Design Dialogues: HHI initiative at IDC School of Design

Vision

Welcome to Design Dialogues – where great ideas meet great chai (or coffee, if that's your poison). We believe that the best ideas don’t come from staring at a blank screen but from conversations over a shared table, fuelled by caffeine and curiosity.

Design is not just about pixels, grids, and typography; it’s about people. And people need to talk! We envision Design Dialogues as an informal, monthly rendezvous where UG, PG, and PhD students, along with faculty, break free from deadlines, discuss ideas, share crazy inspirations, and maybe—just maybe—create the next big thing in design (or at least have a laugh about the ones that didn’t work).

This is about human-to-human interaction (yes, that thing that existed before Zoom calls). Think of it as an intellectual jam session—part TED Talk, part college canteen gossip, and part design therapy session.

Mission

Design Dialogues exists to:

Encourage Cross-Pollination of Ideas – UG, PG, PhD students, and faculty members rarely sit together unless it’s in a disciplinary committee meeting. Let’s change that. Everyone brings something unique to the table—whether it's fresh enthusiasm, critical analysis, or years of experience (and sarcasm).

Make Learning Fun (Again) – Too much academia can sometimes suck the life out of creative thinking. We want to bring back fun, curiosity, and the kind of debates that make you question your existence (but in a good way).

Foster a No-Judgment Zone – Have a weird idea? A half-baked concept? An experimental design that makes no sense yet? Bring it here. No grading. No critiquing. Just constructive chaos.

Improve Face-to-Face Communication – In an era where “seen” and “typing…” dictate our social lives, let’s rediscover the art of real conversations. Body language, tone, impromptu wit—these are the things that make interactions richer (and memes funnier).

Break the Hierarchy – Titles don’t matter here. Today, the professor may be learning from the UG student’s fresh take, while the PhD scholar explains why they haven't slept in three days. We all have something to learn and share.

Create a Design Family – It’s not just an event; it’s a community. A place where connections are built, collaborations emerge, and where we all realize that, at the end of the day, we’re just a bunch of creatives trying to make sense of the world (while secretly judging bad typography).

How It Works

When? Once a month. Enough time to miss it, but not enough to forget about it.

Where? A cool, casual space—anywhere that feels less like a conference room and more like a design adda. Mini Theatre/Bdes, Mdes classroom/Design Circle

Who? Anyone with a design itch they need to scratch. Including UG, PG, PhD students, and faculty. 

What Happens? Open discussions, short presentations, impromptu brainstorming, heated debates over Helvetica vs. Arial, and of course, some well-deserved fun.

So, if you’ve ever wanted to have deep discussions about color psychology, rant about UI UX trends, or simply find people who get why kerning matters—welcome to Design Dialogues.

Come for the ideas, stay for the people!

Special Guest for moral support: Basanti