The Hindu Business Line : Design industry faces talent crunch

Bangalore, Dec. 11 The fledgling design industry in the country is experiencing the egg-and-chicken syndrome. While there are just 500 designers actively contributing to the industry (though the current talent pool is around 3,000), the country needs about 8,000-10,000 designers per year. There are about 200 segments including services, animation, gaming, transportation, lifestyle and appliances that require design consultation but companies find that there are have enough number of designers to hire, said Dr Darlie Koshy, Director, National Institute of Design.

Speaking to reporters here on the eve of the 7th CII-NID Design Summit in Bangalore, Dr Koshy said that the country needs more NIDs and that the Government has been presented with a proposal to consider public-private partnerships to increase the number of design schools in the country.

Design industry

The design industry in the country isabout Rs 500 crore and growing at 23-25 per cent per annum, with a market potential of Rs 50,000 crore, Dr Koshy said. Though about 60-70 per cent of profits gained from a product is influenced by design, companies in India spend about only eight per cent of the project cost on designing it.

The Indian design industry is still in the shadow of Italian and Scandinavian design trends in the industry, he said, adding that there was a disconnect between brand and design; and technology and design among Indian designers. A dipstick study of designers in 2004 showed that only about 16 per cent of them were actually using technology. The design summit to be held on Dec 12-13 will focus on ‘Leadership through design,’ with Italy as the partner country.

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