250 designers ignite the Pune Design Festival 2024
The Association of Designers of India (ADI) hosts the 18th edition of Pune Design Fest at the Hyatt Regency on 1 March, 2024. The two-day event witnesses design professionals and aspiring design students across India
01 Mar 2024 | By Disha Chakraborty
PDF 2024 witnesses more than 250 delegates
Design is considered to be a deliberate dance of contrasts and thoughtful examination. PDF 2024 was themed as ‘Versus.’ that embraces this very essence.
This theme brought up discussions, debates, case studies and workshops that showcases the insights from changing times for a better tomorrow.
The two-day show hosted more than 250 designers across various streams like product, packaging, fashion, interior, narrative, graphic and communications and many more gathered to understand and discuss the trends and challenges they face and facilitate growth in the industry.
Predicting versus designing disruption
(l-r) Matt Wallaert and Sachin Behere
Everything about designing, when I say everything I mean in depth topics such as behavioural science applications into design and innovation have been discussed. Matt Wallaert, behavioural scientist and founder of BeSci.org leaked some tricks to apply behavioural science to practical problems for obtaining a reasonable solution.
Sachin Behere, strategic experience design consultant, shared his experience while working on multiple design projects across four continents. He said, “I have observed more similarities than differences when it comes to humans, behavioural patterns, problems faced and design solutions to address all of the discomforts.”
Navigating paradoxes in design
Behere introduced his strategy experience design concepts, focusing on three intriguing paradoxes:
- When everyone has the answers, except the designers
When the decision makers have already decided what kind of a solution they are looking for and designers are only the mediators to address these issues and help the client obtain the desired solution - When you innovate without innovation
This usually happens when you know the concept and bring the concepts together and build something new. The new product is still new but the bas (or the concept) is pre-existing - When parallel line don’t meet
Ironically, a few pairs should go parallel like business and strategy, consumer and function, government and policies. It would be difficult if these parallel lines happen to intersect at any given point.
Empathy and innovation
The agenda was to focus and highlight the women in the industry and the work they do. One will wonder what sustainability would look like under a new light.
(l-r) Amita Despande, Kadambari Misra and Upasana Roy
Kadambari Misra, co-founder and creative principal at Eternative Design-a Bengaluru-based multidisciplinary design firm empathised with the historic women leaders and makes sure that their personality persists in some or the other design perspective. She moderates The Iconic Women Podcast. In every episode, she makes conversations revolve around the journey and smartness women in the industry have showcased. At the end, she styles the lady with a resonating women leader in the past.
Upasana Roy, multidisciplinary designer and founder, Switch Studio showcased more than 10 of her live designs that Netflix and other OTT platforms have recognised.
Amita Despande, founder of Recharkha redefined the 3R mantra in her own way: Refuse- Reduce-Reuse-Repair-Recycle/Upcycle. What we could not ignore was her handbag that she and her team made by upcycling plastic waste.
Understanding sustainability through packaging
Day one was a combination of speaker sessions, workshops and forums. From a spread of four workshops and two forums, we definitely had to choose the workshop themed ‘Understanding sustainability through packaging’ for our own WhatPackaging? readers.
The session was conducted by Khushboo Gandhi of Go Do Good, a Pune-based start up that innovates materials, inks, coatings, adhesives and ancillary packaging materials.
In this interactive session, more than 50 attendees were given various substrates that cause some harm to the environment. Each one identified and tried rectifying the very own substrate. She made the audience look at the substrate through the material science perspective and not the product perspective.
The delegates look forward to day two of PDF with a room filled with enthusiastic delegates and tightly curated sessions, we will keep you posted.