AReviewofFamilyPlanningMaterialDesigninIndia

Papersubmittedinpartialfulfillmentofrequirementsofthecourse“HistoryofGraphicDesign”atSrishtiSchoolofArt,Design&Technology

AvniSethi,3rdyearSangamaInterdisciplinaryLab

21March2011

Page2of9

TableofContentsA. Introduction................................................................................................................................. 3B. FamilyPlanningandtheOriginofContemporaryDesigninIndia ...................... 3C. TheRedTriangleLogo ............................................................................................................ 3D. QuestforaEuropean‐StyleGrassrootsModernity..................................................... 4E. TheKeyRoleofDAVPandFilmsDivision

inDevelopingIndia’sDesignCulture................................................................................ 4F. DAVPandtheFamilyPlanningprogramme .................................................................. 5G. Far‐ReachingImpactoftheEmergencyExcesses ....................................................... 6H. ContentAnalysis:Imagery..................................................................................................... 6I. ContentAnalysis:Messaging ................................................................................................ 7J. TheContemporaryPoster:AlignedwithNeo‐LiberalConsumerism................. 7K. InterplayBetweenStylingand(Printing)Technology ............................................. 8L. Conclusion:DesignasAdjunctto(Social)Marketing ................................................ 8M. Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 9ListofIllustrations1. TheoriginallogooftheFamilyPlanningprogrammeinIndia.............................. 32. Graphicsofthefamilyplanningcampaigninitsearlyyears.................................. 43. Theubiquitous‘fourfaces’FamilyPlanningmassmediacampaign................... 54. Themodified‘redtriangle’logo.......................................................................................... 65. PosterspublishedbytheDirectorateofFamilyWelfare,circa1993 ................. 66. Aone‐child‘happyfamily’image,withagirlasthesolechild .............................. 77. PublicityimagefortheSaathiyaintegratedfamilyplanningservice ................. 88. Arecentposterandadvertisementshowinghighnarrativecontent

anduseofdigitalimagingtechnology .............................................................................. 8

Page3of9

A. Introduction Thispaperisareviewofgraphicdesignmaterialpublishedfor,byandundertheFamilyPlanningprogrammeofIndiaovertheyears–usingvisualreferences(mostlyposters,butalsowallpaintingsandprintadvertisements)collatedfromvariousinternetsources.Thepaperintendstoanalyzeboth,contentaswellasform,inthisoverview–intermsofthepoliticsunderlyingthemessagingaswellastheselectionofstyleandaestheticsoftheform–asevidencedintheposters.Further,itattemptstocorrelatethesewiththehistoryandevolutionofthediscourseofdesigntheoryaswellaspraxisinpost‐independenceIndia,andwithaglanceatcontemporaryIndiangraphicdesign,advertisingdesignandfineandappliedarttrends.Throughthis,itishopedtodemonstratehowdesigninIndiaoriginatedhighonidealismandaesthetics,butovertheyearshasto‘stooplow’–intothepopularandcommercial–inordertoremainviableandperceivedasrelevant,whileremainingingenuoustothepoliticalaspectofitsdeployment.B. FamilyPlanningandtheOriginofContemporaryDesigninIndiaTheFamilyPlanningprogrammeinIndiawasintroducedasearlyas1951‐52,withtheadventofthefive‐yearplansystem,andcommunicationwasconceivedasavitalcomponentforittobesuccessful.IntheearlyyearsoftheIndianstate,thereweretwoformsofdesignactivitysponsoredbyit–adaptationofcolonialartefactsanddesignsforanindependentIndianidentity,andcommissioningofentirelynewartefacts,monumentsanddesignsinalignmentwiththevisionofIndia.Inthepre‐independenceera,Indiangraphicdesignhadcloselyfollowedwesterntrends,butalsoindigenousmovementsintheartsliketheBengalschool.Muchofthedesignworkproducedduringtheindependencemovementreflectsthis.Afterindependence,thistrendgotadaptedfromnationalistictonation‐buildingmessaging.Muchofgovernment‐commissionedmassmediaandpubliccommunicationfollowedthistrend,includingtheFamilyPlanningprogrammeaswell.ThecityofNewDelhimightbeupheldasaninstanceoftheformer,while

thecityofChandigarhmaybeupheldasaninstanceofthelatter.C. TheRedTriangleLogoOneoftheearliesticonsofthisprogrammeisitsjustifiablyfamous‘RedTriangle/LalTikon’logo(fig.1).AttributedtothefirstAssistantCommissioneroftheIndianFamilyPlanningprogramme,DeepTyagiaswellastheNationalInstituteofDesignandcommissionedduringthefourthFive‐YearPlanperiod(1969‐1974)1,thislogomanifestedthe

1OnthewebsiteoftheMinistryofFamilyWelfare:“ItwasduringtheFourthFiveyearPlanthatcommunicationeffortsbegantobemuchmoremeaningful.ThefamousRedTrianglesymbolforfamilyplanningwasconceivedduringthisperiodandanationalcampaignwaslaunched…”athttp://www.mohfw.nic.in/dofw%20website/family%20welfare%20programme/iec.htm.

