Things happening at HFI.org

Peace Registery - Empowering marginalized population

We are providing UX/UI guidance to this project spear headed by CGNet. The purpose is to find a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Central India which is now more than 50 years old (since 1967). Peaceful resolution is the outcome but there will be many outputs which will contribute to the final outcome like resolution of victim’s problems. Creating a repository for all, including victims, govt, journalists and non-victim general population is one of the output. The overall goal is to make it easier and interesting to navigate for all the stakeholder of the peace process.

Spring Internship - Public Spirit

Fiat money has been the measure of value for centuries. It is standardized and ubiquitous. In modern times, money has become a lot more complex than a means for trading or measure of worth. In a capitalist society, money is now a measure of an individual’s symbolic worth which divides people by class and determines the respect someone may receive. It is the norm to judge someone by how much money they possess. High net worth individuals are rewarded with adoration and importance. However, net worth should not determine one's self-worth. Self-worth should be defined by empathy, community and kindness.

Redesigning the CGNet Swara Platform

ADYPU 3rd Semester Master of Design students utlized a critical theory based approach to design. Using design fiction and speculative design proposals to challenge assumptions and conceptions about the role objects play in everyday life, they redesigner CGNet Swara platform

Reading circles through Critical Research Lens

Srishti School of Art, Design & Technology's 7th semester students worked on projects during the fall semester of 2020 to apply critical theory lens and various models of design futures to explore various topics such as Future of Money, Society against violence and Abuse, and Empowering Marginalized population

Current Activities

Self Worth – Can it replace net worth

Self Worth - Can it replace networth

A Speculative Design exploration, envisioning the future of money in an open access economy.

Explore and Comment

Future of Money – Early Exploration

Critical Research and Design approach to Future of Money

Srishti School of Design’s 7th semester students worked on a project combining design futures and critical research to explore concepts to promote a different possible future.

Read More

Empowering the marginalized – Case of Bastar

Self Worth - Can it replace networth

Srishti School of Design’s 7th semester students worked on a project combining design futures and critical research to explore concepts to promote equality in societies, with focus on Bastar, a tribal district with the state of Chattisgarh.

Read More

Society Against Violence and Abuse (#SAVA)

Critical Research and Design approach to Society against violence and abuse

Srishti School of Design’s 7th semester students worked on a project combining design futures and critical research to explore design solutions to create a society void of violence and abuse.

Read More

Critical Redesigning CGNet Swara Platform

Critical Research and Design approach to redesigning CGNet Swara platform

ADYPU 3rd semester M.Des students worked on a project combining design futures and critical research to explore concepts to redesign the CGNet Swara platform

Read More

Envisioned Impact

Envisioned Impact

Our hope is that by taking a critical social theory - research + practice approach to user experience that captures the values, needs, and capabilities construct will lead designers and users alike to question the status quo and hence devleop altenrative preferred futures.

Previous Work

The Futures of Enhanced Watching

The Futures of Enhanced Watching

Much is being written every day about the rise of streaming videos and their increasing popularity: be it home-grown Indian OTT platforms or global giants, everyone from Hotstar and Voot to Amazon Prime and Netflix are vying for eyeballs in a market that has seen data consumption explode thanks to the entry of Jio which, in turn, had a cascading downward effect on access rates for mobile subscribers across the country.

Read More
The Future of Wearable Tech

The Future of Wearable Tech

Wearable technologies first came in, in a smaller form, as more-convenient-than-a-smartphone-sized gadget. The Apple Watch and the Fitbit being the most commonly used wearables, followed by some wearable devices that are successful in the medical industry, such as SugarBEAT, a skin patch for diabetics. Almost any data emitting from the human body can be monitored. Owlet is a boon to parents who want to monitor their baby's heartrate and oxygen levels while they sleep. Tracking of various elements, number of steps, heartbeats per minute, whether a patient has eaten their next meal, blood pressure count, etc. are all possible data that can be collected, examined and analyzed for feedback from a wearable device.

Read More
The Future of Travel Chatbots

The Future of Travel Chatbots

Move over apps, and say hello to travel chatbots. Travel agents, airlines, and hotels are all introducing chatbots who are knowledgeable, accurate and have a vast amount of information, while having a good conversation with you.

They can plan trips within your budget and also use NLP (natural language processing) to recognize your specific query "weekend getaway from London" or “music festival in Ibiza.” The feeling of having a virtual assistant, who really cares about modifying your budget and itinerary and giving you the best deals, is only possible because we are moving from apps to conversational products.

Read More
Bot Food

Bot Food

While 3D printing is becoming increasingly accessible to us, the printing of food as well as its connection to our food apps, fitness devices and medical records is a future not far away. Bot food will serve different purposes in the future - it will make its way into our homes and feed a vast population on Earth as well as astronauts in space

Read More
Smart Waste

Smart Waste

Could the future be about paying for the garbage you generate? Can we bring our waste generation down to zero? Here are some recent trends in waste collection and management that indicate the directions of the future of waste.

Read More
Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence

Our Inevitable Eradication or Highest Evolution? A discussion with futurist, Apala Lahiri Chavan

Read More
The Future of the Internet of Things

The Future of the Internet of Things

As Ivan sits at his IoT Headquarters in California, he and his team plan out the entire food cycle for their exclusive brand of organic tomato sauce, which are the only patented organic seeds for tomatoes on Earth in the year 2050. Using a host of connected devices, sensors, bots and drones, Ivan and his team are plan a farm-to-plate experience for their premium customers. Production, post-harvest, processing, distribution and consumption - are all controlled using the Internet of things to prepare the most nutritious and connected tomato sauce.

Read More
The Future of Hyperlocal

The Future of Hyperlocal

#consolidation #micromoments #machinelearning #AI

Read More