Shifting Paradigms

Home shifting is always a big task that makes you to worry even from the first day you got to know about it. Either it is moving from one city to another or inter city only moving a home is not simple if you are not prepared well or have enough man power that carry each and everything of yours 🙂

Its not just about moving stuff from one place to another but safely & organized way so that when you are standing in new home with cartons lying here & there could arrange back easily.

An easy list :

: Count the stuff.
beds, furniture, appliances, crockery and gamla (flower pots) etc.

: Don’t carry anything that you don’t need.
start disposing or sale the stuff you don’t need like cloths, newspaper.

: Stop buying the bulk grocery items.
like wheat, rice etc even new furniture / appliances

: Ask for address change & bill collection.>
Postal department, insurance papers, bank & credit cards. As well as give the payments to newspaper man, cable wala, milkman etc.

: Mark it to remember.
When packing the stuff in cartons, put a label to simplify what’s inside. Do this even if packers & movers are helping.

: Visit it and arrange it.
Go to new place, have an idea so that can make a visual map to arrange back the things.

: Be there, and love it.
While the things are in transitions and unpacking, be present. Gradually start arranging the things and start liking the new place though attachments with old place is natural.

And many more things you will learn after the move.

Let’s make a brand!

There is so much talk about Social Networking as hottest thing in 2007, even a network (Orkut) chosen as MTV youth icon 2007. It’s like making YOUR presence, staying in touch with people either for personal or professional growth.

And there was Time magazine (early 2007) cover page saying ‘Person of the Year is YOU’.
Recently I read an old article ‘Brand you by Tom Peters.
That made me to recall a quote by Isabel Allende “You are the story teller of your own life, and you can create your own legend or not.”

Quite true.
Whatever you are doing (or going to do) is reflecting in your personality.
Either the way you dress up or the way you hold the fork. Your very individualistic style to signature to the favorites programmes on T.V. Everything is composing you.
It’s not a simple system. One might feel it’s a single entity, but it’s a whole complex system that is composing the YOU.
And as Mr. Peters the management Guru says, there is no way to escape from the Me Inc. One has to create own brand. Now up to you how you do. So,

How to get BRANDED?

 

Compile- Strengths, Weakness, Power, External factors, Risks, Time (very important).
Just to make you stay focused on goals, how to achieve that.

Compete- Learn & Improve, Keep yourself updated.
What you learnt was past. Think future, work in present scenario. And for that updating skills and being informative is a need.

Stay Tuned–  Meet others, Talk, Discuss, Argu, Laugh & Enjoy.
Express yourself. It not only gives attention but makes you happy too. And getting noticed among in crowd is important if you really thinking of Branding yourself. So either blog or upload a video on youtube but do something to shine.

Balance- Work, Family & Networking.
Don’t be you only, be the complete person. Know how to equilibrate everything. Getting the right rhythm to balance everything is making the real you.

Rejuvenate- Mentally and Physically.
Pamper yourself either with music, books or join health club. Keeping fit will make you more fresh and full of energy.
And come out with new innovative visionary ideas. After all you are the brand. Be Brand new in every stage of life.

There are so many How would you rise and shine in same and similar people.

Finally, Design Policy

Finally, India got its own design policy on 9th Feb, 2007.

From many years many people related with design industries & education, along with CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) and DIPP (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion), were working on this. Design drafts were made and nothing happened much in the area of so called Design, which is such an important aspect of human life.

India’s IIT institutes are well known in middle class families but the name of NID (world top 50 design school) leaves many clueless. And, amongst those who have heard about the same, equate it with another fashion designing school. There are so many IITs and IIMs but design institute … well last week only Govt. approved making of four more National Institute of Design which might awards degrees instead of postgraduate or undergraduate diplomas. After all in India there are only 10 design colleges compare to Korea 300 design colleges and number of design students producing every year in India are around 8-10,000 as compare to China 30,000.

A design policy provides the deciding factors for any plan to carry on in long terms, it talks about the objectives and determines the favorable & unfavorable conditions by determining the design issues for the same. After deciding a design policy monitoring and keeping updates on same is also important. It not only ensures the high quality design by following the designing standards and things could be complete in given time frame.

