4-YEAR UG Professional Program
Industrial Arts and Design Practices
Course Overview
How can we design solutions that benefit people, environments, and creative expression as we shift towards planet-centric design? How can we create sustainable products and systems by mimicking ecologically sound natural ecosystems? How can we adopt traditional practices for a become cyclic and regenerative future? The Industrial Arts and Design Practice course focuses on “making” as a way of thinking, providing hands-on experience to develop an enduring understanding of processes, intuition and sensitivity. Through access to workshops for electronics, laser cutting, 3D printing, weaving, printing, wood, and metal work, you will discover your creative identity and develop as an interdisciplinary artist or designer. Upon completion, potential careers include creative manufacturing, design studios, R&D departments, NGOs, and social enterprises, or further education in related fields.
Vision
Navigating Design Practices across Textile, Furniture, and Product Design:
How do we set priorities in design? Do we design for people, the market, the environment, or to express our creative selves? Today, as we shift towards planet-centric design, we must question our practices to become more inclusive, sustainable, and beneficial to the larger world. While immediate problem-solving is important, designers need to consider the long-term impact on both humans and the natural world.
In nature, form and structure coexist in the most elegant and harmonious ways. As designers of man-made objects—both tangible and intangible—can we mimic such ecologically prudent ecosystems that are cyclic and regenerative? As responsible designers, it is crucial to begin using limited resources in frugal and efficient ways, rather than designing for the sake of novelty alone.
Design connects every aspect—how things are made, who makes them, how they are used, and what happens when they are discarded. It is about creating better futures by integrating the wisdom of the past with the technologies of the future. India’s rich tradition of craft and frugal practices offers valuable lessons for sustainable design, while emerging technologies like 3D printing are transforming the way we create, making design more accessible and imaginative. Tomorrow’s designers must adapt by acquiring new skills, experimenting with materials old and new, and thinking critically. Our course emphasizes “making” as a core approach to learning and problem-solving.
In the Industrial Arts and Design Practices course, making becomes a bridge between thought and emotion. Hands-on creation nurtures a deep understanding of design processes, encouraging intuition and sensitivity, which are essential for meaningful design practice.
In this course, students have the unique opportunity to navigate fluidly between disciplines such as Textile Design, Furniture Design, and Product Design. For instance, they may explore how to design eco-friendly textiles that are both aesthetically pleasing and sustainable, create ergonomic furniture that enhances human well-being, or develop products that simplify everyday tasks while reducing environmental footprints. This multi-disciplinary approach not only facilitates hands-on learning but also encourages students to find their unique position within the maker space.
As practitioners, each of us can discover our individual role within the creative sphere, whether contributing to handcrafted contemporary artifacts, or enhancing the value of mass-produced objects. This course is designed to help you explore what kind of creative individual you are and facilitate your personal development as an art and design practitioner.
LEVEL
Undergraduate Degree
AWARD
Bachelors of Design (B.Des)
DURATION
4 Years / Full-time
Course Structure
The curriculum comprises of different ways of learning as follows:
- Foundation introduces students to basic principles and tools of Art, Design and Technology as methods, tools and processes.
READ MORE - Disciplinary Studios are learning spaces where students develop core disciplinary capabilities, while navigating a trans-disciplinary environment
- General Studies is a common and compulsory programme of study that integrates Humanities, Sciences, Maths, business and finance. Development and Policy Studies and also offers Languages (Spanish, French and German)
READ MORE - Interim is an immersive introduction to practice in new and emerging areas of art and design and environmental exposure
- Electives are of three kinds – this program allows students to expand their skills, develop the interests as well as provide opportunities for travel exchange
- Internship/Apprenticeship is compulsory work experience done over the summer-break between the 6th and 7th semester
- Project based learning involves the application and synthesis of capabilities acquired. Two projects, pre-thesis and thesis, is culmination of the 4-year undergraduate program, which allows for demonstration of an integration of values, positions, capabilities and practice.
READ MORE
Learning Approach
The learning approach for the Industrial Arts and Design Practice (IADP) course is all about hands-on making and craft as a context for understanding design futures. You will learn by managing materials, exploring and innovating, and making connections between the past, present, and future to discover new potential. This course combines craft and technology to help you synthesize and realize concepts through visualization and translation from a stakeholder’s perspective. You will develop proficiency in working with specific materials and processes and the ability to create frameworks through contemporary ways of perceiving the art and design worlds. The IADP course does not prioritize teaching software skills. However, you will have the opportunity to learn relevant software, such as Adobe Suite and Microsoft Office, on your own. In addition, specialized software like the AutoCAD suite will be introduced in workshops during the course.
Capabilities
Upon successful completion of this course graduates will have developed the following capabilities:
Working with Material
- Acquire a proficiency in working with specific materials and processes, as well as explore a wide range
- Understand and use technologies from the traditional, contemporary to futuristic
- Play and innovate with new materials and technologies to make new connections
- Develop curiosity and respect for material, processes and people
Learning through Making
- Be proficient in using the design process and creative thinking skills and tools- research methods, tools for analysis, ideating, prototyping, testing and validating
- Be proficient in expression through drawing and prototyping
- Explore and experiment in a hands-on manner with materials, processes and techniques in order to develop understanding appropriate and sustainable uses
- Use Making as a conceptual thinking tool for envisioning and translating abstractions into tangible forms
Manage Complexity
- Develop an ability to detail, plan and manage – materials and resources to arrive at a final finished outcome
- Understand the Impact of one’s practice through different lens – Experimentation, Humanity, and Business leading to positioning of one’s practice in a larger framework
- Develop an ability to create frameworks through Making and Reflective response with art, craft and design techniques, processes, and contemporary ways of perceiving art and design worlds.
FAQs
Industrial Arts and Design Practice (IADP) is an approach to design solutions that benefit people, environments, and creative expression, and create sustainable products and systems through hands-on making and learning about craft and technology.
This course is suitable for individuals who are interested in learning about creating sustainable products and systems to develop their creative identity and skills as interdisciplinary artists or designers and enjoy tangible making to explore the intersection of craft, design, and technology.
The above capability sets equip and prepare the student for a wide range of career opportunities with:
- Creative Manufacturing Sectors – Engaging with artisans and craft units at a small and medium scale and become part of the growing global phenomenon of the Maker movement
- New Product Envisioning and Design studios, R&D departments – Disseminating creative energies as a team player in small & large industries, and multinational corporations
- Grass root development organizations, NGOs & Social Enterprises – Bringing in a breath of fresh air and a new perspective to the conventional through a blend of creative, technical and business acumen
- Start-ups, small and medium enterprises – Propositioning as a contemporary craft practitioner, entrepreneur, design consultant
- Emerging and Trans-disciplinary Domains – Merchandising and Strategic Product Planning in Retail, UI & UX in e-commerce for the transactions of the future