We are looking for PhD candidates in the following broad areas:
1. Design for sustainability
2. Frugal design and social innovation
3. Designing for children
For more details on faculty profile and potential research areas, visit:
1. Sharmistha Banerjee - http://www.banerjeesharmistha.com/
2. Pankaj Upadhyay - https://pankajupadhyaydod.weebly.com/
For Indian applicants, visit: https://www.iitg.ac.in/
For International applicants, visit: https://www.iitg.ac.in/aer/admissions.php
1. Design for sustainability
2. Frugal design and social innovation
3. Designing for children
For more details on faculty profile and potential research areas, visit:
1. Sharmistha Banerjee - http://www.banerjeesharmistha.com/
2. Pankaj Upadhyay - https://pankajupadhyaydod.weebly.com/
For Indian applicants, visit: https://www.iitg.ac.in/
For International applicants, visit: https://www.iitg.ac.in/aer/admissions.php
On Going PhD
Prarthana Majumdar
majumdarprarthana.majumdar [at] iitg.ac.in |
Design for Do-It-Yourself in Emerging Countries for the Rural and Semi-Urban Context.
Supervisor: Dr. Sharmistha Banerjee Abstract: The coming of the Maker Movement brought in a new wave in human history. From mass production and passive consumerism, the production systems of the society moved to more personalized and identity creating forms. Hence, the Maker Movement and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) have been widely studied by scholars to either understand its repercussions on conventional production-consumption systems or the motivations behind it. However, not much research has been conducted on understanding what DIY is in the context of the Emerging countries, a segment which consists of more than half of the global population. Though MIT opened FabLabs around the world, the question persists whether a deeper contextual understanding of DIY in these communities is necessary to give meaning to these physical spaces. In our research, we focus on rural and semi-urban India and study the DIY motivations and behaviorism of young subjects who are in their early teens.We seek to understand how a DIY product can be developed for them such that holds it motivational meaning for the subjects and facilitates adoption of the DIY practice. We further contemplate on how the practice can be diffused in the community of young subjects. Toward this end, we seek to understand how the social network structure of the community of young teens can be tapped and dissemination material can be designed such that knowledge of the practice diffuses naturally in the network. Imparting a Maker Culture is as much about understanding what making means to a makers as it is to impart skills and provide tools. |
Shivram Kumar
shivram [at] iitg.ac.in |
Pedagogic pathways to sustainable development of crafts and craftsperson
Supervisor: Dr. Sharmistha Banerjee Abstract: There is a third wave of revival in the craft industry, which talks about consumer preferences and multi-cultural aspects of it, unlike the first and second wave, which focused on artisanship and was seen as an anti-thesis of industrialization. The third wave of revival focuses on consumerism which views the craft sector as an emerging market. Thus, design and socio-economic interventions in various aspects of the craft sector have been recognized as key craft revival techniques. For example, new craft industries and markets are emerging because consumer buying habits are shifting towards sustainable and handmade products which increases the value of ownership of hand-crafted products. Crafts' material and tactile qualities are valued in the modern market and create its unique appeal. Traditional crafts can have its application in a wide spectrum of artifacts ranging from fashion accessories to home décor. Consequently, it has a huge potential for growth. Various studies suggest that the craft industry may contribute to redefining and shaping a new economic model. However, the craftsperson feels insecure making crafts for this emerging market due to several reasons, major being a lack of global and local market information and the design and marketing capability to adapt to the emerging landscape. According to India Brand Equity Foundation, in 2020, India exported crafts worth US$ 3.53 billion. As per Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, annual report 2019–2020, in India, 35.23 lakh artisans work in handloom and 68.86 lakh artisans work with handicrafts. Nearly 15% of cloth production in India is from the handloom sector; and in the production of handwoven fabric, India constitutes 95% of global production. India Handloom Census 2010 found that 35% of handloom households did not want their children to continue with the occupation of craft. According to the United Nations, over the past three decades, the number of Indian artisans has decreased by 30%. Even today, on average 10–15% of craftspeople leave crafts as an occupation annually. Data shows that there is a huge demand for hand-crafted products in the international and national market. India also has a rich heritage of crafts. Craft sector is the second largest economic contributor to the Indian rural economy after farming. It also helps in creating alternate source of livelihood during the agricultural off-season. However, rather than exploiting this scenario to its best potential while enjoying the self-reliance of being self-employed, craft persons are tending to leave their occupation and pursue other non-skilled occupations such as construction jobs, security guards, and so on. They also do not want their next generation to continue with the traditional occupation. Thus, the key research questions of my thesis are:
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Completed
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Frugal Design in Marginal Contexts : Formulating a Systematic Approach and a Design Toolkit
Supervisor: Prof. Ravi Mokashi Punekar Abstract: The foundations on which product design and development it is built is inherently skewed to serve the affluent global population. Existing product design theories do not consider the constraints faced when designing for scenarios with resource limitations and poverty. Nearly 4 billion people in the world live close to poverty and with limited freedom and capabilities. Yet, it is unclear how designers can create meaningful solutions for such scenarios due to a lack of approaches, tools and understanding of foundational principles. This thesis examines the subject of ‘Frugal Design for Marginal Contexts’ to forward the scope of product design in such socio-economic scenarios and equip design teams with the necessary tools. Insights from the research resulted in two novel frameworks for a systematic frugal design approach in marginal contexts (MC). The thesis presents an empirical evaluation of these frameworks and establishes ways of practically implementing them in design projects. Another key outcome of the thesis is a study on the little known phenomenon of ‘frugal mindset’. An extant literature review found that Implementing a frugal design approach depended on a unique ‘mindset’ that went beyond the typical designer skillsets. This phenomenon is termed ‘frugal mindset’ and was explored through a qualitative study, resulting in unique strategies designers can use for imbibing a frugal mindset when designing for marginal contexts. The insights and outcomes from overall