Speaker Prof. Dr. Anant M. Chakradeo
Pro Vice Chancellor
MIT, ART, DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY
MITID had a very interesting webinar on Friday 26th November where Prof. Dr. Anant Chakradeo answered some important questions about the field of design as a career and also discussed some of the career opportunities of the design industry today and possible in the future.
Some of the questions discussed are
Prof. Dr. Anant M. Chradeo guided that there are 3 main things to consider while choosing a design institute which are
⦁ Legacy
⦁ Location
⦁ Fees
The legacy of the institute covers the history, institute philosophy of design training and experience of the teachers.
The location is important as some students want to study at certain locations and this is one criteria of shortlisting a design institute
The Fees of course is an important deciding factor. Certain institutes also offer some scholarships.
Speaking about the MITID Legacy Prof. Dr. Anant Chakradeo mentioned that the institute started in 1983 with Engineering and a batch of 183 students of engineering. The MITID Institute of Design was founded in 2006.
Today the MITID group has 4 universities and10 campuses, many schools and colleges across Maharashtra and India.
Prof. Chakradeo highlighted that since MITID was started by Visionary professors and faculty members from various disciplines they were passionate about their teaching their respective subjects and have hence the strong institute which it is today.
Prof. Dr. Anant Chradeo mentioned that there are many reports available on this topic. There are reports from Mascon and CII. However he highlighted that what is important is that you Name industry and you will see that there is design requirement there. Even very technical industries like thermal plants need design. He said that whilst an Engineers can go into manufacturing industry a Designer can have a variety of career paths from starting a photo studio to working for a big brand or starting their own start up or working with and MNC’s office.
He said that All multinationals have their own design studios. Then there are Standalone small set up design firms which also offer roles to designers.
Those that are capable designers have a great opportunity.
He mentioned that Design is a profession of practice like a doctor’s profession is a profession of practice.
He said that Design is a serious profession where you need to perform everyday.
Hence he said it is important you Not just join design because you thin it is something to do but join it only if you have the passion for the field and are ready to put in the work for the same.
It was discussed that there are not many overall active India Design Councils covering all the streams of design as for example there is a Chartered Architects Association.
If it comes into place they can create guidelines.
Prof. Dr. Anant Chakradeo mentioned that In another 5 years time we need to have a strong policy. We need to be more visible as a country
Prof. Dr. Anant Chakradeo mentioned that there are 3 levels of opportunity for graduating designers
⦁ Work for Multinationals
⦁ Work for Medium scale organisation
⦁ Work with Small studios that service multiple organisations for their various design related needs.
Prof. Dr. Anant Chakradeo mentioned that in terms of remuneration it is different for different disciplines. As of now the most well paid jobs within design at the starting level are in UX / UI (User Experience / User Interface) Design. This is because the UI / UX designers are being employed by leading IT firms. This demand for UI / UX designers is also because there has been a steep increase in digitisation and e commerce in the last few years and design plays a very important role in consumer experience and hence conversions and sales of brands that are digitally present.
He also mentioned that every designer has a potential. Sometimes the same person an Interior designer with a small architectural studio has a relatively smaller salary as compared to the same interior designer when he or she works for a large Multinational corporation like IKEA.
He mentioned that even within a design disciple there could be a tremendous difference in salary structure.
He mentioned that the Average salary package of a design graduate of MITID is Rupees 6 lakhs per annum and the highest package received by a student of design recently was Rupees 22 lakhs per annum.
A Designer can be a designer or a design strategist or a planner and basically a problem solver.
Today’s scenario of scope is this but then tomorrows jobs can be different. Hence a Designer needs to be trained as a problem solver a student. This is how MITID trains their students.
Prof. Dr. Anant Chradeo also mentioned that a Designer needs to be a multitasker. He or she needs to be Aware of many things within their design field and be a master of two or three.
He mentioned that the Difference in salary packages in engineering and design is that in engineering there is a steady growth seen but in design if u can prove yourself that as a designer you are adding value to the business then you can have a further fast rise. In design after 5 years of working you can be called Senior designer
Earlier product design interior design was most sought after as a design course. Now UX / UI design is one of the most sought after fields. Within that earlier UI design was most sought after and considered upcoming and now the focus and demand and higher salary packages are for UX or User Experience Design. This is because digitally with so many websites it is the user experience that is differentiating one brand or one platform from the other, contributing to customer loyalty and eventually sales.
