Lack of Creativity or probably Responsibility?

I am a complete music-lover. I love listening to almost any kind of music and bollywood songs are somethin that always attract me. I love venturing into listening to never heard of songs and figuring out if I like them.

But since the past few years, I have feel that the industry is facing some serious lack of talent. There are rarely any songs I come across that are really worth an "ear". You may be able to dance to them, but listening to them happens to be a bad idea most of the times.

There is no doubt about the fact that there are a few lyricists who do a brilliant job, but nevertheless, they cannot make up for the "sleazy" lyrics that are entertained in the industry. One of the songs that I recently came across that "convinced" me to write this article was "Dum Maro Dum" - The new version or may I call it the "Deepika" gig.

Honestly, the lyrics are horrendous [which i honestly feel is an understatement]. They are just ridiculous and "cheap". I agree that "rebel" is the point, but there are always different ways of portraying it. Just like the way I mentioned in my previous article "Role of the media", it depends on the person who is writing the song as to how to portray the message and I am convinced this was not the definitely the best one.

It also becomes inevitable to compare the song to the old "Zeenat" version. That was about rebel too, but very "sensibly" put across. If you blame at the kids being "matured more than their age", this is what we are feeding them with. Just dropping clothes off a popular face's body, one cannot cover up for irresponsible lyrics.

I started off writing this article about how the lyrics were sleazy, but in the course of writing, I feel they are irresponsible. Kids are what you bring them as, and this is exactly what we are feeding into the younger generation. So we should either take charge, or not complain about the way they are.

Looking for a greater concern

"Hike in the fuel prices? No issue. Thanks to Morgan A.E.C ... " [Not sure what the company name was :) ]

This was a hoarding that i saw put up on my way to office today. It really led me to some deeper thinking and introspection. Is it that the only issue people have the with the hike in fuel prices is the "money"? Are we really driven only by the glitter on wealth? Are finances our only concern?

I definitely realise that it is a marketing strategy and they are trying to find a selling point for their product. Nevertheless, it does bring these questions to my mind. There are very few people who see fuel prices as a dithering environment or lack of resources. What they think of is the actual "cost" in monetary terms. "Ecology", "eco-friendly" etc. have started seeming to be mere words to flaunt for a greater public without a real thought put into it.

That brings me to the other side of the coin- people who over-use the "eco" term without really keeping into consideration the real cost factor for the masses. A lot of designers I know or have seen are raving about their eco-products. The media appreciates this effort as a step towards an eco-friendly living. But a step by whom and for whom. Its just a few may be. The products are so heavily prices that a common man - the one who forms the majority in the world - can never afford it. I agree that eco-friendly products may be more expensive but it shouldn't be placed in a way that a person with an average income cannot afford it.

The real challenge is to promote "green environment and lifestyle" to the masses. Why do we have green products mostly in accessories that are a product set for the slightly more "well earning" crowd. Fancy bags, Lamps, Swanky home accessories, etc. dont fit into a common man's mind set.
A person earning little also buys his child a bag for school. But he cannot afford 4-5 different bags for a different day. Then why dont we make such utility bags at a lower cost? Its easy to design for the rich and target an affluent audience, but why dont a lot of designers take up the challenge of designing for the average?

No matter how many efforts are being made to promote green living, it brings me back to the idea "Eco-friendly is for the rich". I am forced to think about this idea!

Our society has become so "money driven" that money is as important oxygen. But we miss the point that the increase in the money is not getting us more oxygen. It is probably decreasing it! Sustainability and wealth should never be dependent - atleast not directly proportional.

Role of the media

Media, in my opinion, is one of the strongest and the most influential industries in India and across the globe. There are no two-minds about the fact that it has brought in a lot of awareness in the minds and the mind sets of the people but there are very few who really look into the split side of the powers of the media.

There are just more than a few questions that come to my mind when I watch a news channel or read a newspaper.

