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Long before design software could generate hundreds of ideas in seconds, India was solving complex design challenges through craft, culture and community. From the climate-responsive jaalis of Mughal architecture to the intricate geometry of temple jewellery, from the storytelling traditions of Kalamkari to the precision of Kutch embroidery, Indian design has always been driven by purpose rather than technology. These traditions remind us that innovation did not begin with artificial intelligence. It began with observation, experimentation, and a deep understanding of people and places. As design education embraces new technologies, the real challenge is not choosing between heritage and innovation – it is ensuring that one continues to strengthen the other.
Technology can improve how we create, but it cannot teach us why a design matters, why a material feels appropriate, or why certain forms continue to resonate across generations. Those lessons are built through observation, cultural, understanding, and lived experience. They come from heritage.
The future of design education is not about choosing between tradition and technology. It is about ensuring that students learn to value both. One gives them perspective; the other expands their possibilities.
A very recent trend in discussions on AI has been to highlight what capabilities machines possess. What can they do, how fast, and the like. Much less discussed are the human traits that are left intact. UNESCO’s document on AI and education in global perspective clearly brings out this fact. It suggests that we take a ‘human-in-the loop’ perspective, whereby we have technology at disposal to augment the areas of creativity, critical thinking, multicultural understanding, etc. rather than letting it take care of those areas entirely. Design education is the area where we will see the impact, as the excellence of an idea hinges as much on the ability to judge as on the ability to execute.
Many people think of heritage as only a collection of museum pieces. Designers Though have a very different point of view. A great deal can be learned even from a simple traditional craft. That is why such craft is far from being considered as a remnant of the past. Hand woven fabrics, jewelry or block printed cloth every time reflect centuries of work, study and development, experimentation and knowledge sharing in materials proportions functions, forms and narratives. The points these traditional crafts make are quite interesting; one does not have the reason to copy and reproduce them but they reveal the thought behind great and well-thought-out designs as an evolution, not a revolution.
Technology has changed the scope of what a design classroom is. Through digitally creating a model and the like, one can get the feel of several ideas, the computer can simulate one and another. The idea can be put in print in a clearer manner. Apart from that, the students can use their time more effectively if they test the concept in advance so that they can get it perfected at the first shot.
The challenge lies in ensuring that technological proficiency does not replace creative inquiry.
The objective is not to place heritage and technology at opposite ends of the spectrum. Technology should become a means of preserving, interpreting and carrying India’s design heritage forward. Digital tools can help document endangered crafts, AI can assist in creating new interpretations of traditional motifs, and immersive technologies can make centuries-old design practices accessible to a new generation of learners. When rooted in cultural understanding, technology becomes an enabler of heritage rather than its replacement.
It is important that students are taught design not only as a concept but also as a process from the moment of getting to know different materials through sketching, prototyping or making real-life projects, collaboration with practitioners, and even going directly to the craftsmen and working on their craft. Through such interactions, they learn that the art of good design does not happen in solitary confinement. Instead, it is a result of continuous growth and experimentation, and it is shaped and informed by discussions with others.
It is also necessary to make the future designers of this world aware of the broader role of design apart from coming up with attractive products. In fact, every thought will eventually be incorporated into a bigger system where issues like manufacturing sustainability affordability, and customer experience, among others, equally matter. So, designers who understand how things work on a wider scale, will not only devise great ideas but will have no shortage of ways to bring those ideas back and make a difference.
That is, design schools must teach students how to combine empathy, ethics, and culturally rich creativity into their work so that their innovations are driven by a deep understanding of people. Schools that find ways of linking tradition with the newest trends not only providing future designers with the necessary skills – they are also raising individuals who are both creative and wise.
By Prof. Ritu Gulati. IMS DIA
