1. DESIGN AUDIT
ON
PLATYPUS DESIGNS
PVT. LTD.
Mentors : Shashank Mehta & Jitendra S Rajput
Submitted by : Neha Chopade | Samina Rahman | Shruti Choudhary | Snehshikha Gupta | Ujjwal T Kujur
2. AUDIT METHODOLOGY
PHASE I PHASE II PHASE III
Interest to study a design firm Brainstorming Propose direction
PLATYPUS DESIGN
Different business concept Classify problems Secondary research
about similar concepts
Secondary Research Mapping opportunity
Study Prakash Vani and Platypus areas Final Proposal
Design
Visit the studio
Observation
Casual conversation
3. PLATYPUS DESIGN
WORKSHOP
Since: 2007
Location: Khatraj, Ahmedabad
Owner: Prakash Vani
PLATYPUS EXPERIMENTAL Industry: Design Studio
DESIGN LEARNING
Area of work:
Industrial Design,
Product Design,
Sculptures,
Public Art,
Textiles,
Ceramics
DESIGN STUDIO
4. THE PLACE
Land initially bought 20 years ago with the aim of
setting up a furniture mass production factory
8. 23 EMPLOYEES
2
DRAFTSMEN
PRAKASH
VANI 1
CERAMIC
WORKSHOP
2
WORKERS
HEAD
1 1
1 TECHNICIAN
PLASTIC/WOOD
METAL
WORKSHOP
0
GENERAL HEAD
ADMIN &
ACCOUNTS
10
WORKERS
DESIGN
ASSISTANT
2 3
TEXTILE
CARE
TAKERS WORKERS
9. PLATYPUS DESIGN PROJECTS
Stone Sculpture – Batra Hospital, Delhi
Titanium Sculpture – Ministry of Foreign Affairs office, New Delhi
SCULPTURES Wall Art (Metal) - 20 feet x 9 feet - Ministry of Foreign Affairs office, New Delhi
Titanium blinds – 40 sq. feet - Private
Brass Water body – 15 feet x 15 feet (2 tonnes) - Private
Sal patta plates/ travel food cases for Rajdhani trains
Solar Cooker – bought by Sintex for development
INDUSTRIAL Self storage Water Heater for below poverty line population
PRODUCTS
Photovoltaic water cooler – Soft drinks stall (Pepsi)
Amul Stall
10. PLATYPUS DESIGN PROJECTS
Bus for Environment Sanitation Institute
VEHICLES Bus for National Innovation Foundation
Bus for Gujarat Energy Development Association
Tapestries – Private orders
Lotus Tapestry – 14 feet by 10 feet – Private
TEXTILES
Arvind Mills – Bags/ diaries etc. from Indigo waste
Punah – Blinds, folders, diaries etc. out of recycled plastic waste
12. PLATYPUS DESIGN PROJECTS
Private pieces – Ceramic explorations
Wall art or private sculptures
CERAMICS
Agashiye – Special theme based kitchenware and crockery
(development stage)
Garbage picking cart – to minimize human contact
SELF Sal Patta plates and lunch packs – for Rajdhani trains
INITIATED Coir production machine
14. PRAKASH VANI
Design Thinker
Introvert
Visionary
Worked in Loves to
Interior/ explore
Exhibition/ Over 35 years
Furniture of industry
Exhibition/ experience
Furniture
Core importance is not business and profit, but experimentation
Believes in creating a bond between the product and the user –
NID 1st UG Introduce customization
BATCH PLATYPUS Working Full
time since 2009
1970 DESIGN Wants to provide a facility to explore and prototype
Experimental – believes in doing things without any fear
Collaboration
Industry Mentor with NID MSME
