Design Education and Crafts: Conflicts and Synergy

Design education in India has been wrested with a continuing contradiction of focus between the organised and unorganized sector since it was formally set up through various institutions across the country. Through the socialist economic model of development to its integration into global business, the argument of social responsibility and hardcore commerce has lost the passion that it once aroused. The emerging wisdom has recognized that ultimately design ought to be integrated into the process of commerce and business. However, at a more intrinsic level of design approach and overall orientation, design education is distinctly inclined to cater to the organised sector of industry clientele. The potential for job opportunities, sustained patronage and predictable business structure are some of the reasons for this. The vast unorganized sector that includes handicrafts and sustains millions of artisans has not had its share of professional design intervention in actual practice.