Celebrating the Mizo Paikawng: Reflections on The Three Orders of Design
Reflections on The
Three Orders of Design:
Lessons from the
handmade baskets of the Northeast India revisited
www.DesignForIndia.com
Design overview
lecture delivered at the “Uttar Purva Utsav” organized by the Crafts Council of
India at the “Dilli Haat” on 2nd February 2009 to celebrate and
promote the crafts of Northeast India in association with the Development
Commissioner of Handicrafts, Government of India.
The lecture was
simultaneously translated into Hindi by Prof. Ms Asha Bakshi, Dean Fashion
Design, National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), New Delhi.
This invitation to speak at the “Uttar Purva Utsav” organized
by the Crafts Council of India at the “Dilli Haat” gives me the opportunity to
reflect on my three decade old association with the crafts of the Northeastern
Region of India and to ponder on the lessons that we have learned about design
and bamboo from the craftsmen of the Northeast over the years since our first
contact with their work in the field in late 1979. We began our year long
fieldwork November 1979 in the Northeast as part of the project sponsored by
the All India Handicrafts Board in those days, now the Development Commissioner
of Handicrafts [DC (H)], to study the bamboo and cane crafts of the region
which resulted in a book which was eventually published in 1986 by the DC (H)
and the National Institute of Design (NID), titled “Bamboo & Cane Crafts ofNortheast India” by M P Ranjan, Nilam Iyer and Ghanshyam Pandya. (download pdf 35 mb) It is also an
opportune occasion to connect once again with the resources that were generated
by that project particularly in the form of the very large collection of
baskets that were collected in the field as part of our study and these are
today available at the National Crafts Museum and I am told that these are on
special display to celebrate the crafts of Northeast and in conjunction with
this particular event at the Dilli Haat. The craftsmen and the crafts promoters
are invited to visit the National Crafts Museum at Pragati Maidan and see for
themselves the quality of crafts that is still a living tradition of the region
as these products are still in active use across the region but times are
changing fast and these may not remain that way for very long. Digital pdf
copies of my book can be downloaded from my website and in-print copies of the
paperback edition (2004) are available from both NID and the DC (H) and the
original hard-bound edition (1986) is now out of print.
I must share the learning that we were able to glean from
our journeys into the Northeast as well as from our interactions with the local
craftsmen which was followed by a period of deep study that we could invest
into the collection of 400 baskets that we had gathered during our field work
in the Northeastern region. Besides giving us numerous insights about bamboo
that were invaluable we were also quite surprised to see the deep appreciation
of design principles that were both applied by the craftsmen as well as
something g that we found embedded in the range of products that we had
collected in an extremely selective manner during our year long field work in
the seven states of the Northeastern region. Now Sikkim has been included in
the definition of the Northeastern Region and rightly so, since these states
share so many common characteristics with each other while keeping their
individual identities intact. Learning from the Northeast’s craftmen was an exhilarating
experience and in all very enriching experience. As a designer and a design teacher traveling with two colleagues
through a culture that was rich with knowledge about bamboo and design it was a
stimulating experience for us and a huge source of new learning from the field.
This learning we tried to capture in our book about the Bamboo and Cane Crafts
of the Northeastern Region and while the content may look like a normal
documentation a look at the back of the book will reveal two indexes, one a “Technical
index” that captures all the nuances of the local wisdom across many fields and
the other a “Subject index” which links and makes accessible word concepts as
they appear across the book. Our sense of amazement at each product that we saw
and the level of detail to which the thought process had helped evolve that
product was always a source of great pleasure and amazement and admiration.
From all these products I would like to draw out one specific example, The
Paikawng, a Mizo basket used for carrying firewood, not because it stands above
the rest but simply because it is one of many products that come to my mind as
I stand here and reflect on our deep learning from the field about design
itself. I will therefore use the example of the Paikawng to set out the
boundaries and contours of the three orders of design as they appear in the
fine hand crafted baskets of Northeast India.
