“Design Inspirations”, a two-day seminar focussed on design organised by The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council was launched yesterday. The seminar has become an important feature of the GJEPC’s annual calendar of events and explores aspects related to jewellery trend forecasting.

 “Jewellery is all about design,” said Praveenshankar Pandya, Chairman, GJEPC, speaking  on Day 1. “If the design is right, if it captures the imagination of the consumer then the jewellery sells and sells in multiples.”

Explaining that different countries had different jewellery preferences the  Chairman added: “You  must have a passion for design, but it is also important to understand the needs of the market.”   

Pandya  said that though the country  has greatly talented designers who  are able to create excellent designs for the domestic market, India still needs to further develop its skills to emerge as a design hub for the export market. 

Design Inspirations is a move towards this, to give designers a larger global picture and a methodology for trend analysis on which to base their designs.

Shimul Mehta Vyas, Faculty member of the National Institute of Design (NID)   presented the Keynote Address titled: “Mapping Macro Trends”.

Shimul defined trends as changes and shifts in society which become a pattern; find an acceptance by the people and which impact different aspects of people as consumers.  She added that trends are not short-lived, but have a lifecycle; they are not simply a  creative expression; and they are not associated only to the world of fashion, but relate to every aspect of life.

It was important to know and understand consumer trends, Shimul opined, to be able to make projections about the future, and to enable companies to cater to changing tastes, preferences and consumption patterns.    

“Knowing trends is going to keep you prepared to meet the needs of the consumers,” she said.

Shimul defined three trend types: 1) Macro and Micro Trends – eg wellness as a new macro trend; time for oneself, going to the gym etc would  be the micro trends from that 2) Counter Trends – eg too much technology, too much fast food giving rise to slow food and 3) Global and Regional Trends   - the former being those that transcend boundaries ; and the latter being those that are more region specific. 

 Shimul went on to outline 12 Global Trends that the analysis of her and her team had thrown up, all of which found a ready resonance with one’s experience.  Her presentation threw up several interesting ideas and contained the routes for further exploration by designers. 

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GJEPC Chairman Praveenshankar Pandya addressing the Design Inspirations Seminar