Keeping the annual tradition alive, the World University of Design (WUD) – India’s first and only university dedicated to education in the creative domain, celebrated the National Design Guru Day at their campus by felicitating Padma Bhushan Rajiv Sethi, a noted Indian designer, scenographer and art curator as the ‘Design Guru’. With a rich experience of more than 35 years, and his work in design and architecture, performances, festivals, exhibitions, and publications, he has identified various ways to bring contemporary relevance to traditional skills of vulnerable artisan communities and creative professionals. Through innovative positioning and proactive interventions, he has created a basis for maintenance of time-honored legacy industries in an era of industrial mass production and globalization. In 35 years of work Mr. Sethi has been an outstanding mentor and role model to many generations of designers.

National Design Guru Day is celebrated by WUD every year to mark the birth anniversary of Prof. M P Ranjan, a maverick design teacher who influenced generations of design students by paying a tribute to the Design Gurus and highlight their role in pioneering the concept of design education in India. This year the event has been celebrated on 22nd November.

Commenting on the occasion, Dr Sanjay Gupta, Vice-Chancellor, WUD said, “We feel immense pleasure in felicitating Mr. Rajiv Sethi for his stupendous contribution, not just in the field of design but also in preserving our cultural heritage. Design today has emerged as the primary tool for the success of all industries. Thus, the role of “design gurus” has become more prominent than ever.” He further added, “Design has been a vital tool in transferring knowledge of our rich culture to the upcoming generations. The opportunities open to the designers today are clearly unprecedented, especially due to the transitional shift in the nature of contemporary culture, and therefore, it makes a lot of sense in enhancing our design capabilities,” he added.

Addressing the occasion, “Design Guru Rajiv Sethi, said, “The only mantra to succeed in the Design industry is to put everything on canvas. Never doubt your imagination, draw whatever comes into your mind because it will ultimately lead to something unique and will trigger others to ponder on it. I request all the budding designers to explore, observe and feel everything around you as there is no bigger teacher than your surroundings.”

In recent years, Design as an industry has been offering exciting opportunities and has become a career of choice for youth from diverse disciplines, as it involves science, technology, art, and aesthetics in appropriate proportion.