Dekho is Codesign’s first self-published book, capturing conversations on design in India. Dekho was presented as work-in-progress at the first UnBox Festival in 2011 as part of a segment titled ‘Documenting Culture.’ A large part of the existing stereotypes surrounding design in India stem from a lack of design writing and documentation.
The idea for Dekho began in response to the lacunae in design writing and documentation in India. This was somewhere in early 2008. Since then, there has been a significant rise in design blogs, events and magazines across India. But the razzle-dazzle of largely showcase-based documentation continues to lack the voice of the designers and their experiences. Dekho captures conversations with practitioners of design in an attempt to understand the beginnings and the in-betweens of how designers think, leading to how they act. Conversations are powerful documents—they have the ability to meander with purpose and open ideas up to interpretation—they can make you think.
While penning the list of thank-you-s for Dekho, it seemed right to first thank the book itself. Why? Because Dekho has been an inspiring journey for us—it has in part confirmed what one always suspected—that the Indian way of practicing design does not conform to a set of rules and characteristics, but arises out of designing in response to the Indian context. It is an honest and heartfelt reaction to the Indian reality—which differs for each person—that makes what we do ‘Indian’.
The first edition of Dekho is ready to go into print now. As I go through the very last set of proofs, I think we have achieved what we set out to do (albeit after 3 design overhauls and numerous changes in the editorial approach). Dekho puts forward pertinent questions about the experiences and aspirations of designing in/for India. It connects the realities about living in India to the design work that emerges from India and breaks the notion of the designer as a ‘shaper’ of messaging, and allows us to become creators, by way of curating, writing and designing an artifact.
Keep talking. Ask questions. Build connections. Make something. And share it.
Mohor Ray
Partner, Codesign
Editor, Dekho
Co-Founder, UnBox Festival
