As part of its ongoing program in India, UNESCO is focusing on documenting and promoting the country’s vast and diverse Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) practices. This is one of the key tenets of developing sustainable, community-based tourism, which has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is expected to last until 2020. Royal Enfield is working in the Himalayan region to promote sustainable tourism and build resilient communities as part of its CSR-based Social Mission- Responsible Travel. Royal Enfield is deeply committed to collaborating with Himalayan communities in the preservation of culture, knowledge, and traditions that are compatible with just and regenerative living, as well as ensuring that these communities have the vision and knowledge to make decisions that support their resilience in the face of change.
We were approached to do the identity for this very special project. Our research helped us know our country & its diversity better. We looked deeper into the whole project and the fineness of our intangible cultural heritage.
After making a record of the types of colours, forms, patterns and the overall visual treasure that it produced. We designed the whole pallet for the project. We started with the form, then the logotype and then the rest of the communication.
The idea was to keep it all very simple and very organically and visually connected to the space and its emotion. From colour to form the balance of each creative is a reflection of the space we have represented.
We are fortunate to also help the brands with the launch of the project, for which several communication pieces were made and we consulted for the whole setup. It was our privilege to also create an Art installation for the same, the full view of the installation and the 9 helmets + 6 tanks that were painted can be seen here.
The project after launch has already gained. a lot of love, attention and most importantly knowledge for all.
Panchamrit is an ayurvedic supplement company that seeks to bring the benefits of active ayurveda into everyday life.
The Brand came up with a clear motive for their branding and overall communication structure, for panchamrit, we wanted to go more than the idea of 5 (since the name is Pancha-Amrit) or symbolise with just a “nature representation”, like a leaf. We wanted to churn the idea of the product. which strongly speaks about the “science of nature” The core concept of Amrit. A shape or form that will collaborate with the idea of nature and how significantly it can be reinterred or reimagined.
After much brainstorming, we based our idea on the idea of CYMATICS. To combine nature and science and churn the Amrit.
With the understanding of the usage of the branding elements, we understood that the logotype holds a lot of importance. The hand-drawn logotype was designed keeping the overall concept in mind. Later we also developed the Hindi letter “p” which was done to make a bridge between the two major client types.
The brand planned to develop various lines of products. The idea is to make “the scientific knowledge of the natural world available easy to you” literally on your tabletop. In the form of ready-to-use delectables, like teas, herbal infusions, effervescent tablets, gummies and melting strips. The design language was developed keeping in mind this dynamic range and the kind of communication we wanted to put across.
Since the product is a D2C product with the market opening back after covid, also forced the brand to think in B2C and Retail. The moment it turns out to be an FMCG product the packaging was something very important to be seen from all sides and also how to translate the message in the retail environment and the safe to reflect through our website. The website design was a step-wise process with each factor being tested through the lens of retail experience as well as the D2C adaptability of the same.
With the Brand taking newer steps and working on structuring a bigger and more holistic product architecture, we are helping them make a design system to adapt all new verticals and products under each of them.
STUBBS is India’s first 5X filtered vodka by Craftsmith and it was supposed to be given the kind of positioning in the segment of vodka brands like none other, yet make it personable to the targeted customer segment.
To create a storyline of being explorative to bring in the vibe of vodka consumption, Stubbs Vodka was given a backstory of being blended with the highest quality aged spirits made from the pure grains from the foothills of the Himalayas thus making it one of the finest in the market. Crafted by the master distillers at Craftsmith, the unique taste, and character of our spirit makes Stubbs a celebration of impeccable craftsmanship, unique storytelling, and intense self passion.
Using the major selling point of Stubbs Vodka as it is the first brand to be three times distilled and goes through a 5x platinum filtration process making it the smoothest and finest premium vodka. The colossal flavor simplicity owes to the uncomplicated & simple union of aged grain spirit and purified Himalayan water thus making Stubbs the most extraordinary vodka of distinct taste and character.
In its entirety, Stubbs Vodka could be summarized as the austere neutrality of something as pure as a snowflake is what adds to the distinctive character of this 5X platinum filtered premium Vodka. With balanced notes of smoothness on the palate, unburdened by the alcoholic heat, it is a classic spirit for connoisseurs of drinks on the rock and cocktail lovers alike.
