articles

I do not enjoy writing much, but over the years I have written on different areas of design and these are available here. Students of design, or other designers interested in sharing ideas on design and issues that concern design are welcome to post their articles here – just send me the word document and a pdf version for download. Indian designers are invited to link their writing up with this page.

	Indian Product Design issues (Writing by Indian designers and Indian design issues)
	- DESIGN FOR DEVELOPMENT: Restoring People to the Centre of Design Education & Practice A draft Proposal - April 2000 - by ASHOKE CHATTERJEE (This is an interesting article on design in the Indian Context) - The 'Digital Divide' (An editorial highlighting the current reality of technology in Asia) - Looking for new product paradigms - by POONAM BIR KASTURI (An article from the presentation I made at the NID in 2000 about new product paradigms) - Industrial Design - it's practise in different categories of Indian industry - by GEORGE MATHEWS (An article from the presentation made at the NID in 2000 by George of Icarus Design) - The India Report - Revisited– by POONAM BIR KASTURI (An position paper presented at the Development by Design workshop at the Media Lab MIT)     - The Design Avatar- by POONAM BIR KASTURI (A paper I wrote at the time I was leaving the National Institute of Design after my graduation in 1985)     - Designing Freedom– by POONAM BIR KASTURI (Written on the invitation by the journal “Design Issues” – a paper on how I see the craft sector is today and some ways forward that I have suggested)     - Why Designer? Designers’ roles, and impact on design education - by POONAM BIR KASTURI (A paper presented at NID during the International conference called Design Education – Tradition and Modernity 2005)     - Transforming the ‘Guru-Sishya’ Parampara – Changing the way training is planned for the Craft Sector - by POONAM BIR KASTURI (A paper written to be published in a volume on craft that is being published by NID on crafts)
	On consuming & Living (Product production, marketing, distribution, trends and the area of human needs)
	- Items on a Shopping List - by BILL KIRKMAN (This is good reading for a first year student of design, it raises some ethical issues about product distribution and human greed) - Hi There, Dollface. You Look Like Someone We Know - by Karen Springen (This article on Barbie shows the kind of customization possible in products because of new technologies) - Love Those Wearables! Plain Earrings, necklaces, watches and eyeglasses may soon be the height of the high-tech fashion - by STEFAN THEIL (This is about a trend that is here to stay - new age products that can be worn and programmed) - Nothing For Money - by VIKRAM DOCTOR (An interesting article on shopping and consumption) - The Power of Buddha - And Beads (An fun snippet on a trend) - Time to do everything except think - by DAVID BROOKS (An interesting way of looking at the behavioral patterns that emerge when humans use technology and become increasingly reliant on it) - Totally Typed Out - by BRUCE STERLING (Predictions of which products will stay and which will disappear by an obsolescence expert)
	On Thinking (Thinking related to how we perceive and use products)
	- Physical Thoughts (Knowing that your brain can actually work with products changes the way you look at "things") - Silly Ideas Are Attacking My Brain - by OLIVER MORTON (How products and services affect the way we see them) - Spiritual De-stressing - Chant every morning: "I am a fool" - by BHARAT THAKUR (How products and services affect the way we see them) - Subconscious Mind Is Power - packed - by SEEMA BURMAN (Facets about the subconscious mind) - Tapping the Power of the Placebo - by HOWARD BRODY MD PhD (An article that stands by the Placebo effect) - How real is the Placebo effect? - by FRED GUTERL (An article that is skeptical of the Placebo effect) - Visions of the Sublime (An article that shows how the net services a certain human need) - She Wants to Watch You - by Kitty McKinsey / HONG KONG