Designwala

Designers as Change Makers – Part 1

by Shagun Singh

Janani Kannan is an interior designer working in NYC  and an old friend from CEPT (Center for Environmental Planning and Technology), Ahmedabad, India. She is also the subject for the first Designwala feature on ” Designers as Change Makers“. She elaborates on practices that would help different sectors in India grow because of design thinking. She talks about indigenous materials and local craftsmanship, both of which she wants to include in her design practice. Having grown up in Chennai, she also talks about harvesting rainwater to solve the problem of scarcity of water, an innovative idea implemented by the present State government to save water in South India. Among other things she touches upon the Aishwarya Lamp Project and the Solar Rickshaw Project as projects which not only benefit a large mass of the Indian population but have minimal running costs and are sustainable. Janani plans to visit India this winter to explore places and people where she could think of a way to create an impact through design thinking.