31: Design thinking in Indian context with Ashish Deshpande

An Industrial Designer from the National Institute of Design, Ahmadabad, India, He started his design entrepreneurship in 1989 almost 29 years ago, by co-founding Elephant, one of India’s pioneering design practices. Ashish leads the Product & Retail Experience Innovation group but believes that design must not be narrowed into disciplines and understanding users is a key component of any innovation activity. He has been a speaker at various conventions and seminars & regularly conducts workshops on Product Innovation Process. Ashish is President of Association of Designers of India (ADI) since 2010 and a founding team member of Pune Design Festival since 2007. 1\. What is design thinking in the Indian context? Where people live with so much jugaad? 2\. Where do you think India stands in terms of design standards across the broad? 3\. Which sector of industry needs maximum design support? Why? 4\. Do design agencies like Elephant have a CSR kind of program where they can give back to societies which need design help? 5\. What is the future of design look like in India?