmark: Design of New Businesses

4. Service Design: Wikipedia: Definition and links

5. Service Design Research: Rich Collection of Papers

6. ServiceDesign.org: Resources hosted by live/work UK

7. Design Wales, Cardiff: SEE Design Journals

8. SEE Design, Design Wales, Cardiff: Service Design booklet Download pdf files links: Part 1: Part 2:

9. Design Management Institute

10. Domus Academy - Business Design Department