A bike that can be stowed away in a bag, taken around with ease. A pictorial rug where characters come alive when viewed through an augmented reality (AR) enabled tablet. Prosthetic breasts, tactile labels and more.
Packaging design in an avatar of sustainability, the World Industrial Design Day 2017 exhibition kicked off its Bengaluru leg with a creative mix of social enterprise, breakthrough ideas and tech wizardry.
Hosted by the Association of Designers of India (ADI), the show at Gallery Manora, Indiranagar, is on till Saturday.
Part of a global network, WIDD 2017 Bengaluru is about linking up the international community of designers through knowledge-sharing and social media activities. As Manu Neelakantan from ADI explained, it is about triggering design-related conversations. “Most people think design is only about art. Here, the focus is on devices, consumer durables, art & crafts, packaging.”
Tactile labels for inclusive garments: This universal design, showcased by students of the city-based National Institute of Design (NID) was clearly meant for the visually challenged. So was a tactile map of railway stations. In the same league was Pharminder, a smart medicine wallet for the elderly, a device to alert them on drug intakes and more. One stand-out design concept was the Kit Bike, a bike in a bag, a bicycle with detachable parts that could be assembled in 15 minutes. Conceptualised by the city-based Lucid Design, the bike could be put together from a series of 21 parts that simply twist and lock together. The concept was innovative enough to land the 2014 Red Dot Design award.
But what stood out for its smart mix of Augmented Reality, textiles, storytelling and technology was SpinTales. The rug on show had a landscape, vivid but not interactive on first look. Yet, viewed through an App on a smartphone or tablet, characters from a tale would pepper the visual in animated joy. Triggering it would be specified markers on the rug.
WIDD 2017 Bengaluru will culminate in a knowledge-sharing session on July 1, bringing together representatives from the academia, corporate, startup, investors, social enterprise, professionals and makers. On the agenda is 'The Design of Business' where businessmen talk design and 'The Business of Design,' where designers talk business.
DH News Service
