What Do Designers Do?

Designers are the prime trendsetters for the world. They decide on the new style, design & pattern to be followed for each season, and for each period of time for the advancing world.

The areas they work on spreads from Textiles to Space Vessels. It is unbelievable, but true. The other areas are Jewellery Design, Product Design, Communication Design, IT Integrated Design, Ceramic Design, Footwear Design and much more.

Communication Design – is not all about computer technology. Here a designer not just needs to know how to make something move, but know how to use it effectively to communicate a message, sell a product, or persuade someone to adopt an idea. Communication design spans over Graphic Design, Animation Design and Visual Communication

Graphic Designer’s - job involves illustration along with photography, lettering, designing symbols/ logos/ visiting cards/ banners/ hoardings/book jackets/ CD covers etc. for social and corporate communications.

Animation Design - Not all animated films are drawn and not all films are funny. Animation has the potential to reach a much wider audience - including adults. An animated character has no citizenship and communicates without barriers of language or distinct age- groups. Their emotions are human and identifiable. This make animation a very suitable medium for addressing an uneducated multitude, especially in the Indian context. With special features like humour, exaggeration and the possibility of compressing information, animation becomes a vital means of communication and persuasion. Animators find jobs as Creative Directors in TV Channels like MTV, Multimedia Agencies and Film production houses.

Product Designer - designs home appliances, cars, consumer product of everyday use which gives the user better quality of life. Design and Engineering work in tandem to meet the requirements of the user and the industry.

Interior Designers - plan space and furnish interiors of private homes, public building and commercial establishments.

Ceramic Design - The Ceramic industry in India is a not a very modern or avant garde industry and such the role of a designer in this industry is limited. There are two categories of products in the Ceramic Industry. The first are consumer products such as crockery, tiles, sanitary wares etc. There is a demand here for designers, to comply with consumer demands for aesthetically pleasing and varied products. The second category is the Advanced Ceramics which have widespread applications in the engineering and electronic industry. Design inputs in this category are almost non existent in India as of now.

Toy Design - Toy designers cash in on India’s rich heritage for toy making, and develop toys for today’s child. The toys range from educative to fun toys and involve use of a variety of materials and techniques.

Textile Design - involves study of spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing, printing and finishing techniques of fabrics, besides those of design concepts, knowledge of colour, pattern and texture. Textiles need to fulfil simultaneously, the requirements of function, comfort and aesthetics.

Apparel Design - There has been steady growth in the manufacture of garments for export. With the support of government policies, the garment sector has emerged as the largest net foreign exchange earner for the country. So, far India’s strongpoint has been availability of cheap labour. Problem of quality still remains to be overcome. Leaping towards non quota regime has definitely brought up tough competition with other countries like China, Korea, Taiwan. To meet the demands of the future, India needs to focus on Quality and Design.

Lifestyle Accessory Design – relates to people’s living patterns, and the products they interact with on a day to day basis. They may range from products for personal adornment to products for the living environment.

Transportation Designer – does not limit his contribution to the aesthetics of an automobile, but also includes functional aspects which may be in terms of improved windows and doors, luggage storage, redesigning seats for better comfort, considering safety factors. Better designs for road signals, dividers, road markings etc. are also part of a transportation designers job profile.

Design Management – Design is now an essential ingredient to the marketing mix. New outlooks are emerging to lift the quality of life. A Design Manager is involved with strategies, action Plans and processes. His job will revolve around New product development, Packaging, Retail impact, Competitive Analysis, Customer satisfaction, Market research, trend forecast, Branding, and Communication Strategies. Jobs held by a student of Design Management would be Strategic Designers, Design Entrepreneurs, Design Managers, Design Consultants etc.

New Media Design – involves, creating and distributing media content electronically through CD –ROM, website, kiosk, etc for education, entertainment and information. Careers may range from, Multimedia producers, web designers, game designers, Designers of Computer based training programs, Satellite TV programs and more.

Software and User Interface Design – deals with human computer interaction, which can be in various forms, like the interactive face of you mobile phone or scanner. Interface design can make a success or failure of any product depending on whether the end user finds the device cumbersome or easy to use.

Information & Digital Design – enables effective transfer of information to the end user. It makes complex information easy to understand and use. In formation & Digital Design is mainly used in the knowledge / information based industry. This is a highly interdisciplinary branch of knowledge, and can be applied to Artificial Intelligence, Business Support Systems, Visual Data bases, Interactive Multimedia and much more.