NASSCOM Design4India Design Awards 2019- Winner in Web Category
Adobe Design Achievement Awards 2019- Top Talent in Digital Products + Experiences
In this experimental project, I have tried to understand the Panchang(The Hindu almanac) and attempted to deconstruct it to the millennials which might be a window for them to understand about the rich Hindu Vedic Astrology.
"While my family believes in the concepts of astrology I was always under disbelief. This was the condition prevailing in most families hinting the cultural disconnect between generations."
The Design Project idea
The theme for the Design project was- Culture & Communication. The concept of astrology, horoscopes, auspicious & inauspicious time, myths etc, has always intrigued me. Looking at the cultural disconnect between generations, I validated the fact using an online survey (Primary Research) with a sample space of hundred. I understood that people lacked knowledge about this subject and they were interested to know about the topic if given a proper platform with reasons.
The Approach
After considering the various aspects of Vedic astrology, I decided to focus on Panchang- the Hindu daily calendar which is the fundamental for understanding Vedic astrology. This daily calendar acts as a guide that predicts the planetary movements related to earth.
The Process
What is Panchang?
Hindu Panchang
Hindu calendar and almanac that follows traditional units of Hindu timekeeping(rahu kaal, yama gandam) and presents important dates and their calculations & derivations in a tabulated form.
It is based on Sun rise on Earth, Moon’s position and Time.
The study of Panchang involves understanding Rasi phala, the impact of zodiac signs on the individual.
Panchang = Panch (Five)+ Ang (Limbs)
The detailed combinations of these 5 elements on any particular time, date & place decides the auspicious & inauspicious moment.
How the Panchang works ?
The following concepts are important in understanding how Panchang works.
Geo-centricity: Earth is considered the centre of observation, and all other celestials orbit around it. This model is called a Geo-centric system.
Zodiac Band: It is the elliptical space around the the Earth and it being the centre, surrounded by all other planets & sun, in an angular space of 160° from equator. The zodiac has been divided into twelve equal (angular) parts and each is called a Rashi or signs of zodiac.
Luni-Solar Calendar: Hindu Panchang follows a mix of solar and lunar calendar. It is called a luni-solar calendar.
Nakshatras: It is the Lunar constellations in the Zodiac band. A Nakshatra is one of 27 sectors along the ecliptic. It is defined by the position of moon from the Earth looking at a particular star.
The Nakshatra-Rashi chart together with planetary positions including sun and moon generate the 5 elements of Panchang.
The detailed research of these concepts are explained in the below link in a medium article.
Please browse through it for more clarity on the subject.
Initial Sketches for documentation
What are the key problems?
The research and the process to understand Vedic astrology took me a while considering the depth and the complexity of the subject. The facts and the knowledge were fascinating but the subject was a vast universe in itself. So, I understood the need to simplify this knowledge to an audience who would be curious as I was.
People who follow Astrology could visualise the system in their mind. But, a common man who doesn't follow this system face the difficulty in understanding the basic, leave alone visualising them.
Target Audience
The need for a visual explanatory application
Innovation in design elements
After looking into the problems, I have decided to go with a concept which could be incorporated as a website or an application for mobiles as they are the easy go platform for my target users.
A picture speaks a thousand words.
There are many websites or apps outside which give you details of Panchang for any day. In my concept, users can understand the planetary positions in real-time with Rashi, Nakshatra etc along with the Hindu calendar and the Gregorian calendar in a single dashboard. This gives any user a fair idea about the knowledge of Astrology in a short time.
Concept Sketches
How does the visualization work ?
The dashboard design has been derived from the concept of the ‘Universe’ and super-imposing the positions of planets on the corresponding places in the Zodiac band in a 2D visual manner.
1. The planetary positions of each planet including Sun and Moon for a particular Gregorian date was collected from here. I translated this information on to a map with earth as the centre.
2. Zodiac band (Nakshatra and Rashi) is superimposed over the planetary positions. You will find that each planet is placed in a distinct zodiac band division.
3. A line drawn from Earth to moon extended further in the same direction, aligns with (faces) a Nakshatra and Rashi that is attributed for that particular date & time.
4. The dashboard further allows the user to explore the various aspects of Panchang. The users with first hand information could explore the different models of astrology chart.
5. The dashboard allows the user to get the detailed information about Panchang (all 4 elements) and also educated them if there is a need.
The image below explains the design approach for the Dashboard
Visual Language
The design follows illustrated images of Planets and the Icons for Nakshatra and Rashi rather can the old age system of writing them in wordings. The design has South Indian & North Indian version of Horoscope charts accompanied by the same planet illustrations which are used in the system.
Final Screens
This visualisation is just the first attempt that stands as a starting point to understand Panchang. Everyone now is more of a science believer who looks for logic in everything. I could sense a generation gap in the future as well. This project will be a guide for the users in the future to understand our culture so it doesn't get lost with time.
Presently working on the Version 2 where many other Astrological elements are added in a unified dashboard.
Future of Design Awards 2018
NASSCOM Design Awards 2019
Special mention to my Professor Chakradhar Saswade at NID for supporting and guiding me throughout the project.
THE END
