PRODUCT DESIGN

Tradition Re-worked.

May 2019 - August 2019

Life changing. Beautiful. Socially aware. I had the opportunity to design and produce for the Association for Craft Producers in Kathmandu, Nepal. In the summer of 2019, I had my perspective of product design turned on its head. Here is my journey.

Where in the world is Nepal?

Where I worked was The Association for Craft Producers (ACP), a local, not for profit, fair trade organization providing design, marketing, and management, to low-income Nepalese craft producers. The Association is also a resource to advance and globally distribute the work of the artisans, for which they receive fair wages. Together, we would blend traditional craft with modern design and technology suited to market trends.

Along with two other design peers that went to Kathmandu with me, I researched and compiled a trend book to benchmark aesthetic and material trends. We wanted to be as comprehensive as possible, noting down even the small details in products on the market.

I compiled and designed a trend book based on market research, scholarly study and first impressions of Nepal. It’s detail oriented and focused on the integration between tradition and contemporary design. It was used as a guide for colors, materials and finish as we ideated design concepts.

Our Challenge & The Process.

After presenting the trend book, we worked with the marketing and managing team to discuss the products they wanted to see made over the next few months. We then compiled a list of products we could see in the new homeware collection.

We didn’t waste any time getting to work. Once we had maps of where our products could go, we hit the studio to start experimenting and prototyping our ideas with the artisans.