How Design can help you pursue your passion and craft a better future

Manisha Mohan

The adjectives often associated with creative people are passionate, imaginative, experimental and realistic dreamers. You may consider yourself as an inventive or artistic person if you are full of ideas, innovation and energy, yet disciplined and focused.

With new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) permeating our lives much more than ever before, there is a rise in the need for designers across industries to humanise technology and make it more intuitive and aligned to users’ needs. Designers are breaking the glass ceiling and entering the strategy teams of companies and also driving business success through Design Thinking.

There is a variety of options for a creative person. By applying your creativity, you can either build products, apps, games or reinvent the aesthetics of a particular space, object or product.

With the rise of ecommerce platforms, mobile apps and various other digital media, customer experience becomes of utmost importance. UI designing and graphic designing are fields which never go out of fashion and are even more in demand today with every brand trying to outdo the other by offering engaging websites and apps.

Current market trends also show a surge in careers in luxury space designing and transportation and mobility designing which has a plethora of options that a student can choose, from a transport designer to clay model prototype expert to a car accessory designer etc.

Hence, if you are interested in a career that will provide stability and a great payroll while also harnessing your creative talent, Design is an excellent choice!  Its important to choose the right stream of Design so that you make the most of your passion and talent.

Given the current market scenario, here is a list of specializations, available in India that students can look at which is relevant and high in demand.

Interaction Designer: According to NASSCOM, India ranks third in the global start-up ecosystem, a clear indicator of the budding business ventures and new disruptive technology based innovations. With the growth in the number of apps flooding the market, there is a need to make them more user-friendly. This is why Interaction (User Experience) Designing in India is rapidly gaining immense prominence. Through interaction design one can create products/services that enable the customer to achieve their objectives while also ensuring a memorable user experience.

Courses: BDes and MDes in User Experience and Interaction Design

Graphic Designers: The first thing that grabs a customer’s attention is the visual appeal of the product. Customers look at the product and make up their minds even before actually buying it. In fact, it is the packaging and the look that differentiates one brand from the other. Therefore, one can conclude that the design of the company’s collateral and its product packaging determines whom the company wants to cater to and who is willing to associate themselves with that brand.  Almost every consumer based organisation including publishing sector, retail, advertising, manufacturing units etc. is in need for good graphic designers.

Courses: BDes in Graphics and Communication Design

Game Designers: The gaming industry is an equally competitive market to be in and there is a growing demand for game designers.

According to a report by IFSG and KPMG on ‘The Evolving Landscape of Sports Gaming in India’, the gaming industry is expected to grow at Rs 118.8 billion in India by FY 2023. Game designers work as part of a bigger team to create video games and their key responsibility is to come up with the game concepts, tone, story, characters and game play. Designers must also create the interactive language and vision for the game.

Courses: BDes. Game Design or BDes Animation and VFX Design

Interiors and Retail Space Designer: With India gaining prominence for development and an ultimate destination for attracting new businesses, there is a mushrooming of high-end stores. Today, malls are equally feasible for people belonging to every strata of the economy defying the apparent theory of it being a recreation space for the rich.

Courtesy, this economic upswing and booming construction has generated the increasing need for interior and spatial designers’. Interior and spatial designers are involved in the design or renovation of internal spaces, including structural alterations, furnishings, fixtures and fittings, lighting and colour schemes.

Courses: BDes in Interior and Retail Spaces Design

Transportation and Mobility Designer: Transportation and Mobility Design is a field that is concerned with the design of any form of mobility including two wheelers, cars, buses, trains, yatchs.   Generally known as the process of developing the aesthetics, comfort, functionality and user experience of the  vehicle. the field is attracting huge interest with talented designers in demand.

Courses: BDes and MDes in Transportation and Mobility Design

— The writer is Dean, School of Design, UPES, Dehradun