Let me first give you an overview of the three orders of
design that I shall be dwelling on over the next few minutes. What are these
and how do they relate to our understanding of design and in particular how
these can help us use design to further our objective of building better
products and systems for the people of the Northeastern region? The fine
detailing in the baskets from the Northeast represent the climax of a bamboo
culture and the field study and our book tries to pay homage to that spirit.
The three orders of design are listed here and I shall proceed to explain how
these were appreciated in the Paikawng and in all the other products that were
equally rich and deserving of our attention.
The Order of Design of
Material –Form – Structure
This level of design is recognised by all people and is the
most commonly discussed attribute. Here material, structure and technology are
the key drivers of the design and these help shape the form that we eventually
see and appreciate in the product. We can appreciate the product as an honest
expression of structure and material used and transformed to realize a
particular form that is both unique as well as functional. It is here that
skill and understanding of the craftsmen are both used to shape the product
through an appropriate transformation of the material with an understanding of
its properties and with an appreciation of its limitations and possibilities.
Let us take the Paikawng and examine it at the level of
material and form – this basket is made of long strands of stout bamboo splits
that are first interlaced to form a square base before these are bent up to
form the sides of the basket. In forming the sides these very same splits form
elongated hexagons that are a result of the three horizontal bands that anchor
the inclined verticals between the base and the rim structure. At the rim these
splits are each divided laterally into a number of sub-splits which lend
themselves to a form of braiding so as to create a wide braided band that is
both soft as well as very strong but being flexible. The material of the split
is thus transformed at each stage, the base as flat and wide, the sides as
thick and stiff and the rim as soft and flexible, while still remaining one
single piece of bamboo that is responding to a particular structural need at
the point where it is needed. The four corners of the square base are covered
by a interlacing knot made of cane splits which does not unravel if some of the
overlapping strands are cut while the basket is in use. This lends the basket a
degree of toughness that is essential for the intended function, which is to
carry rough cut fire-wood from the field to the home and this brings us to the
second order of design.
The Second Order of
Design:
The Order of Design
for Function: Feeling – Impact – Effect
This level is influenced by utility and feeling and is
largely determined by the marketplace as well as by the culture in which it is
located. Here aesthetics and utility are informed by the culture and the
economics of the land. We can sense and feel the need for the product and the
trends are determined by the largely intangible attributes through which we
assess the utility and price that we are willing to pay for this particular
offering and this is quite independent of its cost.
In order to examine this level of design we will need to
compare similar products across a number of different social and cultural
situations. Firewood baskets are made by many communities of the Northeast and
each of these have a distinctive form that is informed by the asthetic
preferences of that community. The Paikawng offers the Mizo a particular form
and structure and for lighter applications they have a sister product called
the Emsin which is lighter and smaller than the Paikawng but with very similar
structural and formal characteristics of the latter. The other tribes have
distinctly different forms that are arrived at by differences in the size,
shape, contours as well as the shape of the hexagon used to form the sides of
the baskets in question while addressing the same set of functions that the
Paikawng addresses for the Mizos.
The Third Order of
Design:
The Order of Design
for Value – Meaning and Purpose
This level is shaped by the higher values in our society and
by the philosophy, ethics and spirit that we bring to our products and events
as well as all the associated services and the stories that we can tell about
the relationships between these entities and our lives. At this level value
unfolds through the production of meaning in our lives and in providing us with
our identities and these products becomes a medium of communication itself, all
about ourselves. It is held in the politics and ethics of the society and is at
the heart of the spirit in which the products are produced and used in that
society. There are deeply held meanings that are integral to the form,
structure as well as some of the essential features which may in some cases be
the defining aspects of that product, making it recognizable as being from a
particular tribe or community. These features define the ownership of the form,
motif or character of the product and these are usually supported by the
stories and legends about their origin and these give meaning to the lives of
the people for whom they are made.