Why do I prefer reading only the gossip columns of the newspapers?
With time, I realised that my interest in any form of news gradually decreased. And this was marked by the "Godhra kand". Amidst all the chaos, I was gearing up for my 10th board exams. My exams got postponed and I was so well geared that I got fed up of reading the same syllabus again and again. So I switched to watching some TV. News was pretty much the only things getting aired then - Local or national. I noticed that there was violence shown all the time. Even if nothing big had happened, the news channels would air the same footage again and again through the day to give an impression of high-scale violence. It started making me feel that it was more of staging somethings and feeding violence into a person's mind more than authentic journalism. [By authentic journalism, I mean Journalism that is targeted towards spreading awareness and not violence. It would mean that it is more than just a money making business. A stand that is carefully taken so that you dont convey a biased opinion to your audience]. News eventually started feeling very repulsive. It seemed like it was just a well crafted story rather than an authentic experience/information. Gradually, I started feeling that gossip columns were more real. They did what they were meant to do and did not pretend to be real or authentic. As superficial as they are, they are still just "gossip columns" that are merely a "believe it or not" thing. [That might have gone all over the place, but the subject I was addressing here had a very varied context.]

That brings me to my next question.

Why is our journalism promoting violence and feeding it so deep into people's minds?
May it be the 9-11 footages or footages from the recent catastrophe that struck Japan, I dont really remember seeing a lot of dead bodies. Those were violent images but not smothered with blood. That is what I would call an intelligent piece of information. There are kids who see/follow newspapers/news channels and from an artist's point of view, I firmly believe that you can depict the real picture without being literal.

I have seen a lot of Indian media people covering deadbodies, people smothered in blood, bombed bodies etc. Is that really essential? In order to say that there was an attack that happened, do we really need to cover the body of the person who was stabbed? What is it that media is trying to feed into the viewer's/reader's mind? Is it really the information that they want to convey or are they just trying to feed our minds with sheer violence and a resultant baggage of hatred?

Ah! That was a lot of introspection for now. See ya later :)

Few issues that people may face while writing

As my blog is correctly titled "Dappled Thoughts", you can definitely expect random things coming your way. I have been doing some article correction lately as a little help to a good friend. Reflecting on how things have been in the past couple if days and also on my past experiences of article checking, these are a few things that I feel cause a problem in putting forward good content:

1. Some people tend to do a lot of reading, which is a very good habit I feel. Getting thorough with the topic is a great way to go. But when they need to really reproduce their content out of it, all the information seems to flow out in one go. This causes, what I would call it as, a "brain choke" [the antonym of "brain drain" maybe]. Elaborating on this phenomenon, what happens is that at the very beginning of the article itself, the writer gets overflowed by the info and wants to put everything in the very first part. As a result, the segregation or the sequencing of information doesn't really happen. This, in my opinion, leads to a very cluttered article and also at times, an article that is very poorly punctuated.

2. This brings me to my second point - Poorly sequenced/articulated articles. With the information heavy in the head, the writer some time tends to flaunt all he knows in one article. I am very carefully choosing the word "flaunt" here because I personally feel that a good article about a subject need not essentially cover everything about the topic. It could contain a few bullet points about it but in a way that whatever is conveyed is conveyed very clearly. It is great if you can put across all the information, but not at the cost of the clarity of the subject. Information beyond need or understandability is a mere clutter and leads to the disinterest of the reader.

3. This is an issue which is an extreme end of the first point. At times, one doesn't really have enough information - due to lack of willingness or sources. Either ways, the writer tends to make all the information he has too stretchy. I have read a lot of content that makes me feel like the writer is merely "beating around the bush". After reading an article that feels as long as an eternity, there is almost nothing I gain out of it.

4. Another problem I see people facing is that they don't like to read their own articles. Once they are done with writing, they just want to let it go. That is something that the writers should really see. When you read your own article (i.e. if you do, which I think you should), you should read it twice and from two different points of view. First is from a writer's point of view. Tighten you content and get rid of any errors that might exist. Second is from a reader's point of view. Any product should be reviewed at from a user perspective. This is applicable to articles too.Read your article and see if it really catches your attention. Ask yourself if you are persuaded to look further into the topic you have just written about. This might be a good feedback session for your content.

Well these were just a few points I thought of writing down as they came to me. I shall add in more as and when they strike me.

P.S.: In case that this post is one of the things mentioned about, please pardon me and also, do let me know. Its something that was very impromptu and I was keep on posting it as an almost involuntarily written article and not as finished content.

