Indian economy this week woke up to the announcement of a newly designed symbol for our currency the “ Indian Rupee” also written as INR or Rs internationally.
The arrival of the Indian designer cannot be conveyed more symbolically to the world that is watching an amazing Indian economic growth story unfold. The design of the symbol itself had its usual share of controversies. The government announced a design competition a year ago and has been dragging its feet on deciding on the final design. It put up a list of 5 finalists, which was panned by the design community. But, good sense prevailed and an appropriate symbol was chosen that has been designed by Mr D Udaya Kumar, a
designer from Industrial Design Centre, Mumbai.
The IT prowess for which India is world-famous, quickly got its act together and there is now a free download of the symbol for your computer is available here, courtesy an IT company Foradian.
India had more design-related events of international importance last week.
An international design magazine
POOL was successfully launched that showcases the designers, their projects and their process, filling a long-felt gap. POOL is a modest effort by an Indian design firm that has felt the need for publishing Indian design work for the world to see and appreciate. It is available for a first look
here and one can subscribe to the magazine as well. This will definitely kick-start putting India on the international design map.

Pool
Another symbolically historic moment last week was the first anniversary of the launch of the world’s cheapest car, the
TATA NANO. Those of you who have still not heard of the car can see the piece on the car below.
Priced at Aus$ 3590, (Rs 140,000/=) the car has defiantly made inroads into the country. It has withstood criticism and has gone to becoming the 2nd best in the compact car category on the country. Besides being the world’s cheapest car the TATA NANO has also contributed to a new term to the design lexicon: frugal engineering, the process which helped them achieve the price points.
But what really got the blogosphere rocking in India and elsewhere is the questions posed by Bruce Nussbaum in his
blog: ” Is humanitarian design the new imperialism?’
Bruce Nussbaum put the designers from the West on notice by calling their so-called humanitarian design as the New Imperialism. His thoughts provoked everyone alike and the design community in India reported it with gusto. The blog raises a very pertinent question:
Might Indian, Brazilian and African designers have important design lessons to teach Western designers?
I think the question is very valid and several designers in India, I know agree that humanitarian design can only happen in India when the local designers are involved in leadership roles. And the traditional methods of design and production can easily teach a thing or two to the incoming designers. It is not the Tata Nano alone that needs appreciation.
Take a look at this ingenious indigenous l
ife-jacket that can safe precious lives in India and is made using recycled plastic Coke and other PET bottles. It is not a one-off ingenuinity. It is a way of life in India to use discarded materials for up-cycling.
India and the Indian design community have a lot to tell. Now is a good time for designers from the other countries to listen.
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