Design emerges as India’s next strategic profession
“Design has become one of the most powerful tools an economy has for innovation,” says Siddharth Shahani, Executive President, ATLAS SkillTech University. “The designers India needs will bring together creativity, technology and business thinking with equal confidence. Preparing them means building education around where the profession is heading, so that our graduates do not just enter industries but help shape them.”
Design in India is entering its most expansive phase yet. What was once associated mainly with fashion, products and interiors now shapes how people bank, shop, learn, travel and receive care. From the interface of a payment app to the layout of a hospital ward and the experience of a retail brand, design has become central to how organisations create value and how people experience everyday life.
This growth reflects a wider shift in the economy. As businesses compete on experience as much as on price or features, design has moved from the studio to the strategy table. Companies across technology, consumer goods, media, real estate and healthcare now see designers as partners in innovation, not only as specialists who arrive at the final stage.
A profession of expanding possibilities
The numbers point to significant opportunities. India’s fashion and luxury market is projected to reach $85-90 billion by 2030. The creator economy is expected to influence nearly a trillion dollars in consumer spending over the same period, and the real estate sector is projected to exceed $920 billion by 2031. Each of these sectors will need professionals who combine creative insight with commercial understanding and technological fluency.
New roles are emerging as a result. AI product designers, service designers, design engineers and experience strategists are becoming integral to how organisations build products and services. The professionals who will lead in this sector can move confidently between aesthetics and analytics, and between human behaviour and business outcomes.
Education rises to the moment
The National Education Policy’s emphasis on multidisciplinary learning has encouraged institutions to align design education with this broader definition of the profession. Leading institutions are responding by restructuring their programmes around the domains where design creates impact.
ISDI at ATLAS SkillTech University, known for introducing one of India’s first undergraduate programmes integrating design thinking with business strategy, reflects this direction in its 2027 undergraduate offering. It is organised across five domains: product and technology, fashion and commerce, communication and media, space and environment, and business and entrepreneurship. Emerging disciplines such as AI-integrated product design and health and care design sit alongside established ones.
The road ahead
For students considering design, the opportunity has never been broader. A design education today can lead to careers in technology firms, global brands, media houses, healthcare systems and entrepreneurial ventures. Programmes that offer exposure to technology, business and real-world industry challenges are equipping students to build careers with long-term relevance.
As India’s economy grows more innovation-led, design is poised to play a defining role in it. The next generation of designers will do more than serve industries; they will shape them.
The writer is an Executive President, ATLAS SkillTech University; Views presented are personal.