For ensuring a permanent design connection between the design professional, design researchers, design companies & organizations and communicating with others and reaching to a broader market & society and boosting up the economics of the nation.

Here are the excerpts from the National Design Policy:

1. “platform for creative design development, design promotion and partnerships across many sectors, states, and regions for integrating design with traditional and technological resources.”
2. “global positioning and branding of Indian designs and making “designed in India” a by-word for quality and utility in conjunction with “Made in India” and “Served from India.”
3. making India a major hub for exports and outsourcing of designs and creative process for achieving a design-enabled innovation economy;
4. attracting investments, including foreign direct investments, in design services and design related R&D; and involving industry and professional designers in the collaborative development of the design profession.

So no more hindrance, Indians got the passport to design good stuff.

Tags: Design Policy, Indian Design Policy, National Design Policy  

 

Design Management.

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The role of management in design is as tough to know as understanding of ‘what is design’. But the importance of management is design is as crucial as any business. Because it is a long & comprehensive activity. Just being a good designer is not simple, calling ownself a good manager is also tough. Ask to your employee, how good he finds you. And when we talk about design management, ask to not only your employees also to clients and most important Users.

Before starting I would like ask- What is design? I am still searching for perfect words to define it.
It’s a tool to achieve something. It’s about –
Integrating. To synthesize System. Communication. Finding Problem. To look from different perspective. Simplifying Things. And having a questioning attitude.

Then there are types of Design : i) Create design ii) Bring design (re-design) iii) Identify design. So in short design is about creating, bringing and identifying order.

And what Design basically do: –
Emotionalize – Synthesize – Sensualize – Intimitize – Intuitize – Humanize.

Design is useful in terms of creating Value. But again generating value perception is more important. It’s about holding attention. Your product should have delight ness to captivate your attention.

So according to it DESIGN in Business it is about:
– Elicit Action – Gain Attention – Hold Attention – Differentiates – Coordinates – Transforms -Value

And when thinks from all the aspects Production, Management, Finance, HR, and to get ORDER, we need Management.

As such Designers have an important role in organizations. They are the bridge between the firm’s existing practices and beliefs, what it does and thinks now and what it could be in the future. They are visionaries with important roles to play in the innovation process, and therefore are key drivers of organizational success. As such Designers have an important role in organizations. They are the between the firm’s existing practices and beliefs, what it does and thinks now and what it could be in the future. They are visionaries with important roles to play in the innovation process, and therefore are key drivers of organizational success.And for all this Design management is very necessary.
But what is Design management. Design management is achieving the organizational goals most effectively, efficiently through planning, organizing, controlling or monitoring, learning and motivating by keeping in mind design as a organizational resource.

Understanding on this subject is not about reading on this subject, its more of again Design + Management. Through the roots of Design management is not very old, this word was coined back in 1920 by AEG (General Electrical company) but was always in toll between design & management. But after 1980 it got pace.

Just like design, Design management is multifarious. Just like marketing. That’s why both have lots of common intersections. And here comes the Design leaderships which guides with a vision about where to go and Design management takes the re-active approach in suggesting how to go. How to achieve goals by exploring design-in terms of products, communicating and inside & outside environments. That’s why Design management is needed at different levels like at : Operational, Functional & Strategic.
Definitely there would be more sub levels of it.

That’s what a design manager does; involving with strategies, action plans and processes. Dealing with critical functions such as development of a new product, how to package and predicting the retail impact by doing competitive analysis and design Measurement. Infact like Designers they would be involve at some stage of design research, scenario Building and trend forecasting.

Just like running any business or becoming an entrepreneur; design manager qualities are – design skills, business skills, passion, time management, vision, strategic thinking and interpersonal skills. I must say these qualities are even mandatory to have in a designer also.

After all design is the big asset in this world. An now when lots & lots of firms have recognized the importance of design and design driven innovation for their competitive advantage, design management is at boom.

BTW here you can read a good article on Design led business.