Figure1.TheoriginallogooftheFamilyPlanningprogrammeinIndia.

Page4of9

nation’sneedforaprogressiveandcontemporaryidentitythatitcommissionedfromitsdesigninstitutions.Thelogo,anabstractionoftheyonifromTantraandcolouredredforfertility,becameaninternationaliconforFamilyPlanningintheyearstocome.D. QuestforaEuropean­StyleGrassrootsModernityAlongwiththelogoweredevelopedthesoon‐to‐beubiquitousiconsofa‘small,happyfamily’comprisingaman,awoman,andtheirsonanddaughter–renderedinagraphicabstractstylecomprisedofcirclesstraightlines(fig.2).Interestingly,inastudy2onthecommunicationeffectivenessofafamilyplanningcampaigninnorthIndia,respondentsdescribedtheseiconsas‘monkeyfaces’andexpressedtheirdislikeforit.However,itisapparentthattheseshouldearnacclaimfromthedesignpractitionersandideologuesofthetime,foritshighlyinternationalgraphicstyling,yetimbuedwithIndiancoloursandcalligraphy.

E. TheKeyRoleofDAVPandFilmsDivisioninDevelopingIndia’sDesign

CultureTheDirectorateofAdvertisingandVisualPublicity(DAVP)wassetupundertheBritishgovernmentafterthesecondworldwarinordertoserveasthePublic

2UnpublisheddissertationbyBhargava,Yashodhara:“Anevaluationofafewofthefamilyplanningposters”,LadyIrwinCollege,UniversityofDelhi1968;citedinRao,KamalaGopal:“StudiesinFamilyPlanning:India”,AbhinavPublications,NewDelhi1974.Quote:“Theyoungerwomenobjectedtothecartoon­likefaceswhichtheycharacterizedasmonkeyfaces,themessage(doyateenbus)inPosterC,andthepresentationoftheloopinPosterB.TheredtriangularsymbolonPosterDapparentlycommunicatedverylittle.”

Figure2.Themodernist,abstractedandhighlysimplifiedgraphicsofthefamilyplanningcampaignin

itsearlyyears.

Page5of9

RelationsaswellasAdvertisingAgencyofthegovernment3–inotherwords,asitsofficialpropagandamachinery.Afterindependence,theDAVPreinventeditselfasa“catalystofsocialchangeandeconomicgrowth”andisthedefaultserviceagencyforCentralGovernmentministriesanddepartmentsfortheirpublicityandmediaproductionneeds.TheothermajoroutreacharmfortheIndianstatewastheFilmsDivision,setupin1948.RegionalaswellasHindicinemawerealreadypopularwellbeforeindependence,andtheFilmsDivisionbeganproducingnewsfeaturesandissue‐baseddocumentariesthatweremandatorilyscreenedpriortoeverycommercial/popularfilmscreening.Betweenthem,theDAVPandtheFilmsDivisionprettymuchdefinedthemediaimage&presenceoftheIndianstateforthefirsttwodecadesafterindependence,andtheIndiandesignestablishmentwasoftenacollaboratorandproviderofcreativeideas.4F. DAVPandtheFamilyPlanningprogramme

TheDAVPwasthechiefpropagatoroftheFamilyPlanningprogrammeinIndia,andundertookamassiveandconsistentcampaigntoreachoutitsmessagetoeverypossiblenookandcornerofthecountry(fig.3)–inanagewhenmassmediawasjustbeginningtotakeshapeinIndia5.Thiscampaign,combininginternationalmodernismwithvernacular,representsinmanywaystheparticularvisuallanguagethatwassoughttobeinventedandappliedbyandforthenation.Itseemedtomakesense–thelanguagewasminimal,simpleandabstract–sothatitcouldovercomeorbypassthemultitudesofIndianlanguagesandvisualtraditionsintoasinglenational

coda.Itcouldalsobeappliedwithleastdistortionbyhand.Designpromisedtodeliversuchavisiontothestatethroughitssupposedlyscientificprinciplesand

