By Express News Service KOCHI: The Kochi Design Week (KDW) 2019, India’s largest design festival, organised by the Electronics and IT Department in association with World Design Organisation (WDO) and Interaction Design Association (IxDA), kicked off at Bolgatty Palace and Island Resort on Thursday. Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan inaugurated the three-day fest, which will give creative minds a platform to meet and brainstorm on latest features in design and architecture. “The design sector should become more democratic in its approach by considering the needs of people, the primary consumers. We are articulating a form that people can understand. When they understand it better, they will appreciate it more,” said Sreeramakrishnan. S D Shibulal, chairman of High Power IT Committee (HPIC) and co-founder and former CEO of Infosys, M Sivasankar, IT secretary, Saji Gopinath, CEO of Kerala Startup Mission, V Sunil Kumar, founder and managing director of Asset Homes, among others spoke. On Friday, an architecture and design summit will be held.‘Design ecosystem will boost startup products’Saji Gopinath said the state has several talented persons when it comes to the design sector. “This should be tapped well. For this, Kochi needs to be elevated as a ‘design hub’,” said Gopinath. He said the state needs to start making high-end products, for which a design-based approach is pivotal. ‘Design festivals needed’ Manish Arora, coordinator, Design Innovation Centre, Banaras Hindu University, said it is a great move by the state government to conduct a design festival in Kochi. “Thousands are attending the sessions. This shows how interested they are in design-based products,” he said.

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