The Life of a Pencil

REbalance - Koyal Raheja

Follow the "Arrows"

I have tried to capture the processes -REfuse,REduce,REuse,REcycle.This is the first attempt.

Magnitude and direction

Projects and Members

Space :KOYAL RAHEJA, AAYUSHI SATYA, ADIBA MUZAFFAR, SASHA GUPTA

Material :MEDHA GUPTA,NICOLAI NAZARETH, ISHAN GUPTA

Food & Transport: DEVIKA DUTT, KOSHY BRAHMATMAJ

Logo attempt 2

Stamp

This is meant to be a quality check stamp to be put on the bottom right corner of all the documents as a mark of certification citing that it meets the criteria stated.

                         - First Version

                           - Basic Iteration

These is the basic iteration and the first version

I would appreciate feedback so I can change it accordingly

Day 2 class discussion

GreeneRRRRy Part 2

This is the modified version of the logo, according to the feedback received. Please critique it!

Iterations: Logo

Give me feedback so I can modify it. :)

Refuse-Reduce-Reuse-Recycle the philosophy of jugaad

As an essential prerequisite to human existence, India since time immemorial has been discoursing about sanctity of the “being”-the conscious awareness. It identifies an individual among a greater cosmic existence as an interdependent liberty. It does not separate individual from nature and vice versa as it is evident from the four Mahavakyas; the foundations of Indian schools of philosophy

1.     PRAJNANAM BRAHMA – “ CONSCIOUSNESS IS BRAHMAN” (AITRAREYA UPANISHASH )

2.     AYAM ATMA BRAHMA – “ THE SELF IS BRAHMAN” ( MANDUKYA UPANISHAD)

3.     TAT TVAM ASI – “THOU ART THAT” ( CHANDOGYA UPANISHAD)

4.     AHAM BRAHMASMI – “I AM BRAHMAN” (BRAHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD)

In broader terms it says that creator at any point is not separate from the consequences of the created and what presumably separates one from the other is only the ignorance. This highlights the responsibility of a creator for his creation and its consequence.

This also simplifies to a great extend the social construct of Indian society who tries to find a sane connection to anything and everything surround their life.  It seeks permission from the tree, and the birds live in its branch before it being cut. It does not glaze the pottery for the fear of not going back to nature.  It does not consider single possibility for an outcome or a product; it tries to find alternate use to extend its life span.  It finds creative ways of recycling things and thinking in “ jugad ways” to re-contextualize things and thinking where coffee powder and Horlicks is marketed in storage containers!

 It certainly doesn’t discount the profit and production but as we have no other space other than our limited earth to sustain our life and for the generations to come, it calls for an approach that is more realistically practical –upholding the sanctity of interdependence and values to sustain it.

At the onset of 21^st century, when the world is trying to come in terms with climatic changes, exhausting resources, mounding solid, chemical and other wastes, depleting energy sources, it slowly but steadily is opening up to this realization- the need for a decisive approach, an holistic understanding of systems.  Today the leaders of the world is not talking about the improved speed of our computing or rockets that dominate outer space, but they are talking about the approach that we have to develop to address the sustenance of essential life systems undone by our deeds – the indiscriminating consumption and greed. They are now talking about the need for an  holistic approach to handle these issues, "the approaches" that are more bound with values and collective systems, things oriental cultures had been championing since long.

There are many approaches in India that are in line with this awareness and one of the prominent among them is recycling.  It is an intervention to consumerist world’s action and its disastrous consequences.  The more we consume more will be the waste and more will be the depletion of our precious resources and at the same time it is also impractical to ask people to stop consumption in capitalistic world.  Here, India acts more pragmatically by suggesting the longevity of the journey that an idea/material/object becoming waste by finding alternate use (jugaad) or converting to another idea/material/object  (recycling) so that less resource is exploited, less waste is created and still it severs the purpose.  This is the philosophy the world now talks about – the recycling/ reusing approach, the essential approach for any designer.

