New Delhi: The ‘I’ mark (India Design Mark) was launched at the Japan Good Design Exhibition in the capital. In his inaugural address at the design conference and the launch ceremony, Anand Mahindra, Chairman, India Design Council (IDC) and Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra, said that the launch of ‘I’ mark was a big step forward for India.

"As we now recognize that as we go up the value chain, we may not always be able to differentiate ourselves on the basis of lower cost. We can see the premium price and higher value intellectual property that originality and design command across the world. And we have a newly conscious class of consumers that refuses to be fobbed of with second class design or me-too imitation," he said.

Textile Designer Ritu Kumar, who is also a Member of the India Design Council (IDC), launched the ‘I’ mark in the presence of representatives of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), IDC and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Mr. Mahindra said that India needs to promote not just design but design thinking. “Our design thinking would have to be not just holistic but also unique to us. If we want to put India on the design map of the world, then we would have to find our own design voice, a design vocabulary that is uniquely Indian but has universal appeal”, he said.

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http://www.cadcamnews.in/2011/03/i-mark-india-design-mark-launched.html
http://www.sify.com/news/i-mark-india-sets-new-quality-benchmark-for-design-news-national-ldeqajjhedf.html