This project started with an open ended brief where I, as a System Designer, had to identify the problem area with a defined target audience followed by research, ideation and prototyping. The beauty of the project was to see the evolution of the research brief throughout the 13 months. And every stage of the design process required research and iteration of the brief to reach a conclusive prototype. 

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Primary and secondary research tools were deployed for systemic mapping that helped in identifying pregnant ladies as the most vulnerable user group of mountain regions in terms of the effect of erratic weather conditions. Various stakeholders, like gynaecologists, gynaec-nurses and ENT specialists, were brought under the umbrella to draw insights from the mountain healthcare system in the context of pregnancy. Pregnant ladies were the focal point of this project and there was a constant drive as a designer to understand their behavioural patterns, needs and aspirations. The research was very broad with interrelated aspects and provided an intense amount of raw data to be interpreted. Through a lot of discussions and multiple rounds of analysis, the mobility of pregnant ladies in the mountain context was looked at as the key issue to be addressed. Ideation workshop was conducted with a team of experienced designers to brainstorm on possible opportunity areas. The final redefined brief was to develop a clothing range for pregnant ladies of mountain regions  that enables their mobility by tackling challenges of erratic weather conditions, mountain terrain and essential psychological as well as biological needs.

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Final impact of the project:

In 2021, the collection was launched in the market by the design studio in Gangtok, Sikkim. The production has been executed in-house by a team of 100 tailors and few embroider workers. As per the studio, the market will be diversified within other parts of Indian Himalayan region.

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I was leading the project through all the stages of the design process. This one of my first experiences owning a project from end to end and the final deliverable was to deliver a concrete prototype for market testing in Sikkim. 

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My takeaways from the study have been:

• I felt very lost in the process of conceptualising a brief that would be very relevant in the mountain context. It was a long process of unlearning and learning and led to the development of a brief that had scope, was relevant and scalable.

• At every stage of research, I was filled with so many questions and doubts. Answer to every question led me to another set of questions. After a point I was so much immersed into the topic of pregnancy that it became very overwhelming. My heart was so heavy with emotions and respect for women. There was a realisation that I will be a successful researcher only if I am able to empathise to that extent.

• The research was very broad with inter-related aspects and provided so much raw data to be interpreted. It could take such different forms and so many meanings could be brought on the table to be discussed. Hence, the analysis stage was the most challenging one. It involved me to get into a lot of conversations and debates with different stakeholders within as well as outside the studio space. Slowly through discussions and systematic analysis, the data got sorted and provided insightful information. It helped in narrowing down to a specific design direction. 

• The Echostream is a family of designers specialising in varied design fields. This was taken as an opportunity to execute the second phase of Ideation by coming together as a team to ideate. The objective was to make such a setting that facilitates creative minds to think beyond specialization boundaries, let go wild and diverse to find creative solutions for the redesigned project brief. Conducting an Ideation workshop with the Echostream designers was very challenging but fun. It taught a lot more than I expected with great workshop outcomes. 

• There were phases in the project when I felt that things were just out of my control because of COVID-19. It was truly a roller coaster ride that taught me to think on my feet, be flexible enough to navigate all the speed breakers and focus on solutions rather than problems. I had to alter my methodology and approaches at every step like switching from shadowing research tool to video recording in order to observe the daily activities of pregnant ladies.