research formed the basis for developing a practical toolkit called FLOW - the Frugal Design Workflow Toolkit. The toolkit presents a structured sequence of ‘Design Activities’ appended with unique tools designed based on outcomes and insights from this research. Each Design Activity provides recommended steps, heuristics, suggestions, and tools to support designers and design teams throughout its implementation in a participatory and collaborative manner. The toolkit also incorporates practical steps and heuristics for imbibing a frugal mindset making it unique from all other existing toolkits. A preliminary evaluation of the toolkit also showed that it is easily implementable in design practice. The outcomes of this thesis provide clarity on how design teams must approach the development of holistic and frugal solutions for MC. Most crucially, the research work outlines how frugal design differs from a typical design process. Overall, the systematic frugal design process reported here can provide practical ways for designers to develop sustainable and meaningful solutions that could improve the well-being of numerous people living in poor socio-economic conditions. |
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Research Area / Title: Sustainability-orienting design support for farm machinery design
Supervisor: Prof. Ravi Mokashi Punekar Research abstract: This thesis focuses on sustainable agricultural mechanization development for small farms in developing countries. Statistics show that developing countries are dominated by farm holdings less than 2 hectares in size. The sustainability of these farms is crucial for the sustainability of agriculture in these countries. Mechanization of these farms is the need of the day considering the rising cost and shortage of labor. Studies show that mechanization increases farm power availability, cropping intensity, and food grain production while saving time, labor, production costs, post-harvest losses, seeds, and fertilizers. Thus, mechanization offers the possibility of increasing farmers' income. Due to the lack of economies of scale, it is not feasible for these farmers to own agricultural machinery (AM). Their AM needs are also very different from that of large, heavily mechanized farms. Thus, these small farms need the development of AM that can be hired as per need, i.e., a product-service combination offering. Also, the context demands that the said AM-based product-service system offer support infrastructure and product-services (for allied processes) so that the farmers can cost-effectively adopt it. Thus, the context calls for AM and its allied service ecosystem's design as a sustainable PSS. This thesis presents a framework (D-SAM, Design for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization) and a set of guidelines (G-SAM, Guidelines for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization) for the sustainability-oriented design of AM along with its associated service ecosystem following an S.PSS design approach. D-SAM helps in strategic analysis, including a sustainability assessment and priority setting, ideation process, design and engineering of the product, service, and system, and the sustainability improvement or worsening assessment of the redesigned SAM offer. G-SAM helps in the sustainability assessment of the existing scenario, sustainability priority setting for the design, and the ideation process. It puts forward three perspectives for assessment and design in front of the designer: 1. S.PSS design; 2. Design for a sustainable agricultural outcome; and 3. Environmentally sustainable product design. G-SAM provides open-ended ideation cues to guide, educate, and inform a designer during the design process. The assessment is conducted using rapid sustainability assessment (RSA) indicators. G-SAM integrates the analysis and design ideation phase in its construct as designers perform analysis and ideation simultaneously |
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Enhancing sustainability criteria in GRIHA* standards for the built environment in India (*: Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment)
Supervisor: Prof. Ravi Mokashi Punekar Abstract: In India, the acceptance of the design and development of sustainable building systems is still in its infancy. The guidelines for sustainable practices and standards are always evolving. Some of the current tools and techniques for assessment predominantly focus on environmental and economic parameters overlooking their systemic impact. Considering the tremendous surge in urbanization and the massive push for robust industrial output, infrastructural growth, and rapid growth of the building industry, there is an urgent need for developing proper design guidelines, building norms and practices, and appropriate updated standards for the built environment. This research, “enhancing sustainability criteria in GRIHA* standards for the built environment in India,” examines the present sustainability assessment (SA) parameters to verify if there is a need to update their parameters on the three dimensions of environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability. The research methodology follows a seven-stage framework. These seven stages are detailed out over the different chapters comprising of the following: Stage 1: Undertakes a Literature Review through secondary research of published literature to study and understands the various parameters, methods, and instruments for assessment of sustainability-related to the built environment. Stage 2: Identifies leading Indian agency/s and international agencies engaged in the Sustainability assessment of the built environment and examines their methods and instruments for SA to identify the various standard and critical parameters in SA. Stage 3: Examines case examples of public buildings – national and international - their ranking and their performance parameters for SA. Stage 4: Reviews GRIHA, the Indian SA method, and assesses the different parameters identified in stage 2 and has defined parameters that are suggested for enhancement, modifications, and additions. Stage 5: Undertakes field-based study of a select set of public buildings. It examines their sustainability star ranking based on their performance parameters for SA assessments made by experts GRIHA assessors. From the review, it makes a comparison of those additional or missing parameters identified in stage 4. Stage 6: Expert assessors review the proposed modification/changes to parameters for SA based on insights gained from stage 4 and stage 5 as validation before finalization of the proposed changes to the GRIHA SA framework. Stage7: Summarizes the overall conclusive observation on the outcome, methodology, and justification to review the aims and objectives of the research, its deliverables, limitations, and scope for further research. Drawing from the above seven-stage research framework, the research study makes the recommendation that the following specific parameters of sustainability be added/modified to the existing GRIHA standards to enhance the sustainability parameters in their evaluation.
1. Regional vernacular considerations (context) 2. Transport These have been finalized after validation with certified GRIHA assessors. Case examples of select institutional public buildings have added strength to the recommendations made under this research. |
