DESIGN
SUMMER
SCHOOL
2026.
Immersive hands-on design learning in the heart of Delhi.
The Design Summer School (DSS), organized by the Human-Centered Design (HCD) Association of IIIT Delhi, offers a series of interactive, expert-led workshops on design and related fields, including Human-Centered AI, Sensing, character sketching, photography, and XR/AR/VR design.
Curated for students, professionals, and design enthusiasts, this program provides a premium hands-on learning opportunity to build design solutions for real-world problems. Prepare for expert mentoring, high-impact tutorials, and networking with the brightest creative minds in Summer 2026.
Curated Days & Track Timeline.
Prepare for three days of immersive, expert-led workshops, keynote talks, and hands-on design challenges.
Storytelling & Visual Design
Opening Ceremony — Director Inauguration + Keynote Speaker
Dr. Gourab Kar · IIT DelhiTea Break
Art of Storytelling and AI
AnoopLunch Break
Content Creation with AI
Mr. Vijay AmarnathTea Break
Emotion and Interaction Design
Design Methods of Creativity
Sonal KeshwaniTea Break
More Than Expressions: Designing Multimodal Interactive Experiences
Pragma KarLunch Break
Designing Emotion-Aware Interactions
Dr. Mritunjay Kumar · IIT DelhiTea Break
VR and Game/Toy Design
Introduction to Gaming, Creative and Technical Foundations, Game Engines: Types and Industry Applications, The Future of the Game World
Aman SamuelTea Break
XR Landscape: An Industrial Perspective
Srinivasan YagnanarayananLunch Break
Play is Learning
Shekhar Bhattacharjee · NID GandhinagarClosing and Certificate Distribution
Tea Break
Please Note: To receive a certificate, you must attend at least 75% of the sessions. This ensures that you gain the maximum benefit from the program and can apply what you learn effectively.
What to Bring
Stay prepared for the 3-day DSS 2026 event and ensure smooth entry to IIIT-Delhi with these essentials.
Speakers.
Meet the verified design experts and creative leaders confirmed for Design Summer School 2026. These professionals bring extensive academic research, industry innovation, and hands-on studio experience.
Dr. Gourab Kar
Dr. Gourab Kar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Design at IIT Delhi. His research focuses on human factors, inclusive product design, and body-conscious ergonomics, investigating human-product interfaces to develop accessible and equitable designs.
Dr. Anoop Ratn
Vijay Amarnath
Dr. Sonal Keshwani
Pragma Kar
Mritunjay Kumar
Aman Samuel
Srinivasan Yagnanarayanan
Shekhar Bhattacharjee
DSS Legacy & Moments.
A visual retrospective of the creative energy from previous Design Summer School editions. Through hands-on making, peer review, and interactive installations, participants transformed concepts into tangible realities.
Design Thinking & Ideation
The summer school launched with an inspiring opening ceremony and keynote address by Dr. Srinivasan Venkataraman from IIT Delhi. The talk established the foundations of design theory, creative cognition, and rapid ideation frameworks.
HCD & Interactive Research
Dr. Richa Gupta from IIT Delhi guided participants through the core principles of Human-Centered Design. Teams investigated real-world empathy mapping, interactive accessibility, and user-centric problem definitions.
AI in Design Thinking
An interactive, hands-on workshop led by Mr. Arunesh Singh of Superlinked. Participants experimented with state-of-the-art generative AI tools to accelerate design ideation, synthesize user data, and build initial concept drafts.
Character Sketching & Anatomy
Renowned Indian cartoonist Mr. Manoj Sinha introduced the fundamentals of character sketching. Attendees explored form drafting, facial proportions, and the basic skeletal structures that bring illustrated characters to life.
Visual Narratives & Cartooning
A deep dive session with Mr. Manoj Sinha on translating abstract concepts into cartoon strips. Participants learned how to sequence storyboards, apply humor, and use simple ink line-weight changes to convey complex expressions.
Design Methods of Creativity
Dr. Sonal Keshwani from IISc Bangalore conducted a structured workshop on systematic creative processes. Teams engaged in cognitive exercises to bypass creative blocks and applied engineering frameworks to brainstorm solutions.
Sensing & Cognitive HCI
Dr. Kalpana Shankhwar from National Taiwan University presented advanced research on human-computer interaction and cognitive design. The session focused on the translation of cognitive signals into intuitive interface designs.
Brain-Computer Interfaces
An immersive, live demonstration of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) led by Dr. Priyanka Jain and the Neuro-Cognitive AI & XR Group from C-DAC, MeitY. Participants conducted live EEG trials and experienced brainwave-driven feedback loops.
New Media Design & Arts
Dr. Gowdham Prabhakar from IIT Kanpur led a technical workshop on New Media Design using TouchDesigner. Attendees built projection mapping setups and designed interactive, audio-reactive digital installations.
Storytelling & Lens Curation
Senior NGMA photographer Mr. Bijendra Kumar and Mr. Anoop Ratn guided participants on depth of field, visual framing, and camera mechanics. The session explored how camera settings shape narrative perspectives.
Light Curation & Composition
Part two of the photography masterclass focused on studio lighting and composition. Mr. Bijendra Kumar and Mr. Anoop Ratn helped participants build complex visual stories and conducted critique sessions of peer photo submissions.
Mobile Photography & Videography
An active outdoor workshop led by Mr. Aman Samuel focusing on capturing professional-quality visual assets using mobile cameras. Attendees learned on-the-go framing, sound capture, and post-production techniques.
Multisensory Interface Technologies
Dr. Madhan Kumar Vasudevan from IIT Roorkee introduced advanced multisensory interfaces. The session examined haptic feedback, affective touch, and design evaluation frameworks to build products that appeal to multiple senses.
VR Systems & Interaction
Dr. Anmol Srivastava from IIT Guwahati led a technical session on virtual reality. Participants explored immersive spaces, calibrated head-mounted displays, and designed interactive haptic feedback loops in virtual scenes.
Our Mentors
Unleash your creativity and ignite your design passion. Dive into a summer of learning and connection with the industry's leading design experts.
Mr. Aman Samuel
MBA, University of Madras
Dr. Anmol Srivastava
Ph.D, IIT Guwahati
Mr. Anoop Ratan
MFA, Teerthanker Mahaveer University
Dr. Jainendra Sukhla
Ph.D, Universitat Rovira i Virgili
Dr. Kalpana Shankhwar
Ph.D, National Taiwan University
Dr. Pragma Kar
Ph.D, Jadavpur University
Dr. Richa Gupta
Ph.D, IIT Delhi
Dr. Sonal Keshwani
Ph.D, IISc Bangalore