Dear Readers,

On Saturday, the 8th of February, we had our first forum of 2020 on the special theme of DesignFirst in our Gurgaon studio. The Forum brought together 50 participants from across the country, from different fields, to have a dialogue about What Design Can Do and shaping a national DesignFirst Policy for India. We were privileged to host Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog, who has been engaged with design and branding of some of the most memorable initiatives for India’s growth and recognition as an incredible destination, as the keynote speaker.

This special newsletter brings you five articles: the Forum’s main session is encapsulated in Dialogues over DesignFirst, Mr. Kant’s talk is summed up in Finding India, Making India, my presentation is described in Twin Peaks, and Forum Post Mortem is a critique by four Forum participants. 2020 Steps Forward paves the way ahead.

The thrust behind this Forum was to accelerate design into every sphere of activity, so that institutions, civil society and the Government of India can apply design in an integrated manner towards a unified development for India.

A very tall order - we know. Yet, over the years, the Lopez Design Forum which brought together a small group of professionals and practitioners, artists, creative thinkers and designers to academics and corporate managers, has kicked off into something larger than we ever envisioned. Folks love the informal studio environment, which allows us to brainstorm with ease and share ideas. It’s this synergy and positivity of people coming together to make things happen that we want to tap into. At Lopez Design, we see ourselves as facilitators and catalysts. Design is a field that is practiced by everyone. Even non-designers bring value by using design. But there is a lot more that design can do - and we all believe it must be explored for its full potential. We look forward to the next chapters of this story, which will be written by all of you. We will provide the empty pages and we will help bring that story to play out in its full form, so that design can become a strategic and productive tool which penetrates all layers towards a holistic and sustainable ecosystem for India.

With big hopes and warm regards, 
Anthony Lopez 

Further reads:

Dialogues over DesignFirst
The opening session brought together four panelists who represent different sectors - Social, Technology, Policy and Education - Archana Shah of Bandhej, Jatin Bhatt of Ambedkar University, Sunil Malhotra of Ideafarms and Abhimanyu Nohwar of BCG to discuss DesignFirst . . . Read more

Finding India, Making India
Mr. Amitabh Kant spoke about the need to go back to our roots and bring out design as a differentiator for India . . . Read more

Twin Peaks
Anthony Lopez of Lopez Design presented the two Forum initiatives - What Design Can Do and Design First Policy . . . Read more

Forum Post Mortem
A critique by 4 Forum participants on the Forum with an eye on how the future of India can be shaped through design, the relevance of Design First, and first steps towards its implementation . . . Read more

2020 Steps Forward
Design means different things to different practitioners. Although we all aim to look at a better quality of life and bring value, accelerate development and foster nation-building, the actual implementation in education, business, crafts or management require us to address diverse agenda . . . Read more

For more information on DesignFirst or to connect, write to us designfirst@lopezdesign.com