Craft education in design

Abstract

What we call crafts today has historically been utilitarian products for local consumption. Craft, through its generative learning and systematic distribution of work entails a volume of non-vocalised ethics within a craftsman guild. These very utilitarian products have currently become pieces of curio in today’s living room walls and exhibition spaces. Epistemology of crafts has explicit associations to the daily livelihoods, socio-economic backgrounds, utilitarian aspects, history and anthropology of local sustenance. From the perspective of design, there is a story of creative utilitarianism which provides a deep understanding of an ethical and philosophical theory stating that ‘the best action is the one that maximises utility and produces the greatest well-being of people though one’s creativity’. [1] Post industrialisation, design sees a call out to go back to one’s roots to obscure local identities and revive the cultural diversities destroyed by the industrialist mindset. In the post-modern world, creative utilitarianism allows designers to be creative for themselves rather than the industry. This eventually proliferates exposure of modern design to fresh ideation. This understanding is highly required today for young upcoming designers to venture beyond form and figure explorations and infuse content into design. Integration of wholesome craft knowledge into design education will open a portal for fresh post-modern content. It shall teach the students mass customisation alongside a knowledge to work with Indigenous communities and identities. Thus, this paper tries to justify the importance of craft education in design by throwing light on the various aspects associated with the design education sector of the upcoming generation of young designers.