For a brand like STUBBS, mockup generation was crucial. We had to create a digital representation of what the product meant and stood for. We teamed up with @rohitbhong and his team for a combined effort to generate 3D art of the bottles, which were created with a vision to stand out from the rest of the products available in the market.
We also created their website to round off the brand experience as it was ideated for the customer to experience the brand and the product.
TREK is an inspiring story of planning the establishment of a Rum brand in India, which is deeply rooted in holding onto its forefather brands. The team at Craftsmift, the makers of TREK, took all possible steps both fundamentally and communicative about how the product and the brand will be positioned.
We came into the picture at a very early stage when the project was conceived. The product being an all-season rum, is available for 360 days offering itself to be consumed in the OG form and the best of concoctions. This gave us the personality of the brand which made us think, move and understand how wholesome the idea of travel of both mind and body is when we coined the name TREK. The name TREK was chosen based on the idea of the brand being “wholesome”.
This very idea helped us create an overall theme for the label & the monocarton. The look & overall imagery was planned in a way to keep the tagline in mind. We wanted something very broad as the product descriptor to cover our communication approach aptly and hence the tagline was also made keeping the same brand alignment and personality in mind. We came up with “To explore” as the tagline. Initially many members of the core team evaluated this as an incomplete line, but the idea that “what to explore” is not being told, is the whole idea of exploring. We roped in the 3d Artist for a few key renditions that we thought will be necessary for the initial launch. @rohitbhong did a great job of getting things to life in 3d as per our visualization and art direction.
We further created the webpage and overall visual vocabulary for the brand. TREK team also added an international certification of VS to the brand, which is a huge USP as Trek is the 1st Indian brand to have the certificate.
Kilburn is an Indian Luxury Whisky by Craftsmith. A blend of aged malts and the finest Indian grain spirits, we positioned Kilburn in the premium luxury whisky category. Due to its timeless taste, a brand story was created around the “concept of Time”. Since time cannot be heard, felt or tasted yet has the strongest influence in our way of living, the idea seemed to fit the ageless approach for the brand. The story led to Kilburn becoming a product of parallel consciousness, and Craftsmith, the parent brand, a timelord that had a knowledge of fluids that retrieved him to visit our timeline, and sheltered in a hamlet named Kilburn. This story led to the tagline, ‘The Taste of Time’.
As the brand story is related to time, the label and packaging design was created with a simple yet elegant visualization of parallel universes. This concept is also strongly seen in the logo of ‘Kilburn’. Our main focus was to display the qualities of richness and elegance both verbally and visually. The Burgundy of Classic (flavor) and the Prussian Blue of Platinum(flavor) used for the packaging signifies the luxurious aspect of Kilburn. The gold-foiling and embossing printing techniques, on uncultured paper instead of the routine metpets, bring the whole packaging tactile feel to a new level. We collaborated with Rohit Bhongle for the task of creating 3D visualizations and digital images of the bottle and the labels that gave the brand a larger-than-life feel. Even though we hit a space that has a lot of Indian products in the market, we made sure that our modern & edgy look & feel and a few audacious decisions, helped the product look, one of its kind.
Ashdeen – a unique global Gara and handcrafted Fashion brand, Inspired by centuries of
Oriental & Persian hand embroidery technique, craft and craftsmanship.
We did the “rebranding” exercise for Ashdeen in the year 2019. We did a series of illustrations to accompany the new brand language and to enhance the visual vocabulary.
On this exercise, was to create an easy and relevant interface, keeping the Product as well as the business model in mind. We very strategically along with the core team from Ashdeen’s end, wireframes the whole narrative to collude it into something that comes across as a seamless narration by Ashdeen himself.
Being a partial e-commerce website, the page structures needed to be thought through keeping a smooth user experience in mind.
Ultra Internation Limited is one of the pioneers of the business of Flavours and Fragrances in India. It is one of the oldest brands across the globe to establish its success story, known across the fragrance and flavor world, where every chapter is marked by innovation. No wonder, that their innovative approach to meet customers and expectations has won them national as well as international business accolades.
It is nearly a 100 years old brand and it was a prestigious project for us to handle. Especially since we were changing the indeed & brand language of a brand well established.
