Craft Perception

Objects of use. Objects of livelihood. Objects that are an extension of the human creativity. Objects that we call crafts.

Crafts are universal, an integral part of the human creativity and an idea that has shared a close relationship with the humankind. Craft is essentially applied creativity. It’s the process of turning the spark of an idea into something tangible and beautiful using your own hands, skills, aesthetic, and vision. It's a physical manifestation of thought, ideas, skills and culture.

The idea of craft as we fundamentally understand it is as an approach to production and a category of object that's provided livelihoods and supported many millions in India and abroad. The craft era that many considered history is now at the midst of a resurgence. Today, the idea of indigenous craft practices have re-emerged in the middle of a globalised, hyper-consumerist digital world. In a society that wants to re-evaluate its values, its purchasing patterns and look back at its disappearing cultural roots.

The theme of our system design project is craft perception. It's an apt topic that can be broken down and studied under the lense of systems thinking. We had a macro understanding of all our stakeholders and set the premise of our study around the urban user. And our big question: How do we change the perception of craft in an urban consumer?

We were keen to re-define, re-evaluate and re-look at the traditional means of craft consumption and craft experiences. We saw immense potential in bringing the craft process and the art of making to the forefront, giving it and its maker the much deserved acknowledgement and recognition. We saw the potential of craft as a medium to inculcate human values that we believed were necessary in a modern-day society. The project involved reinforcing the modern-day relevance of the many incredible indigenous practices and repackaging the concept of Indian craft.

Kalactive has been a journey of understanding the various aspects of craft and its perception in the Indian craft market. During the course of the project we built an understanding of craft values and purpose, studied the relevance and current market value of craft, and concluded with a design solution that aims to uplift the overall perception of craft.

Our project has focused on 5 key aspects of craft:

The practice, the values, the maker, the user and the perception of craft.