The design mini-travelogue

In years that have passed, the concept of design in India has evolved greatly. Back in school, design to me was nothing more that something that involves both art and logic. But with a carefree yet confident attitude, I dived into it with a hunch that this was what I was meant to do.
To cut the long story short, I graduated with a much more developed idea of design and with the words of wisdom that said "To say that I was born to do this would be dramatic, but I am happily stuck with it now".

I graduated as a Professional in Product and interface design. The most valuable thing that this field gave me was flexibility and adaptability. A "never to say no to anything" attitude was what became an inherent part of me. So from being a "product" designer and doing bamboo lamps, I switched to doing mobile and software interfaces and now into web interaction/usability and even graphics at times.

But this strange journey has retained my belief and even made it stronger. Design is definitely an exquisite combination of creativity and logic. As a graphic designer, I go crazy on the web layouts and making things fancy and appealing but the usability professional in me tones things down onto a more logical ground to make things more user-friendly.

Prototypes II

Prototypes I

Prototyping:

initially i tried using printed weaves as seen on the top part of the cube. But it proved to be a little misleading in terms of the appearance and effect. so i tried using actual material or something that could simulate similar effect.

form exploration

http://www.genometri.com/pdf/Form_Exploration.pdf

This is a paper on form exploration. some of the things...specially visuals are interesting as they are visual representations of what we call "iterations" and it also talks about a few ways one can explore form.

Although when i started my form exploration, it didnt hit my mind initially that what i was working with i.e. weaves and interesting in themselves, and a simple form might help the user explore the fascinating effects of the weaves and light as opposed to only the over all form.

Adaptation-2

This is a brief charting of how processes need to be changed around according to the context. here i have differentiated the nokia process from the current one.

"Material"-istic

As i go on with my project, i continue to discover how one, as a designer, should be able to adapt to situations. each project, brings in a new range of possibilities, probabilities and problems. it is so essential to evaluate and understand these.

after doing a fair amount of research, when i started my ideation, i started off with form explorations. but as i went on i realized how, as a new-age designer, my thoughts are influenced by the way plastics work. minute flanges, complicated forms etc. started reflecting in my sketches. but then when i looked back at it, i understood that it was a completely different set of materials that my drawings were reflecting.

the beauty of bamboo is the intricate weaves, the varying thicknesses and colour of each strip, the beauty of the "the difference" which i didn't account for. hence, i decided to go back and look into basketry!

"Litracon" - light transmitting concrete

LitraCube Semi-Transparent Concrete Lamp

By Evan Ackerman

The LitraCube lamp is made of four concrete blocks with a lightbulb in the middle. Not the greatest idea for a lamp, you might be thinking… But that’s because you’ve never seen semi-transparent concrete blocks before. Litracon (light transmitting concrete) is normal concrete with thousands of parallel optical fibers embedded into it. The strength of the concrete is unaffected, and the fibers pass light and color straight through the blocks. So, now you can build your very own glass house and throw all the stones you want.

Litracon itself is available as a conventional building material in a variety of colors and fiber patterns (like the layered and organic examples above). Unsurprisingly, the price of this stuff is not for the faint of heart: the cheapest it gets (25mm thick unsealed) will run you $1,000 per square meter… But you can buy the lamp for only $770. Plus shipping from Hungary.

Evan Ackerman. (Unknown). LitraCube Semi-Transparent Concrete Lamp. Available: http://www.ohgizmo.com/2007/08/17/litracube-semi-transparent-concrete-lamp/. Last accessed 29 July 2008.

Adaptation

I feel, the most remarkable and essential thing of a design process is the capability and need to adapt to a situation. When I started my diploma project, my initial thought was to superimpose the nokia design process with the current project. As i went on with the project i realised that its not possible to do a Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V when we talk about design processes. each project need a re-look at the methodology. e.g. Lampshades are not as user centric as a phone. hence, users cant be the center of the process.

