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#54 - The Problem With India’s Designers - And No One Wants to Admit It : Narendra Ghate
What do two decades building a top design consultancy and a shift to leading design at one of India's largest private banks have in common?
In this honest and wide-ranging conversation, Dipaq sits down with Narendra Ghate, Head of Design at HDFC Bank. Drawing from his 25-year tenure at Tata Elxsi, where he traveled the world "selling software by doing projects", Ghate shares his evolution from mechanical engineer to a design leader who understands that a designer’s true value lies in problem-solving, not just specialised skills.
He unpacks the challenging journey of building a design practice in India: the years spent convincing clients to value design beyond aesthetics, and the art of selling high-value projects by presenting a future roadmap rather than just a portfolio. Ghate argues strongly against the "hyper-specialist" mindset, advocating for designers to become holistic problem-solvers who embrace a multidisciplinary approach-even designing a studio's behaviour by dimming the lights.
Finally, we explore his current mission to simplify finance in India and his vision for the country's design future: one where design thinking expands beyond the "designer" label and becomes a core ability for entrepreneurs, politicians, and business leaders.
This episode is essential viewing for design students, studio owners struggling to scale, and business leaders looking to truly integrate design into their organization.
In this episode, you'll discover:
- Narendra’s 25-year journey from mechanical engineer and "salesman" at Tata Elxsi to Head of Design at HDFC Bank.
- The transition from selling products to "selling a future and a roadmap" for high-ticket projects.
- Why the trend of becoming a "hyper specialist" is a "bunch of rubbish," and why designers must be the "family doctor" for a business's problems.
- How a designer can control the behaviour of 200 people in a studio simply by dimming the lights (and why it works).
- The "two crutches" that limit designers: blindly following a process and being reliant on a specific skill.
- His vision for the future: Design expanding its impact beyond the design profession itself.
- The biggest mission at HDFC: simplifying finance to unlock wealth across all levels of Indian society.
CONNECT:
Check out our Substack: [email protected]
Supported by Syqi: https://syqi.art/
Email us at [[email protected]]
View all episodes
By DipaqWhat do two decades building a top design consultancy and a shift to leading design at one of India's largest private banks have in common?
In this honest and wide-ranging conversation, Dipaq sits down with Narendra Ghate, Head of Design at HDFC Bank. Drawing from his 25-year tenure at Tata Elxsi, where he traveled the world "selling software by doing projects", Ghate shares his evolution from mechanical engineer to a design leader who understands that a designer’s true value lies in problem-solving, not just specialised skills.
He unpacks the challenging journey of building a design practice in India: the years spent convincing clients to value design beyond aesthetics, and the art of selling high-value projects by presenting a future roadmap rather than just a portfolio. Ghate argues strongly against the "hyper-specialist" mindset, advocating for designers to become holistic problem-solvers who embrace a multidisciplinary approach-even designing a studio's behaviour by dimming the lights.
Finally, we explore his current mission to simplify finance in India and his vision for the country's design future: one where design thinking expands beyond the "designer" label and becomes a core ability for entrepreneurs, politicians, and business leaders.
This episode is essential viewing for design students, studio owners struggling to scale, and business leaders looking to truly integrate design into their organization.
In this episode, you'll discover:
- Narendra’s 25-year journey from mechanical engineer and "salesman" at Tata Elxsi to Head of Design at HDFC Bank.
- The transition from selling products to "selling a future and a roadmap" for high-ticket projects.
- Why the trend of becoming a "hyper specialist" is a "bunch of rubbish," and why designers must be the "family doctor" for a business's problems.
- How a designer can control the behaviour of 200 people in a studio simply by dimming the lights (and why it works).
- The "two crutches" that limit designers: blindly following a process and being reliant on a specific skill.
- His vision for the future: Design expanding its impact beyond the design profession itself.
- The biggest mission at HDFC: simplifying finance to unlock wealth across all levels of Indian society.
CONNECT:
Check out our Substack: [email protected]
Supported by Syqi: https://syqi.art/
Email us at [[email protected]]