3SourcedfromtheDAVPwebsiteathttp://www.davp.nic.in/davp_history.HTM.4VikasSatwalekar,ex‐DirectorofNID,reminisces:“WithBobGillitwasquiteinterestingashewasboughtintoworkonafamilyplanningcommunicationscampaignwiththeministryofhealth.Andthat’swhereIgottheopportunitytogetinvolvedwithvisualcommunicationsatadifferentlevel,morethanjustadvertisingorpuregraphicdesign.”Sourcedfromthe‘DesigninIndia’websiteathttp://www.designinindia.net/design­thoughts/teachers/vikas­satwalekar/interview.html.5Wooster,MartinMorse:“FordFoundation:FounderofModernPopulationControl”,CatholicFamilyandHumanRightsInstitute,NewYork2004.Quote:“Thiswasthecampaignofthe‘fourfaces,’afour­memberfamilythatsymbolizedhowhappyparentswouldbeiftheylimitedthemselvestotwochildren.Advertisementsforthiscampaign,McCarthywrites,wereplasteredon‘billboards,buses,locomotives–anythingthatmovedandmanythingsthatdidnotwereadornedwiththenewsymbolsinanattempttoraiseconsciousnessaboutcontraceptiveuse.’”

Figure3.Theubiquitous‘fourfaces’

FamilyPlanningmassmediacampaign,createdin1968byFrankWilderandD.

K.Tyagi.

Page6of9

methods,proveninEuropeandtheUS,andreadyforexporttothenewly‐independentcountriesofAsiaandSouthAmerica6.G. Far­ReachingImpactoftheEmergencyExcesses

However,theequityenjoyedbythislogogotseverelytarnishedduringtheEmergencyperiodinthe1970sinIndia,afterwhichitgotassociatedwithstatebrutalityandoppressionandhadtobe‘forciblyretired’anddevelopedintomoreacceptablevariants,suchastheoneshownhere.ThelaterlogosoftheFamilyPlanningprogramme(whichitselfgotrenamedtoReproductiveandChildHealthprogrammeandmanyothers,post‐

Emergency)rejectthestarkabstractionoftheredtriangleandinsteadinsertahumanelementtherebyevokinganarrativeandemotionalvalue,whilstretainingthetriangularmotifinordertodrawonthehighrecallvalueofthelegacylogo,minusitsnegativeconnotations(fig.4).

H. ContentAnalysis:ImageryThecoloursusedintheearlycampaignswereEuropean‐inspired(red,yellow,black)butalsoresonatedwithadominantlyHinduaesthetic.Thewoman’siconwasshownwithaprominentbindi,whilethemanhadaprominentmustache–anothercommonHindumarker–orasinthecaseoftherelativelymorerecent

6Exemplifiedbythe“IndiaReport”authoredbyCharlesandRayEames,commissionedbytheGovernmentofIndiaandfundedbytheFordFoundation.ThefullreportcanbereadattheDesignObserverwebsite,athttp://observatory.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=12692.

Figure4.Thetainted‘redtriangle’logowasmodified,butretaineditscorerecall.(FromtheDept.ofFamilyWelfarewebsite)

Figure5.PosterspublishedbytheDirectorateofFamilyWelfare,circa1993.(Source:PBS.orgwebsite,http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/worldbalance/campaigns.html)

Page7of9

postersinfig.5–showingaclearlyHinduchildmarriageinprogress7.Thisneednotbereadasasinisterconspiracy,becausethereligiousantagonismofIslam(andsomestreamsofChristianity)tocontraceptionwaswell‐known8,andthesecularstatewoulddonothingtoovertlyoffendthesesectionsofitspopulation.However,overthetimesitbecomesevidentthatthismodernistapproachwasnotentirelysuccessful.Theabstractionandthestarkrepresentationofonecommunitycreatedmoreantagonismorindifferencealtogether,andthedesignidealisminthewakeofthenewly‐formedstateseemstogivewaytoahumblerpragmatism–inparticular,agrudgingacceptanceoftheeffectivenessofpopularforms–beitcinema,television,illustration(frompulpnovelsormagazinesandAmarChitraKatha)orotherfolkmedia.I. ContentAnalysis:Messaging

