Designing a Better Future for Rural India: Communication design for the Indian government's scientific initiative
- Rudra Narayan
- Apr 2
- 4 min read
As designers, the work we do goes beyond aesthetics.
Design is first and foremost a medium of communication, and a powerful tool for creating impact. In fact, a well-designed book, when made with intention, can change lives. But first, a little context.
If you're reading this, there's a high chance you live in an urban city; and if you're reading this on your phone, it's proof of our advancements in technology.
But not all of India is progressing at the pace it deserves.
Rural India is the country's backbone, yet lacks a support system that makes self-sufficiency possible. If we cannot create a world where everyone is guaranteed opportunities to a dignified life, we have failed -- and Mission सह-SANKALP is making those opportunities a reality.
Mission सह-SANKALP, an initiative driven by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (O/o PSA), is working to bring crucial science and technology innovations to every corner of the country.
The good news: Science and technology innovations already exist, and they're not only relevant to local communities, but also affordable. Innovations that could dramatically improve livelihoods, and therefore improve quality of life.
The bad news: These innovations remain largely inaccessible to the people who really need it.
So how do you create accessibility? And how does design make this possible?
The answer: A communication asset that would put 357 of these ready-to-use Science and Technology innovations in a concise Resource Book for all stakeholders to access.
When the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser approached Tellable needing a design partner, we knew this was more than a book design project.
Our choice in fonts or colours was secondary to the core purpose: how do you communicate knowledge in such a way that absorbing it is easy, and implementing it is no longer a barrier?
The PSA team had entrusted us to help take these innovations to the grassroots level through this book, bridging the gap between technology providers, government departments, NGOs and other implementation groups.
Tellable's science and tech background leads to efficient communication
Anyone can design a book, but we had to first understand what we were working with, and for whom we were designing; so we sat down with the PSA team and went over the innovations together.
Tellable's background in science and technology was particularly relevant in this conversation, allowing us to keep the knowledge transfer and explaining effort minimal on the PSA team's part, so they could focus on bringing their initiative to life rather than dictating to us how to visualise, say, an amniotic membrane.
Each page of the book followed the same layout, ensuring content was concise, easy to grasp, and supplemented with visuals for further clarity. The innovations were categorised into two sections: Farm and Non-Farm, and each further classified into five thematic categories. To help distinguish between the different Farm and Non-Farm sectors, we designed unique logos, incorporating easy-to-identify elements.
Last but not least, we then designed a logo to capture the overall objective of the book as a resource for rural India. Every state was depicted with key landscapes -- be it agricultural or industrial -- and icons to represent how this book would connect every pocket of Rural India to a future of opportunities, sustainable livelihoods, and self-suffiency.
(And this design didn't end with the Resource Book; the PSA team went on to make this logo the official emblem of Mission सह-SANKALP, taking our design to the national level.)
With the Resource Book ready for launch, we now needed to introduce this asset to an audience that was completely unfamiliar with it.
A video with a vision and a Mission
Our objective was clear: we needed the Mission's audience to care, to ask questions, and most importantly, want to be involved in taking this cause further. Without support, this Mission would face great difficulty in fulfilling their goal. So our next asset was created with this in mind -- a launch video that would tell a story people would want to hear.
From script to final product, the 2D animation explainer video told the story of the mission, the importance of the Resource Book, and how this would create real, tangible impact. We are honoured that the PSA team gave us full creative freedom in how we visualised their story!
Played at the official book launch to an audience of high-profile stakeholders, public office holders, and non-profit organisational representatives, the video was responsible for introducing them to the mission and thereby to the book. If our viewers cared about the Mission, then we could consider the first hurdle passed.
Design that communicates for the future
This project was less about the graphic design and animation, and more about how we as communication designers could partner with a scientific body, understand their domain and help implement their mission.
The rural communities were the "why", and the Resource Book was the "how"; it was important that we never lost sight of that from beginning to end. We are proud to have been a part of a cause that will transform lives for the better, because only when the smallest of villages advance, will we all progress.
Design is changing the future step by step; how can we help you do the same?
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