Going ahead there are many experiences that are being covered by design. Eg. Even now the ticketing experience.
Hence for Experience design a larger umbrella is getting created which covers omnichannel and the smooth flow across touchpoints from online to offline.
Service design is another area which is upcoming
Immersion media web series like Netflix other OTT Platforms are covering a large market. Who will design for that. Immersive media designers are important here.
Another important upcoming field is Mobile experience design. Today the screen is getting smaller. The mobile is where most of the content is being consumed hence designers are needs to make that experience so that the brand or platform they are working for can command some of the consumers attention span. Different design is needed for different screens. This takes a lot of time however it is important to get the users attention.
Another upcoming design field is that of Augmented reality or Virtual reality
Overall New avenues opening up
New technologies are constantly evolving within design.
Students of design need to Welcome those changes, then only they can survive in the times ahead. One can say that design is a Highly dynamic field.
Prof. Dr. Anant Chakradeo gave a Hope statement on mobile content design.
He said that It’s about the human attention span which is sometimes 1 minute and now reducing to 30 seconds, 15 seconds and even under that.
Hence this is an important skill on what can u communicate in that time span. Users scroll fast which creates more challenges to designers. Hence those designers that can communicate well within the attention span do well.
Prof. Dr. anant Chakradeo guided that there are 2 aspects of Game Design
⦁ Creative
⦁ Technical
Designers are generally trained for the creative part.
The Types of games range from toy to a digital game
As a discipline gaming is gaining more importance and digital gaming is an offshoot of the overall gaming industry.
He mentioned that at MITID they try to cover both the creative and the technical aspects of Gaming Design in their Gaming Design Programme.
The moderator asked Prof. Dr. Anant Chakradeo – “Do u play games ?” to which he said, “Yes I do.”
He mentioned that as of now in India international games designed outside India are mainly the games that are being played but there is a huge scope for India developed games.
Prof. Dr. Anant Chakradeo guided that Automation design covers the overall topic and the softer aspects whereas Transport design covers the actual design of a transport. He said that both together cover the following steps.
⦁ User study
⦁ Design
⦁ Digital modelling
⦁ Actual modelling
⦁ Prototype building
⦁ Batch processing
Till this step designers have roles which means also within this roles could be from prototyping to testing to styling
Here Prof. Dr. Anant Chakradeo mentioned the Shelby Cobra 427 program. MITID has an automotive program within which they work with SIAM.
They suggested to make a lab for automotive clay sculpting and overall automotive sculpting from digital to actual prototyping. This was the Shelby Cobra project which was done to give the students the actual experience of this process.
Link to the same https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0zvSQZORCI
Drawing has a Lot of importance in design as not only is sketching needed as a skill but it is a medium for visualization.
We need to look at it not only as a skill but beyond that as sketching is a designer’s language. This skill of sketching as a designers language could be physical sketching with a pen or pencil or digital sketching whatever the designer finds more convenient at a certain time however the skill of sketching is important.
Eg If you are going to write an impactful paragraph then you need to know the lauguage and words. Similarly what is written in the paragraph that can be understood as a few sketches through a designer.
Every corporation should have a Design team. There should be a design ministry at state level or country leval. Countries like Finland have those ministries. They have seen the differences through design leadership for problem solving.
Prof. Dr. Anant Chakradeo guided that If u want to study design and are sure of it then join it at the UG or Undergraduate level.
If u r not sure of design as a career or the opportunities within the design industry or your parents are not sure of it then think about it. Specially in India many relatives get involved in deciding the career choices of students.
He guided that if any confusion in terms of the decision to join and study design then join any other program of your choice and then take the time to decide.
He did mention that is has been generally seen that the better results are seen when you start learning design at the UG or Undergraduate level. He mentioned this is because as u go along you gather baggage. So start early if you are sure and passionate about design as a career.
Intellectual oroperty and design are inseparable and parts of the same.
If you feel something you have designed is different then immediately go for registration. When someone comes and buys that design or Intellectual Property is when you will realize that importance of registering that design or applying for that patent.
For further information on the MITID University overall and courses offered please visit https://www.mitid.edu.in.