for United World
Experimental
15. PUBLIC ART PROJECT
Kankaria Wall Mural Project
Largest Public Art Project in the world
300 m long (10,000 sq. feet)
Relief work inspired from:
Ÿ Cultures of Ahmedabad
Ÿ Sea trade
Ÿ History of business
Ÿ History of Ahmedabad city in general
Working with Amitabh Gandhi (Founder, Art Underground) and Nandini
Gandhi (Co-founder, talking Mirrors)
18. No standard process
PRICE NEGOTIATION ONLY HANDLED
BY HIM AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT NO SET PROCESS TO NO STANDARD TO CARRY FORWARD Inconsistency in inventory
DOCUMENT THE CONCEPT
LAZY
INTROVERT Storage space anywhere
UNCLEAR OBJECTIVE LIST MISSING
LOT OF DEPENDANCY
ON HIM FOR LOT OF PRAKASH VANI INCOMING NO TRACK OF RAW MATERIALS
PROJECTS
SURVIVAL VS CONCEPT FOR SUSTAINING, GET IDEAS DILUTED
TECHNICAL EXPERT
ALONE, KNOWS AND HITENDRA LEFTOVER OBJECTIVE LIST MISSING
UNDERSTANDS ALL THE
PROJECTS VERY WELL
No space to keep leftovers
NO PLANNING VISION &
No track of needed
MISSION replenishment
STATEMENT
Recycle
SINGLE WORKSHOP
No set process to
PERSON INVENTORY NO FOLLOW-UPS sell the waste
MANAGEMENT material
DEPENDANCY
PUNAH
PRODUCT MARKETING Making on order
Good products but
no presence in
market
NO INVENTORY & PRODUCT LIST
NO TIMELINE, MATERIAL DETAIL
&CLIENT DETAILS
SEGMENTATION OF PRODUCTS IS NOT
THERE
NOT WELL MAINTAINED DISPLAY AREA PLATYPUS DISTANCE
TRANSPORTATION FOR
WORKERS DELAY IN THE SUPPLY OF RAW
MATERIALS
DESIGN
MATERIAL EXTRA COST TO PROJECTS
ALL CATEGORY OF TECHNIQUES/ INFORMATION MISSING TRANSPORTATION
PRODUCTS NOT DISPLAYED
ON WEB PRESENCE
HIGH
COMMUNICA- ATTRITION
DO NOT MARKET PLATYPUS TION GAP RATE NEED TEMPORARY DESIGNERS
NO PLATFORM PAY PACKAGES
NEED MARKET VISION OF RESOURCE WORK ENVIRONMENT
SHARING DATABASE OF
PAST PROJECTS
EXTERNAL DESIGNERS
INCONSISTENCY BETWEEN DESIGNER
AND TECHNICIAN NOT CORRECTLY SKILLED
KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER INTERNAL WORKERS LONG DISTANCE
LACK OF DOCUMENTATION NO PROCESS OF COMPLETED
PROJECTS
DOES NOT ATTEND FAIR ETC. INCOMING NO HR POLICIES APPRAISAL AND OTHER POLICIES
DESIGN DOWNLOAD NOT
DOCUMENTED
NO PROCESS AND MATERIAL
MAPPING OPPORTUNITY AREAS OF DOCUMENTION
PLATYPUS DESIGN FIRM
19. VISION AND MISSION
Concept based on Prakash
UNCLEAR OBJECTIVES Vani’s ideologies, but no
clarity of focused objectives
No formal documentation
of the Vision, & Mission
NO DOCUMENTATION statements
Difficulty to understand
In order to sustain the
IDEOLOGY vs. SUSTAINABILITY organization, the ideologies
get neglected
20. SINGLE PERSON DEPENDENCY
Decision maker for all
PRAKASH VANI projects, designs, process
and finances
Technical Execution and
HITENDRA SHAH Development In-charge
All projects depend on their
decision making and
expertise
21. PRODUCT DISPLAY
No inventory and
NOT WELL MAINTAINED
categorization of products
No information about
INFORMATION MISSING material, client, technique,
timeline etc.
