Seasoned design leader invokes Steve Jobs while asserting that a design-led approach is what will take good organisations towards greatness

“Most people make the mistake of thinking that design is what it looks like. People think it’s this veneer, that designers are handed this box and told to ‘make it look good’. That is not what we think design is. It’s not what it looks and feels like. Design is how it works.” – Steve Jobs

In a globalised world where technology is ever changing, companies will have to focus lots more on design to be successful. Just as Jobs did at Apple, where it was not only the product that was replete with design thought but also the way it was communicated, packed, retailed and serviced.

As incomes rise, the aspirations of customers are also growing and so is their awareness about design. No wonder ‘design’ is today the key to the survival of the product.

“When we look at our own craft traditions, we see a highly evolved design sensibility. We see evidence of it in architectural detailing, furniture, utensils, textiles, jewellery, everywhere, not just in elite homes. Craft and design have been so much a part of our lives that we barely noticed it,” says IIID Delhi Chapter chairperson Radhika Viswanathan.

Viswanathan is a seasoned designer, who besides wearing the IIID cap, is also faculty for design at School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. At India Kitchen Congress, she will be talking about why it’s vital for enterprises to take cognisance of the growing significance of design, and how they can include ‘design thought’ in all functions of their business, including the product.