Designing for ‘Yesterday’

 The year was 1997. I’d blame it on youth.  I have a vague recollection of being a frustrated Industrial Designer – evangelistic, passionate and vocal – struggling to make my Indian clients see the light. Internet was still in its early days and Industrial Design wasn’t even a notion. The following article found its way into a glossy that nobody read – they just bought an odd copy to display on coffee tables for status value. Let me know what you think.

Low-cost food warmer

  “It is never too early to employ design – almost always too late.  Design should be used to create the spark and not to fight the fire.  It is also important for designers today to recognize that people are now more educated about design and quality.”

Designing for Yesterday (1997)

( A tossed salad of roles, experiences, ethics and goals.)
      “… for them that can think with the heart!”

Client:“… so that’s settled then.  We hope you can work out something that’s    really different and looks like a SONY …” 

Designer:( looking slightly puzzled) “Sure!  But you haven’t yet told me when you want all this.”

Client:(smiling) “YESTERDAY, of course ..!!”

When you first hear something like this, you can be quite amused.  It’s funny!  But somewhere underneath, it’s very profound.  It reflects a culture – a particular way of wanting things to happen. 

We always seem in a hurry of the tearing variety.  Design time is invariably difficult to accommodate due to  “market pressures”.  Or because design came as an afterthought.  Therefore, YESTERDAY ?!! 
It’s like saying that it should not matter much whether the salt is in the dish or consumed separately while eating.

Many “packaged” collaborations have been observed to “pick” product models that are already obsolete in their countries of origin.  Their moulds are cheaper (read — free to the seller) and the Indian consumer will still be delighted with the “new” option (read — has no choice). 
Therefore YESTERDAY ?!!
It’s like going to a mediocre hotel to eat stale food at prevailing five-star prices.