Understanding the sentiments and alignment to their earlier ideas and the logotype, we came up with something that the decision-makers at UI really liked, then we went on to expand the visual language across all communication.
other than working with the graphical elements, colors, fonts for communication, we also stretched ourselves to draw a few illustrations expressing the love for the work they do for all the three major categories of Fragrances, flavors, and essential oils.s The illustrations were made using the ingredients of each section and to fit into the logo form, replacing the leaf with the artwork.
The NorthCap University is a prestigious private university, situated in Gurugram, Haryana. We were approached to redesign their website, one of the most vital aspects of any university brand. A university website not only creates a first impression for the students but for the parents as well, and plays a crucial role in the admission process.
Our challenge was to create a concise version of the old website, which was data-heavy and had a large number of pages. After an extensive study of their original website, we re-structured all the data in its entirety. A system design was created, which was applied for all the four schools of the university. This not only reduced the number of webpages considerably, but also neatly structured the information in a well-designed format. The visual vocabulary is contemporary, but at the same time, attentive to the information presented for the target audience.
StarSteels initiated its operations with R&D going through the early phases. In 2020 they planned to launch the brand in dubai. Start steels’ core idea is to involve newer technologies in the product as well as in the formation of new kids of the product keeping in mind the various design explorations happens in the sector of construction in Dubai. They came to us with the idea of a branding that must look cohesive to the company’s core principles
We experimented with many forms and constantly reevaluated the concept. We finally got a form that transcended itself into various forms of a singular visual vocabulary.
The logotype was done with the same idea of keeping the modern approach in mind and also the fact that the brand is going to experiment with technology.
The various forms of the visual vocabulary can be seen across it’s collaterals. We are working on the marketing aspect of the brand where we will talk much more in detail about each of its products and how the market is going to gain from the strength of this brand.
FOUR BY FOUR is the story of the establishment of a blended scotch in India which was to be positioned as the epitome of power, strength, and balance. We worked on incorporating the sensorial aspects of the scotch blend to create the persona of the brand. The terms such as Mellow, Malty, Balanced Sweetness, and Oaky Palate gave us the direction in which the brand and product were to be approached from. We developed FOUR BY FOUR along with the makers at Craftsmith, who took all possible steps both fundamentally and communicative about how the product and the brand will be marketed.
At the inception of the brand, our main focus was to display the qualities of strength and power both verbally and visually. The idea was to use terms and imagery which could be related both directly and indirectly to the concepts. ‘Four by Four’ was the chosen name that drew direct meaning from the four-wheel drives which are used to conquer rugged terrains. Thus the name gave a meaning that pointed towards the direction in which the brand was moving and the use of a horse as imagery completed the ideation process which was again a display of balance, strength, and grace.
The choice of colors was towards the darker tones and pastel shades to establish the mildness and malty flavor that the product gave and the usage of the rotated square on the packaging was to depict the balance that the product tried to emanate. To bring the product to life, the task of creating digital images of the bottle and the labels to give the overall look and feel that was conceived for the product, @rohitbhong and team were roped in to generate the 3D visualization of the product as both they shared the vision of creating FOUR BY FOUR in a way in which it was visualized. For the production details, we worked very closely with the production team with changes in the values of foiling, embossing to get the perfect mix out there on the label as well as on the mono cartons
Omega Steel is one of the leading manufacturers of Steel Bars in Sudan. Built on the values of reliability and quality, Omega Steel has become one of the most trusted suppliers to the construction industry in Sudan. With a production capacity of over 350 MT per day, Omega Steel can provide consistent and dependable supply for your projects.
Run by an international team of professionals with a cumulative experience of more than 300 years in the metals manufacturing industry, and backed by Italian steelmaking technology, Omega Steel manufactures quality steel that is compliant not only with Sudanese standards, but also with British and Indian standards. Given our management’s rich experience in specialised steelmaking in India and in other parts of Africa, we bring world-class levels of service and quality to Sudan. We are one of Sudan’s few integrated manufacturers – with full control over the steelmaking process – right from scrap up to finished products. Our melt-shop allows us to monitor chemistry and quality from the beginning up to the end.”