The "flat" world

" No one gave me directions like this on a golf course before: "Aim at either Microsoft or IBM." I was standing on the first tee at the KGA Golf Club in downtown Bangalore, in southern India when my playing partner pointed at two shiny glass-and-steel buildings off in the distance, just behind the first green. The Goldman Sachs building wasn't done yet; otherwise he could have pointed that out as well and made it a threesome. HP and Texas Instruments had their offices on the back nine, along the tenth hole. That wasn't all. The tee markers were from Epson, the printer company, and one of our caddies was wearing a hat from 3M. Outside, some of the traffic signs were also sponsored by Texas Instruments, and the Pizza Hut billboard on the way over showed a steaming pizza, under the headline "Gigabites of Taste!"

No, this definitely wasn't Kansas. It didn't even seem like India. Was this the New World, the Old World, or the Next World?...

..."Honey," I confided, "I think the world is flat." "

Thomas Friedman. (2005). While I was sleeping. In: Paul Elie The World is Flat. Unknown ed. Great Britain: Penguin group. 3-4.

Designing Freedom

Designing Freedom
By Poonam Bir Kasturi, Bangalore INDIA

"To summarise the points made against craft –
1. Craft is an old, inefficient way of production
2. Craft is not and should not be an important item on the national agenda
3. Technology is the most important tool we have to “solve” our problems not craft.
4. Craftsmen don’t have a great image of their own work (perhaps of themselves too?) they wouldn’t want their children to work as they do.
5. The best thing to do is to turn it into a tourist attraction – nothing more.
6. Current Indian craft is mostly kitsch, non-utilitarian.
This list highlights a perception shared by a large group of people as well as the policy makers – it seems to be the current construct in India surrounding craft."


"...as Amartya Sen (1999) says, we need to include them:
“An adequate approach of development cannot really be so centered only on those in power. The reach has to be broader, and the need for popular participation is not just sanctimonious rubbish. Indeed, the idea of development cannot be dissociated from it.” "

"I started asking questions like – “Is there a different way for design to engage with craft?” “What can design contribute to craft – apart from just ‘packaged designs’ for others to thoughtlessly reproduce?” "

"Myth 1
“Craftspeople can’t be expected to design contemporary products; they need to link up with someone who has an exposure to the urban and international markets”."

"Myth 2
“Craftspeople need to be trained in skills and new technologies.” "

"Myth 3
We must gear up to increase export – it is finally the best market for Indian Craft (look at our software industry)"

"Myth 4
Craft is antiquated – needs to get in line with the 21sth century"



To read the entire paper, please visit.... http://www.playnspeak.com/finalpaper.pdf


Poonam Bir Kasturi. (Unknown). Designing Freedom. Available: http://www.playnspeak.com/finalpaper.pdf. Last accessed 18 July 2008.

Looking around and observing-I

Hatworks Boulevard, Bangalore

Survey Sampling Methods

Sampling Methods

It is incumbent on the researcher to clearly define the target population. There are no strict rules to follow, and the researcher must rely on logic and judgment. The population is defined in keeping with the objectives of the study.

Sometimes, the entire population will be sufficiently small, and the researcher can include the entire population in the study. This type of research is called a census study because data is gathered on every member of the population.

Usually, the population is too large for the researcher to attempt to survey all of its members. A small, but carefully chosen sample can be used to represent the population. The sample reflects the characteristics of the population from which it is drawn.

Sampling methods are classified as either probability or nonprobability. In probability samples, each member of the population has a known non-zero probability of being selected. Probability methods include random sampling, systematic sampling, and stratified sampling. In nonprobability sampling, members are selected from the population in some nonrandom manner. These include convenience sampling, judgment sampling, quota sampling, and snowball sampling. The advantage of probability sampling is that sampling error can be calculated. Sampling error is the degree to which a sample might differ from the population. When inferring to the population, results are reported plus or minus the sampling error. In nonprobability sampling, the degree to which the sample differs from the population remains unknown.

Random sampling is the purest form of probability sampling. Each member of the population has an equal and known chance of being selected. When there are very large populations, it is often difficult or impossible to identify every member of the population, so the pool of available subjects becomes biased.

Systematic sampling is often used instead of random sampling. It is also called an Nth name selection technique. After the required sample size has been calculated, every Nth record is selected from a list of population members. As long as the list does not contain any hidden order, this sampling method is as good as the random sampling method. Its only advantage over the random sampling technique is simplicity. Systematic sampling is frequently used to select a specified number of records from a computer file.