There is an anecdote in Jataka tales wherein it narrates the dialogue between Buddha and his disciple exemplifying this argument.  One day one of Buddha’s disciples was lighting a lamp with a wick made out of a torn cloth. On this Buddha asked him “ why is he using a good cloth for making wicks?” The disciple politely replied that he made it from his old dhoti.  But dissatisfied with his answer Buddha countered him saying “ you could have used cloth for much better purpose” the disciple again replied “ sir, but I first used my old dhoti as bed sheet, after long time I used it as towel and pillow cover, again after a long time I used it as foot mats and then only I used it for the wicks…” smiling at him Buddha said “ now you are a Buddha you started living…”

This may be an exaggerated situation but reflects design answer from India for many alarming issues in contemporary living.

Logos

TRIAL 1

In the centre is Earth and there are two drops on it. One drop in blue is to show water and the other one is green to show greenery. Together they define the environment. The four arrows revolve around it like a cycle to show the 4r's nescessary to preserve the environment. 

Trial 2

The R is formed out of Recycle, Reuse and Reduce. The E is formed out of Refuse. Together it show's all the 4 R's with the focus on RE.

I tried to design the 'Sustainability Gene' any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Infinite Knot (updated)

Infinite knot made out of 4. It doesn't have a definite start or and end. Can be started at any level. The loop is inevitable. 

REminder: Logo

The connotations of 'Re' are a multitude of things that have to do with (re)appropriating

things into newer contexts. 

Traffic.

A functional design approach: How a whole when broken down to it's constituent parts can be free-assembled and reused.

Jugaad beyond Jargon

Course Description:

This course is aimed at building-up awareness on the need for design sensibility to human ecology and arriving at sustainable solutions.

The course will explore the larger connected context for the Jugaad as one of the viable but also an economic, environmental and culture friendly practice.   Therefore, rootedness of it in Indian context, the imperative need for conscious adaptation and development of entrepreneurial models for practice, production, distribution and more importantly, the re-instilling of the Jugaad practice as the cultural attitude.

 In this context, the course will visit the Gandhian / Nehruvian and other ideologies of self-sustenance and examine their relevance in present-day context, as policy practice in the developing economies.  Also contrast Jugaad practice to other models of sustainable design practices for exploring the relative merits & downside of Jugaad in the back drop of economic and cultural impact of Globalization. These are a few angles of argument / pointers that this course engages with the aim of enthusing & enabling the students to develop an approach to channelize their skills towards a practice of 'social design', with sense of responsibility and pride.  

Course Schedule

Day 1 – 19^th (Thursday)

AM: Introduction:   

Introduction to the philosophy  of Refuse, Reduce , Reuse and  Recycle with an emphasis on systemic approach with social responsibility. Inspiration and inputs will be drawn from successful oriental practices, Gandhian philosophy,

Socio-economic models and enterprises.

Documentary films/ Ted talks by Arvind Gupta, Anupam Mishra

PM: Assignment/ exercise:  collect junk from immediate environ and design

useful / aesthetic / communicative artifacts.

Intro to the format of Mapping the life cycle of a product / system and expanding the steps into a creative representation / expression  by visiting Ravivari

Day 2- 22^nd (Sunday)

Survey of Ravivari.

Map the life cycle of a product / system and expanding the steps into a creative representation / expression

Day 3 – 23^rd  (Monday)

AM:

Discussion and presentation of their ravivari product cycle maps.

Identification of area of application and project buildup by students

Intro to course project:   ‘Jugaad’ as an ideology & as an Indian argument for ‘sustainable’ sustainability solution to green economy.

–      DIY / re/up-cycling system design,

–      Exploring seed ideas / areas of applicability for Indian context.

–      Poster design & Personal argument as assignment.

Day 4 – 24^th (Tuesday)

AM:

story of the stuff

Ideas of entrepreneurial models,   – talk by Rustam

course project continues – present final ideas with preliminary research.

Day 5 – 25^th (Wednesday)

AM: 

Classroom discussion on Thunk design and waste management models of kanika etc. 

Project progress review

Day 6 – 30^th (Monday)

 Review @ 12

Discussion of display idea.

Day 7 – 31^st (Tuesday)

Final Display.

Summery of learning from the course – group presentation & discussion— course documentation with reflective note.

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