DESIGN AS SOCIAL CAPITAL
@kshitiz , UX India, Hyderabad, 21st October 2016
@kshitiz
CURRENTLY

Managing Trustee @ Happy Horizons Trust 

Dean / Director @ L’école de design Nantes Atlantique (India Studio)

Principal Designer @ Happy Horizons Consulting
PREVIOUSLY

Director, The Design Village

Design Manager & Strategist, Kuliza Technologies

UI Designer at Motorola, Infosys
STUDIED AT

BDes, Communication Design, IIT Guwahati, 2005

MS, Interaction Design, Indiana University, 2009
64 % of India’s population still
live in the rural areas
52.1 % of people in rural India
choose open defecation
39% of Indian children under the
age of 5 show stunted growth
1.83 million children under 5 years
of age, die each year in India.
India faces shortage of nearly 

1.4 million trained teachers
50% Class 5 students 

can't read Class 2 books
Dropout rate at primary level is 4.3%

At high school level is around 42%
47% of girls in India are married
before their 18th birthday
Around 69% child marriage in Bihar!
We are a country
filled with 

wicked problems!
How can Design
really help ?
Finding solutions
is tough!
As we move to a more connected
world, full of gadgets and
systems, today we designers
question the very foundation of
these new systems and solutions
we are building, for its ability to
solve a problem and a potential
to create long lasting impact.
I want to change
the world fallacy!
Not very financially
rewarding
Short term vs 

Long term impact
Seek help from
Social Capital
‘Social Capital’ is the
network of relationships
among people who live and
work in a particular society,
enabling the society to
function properly.
The 3 pillars

Reciprocity

Trust

Cooperation
More challenges for designer
How may we create large scale impact through our solutions
Participatory Solutions
How do we build design solutions that engage all stakeholders
Experience driven world
Experience leads to satisfaction leads to happy customers
All good designs lead to
social capital
Deep rooted in
enhancing User Behaviour
Social Capital is critical for
Social Innovations
Our society were built on
Social Capital
How can technology, design,
business work together?
Leaders need to find ways to
work with this Social Capital
Some pertinent
challenges
Knowing the target audience
Who are you designing for ?
Understanding Social
The biggest irony of the smartphone is that it has made us anti-social
Being human centric always
Technology as an enabler
Keeping stakeholders happy
Tougher than you think!
Need vs want
People do not know what they want. How to identify what they need?
Going by crowd behaviour
Getting influenced easily
Work at Happy Horizons Trust
Using the Social Capital to work on Education for development.
You cannot build a skyscraper
on a weak foundation.
The problem space
How may we improve the quality of education in India
Creating local leaders
To help in building the social capital within the community
Storytelling to engage
Nothing excites a child and societies, more than stories
The society cannot progress without this
Women empowerment
Encourage students to speak up and ask question
Develop critical reasoning
Design & Creativity
Focusing on skills enhancements
Crafts to enhance motor skills
Have fun while you learn!
New mediums for learning
When you see movies as a part of school education!
Tehchnology when needed
Digital Literacy, Career Guidance Services
System design thinking
Involving stakeholders for a systemic change
Learnings along the way
Get into countless arguments for this one. Design is a process too.
Design is not cosmetic work
Building social capital is tough
Social Innovations require more energy and passion
High glamour solutions fail fast
Building trust takes time
Have a global perspective, local approach
Understand local lifeworlds
Social Capital is a long term investment
Sustainability is important
Collaboration is key
Teamwork is crucial to the success
Build inclusive solutions
Engage with different stakeholders over time
Be a reflective practitioner
Think about the impact of your solutions from time to time
Spread happiness
Nothing is more satisfying!
If I got a $ for 

every smile we
generated, I would
be a millionaire!
Design in India.
Design for India.
Design by India.

Design with India.
Don’t take
Social Capital
for granted!
Thank you
kshitiz@happyhorizons.org, @kshitiz , +91 9535 20 6828
Images ©Happy Horizons Studios, Icons © TheNoun Project

Design as Social Capital