For creative persons interested in designing a career in design, one of the right choices is the Kerala State Institute of Design (KSID) located at Chandanathope in the city.
A campus for creative people to groom a beautiful career, the KSID is the only institution of its kind in the State run by the State government.
Courses
As a school of design, the KSID specialises in imparting contemporary design courses for students. The institute’s philosophy was to offer the highest level of design education that was inspirational, said P.J. Girish, executive director of the KSID. It was also a place where admission was available only to students with the right aptitude, he said.
Located on a landscaped picturesque four-acre campus, the KSID is a wing of the Labour Department’s Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence and is academically supported by the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. Mr. Girish said that the KSID was engaged in the educational task of creating design professionals for creative industries through design intervention.
One of the prime aims is to elevate Kerala designs and creations on the national and global scenarios by branding and integrating the State’s cultural heritage. Having all the modern infrastructural facilities to promote the talents of creative students, the institute offers courses in integrated lifestyle product design, textile and apparel design, and communication design with five semesters each.
Mr. Girish said that one of the great things about being a designer was that every day was different. Working as a designer involves creativity, project management, teamwork, problem solving, meeting deadlines and the ability to work with a diversity of clients. It is a great job but the problem was design education awareness was a bit poor in Kerala, he said.
All admissions to the institute would be through an entrance test. The atmosphere on the campus was such that talented candidates had tremendous opportunities for a colourful career. The facilities included workshops in plastic and metal prototyping workshop, woodworking and bamboo, an industrial design lab, textile weaving, and dyeing labs and an apparel studio.
Mr. Girish said since manufacturing activities were less in the State, there was poor awareness on design education. The KSID would engage in promoting awareness in this connection and through that play a complementary role in promoting manufacturing activities in the State, he added.
