A Review of Family Planning Material Design in India
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Transcript of A Review of Family Planning Material Design in India
AReviewofFamilyPlanningMaterialDesigninIndia
Papersubmittedinpartialfulfillmentofrequirementsofthecourse“HistoryofGraphicDesign”atSrishtiSchoolofArt,Design&Technology
AvniSethi,3rdyearSangamaInterdisciplinaryLab
21March2011
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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)
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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.
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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
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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.