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Young Designers 2011 |
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| Keywords Design research Publication design Community toilets Visual representation |
My diploma project was commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and aimed to look at the “user experience of community toilets” for the urban poor. It was divided into two phases: Design research and publication design. As a design researcher, I worked on The Potty Project to understand better the context and research method that the studio followed. The research spanned five cities — Ahmedabad, Bengaluru (Bangalore), Delhi, Mumbai and Pune, which were selected on the basis of cultural differences, geographical locations and urban development. The design research phase helped me visualize the publication for I could draw upon elements from field work to create a better narrative structure and visual language. The next step was to design the publication which would cater to students, design researchers, professionals and organizations who may want to understand and develop their own approaches to design research. The publication had to be a visual journey and not a heavy text full of explanations of the actual research. The book uses the example of The Potty Project to illustrate design research and explains the universal method of approach within an Indian context. For the visual language, I was inspired by design research itself and used elements of Post-its, handwritten type and masking tape. The numbering of pages was done in accordance with the project’s timeline and indicates what kind of work was done on a particular day. I wanted to make the publication as accessible as possible. This project has been a great learning experience. By being involved in the research, I became more acquainted with the content of the publication and that understanding reflects in the design. |
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