Uday Dandavate
Principal, SonicRim Ltd. Global Design Research. U.S.A.
Uday Dandavate is a founder and principal of SonicRim (www.sonicrim.com) , a Global Design Research company. Uday leads a multi-disciplinary team at SonicRim, where he studies people, cultures and trends around the world, in order to drive design and innovation strategies for his clients. A firm believer in the participatory approach to design, Uday has helped many Fortune500 companies gain empathy for the experience of everyday people as they design products, brands, and new technologies.
He has also worked with many public organizations to help them understand how to best deliver value to their audience through design and innovation. Uday is often invited to speak at international conferences and universities, to share his ideas and experiences as an evangelist of everyday people in the world of business and technology.
Recently Uday has been invited to join as a core faculty at the 180 Academy, an innovation university located in Denmark which is promoted by a consortium of leading global corporations (www.180academy.com).
Uday is also one of the founders of the “Design with India” initiative which is working towards developing a think tank for designers and innovators from around the world to help define the opportunities and challenges of designing for a resurgent Indian market and for integrating the cultural and design sensitivities and traditions of India with the global economy. (www.designwithindia.com ).
Uday’s statement of provocation:
Our challenge today is to raise design to more strategic levels. For a long time design has been caught up in elitist values defined by the developed world. Now that the world is paying attention to new opportunities for innovation and design in the emerging markets, economies and societies, we face the challenge of playing with new rules and new tools.
The cumulative economic power of the people around the world, who were until now under-served by design, is now receiving a lot of attention. Their needs, aspirations and cultural and traditional realities will have important implications beyond serving their needs as consumers. As these emerging markets participate in the global economy and bring their own cultural sensitivities and traditions to to the table, the experience of design around the world will change through fusion of world cultures.
The field of design is about balancing inventions with intentions (of everyday people). With attention moving to new markets, new populations and new cultures, there is a need to explore how to create such a balance. The key is to understand the intentions of the people we do not know, yet want to serve through our products, services and brands.
