Summary

What does it really mean to teach design in India today? In this powerful conversation, Dinesh S, an architect with 35 years of practice and founder of Bangalore School of Design and Technology, challenges everything we think we know about design education. From the factory-like classrooms stuffing 90 students together to architecture syllabi unchanged since the 1980s, Dinesh unpacks the uncomfortable truths holding back Indian design innovation. This episode is for students, educators, and anyone who believes India can do better with how we teach creativity, curiosity, and aspirational design thinking.

Topics we discussed

* How do you define design, education, and design education in general?

* Would you differentiate between education in general versus design education and if so, how?

* Could you explain what is aspirational design?

* What are the building blocks or framework that you use to make an aspirational designer?

* What are the gaps that you see when students are entering into the market and getting a job?

* How do you explain to break the rules before knowing the rules?

* How can a well rounded multidisciplinary learning experience happen if a design student is wanting to learn design?

* Is curiosity diminishing in students and what is stopping innovation in design at a radical level?

* If a design school has to have some measure or metric of success, what would be the measure of it?

* How do you see the future of design education in India?

Reference reading

* Bangalore School of Design and Technology

* Bangalore School of Design and Technology LinkedIn

* Bangalore School of Design and Technology Instagram

* BSDT Facebook

* Ken Robinson TED Talk

* T-Shaped Designer Concept

* Bangalore Interior Design Industry

* New National Institute of Design

In this concluding episode of the Craft series, I (Kedar Nimkar, Host of The Gyaan Project Podcast) speak with Randy Hunt, Head of Design at Notion and Chair of the MFA Design program at SVA. Randy reflects on craft as a combination of skill, practice, and judgment, and shares how taste shapes meaningful software experiences. The conversation explores speed versus quality, scale versus care, and why momentum can sometimes improve craft. Randy also offers an interesting perspective on how he sees, AI as a material, and explains what stays as tools as technologies change. This episode is for designers, product leaders, engineers, and makers who care deeply about building thoughtful, well made digital products for the long term.

Topics discussed

(02:14) What is Abecedarium?

(04:14) What does craft mean to you?

(08:12) How has your definition of craft changed over time?

(14:45) Should craft be visible to the end user?

(18:04) Can craft and scale go together?

(22:28) Any example of great quality with speed?

(28:18) Can taste be taught?

(38:17) Can craft bring value at an enterprise level?

(43:32) How do you look at craft at Notion?

(46:57) How do you see the future of craft in the world of AI?

(48:43) How do you practice craft at Notion with AI?

(51:17) What would your poster say about design?

(52:00) How do you see craft evolving in the next 10 years?

Reference links

https://www.instagram.com/randyjhunt

https://www.linkedin.com/in/randyjhunt

https://www.randyjhunt.com

https://www.notion.com/blog/meet-randy

https://books.google.com.sg/books/about/Product_Design_for_the_Web.html?id=paKPAQAAQBAJ&source=kp_author_description&redir_esc=y

https://pda.designsingapore.org/jurors/2020/randy-hunt/

https://design.sva.edu/cofaculty/randy-hunt/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=268NRHhPSZ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ux5g5PnIoY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3Mr1WRvYiA

https://www.designweek.co.uk/a-lot-of-this-is-about-rituals-an-hour-with-notion-design-chief-randy-hunt/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4JEl7LHgqI

https://www.thegyaanproject.com/p/ep-321-lucy-datyner

https://www.thegyaanproject.com/p/ep-320-how-craft-shapes-digital-product

https://www.thegyaanproject.com/p/ep-319-craft-as-way-of-doing-things

In this episode of The Gyaan Project, I speak with Lucy Datyner, Principal Designer at Canva, about craft, taste, and the future of product design in the age of AI. Lucy shares how craft goes beyond polish into problem solving, why simplicity is always informed by context, and how designers can build taste through curiosity, critique, and making. The conversation explores AI as a co-creator, the importance of keeping humans in the loop, and why junior designers still matter. This episode is for designers, product leaders, and creators navigating design, craft, and AI today.

Topics discussed

(00:00) Introduction(02:09) What does craft mean to you(04:16) Is craft about aesthetics(04:57) How do you bring craft into your work(07:29) What is informed simplicity at Canva(08:38) How does AI fit into the world of craft(11:05) How do you define taste(13:19) Any rituals at Canva to build taste(16:08) How do design critique sessions happen at Canva(17:31) How does Canva handle not being monotonous(20:13) What is the role of research in craft and AI(22:55) Will designers be left only to curate(24:51) Will we lose the faculty of crafting with hand after AI takes over(26:59) What excites you the most about AI(29:24) What worries you the most with AI(31:11) What will your poster say

Reference links

- https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucydatyner/- https://lucydatyner.com/- https://contentseoul.com/speaker-profile-lucy-datyner/- https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/design--canva/episodes/E10-Lucy-Datyner--Content-Strategy--Experience-Design-Lead-e2i8mak- Tom Harman (Ep 319 - Part 1 of the Craft Series) https://youtu.be/MuDg4y-52Ec- Caio Orio (Ep 320 - Part 2 of the Craft Series) https://youtu.be/JEvWEyIYKbo