Facilities at the Department of Design

The Department of Design offers a vibrant environment with state-of-the-art technology and facilities such as Photography Studio, Animation Studio, Clay Studio, Wood & Metal Workshop, Printing Lab, IT Labs, 3D Printing Facility, Book Binding, Silk Screen Printing, and a library.

Photography Studio:
The photography studio at the Department of Design provides state-of-the-art facilities for professional photography and videography. Studio also provides audio-video editing and color correction facilities for professional production. Here, students and researchers are encouraged to use modern in-house facilities to innovate and experiment in the field of photography and filmmaking.

Animation Studio:
The Department of Design’s philosophy on animation is ‘the narrative inspires the medium’. The Animation lab is a blend of traditional and modern animation technology. The students experiment with traditional processes of using paper, pencil, lightboxes, puppets, clay, paper cutouts, sand, oil paint on glass, pixilation and moving of objects to narrate stories. The modern technologies include drawing and painting displays, latest software on high-end computers, 360-degree cameras, and Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs) to produce work such as Digital 2D, 3D, whiteboard, motion graphics, explainer videos, GIFs, Visual Effects (VFX), projection mapping, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) animation.

Printing Lab:

Equipped with two large format printers and a screen printing machine, this lab has facilities to perform all processes from printing up to finishing. The lab provides in-house facilities such as trimming, binding, and thermal lamination to the students to explore and carry out their work more efficiently in one place. A 3D printer capable of printing finished working models provides opportunities to the students not only to print the prototype but also to develop the working products. 

Clay Studio:

Unique to the IIT Hyderabad, the clay studio is equipped with a kiln, hand tools, and a potter wheel to facilitate working with clay. Department has a tradition of organizing a clay workshop every year where students across the departments can participate, learn and explore their creativity. 

Wood and Metal Workshop:

The wood and metal workshop is equipped with high standard machines, power tools, and hand tools to facilitate working with different materials such as metal, wood, acrylic, bamboo, etc. Some of the highlights are Wood Carving CNC machine, Laser Cutting Machine, Vacuum Forming Machine, Panel saw, Table Saw, Spindle Moulder, Chain and Chisel mortiser, Wood lathe, Metal Lathe, Tig Welding, Arc Welding, Paint Booth, etc. Students use this in-house facility for model making and fabrication with high precision.

VR Cave / AR-VR lab:

VR cave at IIT Hyderabad is a virtual reality space; primarily an empty room in the shape of a cube in which each of the surfaces comprising the walls, floor and ceiling may be used as projection screens to create a highly immersive virtual environment. Furnished with modern equipment and technology such as stereoscopic eyewear, wands, data gloves, joysticks etc., lab provides an ideal immersive virtual reality environment for the students and researchers.

Virtual Experience design Lab:

The lab intends to explore virtual dimensions of perception and visualization for research in architecture and design. The lab will connect academics and research for fresh and innovative ideas into this domain. The output could be in the form of virtual reality, augmented reality, the mixed reality for an immersive experience for the user. The lab would look for fitting applications for virtual architecture experience & projection computations for optimization of system, form, material, processes, etc.

Design for sustainability Lab:

Sustainability is a holistic approach that the lab intends to engage for issues to handle with research, development, and educational activities. The lab intends to take up local/regional/national challenges and strives for strategic sustainable solutions. Its objective is to foster a balance between people, society, and the economy and regenerate the carrying capacity of life-supporting ecosystems. The proposed lab would take up research projects, consultancy projects, academic assignments, etc., in a leading role to inculcate attentive minds towards causes serving three aspects of sustainability in real life.