All type of design and
technical strengths not
displayed
22. COMMUNICATION
Inconsistency between
INTERNAL
designer and technician
No website or any type of
EXTERNAL
web presence
No platform for knowledge
No intention of marketing
sharing – internal and
Platypus as a business
external
23. DATABASE OF PAST PROJECTS
No images/ details of
LACK OF DOCUMENTATION completed projects
Design downloads not
documented
Extensive work done, but no No process and material
common database documentation
24. HIGH ATTRITION
No standard promotions or
NO HR POLICIES appraisals
Salary based on type of skill
Pay packages
Work environment
PROBLEM WITH DESIGNERS Requirement for temporary
designers
Not skilled as per
PROBLEM WITH WORKERS requirement
Distance and location
25. WORKSHOP INVENTORY
No track of incoming raw
INCOMING
materials
LEFTOVER No process for recycling
No standard process for
No prior alert of required
inventory
replenishment
Inconsistent storage
26. DISTANCE
Need to travel long distance
MANPOWER TRAVEL
on their own
Extra expense
MATERIAL TRANSPORTATION
Delay in supply
27. PUNAH
Web presence, but not
PRODUCT MARKETING updated
Make on specific order only
PUNAH Good product and
technique, but no marketing
NO FOLLOW-UPS No follow up on online
queries
29. QUESTIONNAIRE TABLE
STATUS DOCUMENTATION - PROJECTS
OPPO RT U NITY A REA S Y/ N S TA TU S REM AR KS
A - Active formally Is th e p ro c e sse s use d in the pa st
pro je c ts do c um e nte d so m e w he re ?
N C
B - Defunct Is th e file nam ing c o nsiste nt fo r a ll th e
pro je c ts?
Y A W ith pr o je c t c o d e
bu t no d ate in the file
C - Never applied – Interested in nam e
Are file s pe rtainin g to diffe re n t Y A File s a re sto r e d o nly
D - Never applied – Not interested pro je c ts sto re d in a c e n tra l lo c atio n ? afte r c o m ple tio n o f a
E - Active informally pro je c t, an d ar e
so m e tim e s m isse d ou t
– NO C HEC K
Are p ro je c t file s a c c e ssible an d Y E Only w he n p ro je c t is
e dita ble to a ll? fin ishe d , it is
ac c e ssible to all
Are p ro je c t file s transfe rre d o ve r a Y A
ne tw o rk?
Is th e p ro je c t d o c um e nte d to ge th e r Y E Im age s o f a lo t m an y
DOCUMENTATION – VISION AND IDEAS o n c o m ple tio n? pro je c ts is m issin g,
sinc e the r e is no
re sp o nsib ility of a
OPPORTUNITY AREAS Y/N STATUS REMARKS single pe rso n to ta ke
c are o f it
Is company vision documented? N E
Are e xp lo ra tio n an d p ro c e sse s u se d N E
Is the company mission N E do c u m e nte d ?
Is th e re a da tab ase o f im a ge s o f N C
documented?
e xplo ra tio ns?
Are the objectives of the company N E Is th e re a da tab ase o f im a ge s o f the N C
being documented? c o m ple te d pro je c ts?
Are the vision/mission/objectives N C Ha ve pre v io u s pr o ble m s an d p ro je c t N C
shared with every new employee? failure s b e e n do c u me n te d ?
Of a ll the p ro je c ts th at h av e b e e n N E
c o m ple te d till n o w , a re p ro d uc t
sp e c ific a tio n and te c hniqu e s
do c u m e nte d ?
Is th e re a c lie nt d a ta ba se b e in g Y E
m ainta in e d?
Is th e re a ve nd o r d ata ba se b e ing Y E
30. QUESTIONNAIRE TABLE
DOCUMENTATION – INVENTORY SUSTAINABILITY & PASSING ON THE
TRADITION
OPPORTUNITY AREAS Y/N STATUS REMARKS
Is incoming raw material inventory in Y A/E Only applied to OPPORTUNITY AREAS Y/N STATUS REMARKS
place? Textile workshop
Are there any set standards to be N C
If (a) yes, then is it documented N C followed for processes by the
digitally? employees?
Is raw material segregated based on N C Is the Platypus ideology being N B
categories? marketed effectively?
Is raw material storage space well N C Is there someone to take care of the N E
defined? organization if Prakash Vani is not
Are there regular internal audits of left Y E During projects and present?
over material? Year end Does the design community know Y E
about the workshops/facilities
Does the waste material sell off Y E
available at Platypus Design Studio?
regularly?
Does Prakash Vani want Platypus to Y
Is leftover raw material recycled? Y E
continue and grow after him?
Is there a regular requirement for the Y C
replenishment of the raw material
during the project?
Is there a particular person assigned Y E
to keep a check on the raw material
requirement?
