Satyendra Pakhalé’s ‘Culture of Creation’ explores the role of design in the pandemic era

Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed our world as we knew it, exposing faults in our society, a new book explores the role of design in fostering the common good, uniting us all in today’s divided world. Though at the time of its writing, the Covid-19 crisis hadn’t yet unfolded, it seems like this book takes on a more significant relevance now with the current world crisis. It subtly challenges the current assumptions and belief system that are taken for granted and hardly ever questioned including Euro-centralism, traditionalism, individualism and more.

“The project of modernity is still a work in progress in most societies, seen from the point of view of social cohesion. Design has to help bring the disintegrating elements together and unite them in a given society. It ought to rebuild society on the foundations of ‘social modernity’.” – Satyendra Pakhalé, Designer

'Culture of Creation' by Satyendra Pakhalé illustrates the designer’s body of works created by him over the past two decades and contains 12 critical essays by leading design thinkers and practitioners, covering a wide range of topics with a refreshing new perspective exploring the role of design in fostering the common good — a design for social cohesion.

According to Pakhalé, "Design is a cultural act about justice as much as utility and beauty."

The polymath creator Satyendra Pakhalé sees the world as one place of our common human condition. Why we as human beings do what we do and how the things we create nurture our sensorial and social nature is what the book ‘Culture of Creation’ delves into. The role of design is to further develop the concept of ‘social modernity’ — ‘social’ not in the sense of ‘charitable’, but rather ‘conducive to social cohesion’ as collective welfare and happiness of our entire ecosystem. The ideal thus referenced is also expressed in the concept of the ‘common good’, meaning whatever is best for all sentient beings and for their harmonious co-existence in the long run.

“We cannot mentally survive in a world devoid of historicity, sensuality, and human meaning. Meaningful design places our bodies and minds harmoniously in the flesh of the world.” – Juhani Pallasmaa, Professor, Architect, design thinker, Finland