We may not be the jocks, the popular ones or perhaps not even the smartest. But we are the creative ones. We are the ones who sat in the corner of your classrooms sketching away while the lecturers rambled on in front of us. And even though it may sound unlikely, the whole world kind of depends on us.

 

We are the odd ones out. Style and aesthetics are at a higher priority for us. We work not in large offices, housed in glass corporate buildings; we work instead, in studios!

 

Look around you. Unless you’re in the middle of a dessert or a jungle, chances are that you can see our work spread all around you.

 

We, are designers. We may not change the world with our technical expertise or our physical abilities. But we change it, instead, with our imagination.

 

The world around you is as it is because one of us took a stand and made it so.

Welcome us with open arms. Because we are Architects, Designers and Artists. We are the dreamers of today’s world. And you can bet your ass that without us, a lot of things would be different around here.

 

Hence, I write this, as a plea to the young creative minds out there. We, as a community, have the responsibility to develop our world and lead it on the path to glory.

 

To sit back and complain is easy. To stand up and make change happen isn’t.

 

All you have to do is dream. That, however, is the relatively easy part of the process. As designers, we need to ensure that our dreams and our visions are perfected and executed.

 

There was a time once, not all that long ago, when Architects used to practice architecture for sheer passion. To challenge and reshape society as they saw fit. Architecture wasn’t a career or a profession. It was an expression. Architects defined themselves by their school of thought. They defined themselves by the designs they conjured.

 

Design was an extension of the designer and it gave the users a sneak peek into a creative mind.

 

Speaking from my limited experience, design is never a one-man-show. It involves meticulous brainstorming and continuous crit at every stage. It requires a group of like-minded individuals who are willing to push boundaries and pre conceptions aside as they stand together and watch their visions become a reality.

 

You have a gift. Go forth and use it.

 

Spread the word on the importance of design. Shout it out from the roof tops or whisper it into the ears of passers-by. Because ultimately, they do need to realise the importance of our endeavours.

 

India, which was once the epicentre of creative innovation, has now dwindled down to a community that has turned its back to the creative minds.

 

We are partly to blame for this. Because today, sadly, the passion seems have dwindled out of the creative field. Studios have become business ventures. They have turned into ‘just another’ office. Lost in the crowd of those glass clad offices. Lost among those big board corporations.

 

We walk through un-inspiring streets lined with un-imaginative buildings housing un-intelligent folk.

 

But let us not lose hope. Because there are a small bunch of designers who design for the sake of design. They design to create and improve the world around us. And this ‘small bunch’ is growing every day. Growing, because people like you and me are joining them.

 

Be patriotic, by design.