Is the inventory information available N C Bills of challans and
centrally and accessible to all? receipts are kept and
stored in one file.
Specific guy refers
that file.
31. QUESTIONNAIRE TABLE
DOCUMENTATION – INVENTORY EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION – WEB
PRESENCE
OPPORTUNITY AREAS Y/N STATUS REMARKS
Is the display area easily accessible to N C OPPORTUNITY AREAS Y/N STATUS REMARKS
people? Is there a website of Platypus? N C
Is the display area well maintained? N C
Is there any other web presence that Y B
Does it exhibit all his capabilities? N C links to Prakash Vani?
Does it show the products with the N C Is the website/weblink active? N B
details and manufacturing details? Are their products sold through other Y B
Are products being segregated by N C online portals?
categories? Do clients come by word-of-mouth? Y A
Is there an in charge for the display Y E
area? Does Prakash vani respond to online N B
Is there enough lighting and Y A queries?
ventilation in the display area? Are the products available in retail N C
Is there a brochure/catalog about N C stores?
the products being displayed Is there a catalog to promote his line N C
available for the clients ? of projects/ technology/ facilities
available?
Has Platypus collaborated with other N C
design studios post its inception for
marketing?
Does Platypus want to collaborate Y A
with other institutes/design studios to
promote itself?
32. QUESTIONNAIRE TABLE
FACILITATE PARTICIPATION PUNAH
(WORKSHOPS AND FACILITIES)
OPPORTUNITY AREAS Y/N STATUS REMARKS
OPPORTUNITY AREAS Y/N STATUS REMARKS Is Punah, propriety of Platypus Y A
Are the workshop and other facilities Y A Only known in PV’s design?
known to people outside? immediate circle Are Punah products marketed well? N B
Can the students from design Y E The idea and Do people know about the recycled Y B
background come and use the information about his products range of Punah?
facility? service has not been Is there a catalogue available which Y B
marketed well shows the complete range of Punah?
Does Punah have a web presence? Y B
Can other professional designers use Y C
the workshops and facilities for Is the website updated regularly? N B
prototyping? Do the Punah products sell under N B
Does Prakash Vani conduct N C Platypus brand name?
workshops on a regular basis to make Are Punah products available in retail N C
the design fraternity know about the stores?
capabilities of his design studio? Is the process that is being used to N B
make different products for Punah,
documented?
33. QUESTIONNAIRE TABLE
EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION – DISPLAY
OPPORTUNITY AREAS Y/N STATUS REMARKS
Is the display area easily accessible to N C
people?
Is the display area well maintained? N C
Does it exhibit all his capabilities? N C
Does it show the products with the N C
details and manufacturing details?
Are products being segregated by N C
categories?
Is there an in charge for the display Y E
area?
Is there enough lighting and Y A
ventilation in the display area?
Is there a brochure/catalog about N C
the products being displayed
available for the clients ?
36. PROJECT DOCUMENTATION
IDEA
Platypus design does a variety of projects with different materials and techniques and this can become a great
database for anyone in this field. Also, this could be used as a reference guide for designers and students in future.
DIRECTION
All the projects that are completed need to be documented in a very simple format. The format should be easily
understandable with crisp information about the project.
Format to be used should have the following categories:
PROJECT BRIEF MATERIALS TECHNIQUE CLIENT / YEAR SPECIFICATIONS FINAL
REQUIRED USED IMAGE
37. HOW WILL THIS HELP PLATYPUS IN FUTURE?
SHORT TERM All projects will get documented in a specified format
Easy for new employees to get hold of the working style of the
organization
MID TERM
New clients can look at other works being taken up by this organization
Once the database is ready with a considerable amount of projects, this
LONG TERM can be published in a graphical book or an online database, which can
be referred by the design fraternity
39. INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
IDEA
Platypus design works with a variety of material and has three different workshops viz textile, plastic/wood/metal
and ceramic.
In order to keep a track of the incoming raw material for all projects and to segregate them based on categories,
there is a need to keep a central inventory that could be accessed by everyone on a regular basis.
DIRECTION
This inventory should have raw material tags/coded based on the specification. This code can be linked to the
delivery challans and receipts in order to keep a track of the amount used, usage and the need for replenishment.
