Kochi Design Week Woos Visitors to Latest Technologies in 3D, Traditional Fabrics

KOCHI:
Inviting visitors to try paint in 3D space, International School of Creative Arts (ISCA) is introducing design buffs at a three-day international event in the city to the fascinating world of virtual reality.

Using ‘Tilt Brush’ application Google launched three-and-a-half years ago, users at the ongoing Kochi Design Week (KDW) are being provided with a virtual pallette that permits one to select a range of brush types as well as colours.

“This is amazing! I would love to visit the venue tomorrow with my friends to again get a feel of Tilt Brush,” says 21-year-old Sunil Kumar, after removing the headset that facilitates one’s exploration of three-dimensional space at the design expo venue of the KDW. The December 12-14 at Bolgatty Palace in the city is being organised chiefly by the Kerala government.

ISCA has put up the stall to promote awareness about cutting-edge technologies in design. “Here, Tilt Brush takes you into a fantastic world where your sketches of houses, hills, rivers and whatsoever spring up images that make them look even more than real,” says Suraj Vala, who teaches at Kochi-based ISCA that is promoted by London-based International Skill Development Corporation (ISDC), a dynamic global education and skill development company.

The art school is also selling at affordable prices T-shirts, keychains and diaries, among other things, designed by ISCA students. ISCA’s is just one among 25 stalls at the expo being held on all the three days of KDW that is concluding on Saturday.

There is, for instance, a stall on illustrious Chendamangalam weaving, heralding the relevance of novel design elements that can help the traditional handloom industry grow in the new age. At KDW, leading designer couture brand Rouka has collaborated with an NGO called Care for Chendamangalam to create a set of novel-looking garments that is drawing a lot of attention.

“What’s more, you see that the models on display at the photos wearing the garments are those of the weavers themselves,” points out Sreejith Devan of Rouka about the eco-friendly stock of clothes.

Among other stalls at the KDW Design Expo are that of Maker Village, Asset Homes, V-Guard, and CERA. Equally striking is the presence of lesser-known brands that are attracting visitors in good numbers, underscoring the message that design is not just for the upper classes but for people across all strata of the economy.

KDW aims to chart a long-term development mission for Kerala through futuristic design and architecture.