If there’s one thing Dan Buchner knows, it’s how design can help a business succeed. He has started a successful company, run large manufacturing plants, led product development and industrial design for large corporations and conducted design research in far-flung corners of the globe. As Vice President of Innovation and Design at Continuum, Dan manages innovation projects for leading brands worldwide. He strongly believes in the power of design to affect positive change in the world. Dan’s recent work has involved using design as an economic and social development tool in emerging markets such as South Africa, El Salvador, and India.

 

 

We live in a built environment. Our homes, our clothes, objects in our space, the structure of our societies, even our food have been designed.  All the things in our everyday environment affect how we perceive our world and move through our lives. However, we have yet to realize the extent to which design affects our lives - both positively and negatively. Every design has an influence on not only an individual's life but on society and the environment one lives in. This brings great responsibility as well as great opportunities for designers.

 

For India, this responsibility is profound. The country, and the culture, is standing at a somewhat precarious crossroad of opportunity.  To mirror the west would lead to a potentially ill fated path of development. Yet, recognizing and understanding the catalysts for progress in more mature design cultures is essential. Having the foresight to determine what to embrace—and what to eschew—is a simple, but crucial equation to further India’s cultural design development.