Stratified sampling is commonly used probability method that is superior to random sampling because it reduces sampling error. A stratum is a subset of the population that share at least one common characteristic. Examples of stratums might be males and females, or managers and non-managers. The researcher first identifies the relevant stratums and their actual representation in the population. Random sampling is then used to select a sufficient number of subjects from each stratum. "Sufficient" refers to a sample size large enough for us to be reasonably confident that the stratum represents the population. Stratified sampling is often used when one or more of the stratums in the population have a low incidence relative to the other stratums.

Convenience sampling is used in exploratory research where the researcher is interested in getting an inexpensive approximation of the truth. As the name implies, the sample is selected because they are convenient. This nonprobability method is often used during preliminary research efforts to get a gross estimate of the results, without incurring the cost or time required to select a random sample.

Judgment sampling is a common nonprobability method. The researcher selects the sample based on judgment. This is usually and extension of convenience sampling. For example, a researcher may decide to draw the entire sample from one "representative" city, even though the population includes all cities. When using this method, the researcher must be confident that the chosen sample is truly representative of the entire population.

Quota sampling is the nonprobability equivalent of stratified sampling. Like stratified sampling, the researcher first identifies the stratums and their proportions as they are represented in the population. Then convenience or judgment sampling is used to select the required number of subjects from each stratum. This differs from stratified sampling, where the stratums are filled by random sampling.

Snowball sampling is a special nonprobability method used when the desired sample characteristic is rare. It may be extremely difficult or cost prohibitive to locate respondents in these situations. Snowball sampling relies on referrals from initial subjects to generate additional subjects. While this technique can dramatically lower search costs, it comes at the expense of introducing bias because the technique itself reduces the likelihood that the sample will represent a good cross section from the population.

Anon. (1997). Survey sampling methods. Available: http://www.statpac.com/surveys/sampling.htm. Last accessed 15 July 2008.

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About the diploma project

The Design Brief:

To Design a range of lampshades made out of Bamboo [weaves] for architectural decor.

Why this project?

During a crafts workshop at Bhubaneshwar, I tried coming up with products that used the material and the technique of the craft, but broke away completely from the traditional feel of it. Honestly, I was quite thrilled about the things I had done there. when i started digging deeper into the field of design and crafts, i realised that this was not the only way i could go about working with this sector. during my internship, i realised that the intrinsic worth of the craft was not only the material and technique but also the tradition that backed the craft. hence, i wanted to do something where i could use tradition as the base to create contemporary products. also, i wanted to develop a craft product using a comprehensive process as i felt that a methodical and an organised approach was something that might help creating traditional yet contemporary products for today's market. i saw this project as an opportunity to deal with these notions/myths i had.

Why lampshades for architectural decor?

With the advent of globalization, certain monotony has crept into architectural spaces¹. In order to break away from the monotony, people are going back to their roots and trying to revive their cultural identity. We can look at the need for cultural identity as an advanced design trend, as a post-modern expression. Even if we try to bring about the cultural identity with industrial products, the large numbers will again bring us back to the basic problem of stagnation. This problem can be tackled very well with craft products as it has a benefit of producing larger variety in comparatively smaller numbers.

And when we talk about spaces, light plays a very essential role in creating both-spaces and atmosphere. Light is a very interesting medium to explore spaces. With the emerging need for cultural identity, luminaries can be a great entry point for craft products in today’s market.

^{1 When I look around, there are so many buildings, IT parks etc. coming up that eventually look the same. They are either large glass-clad buildings, buildings that look like oversized ventilators, or something that looks palatial. In his book” The World is flat”, Thomas Friedman has mentioned how every place has started looking the same. One can observe pockets of America in India and pockets of India in America. With globalization and international standards to be met, architectural spaces, especially multi-storeys that compete with each other to reach the sky, lack a variety/newness more often than not.}

In admiration of nature

Today was marked by a very unusual incident. In four years of staying in Bangalore, today was the first time I heard a Koyal here. It was so refreshing and pleasant to hear it sing 4.30 in the morning, I forgot about pretty much everything I should have been thinking about. For an instance I even forgot today was the 7th, the day to submit my final diploma proposal.

I thought this was the best way to start my blog. You need not always get straight to the point right!