Format to be used:
1. Coding based on material type:
a. Material (M/P/T/W/C)
b. 6-8 alpha-numeric characters
c. Specify type, grade, color
d. Source
e. Code format Material category-material-grade-source
Eg : MSS404B is stainless steel of 404 grade
RAW MATERIAL SOURCE PROCUREME COLOR FOR PROJECT
Format NT DATE
40. HOW WILL THIS HELP PLATYPUS IN FUTURE?
BETTER OPTIMIZING THE COMMON
RESOURCE EXPENDITURES ACCESSIBILITY TO
MANAGEMENT THE RESOURCES
STRUCTURED EASY FOR HAND
SYSTEM IN PLACE OVER AND THE
INFORMATION
42. REVIVING PUNAH
IDEA
The concept of Punah is essentially to use recycle material and create new unique and customizable products.
The USP of these products are that they connect to the user's needs.
The problem with Punah's initial model was that it got restricted to just one technique and there was a risk of Punah
turning into a mass production facility and hence Punah despite of having lot of potential become defunct.
Proposal: Revive Punah for other materials.
DIRECTION
Explore recycling under Punah brand name.
1.This could come as a part of self initiated projects.
2.Regular workshops with artists that can be conducted to come up with new ideas to use recycle material and
suggest brands that work with recycling.
3.To take up exploratory projects of other brands and help their designers to use the workshop and the facility
given by Prakash Vani in order to allow young designers to explore new material to make new recycled products.
43. WORKSHOP AS INNOVATION LAB
What facilities does Platypus
provide at present? Examples of such workshops in
Opportunity Area:
different countries:
Conversion of workshop
into creative hub for Techshop : A US based workshop
innovation and used by designers as a
prototyping prototyping facility
Used by companies like
Catapult design, Design FabLabs : Available in different
impact countries for the same purpose
Metal/wood/plastic/
ceramic/textile workshop
44. HOW WOULD THIS HELP PLATYPUS DESIGNS?
Long term goal
Market the workshop facilities as
Make a legacy
Used by design
Fraternity and world
wide social innovation
organizations.
Hitendra can be a heir
Innovation Labs in India
Aware of different
processes and methods
But why market in this way?
PV doesn’t want to put much efforts in marketing his products and Platypus Design
He wants to experiment, explore and work towards unique projects
He wants to share his design knowledge with young entrepreneurs and designers
45. THE PROPOSAL
We propose : To market platypus not as a design studio but as an Innovation Workshop Facility
What do you require?
A web presence telling the facilities/workshops and the tools that are available at Platypus
design.
Who would be benefitted with this?
External
Different organizations who take up different social innovation projects around the world and need workshops to do
prototyping in different countries
Artists and professional designers who do not have the facility but want to do something different
Students who have ideas, but no facility to convert the ideas in a tangible product
Internal
Establish oneself as an Innovation hub
Chance to work on exciting and unique projects
Mentoring and guiding the people with your knowledge
Taking it forward as an Innovation institute/hub
46. EXISTING SCENARIOS ON THE SAME MODEL
Organizations like Catapult Designs, use workshop facilities in different
countries to complete their prototyping of social innovation projects.
Fab lab is one such organization that provides workshop facilities to
companies like Catapult Design in different countries.
They have workshops around the world including India.
In India, they have the facilities available in 5 cities.
47. LEARNINGS AND EXPERIENCE
For a design audit it is important to see a holistic approach and solution towards any
opportunity area.
It is also equally important to understand all the stakeholders who would be involved in the
entire process and proposal.
It is not about auditing just the organization but coming up with suggestions and solutions
that helps both the internal as well as external stakeholders in the process.
Since there is not much information that is available on net about Prakash Vani and Platypus
design, it was a new learning experience for us where we researched through in a different
way to get more insights about this organization.
It is an organization whose core mission is not business or profit but to experiment. So
coming up with suggestions/proposals that goes well with the ideologies of Prakash Vani
was interesting as well as challenging.
It was of key importance to understand and propose solutions that would actually interest
Prakash Vani, and will be helpful in achieving his vision for the organization.
