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"Nine Ways to Understand Design & People"
1
"Q: What are you trying to achieve through a socially-conscious design movement?
A: We believe that issues around us are much more important than design itself and what matters are our collective efforts and methods to resolve them, rather than individual, creative expressions. Through our activities and practices, we want to change the historical misconceptions on the function and purpose of Design."

(Design & People while speaking to 'items')

Wall Against War: One of the Fort Kochi walls in Kerala with Design & People campaign posters.

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2
"Q: What can Design & People do for the masses using only its virtual office?
A: The space opened in Design & People is to enable people all over the world to 'design' their thinking relatively and grab the opportunity given to present them so that all receive the chance of voicing their grievances. The virtual space opened empowers us to speak to the whole world and we need everyone in the world to see what issues we face and our perceptions on the ground realities. We need the world to communicate with us and to turn the discussion into a political discourse to promote and strengthen democratic struggles."

(From Ravindra Ranasinha's 'Why Creative Resistance' of Design & People)

Buddha Smiles: 1) An aerial view of the Buddha Smiles School at Karumbapalayam, near Vellore in Tamil Nadu which offers formal education to the poor and marginalised sections of society with a special emphasis on girls' education. 2) A paper model of the community cow shed built for the Buddha Smiles School; and 3) Design & People Architects - Suku Dass, Rajasekharan Menon, Kunjan Garg and Niranjan Das Sharma having in discussion with Dr Ramu Manivannan, founder of the Buddha Smiles Education Movement.

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3
"Q: Are you trying to convert designers into political activists?
A: We don't consider anyone associated with Design & People to be a 'Political Designer' motivated by everyday politics of life or guided by political institutions. At the same time we do work and focus on political and social issues and in most cases we do not differentiate between the two. Though there is no issue on earth which is not political, people generally dislike the term 'Political' due to the negative connotation associated with it, like the term 'Propaganda'. But in our context, we should look at 'The Politics' only as a "moral philosophy dealing with the state or social organism as a whole". With its original meaning and interpretation, we see nothing wrong in creative professionals getting involved with social and political issues."

(Sethu Das, Co-founder of Design & People while addressing a gathering of designers)

Design in Action: People participate in the mass signature campaign organised by Design & People on March 20, 2004 — International Protest Day. The ten-meter cloth with thousands of signatures was sent to the US Ambassador to India David Mulford demanding an end to the military occupation of Iraq by the US and its allies. (Photo: Niranjan Das Sharma)

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4
"Q: How can one attain Swaraj through Open Design practices?
A: Free Design as in 'Free Tibet', is in fact underlines its character of 'Swarajist,' for such a liberation from bondage of self interest, ego and desires of the holder of this excellence called Design, restores this excellence to its natural course, to its natural 'gati' or destiny as against the 'durgati' to which it is subjected, like all other 'professional' excellences are subjected to by the modern civilisation. Actions we all perform, but as Mahatma Gandhi says in Hind Swaraj that the one which is done out of pure love, without any self interest, as a matter of pure devotion, has no owner. Only such unclaimed pure actions create the tapestry of human culture."

(From 'People in Design & People' essay by Global Gandhian Movement on Swaraj)

Activism Begins at Home: An architect with Design & People prepares protest materials at his residence the previous night. While supporting non-profit organisations and people's movements in India, Design & People also develops its own campaigns mainly on social, political and environment issues.

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5
"Q: Could you mention some of your successful projects?
A: There is no success or failure once you are in the field. Success was never our ultimate goal, though survival is. We have no clients, but patrons. We have no crisis projects, but joyful ones. What makes projects joyful and meaningful is our direct involvement with the issue."

(Design & People while speaking to 'Architects & Interiors India')

Down to Earth: Canadian architect Elke Cole of Cobworks demonstrates Soil Evaluation during a workshop on natural building organised by Design & People in association with Kashi Art Café at Mattanchery on December 22, 2004.

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6
"Q: Do you have a hidden agenda?
A: Yes. One of our 'hidden' agendas is to promote the culture of helping each other. We offer our free service to those in need and we expect them to do the same for others in need. Their inability to work for others without expecting anything in return also amounts to our failure."

(Design & People while speaking to 'Architects & Interiors India')

Periyar Reminder: Design & People Co-founder Sethu Das gives finishing touches to a graffiti announcing the 'Periyar Calling' Campaign launched jointly by Kashi and Design & People at the Fort Kochi beach. Minutes later, the activists and lovers of the river were thrown out from the beach by a powerful Tsunami that hit the coastal areas of South India on December 26, 2004. (Photo: Kashi Art Cafe)

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7
"Q: How free is your Free Design?
A: We did not know Design & People works without making any noise and without trying to claim any credit for the high quality intellectual, professional, technical and critical assistance it provides to campaigns and movements, like good Samaritans. It is almost like gupta daan or unclaimed action — an action without claiming its ownership. In the age when high quality professionals are an unreasonably expensive lot unbearable by their mother society, imagine the high sense of obligation under which one would be buried on receiving such 'free' (free as in 'Free Gifts') assistance! But the very idea of 'free' extends its meaning into another domain: free as in 'freedom' or as Design & People defines it — free as in 'Free Tibet' — no bondages to Design, the bondage of self-interest, ego or any personal desires of its owner-holder. When freed, the subject finds its destiny. Bondage keeps from attaining the destiny. Real excellence lies on the path of the destiny. De-commercialising an excellence is a step towards its own freedom."

(From a gratitude note sent to Design & People by Rajv Vora and Niru Vora of Swaraj Peeth Trust)

River Activism: Shri Vijay Crishna and Smt Smita Godrej Crishna inaugurate www.periyarriverkeeper.org, the website of Periyar Riverkeeper on July 27, 2008. The site developed by Design & People was inaugurated by the Crishnas inside a moving boat while visiting polluted areas of Periyar River at Eloor, Kerala's industrial belt.

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8
"Q: How necessary is Design & People's activism?
A: Our activism is all about selfless acts. While creativity makes its own contribution to the lives of the ordinary people, activism brings design out from the circle of the affluent class of the Indian society into the realm of the deprived. We believe that it is only through our collective efforts, we can become a philosophical alternative to the materialism that dominates the world today and strengthen our line of resistance against the growing cultural and political globalisation. This is where the significance of Design & People and its activism."

(From an internal Design & People correspondence)

Light of Hope: A Candle Light Vigil organised jointly by Design & People and Friends of Tibet in association with Human Rights Law Network, Periyar Riverkeeper, Kashi, Samajwadi Jana Parishad, Swadeshi Jagran Manch and World Tibet Day Foundation at Ernakulam, Kerala on April 17, 2008 to protest the 'Olympics Torch of Shame'. (Photo: Johnson Chirayathu/Madhyaman)

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9
"Q: Why Creative Resistance?
A: We believe writing is productivity. And it turns out to be revolutionary production only if it could see how the repressive systems act on people. The subtleties in the repressions meted out by the 'system' or as the Westerners call it the 'establishment' should be explored and Design & People is to enable such exploration make visible to the world. We believe that our thoughts can influence the lives of many and could even help in changing the lives of people. It is therefore to make this a struggle to change conditions that we are engaged with Design & People. This contribution is not a mere intellectual practice, but a daring act to defy the unjust systems prevalent in one's social environment."

(From Ravindra Ranasinha's 'Why Creative Resistance' of Design & People)

Creative Resistance: Shri KT Ravindran (Head of Department, Urban Design, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi) inaugurating the Save Vaduthala Signature Campaign organised by Design & People at Edappally on December 29, 2007.

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