The Paikawng has this distinctive character and can be
recognized as a typical Mizo product both by the Mizos themselves as well as by
those around them. The braided band at the rim has a distinctive name in the
Mizo language – it is called “vawkpuidang phiar”, meaning “the braided pattern
of palete of the pig or sow” which has a similar knitted pattern. These stories bring value to the
product that goes far beyond its material and utility value that is usually
embedded in such functional products. We need to recognize the characteristics
that these three orders of design bring to the contemporary products of our own
society and in doing so we can learn to enhance the value that it brings to the
market as well as tone the quality standards that are applied to each instance
of these products at the various stages of production, marketing and
utilization in the society.
All three layers are important and we need to learn to
appreciate our creations along all three axis if we are to reach a sustainable
offering in the handicrafts sector in the days ahead. Design therefore has a
number of layers that are addressed in our traditional artifacts and when we
embark on the making of our new and innovative products for new markets we will
need to pay a great deal of attention to all three orders of the design
spectrum if we are to reach a semblence of sustainability and order in our
creative offerings for the future.
~
References
Bamboo & Cane
Crafts of Northeast India by M P Ranjan, Nilam Iyer and Ghanshyam Pandya,
National Institute of Design 1986
About the Author
M P Ranjan
Independent Academic, Ahmedabad
Author of blog www.DesignForIndia.com
_______________________________________________________
As a member of the faculty since 1976 he has been
responsible for the creation and conduct of numerous courses dealing with
Design Theory and Methodology, Product and Furniture Design and numerous
domains of Digital Design. He has conducted research in many areas of Design
Pedagogy, Industrial and Craft Design and on the role of design policy in
various sectors of the Indian economy. He has held many administrative
positions at NID and is currently Head, NID Centre for Bamboo Initiatives at
NID. Besides publishing several papers on design and craft he has edited
numerous volumes of NID publications including the “Young Designers” series and
is author of a major book titled “Bamboo and Cane Crafts of Northeast India”
(1986) and two CD-ROMs titled “Bamboo Boards and Beyond” (2001) and “Beyond
Grassroots” (2003) which contain all his papers and reports on bamboo and on
design. He helped build the Indian Institute of Crafts and Design at Jaipur and
the Bamboo & Cane Development Institute, Agartala. He is co-editor of a major
publication “Handmade in India” (2008) which documents the crafts of India and
is produced by the Development Commissioner of Handicrafts, Government of
India.
As a professional designer he has handled many design
projects for industry, government and international agencies in areas of
product design, interior design, exhibition design, craft design and design
policy. As Chairman of NID's consulting Design Office from 1981 to 1991 he was
responsible for managing over four hundred professional design projects handled
by the Institute in that period. He has headed the NID’s Publications and
Resource Centre as well as the Information Technology initiatives as Chairman
Computer Centre and Head Apple Academy at NID. He completed several major
projects for the UNDP and Government agencies to demonstrate the role of bamboo
as a sustainable craft and industrial material of the future. These innovations
contributed to the creation of new strategies for the use of bamboo in India.
M P Ranjan was born in Madras in 1950 and after his
schooling and junior college there he joined NID as a design student in 1969 in
the PG programme in Furniture Design. He joined the Faculty at NID in 1972 and
for a short while, between 1974 and 1976, worked as a professional designer in
Madras before returning to NID as a full time faculty member in 1976. He now
teaches fulltime at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. He is on the
Governing Council of the IICD, Jaipur and is the Chairman, Geovisualisation
Task Group set up by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of
India.
His website set up in late 2004 is a growing resource of
writings and visual presentations on his numerous areas of interest, projects
and teaching programmes.
(shut down by Apple)
In 2007 he created and launched a blog called “Design for
India” on his thoughts on policy initiatives for the spread of design in all
sectors of the Indian economy.
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Very interesting & thoughtful initiative! Lovely article! Thanks for sharing:)
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