Series on design teachers in India:

Professor Ananthapuram Gopinath Rao, Design Guru

  Biography
  Works

  Biography

Born in 1945 and graduated as a Mechanical Engineer

He went on to pursue his post graduation in Product Design at NID, (Ahmedabad)

He spent about 9 months in the U.S.A. under a UNESCO fellowship, studying creativity at M.I.T (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and other places since 1980

Worked as the head of IDC between 1987-1990

Became a core faculty at IDC developing courses of Basic Design, Product design, Creativity and Design philosophy

He became a member of the editorial board of International journal of Bamboo &  Rattan

Is the Founder Member of the M.Des Programme at IDC

He was a member of the Board of Directors for Boroplast ltd.

He even established a Bamboo Studio at IDC giving a new direction to design in bamboo with a Social cause

He initiated 20 mini bamboo clusters in the villages of India with Design and Technology Assistance

 

  Works:

 

Toy

Crompton Starter

Fish Container Icon

Siemens Starter Thumbail

16mm Projector Thumbnail

Coal Stove Chula

He came in contact with Charles Eames and was deeply inspired by his personal discussion with him on his concerns of vanishing product traditions of India and the need for its study in 1969. He later on went on a sabbatical leave for a year to study the bamboo crafts of Northeast india. He has designed more than 20 products for Indian Industries, including the  “Electronic Voting Machine’ used in India. He designed the EVM, as we know it today, for Bharat Electronics Limited and more than 20 products for companies like Crompton, Siemens, Thermax, L&T and also a Bamboo toolkit for UNDP. He was invited for various talks on Design and Bamboo in places like Bali, Costa Rica, Singapore, Hong Kong, Brazil, Mexico, U.S.A and Europe.

He worked on and set up a design studio for Meso called the ‘Colour Fly’ for their exported products. He even conducted several workshops on Design, Creativity, product Innovation, Experiential learning and Bamboo craft for a variety of groups like school children, designers and even engineers in companies like Honeywell, Whirlpool International, NTU Singapore, Hyperwerk, basel, Switzerland. He tried and even succeeded in developing a tool-kit and even small technologies for bamboo. He also started an Incubation company with social concern, called ‘AG Bambu Style’. He held many positions which included D.L.Shah Chair for innovation, Hon. Director, Boroplast.pvt.ltd, President’s Nominee for Faculty Selections,IIT Guwahati. He was also the Managing Director of A.G.Bambu Style pvt.ltd, which was started under SINE, IIT Bombay.