OneofthemajorelementsincorporatedwithintheFamilyPlanningprogrammeistheemphasisonafamilywith(“just”)twoorthreechildren,andtheshifttoonewithjustoneortwochildren.Also,inthefirst‐generationfamilyplanningmessaging,theidealfamilywasshownashavingonesonandonedaughter,butinrecenttimestheemphasishasshiftedtoshowingjustonedaughter(seefig.6)–andadvocatingthecauseofthegirlchild.Obviouslythen,thisisinresponsetothestill‐poorgenderratioinmanystatesofthecountryandthewidespreadpersistenceofabortingafemalefetusbasedonsexdeterminationtestingduringpregnancy.However,asisevident,thestylingofthepostershascomealongwayfromthesterileabstractionoftheearlydaystoastrongsentimentality

thatevokesmultiplenarrativesincludingthatofthepopularcinema.ThesepostersandtheirstylingremindsoneoftheLatinAmericanmuraltraditions,amarkedshiftawayfromEuropeanmodernity.J. TheContemporaryPoster:AlignedwithAdvertisingMovingonfromtheMalthusiandoomsdaytheoriesofthe1960sand70s,therecentmaterialsdevelopedfortheFamilyWelfareprogramme(therecentavataroftheFamilyPlanningprogramme)nowemphasizethequalityoflifeenjoyedby

7Theheadlineoftheposteronthelefttranslatesas“Istheirmarriageatthisageappropriate?”andthengoesontosay“Under­agemarriageisnotappropriate…”8Ahmad,Shakeel:“MuslimAttitudeTowardsFamilyPlanning”,SarupandSons,NewDelhi2003.Quote:“(M.E.Khan)noticedthatreligionisabarriertothe(Muslim)adopters.TheyholdfasttothedoctrinaireconceptthatfamilyplanningisagainstIslam.ToacceptcontraceptionmeanstofightagainstGod;eventhinking(of)stoppingtohavechildrenisarevoltagainstGod.”

Figure6.Aone­child“happyfamily”image,withagirlasthesolechild.

Page8of9

thefamilyunit(representednowasacouplewithnochildren,fig.7)–thankstocontraceptiontechniques.Thismodealsoresonateswithcontemporaryadvertising,whichadvocatesinstantgratificationandunapologetic

individualismandhedonisticvalues,asopposedtothe‘dutytosocietyorthenation’moralityofearliergenerationsofadvertising,particularlystatepropaganda.K. InterplayBetweenStylingand

(Printing)TechnologyTheshiftinprintingtechnologyisalsoreflectedinthestylingofthematerial.Fromflatandprimarycolours,whicharesuitableforhandpaintingorscreen‐printing,thetechnologyshiftedatsomepointtooffsetandgravureprinting,whichallowedforfull‐colourcollateral.Intandemalmost,thestylingshifted

frombasicgeometricshapesandiconstorealisticrepresentations–richinnarrative,andevocativeofcinemaposters–correspondingtoanevolutionintheaesthetictoaformthatisclosertothepopularimagination. ThisstyleseamlesslyblendsinwithnewtrendslikephotographyandtoolslikePhotoshopbecomingincreasinglyusedinproducingmaterial,asintheexamplebelow(fig.8).

L. Conclusion:DesignasAdjuncttoMarketingThepresentstatus,therefore,seemstosuggestaconvergenceof‘highdesign’and‘popular/folkart’towardseachother.Theloftyprinciplesofclassicaldesign

Figure7.PublicityimagefortheUSAID­supportedSaathiya

integratedfamilyplanningservicetargetingyoungpeople.

Figure8.Arecentposterandadvertisement,showinghighnarrativecontentand

useofdigitalimagingtechnology

Page9of9

haveyieldedtotheneedsandcontextsofmarketingtothemassIndianpopulation,whereasthepopularformshaveadoptedsomeoftheprinciplesoflayoutandorganizationespousedinmoderndesign.Itisstilldebatable,however,whetherthishasincreasedtheefficiencyandefficacyofthecommunicationmaterial,becauseIndia’spopulationgrowthcontinuesatanalarmingrate,andchangesareattributedtodevelopmentandeducationratherthancommunication.Thisalsoposesquestionsaboutsocialcommunicationincontrastwithmarketing,whichboastsofseveral‘behaviourchange’projects,albeitinconsumptiontrends.M. Bibliography• Ahmad,Shakeel:“MuslimAttitudeTowardsFamilyPlanning”,SarupandSons,

NewDelhi2003.• Guha,Ramachandra:“IndiaAfterGandhi:TheHistoryoftheWorld’sLargest

Democracy”,PicadorIndia,NewDelhi2008• Rao,KamalaGopal:“StudiesinFamilyPlanning:India”,AbhinavPublications,

NewDelhi1974.• Wooster,MartinMorse:“FordFoundation:FounderofModernPopulation

Control”,CatholicFamilyandHumanRightsInstitute,NewYork2004.