School of Design conducted the inaugural Design Day on 19th November 2016. Various design workshops were conducted by experts in the field of Animation Design, Design by Subtraction and Upcycling of Products, Kinetic Sculptures, Pottery Design and Designing Music from unconventional means. Design students from Graphic Era University & Petroleum University took part in the event along with Students from Manav Bharti School, Pestle Weed College, Children's Academy, Spring Hills and DAV School. The event was followed by an exhibition of student work and a Design Haat.
The event was inaugurated by Prof Tapan Sahu, an eminent architect and urban planner, formerly the Dean of Education at Sushant School of Architecture. He spoke on Design education and how we are all born designers with an element of design in everything we do! The Vice Chancellor Prof V.K.Jain in his address to the gathering mentioned the importance of design education in today's world. He explained Doon University's commitment towards excellence in providing the best possible exposure to the students of Design. The event was held to celebrate the width and scope of Design as a discipline and to help spread awareness of the potential of Design amongst school and university students in Dehradun. This was the first such event being held in the field of Design in Dehradun that brings all current and potential Design students together in a creative environment.
Animation Design: The workshop delved into classical stop motion animation. Usage of camera and the process involved in creating a stop motion animation was the focus of workshop. The students made a small animation film where they created a stop motion film starring twenty other students in 3 hours flat.
Pottery Workshop: This was aimed at introducing students to the potters wheel and create unique products out of clay. The workshop also aimed at breaking the notion that use of clay is restricted to making pots. Experimenting with clay as a material was encouraged to study it's properties and evaluate it as a material for possible products.
Kinetic Sculpture: The workshop witnessed usage of scrap material to create a gyroscope that runs completely on wind power. Students were introduced to the application of concepts of physics in design. They explored the close interrelation of applied science with principles of design and how the scope of the subject extends to many spheres of our lives which otherwise remains unnoticed.
Design by Subtraction: The impact of minimalism and how reduction is an effective way of creating usable products was explored in this workshop. In the age where excessive consumerism has depleted the earth of her resources, upcycling and recycling is the path that needs to be explored in a much larger scale. Creating consciousness about the benefits of upcycled products remained the main focus of this workshop.
Designing Music: With the aim "To design is to create" the workshop of designing music was conducted by the Dehradun Drum Circle. Designing music from scrap materials available in the university campus was aimed at. The students were sent foraging for locally available materials which they would be using in creating music. The workshop witnessed enthusiast participation from people of all ages and resulted in a scintillating performance that kicked off the entire event.
A one week long sketching workshop specially organized to give students an exposure to sketching the human anatomy in proportion. The workshop was conducted by a distunguidhed artist who runs his own studio and teaching academy in Dehradun, Retd. Lt. Col. V.K.Dougall. It was an intensive workshop with remarkable output in both quantity and quality of sketches. Sketching in an environment of art and art studies help the students imbibe a passion and lasting interest in sketching.
The first batch of School of Design students put up an exhibition of their work for other students, parents and all those who want to understand Design. Design is often confused with fashion or printing generally. The School of Design aims to impart design education in the pure sense. The exhibition helped prospective students, parents and students from other disciplines understand the hard work that goes into establishing the basics of design education. Creative aptitude of students is built into thinking and executing skills by experienced faculty from premier institutions in India. The students were guided in their efforts by School of Design faculty members Sanjay Bhatnagar & Dhriti Dhaundiyal, both alumni of National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. The exhibition was titled 'Learning Design'. The work was widely appreciated by the community and people from all walks of life were able to take a deeper look into the makings of future designers. Courses displayed included Design Sketching, Analytical Drawing, Geometry, Materials, Workshop Skills, Design Anthropology and Form Studies. Students were able to gauge their wide growth over the past year at a glance.
In celebration of Constitution day, the School of Design exhibited two rare books, one on the Freedom Struggle of India and an early copy of the Constitution of India for the entire Doon University community. Students of all schools were hosted by students of Design as they looked at these rare tomes in person and were apprised on the correct way of handling them
The students of School of Design were taken to the beautiful grounds of the Uttarakhand Raj Bhawan for a workshop on sketching bonsai plants. It was on the occasion of Basantotsava so they also had the opportunity to study organic products and handicraft design while interacting with the artisans making them directly. There is a rich representation of the cultural and craft heritage of Uttarakhand at the Basantotsava every year and this year we turned it into a comprehensive learning exercise for the students, along with live design sketching.
Mr. Saurabh Verma of Veloces Inc introduced the students to the Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) World Championship, which is a global competition which tests students' design skills using AdobePhotoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. Top students are invited to represent their respective countries at the world championship where they will create a designated design project for Certiport's chosen nonprofit client. In some countries or regions, students are required to participate in a National Championship, and the winners of that event continue on to the World Championship. He spoke to them about software as a tool and its role in career development and independent enterprise.
Wacom Inc, Japan conducted a day long sensitization and digital sketching workshop for the students where they were introduced to the digital sketching tablet. Expert digital artist Mayank Gurung demonstrated techniques and toold of digital sketching with a stylus that can imitate the detailing of sketching with a pencil due to the multi-pressure sensitivity that it has built in.
Rajpur festival is a haven of multiculturalism hosting people of different ethnicities and countries which makes it a perfect place to study , observe and record similarities and differences of people. The exercise aims at introducing students to make observations based on physical traits of humans. Students were required to observe physical characteristics, facial features, skin colour and type and other observable differences in the people who attended the festival.
The Product Design students visited the nearby industrial area to view and participate in demonstration of industrial machinery like milling machines, metal lathes, gear cutting machinery etc. This exposure is crucial for future industry practitioners who need to be aware of material processes in order to design for manufacture.
Students and faculty from School of Design have initiated a fortnightly Film Club that organises movie screenings with a view to expand cinematic exposure. Based on the theme selected, we invite students and faculty from other schools like Languages and the Sciences.
The Product Design students visited the Lakad Mandi in Dehradun to gain firsthand knowledge of wood sorting and processing. It is very crucial to understand variations and variety when working with natural materials that cannot be standardized.
