Use of Design and Animation for the Upliftment of Indian Society BYTanzila Nisar Shaikh

Firstly let’s get to know what actually design and animation refers to. The logos, icons, signs, as well as the structure of various things, are included in designs category, whereas animation is typically a mode of imagination, which helps us to think of a particular concept in an imaginary world. So how do these all help in the upliftment of the society or you may say the country’s development?

In the past times, a man used actions to communicate instead of languages which are used in today’s time. Likewise, nowadays even actions are used for the ones who can’t hear or speak. For them to understand and for their entertainment, animation took a major part in their life.

Advertisements gave us an idea about the product how it is and for what it is used. For example Glasses . The advertisers use animation to show how glasses have a uniqueness like UV protection and explain us, how it saves our eyes from the hot sun rays. Not only for the deaf but also for normal people animation has helped to spread awareness of weather, crimes happening around and how to be safe from them. Animated movies, clips don’t only entertain but they also have a hidden message in them. Like, Cancer by smoking cigarettes, Education is important whether be a girl or a boy, how plastic is getting worst for humans, shortage of water, the growing pollution, etc which may go to the extent of taking our lives and thus may save several lives.

Now, let’s move on to Designs. In which you may see sign-boards situated on roads have helped the drivers tremendously in just watching the signboard and moving without slowing down rather than taking time to read the text and understand the path ahead. So the arrows, a part of designs help us to take the right way even if lost in a lonely place. Icons of silence in libraries inform that we have to be silent, no smoking signs are to stop the smokers to smoke in places like hospitals, schools etc. No parking signs explain where to park and where not to, imagine if it didn’t exist people may have parked anywhere and even may have blocked someone’s way by parking in front of peoples door, etc.

Let’s take another example like if you go out of town, where you do not understand the local language and suddenly you have an emergency and need to visit the hospital, you can’t read but you can identify the plus sign of hospital which is typically the icon or logo. It will be easy to find the place and a quick way rather than explaining my actions and wasting time. Even at times, you want to go to the washroom, the signboard especially the images of a man & woman says it all. Suppose you can’t read it and take the wrong one, which may cause great confusion. Similarly, in huge public places like shopping malls or marketplaces you want to go to food corner, or any specific store & the place being too big to walk all over and search, there you can easily identify the signs boards hanging around for quick path.

Designs like “do not disturb” signs on doors for privacy or lights on the signboards for visibility, has helped us to live smoothly. Every design has a uniqueness in it, whether it be the same thing but it has its own levels like the chair is for sitting, but a chair with king’s design has its own level. Especially, in the bank, the designs over the machines help to access the service quickly. Designs of tires which lift the heavy load defines it all.

In India, there are a number of poor people, and their poverty leads them to be illiterate. They can speak, but can’t read or write. So for them, logos and icons are not just a piece of art but also have made their life so easy.

In ancient time, India had its own tradition for animation. The animation was just a small theatre with a stage, where a man used to have puppet shows controlling the characters of the story. It was really great and fun loving, which audience smile & enjoy. It used to be quite a friendly environment. The puppets used to be of cloth or paper. It helped to strengthen children’s imagination skills more than the books did. There used to be one more type of animation done by shadows. The actor used to make different kinds of hand movements portraying images like dog, eagle, deer, etc. Later on, the puppets were replaced by a man, and they used to act in dramas & theatres. Later started, the stop motion animation which came into being by the first Indian stop-motion film ‘Ek Anek Ekta’ by Dadasaheb Phalke in 1941. Since then Animation has made a long & a happy journey, in India and continues to grow tremendously.

Let’s conclude, we saw various examples here though there are many more. it is easy to understand that animation and design have really helped for the upliftment of the society by making each one’s life easy, comfortable, and in an entertaining one, but most importantly it has always grown a smile on the faces of small and old.

Cheers to the world of Animation!!

…The End…