Beyond Matter
Systems thinking approach towards social innovation in Crafts sector in India
‘Equation of Craft in India’ is a design research project of Craft Future Lab, NID Ahmedabad, India under the collaborative effort of International Centre for Indian Craft ( ICIC), Dept. of Lifestyle Accessory Design (LAD), and Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability Lab (NID DESIS Lab).
This System mapping is an attempt to represent the identified components and variables and interrelationships within the current system understanding of the craft sector in India.
HOW TO READ THE MAP :
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The reading flow moves from color-coded sections of red to yellow, followed by the blue section. The complex web of cause-effect loops presented in this system model is simplified for a viewer by adopting a central linear line of flow.
This gigamap was also exhibited at RSD9 Annual International Symposium by Systemic Design Association in October 2020.
Methodology
Collecting Information
Literature review
Secondary research
Primary research
Defining Relationships
Turned information into Knowledge.
Built cause and effect loops.
Established a holistic understanding.
Visual Representation
Visual metaphors
Flow of information
Information hierarchy
My Contribution-
I contributed to the collection of information from-
- Existing literature on Indian crafts and related subjects
- Field visits to craft stores, organizations, and Institutes
- Telephonic and In-person interviews with artisans, craft entrepreneurs, NGOs, and CSR heads of various organizations.
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I also had the responsibility to build a conceptual understanding of systems and make sense out of the information that we all were collecting. I contributed to putting the knowledge on the paper and creating the skeleton of the map with defined relationships among different information clusters.
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My core work was to establish a common understanding among everyone with a comprehensive map and highlight cause and effect relationships between information clusters.
With above systematic study, the working groups further discovered various gaps as an opportunity for design-driven strategic intervention. Practice-based Design research facilitates the application of design strategies at various levels to imagine a craft social innovation and its sustainable future. One such opportunity is the service design for craft education called ka se Kala.