FIELDS OF MARIGOLD
Design Research • Design for Social Impact • Local Social Enterprise • Prototyping
While I was working in the Social Innovation Vertical at T-Works, India's Largest Prototyping Centre, as a designer, Abhihaara, a social enterprise committed to sustaining livelihoods of cotton handloom craftspeople, approached us with a project. They had partnered with the UNHCR to enable disadvantaged communities in Hyderabad craft products for Made51, a platform dedicated to ensuring sustainable livelihoods for displaced people.
Our team worked with Abhihaara, went to field visits, performed research and proposed ideas for products that the community's women could work on. We ideated, conceptualised, sketched and prototyped ten products, one of which was this journal cover, inspired by the women's memories of their homeland, covered in fields of marigold.
TIMELINE
ROLE
ROLE
SKILLS
MENTORS
September - December 2024
Designer, Design researcher, Project POC
Field Research, Design Thinking, Sketching, Curation
Hema Balakrishnan - Project Manager
COLLABORATORS
TOOLS AND SOFTWARE
OUTCOMES
GALLERY
Barkavi S, Mitali B Ajith, Durga Madhuri
Adobe Illustrator
Sketches and 1 Prototype of embroidered journal cover
Stills from secondary research decks, field visit to understand the stakeholders' context, ideation sketches and working prototype
REFLECTIONS
This project felt like a Design Project in the truest sense. From understanding the community's skills and the style and market of Made51 to conceptualising and designing the products that would be the most impactful and worthwhile training the women to make, we were involved in every stage of the process. It required empathy, adaptability, and constant negotiation between aesthetic choices, practical feasibility, and cultural resonance. The challenge also lay in ensuring they were rooted in the lived experiences and existing craft techniques of the women we were working with. We developed detailed documentation, templates, and training tools to hand over to Abhihaara, enabling long-term replication for the community. It was a powerful reminder of exactly why I had chosen to enter the field of design.