Our Perspective:
” To do a rebranding, that too for a company, which is running successfully for a decade. We started brainstorming from the core value of the brand that says ” strength & safety”. We started with the research on the icon, and the logotype. and after a rigorous work of 3 – 4 weeks we came to the final form. The ask was to give a new form, yet retaining the old face value and also live up to the mark of being a known brand”
Presenting the first packaged smoothie brand to be retailed in the country, Smuze.
Unlike options currently available in the market, this smoothie is made entirely out of fruit juices, without any milk products and artificial sweeteners. A key property to guide the visual language for the brand.
For their release in India, the communication framework had to start from scratch. We brainstormed a unique name which would effectively convey the product’s highlights. The name “Smuze” was coined for a refreshing and filling beverage which one can grab on-the-go in their active lifestyle.
The logotype shapes rounded sans-serif typeface in small captions, the alphabet ‘u’ turns into an affirming smile. Composite copy has been used across the dynamic and playful brand language for print and digital mediums. Together they effectively communicate an overall friendly appeal of the brand. With the variety of flavours offered by the product, our visual language also extended to play around within each of these with different units within a flavour.
We worked closely with the production team to develop the appearance and shape and size of the bottle The smile symbol from the logo imprinted on the bottle caps adds more nuances to build recognition of the brand in a retail arrangement, while the attractive bottles can be spotted from a farther distance. A website curating engaging content and communication has also been developed for Smuze along with developing a marketing strategy for the product. We have also been strongly involved in art directing the marketing for the brand for its further strategy for communication online and on-ground.
Launched in October 2012, the Ashdeen label specializes in hand-embroidered saris that are inspired by centuries of Oriental and Persian hand embroidery techniques, craft and craftsmanship. The intricacies of these techniques are rendered flawlessly by a team of 150 craftspersons. Ashdeen creations have been featured in various fashion publications and worn by celebrity actresses and industrialists. They have also been shown at the Lakme Fashion Weeks in Mumbai (spring-summer 2013 and 2014, and winter-festive).
We were tasked with re-doing the Ashdeen brand – beginning with the logo and logo mark, to building a brand language, stationary, and finally packaging.
The brand we created is sleek, minimal, and extremely striking. Using a combination of black, white, and gold, we think the new brand language truly emulates the elegant clothes they represent and would make any of the brand’s esteemed customers want to take further interest in the brand.
We made a set of illustrations using elements which were either taken from or derivatives of various prints and patterns seen in Ashdeen collections.
These illustrations then went on to define the brand, becoming very central to the language across most collaterals.
Presenting a pop of flavour, with Spichi. A packaged condiment & concentrates brand, with a variety of sauces to spice up your kitchen.
The communication wireframe had to be mapped out right from the beginning of the project. We were told to brand it like a mass market product, yet polished with clean design sensibility. We began by coming up with a product-specific name that directly suggests the ethos of the product. The name Spichi is short for “Spicy Chinese” – something which we feel has been embodied into the base and condiment dipping sauces. They are developed to bring the real essence of chinese flavors; whether it is to a hearty cooked meal at home or a gourmet dish at a pan Asian restaurant.
Unlike other products currently available in the market these base cooking pastes and condiment sauces provide any Chef assistance in reducing prep time as they are made using only fresh products. Spichi Sauces and Pastes are being used by many marquee clients in the B2B Horeca space Nationwide and are used in a number of Hotels, Banquets, Caterers, QSR’s and fine dine restaurants. Spichi is made by Chefs, for Chefs! We added the tagline, “your secret sauces”, to highlight this fact.
The communication was designed keeping the mass market feel of the product in mind. The logotype is stacked in a grid arrangement to resemble oriental script characters in a contemporary fashion. Accompanied by a Devanagari script version alongside, that would not just make the buyer feel at home, but also place the product in a different pedestal. A product specific brand language has been created – using different herbs/ingredients as elements of the design language. Together the design elements effectively communicate an overall appeal of the brand. With the variety of flavors offered by the product, our visual language extended to play around within each of these – using different units for each flavor, along with a variety of colours to give each of them a unique identity. We worked closely with the production team in order to build the appearance, shape and structure of the sachets. Spichi offers it’s B2B in the market since Dec 2017, with the B2C yet to hit the retail market.
Spice up your meal with this secret ingredient, it packs quite a ‘spichi’ punch!
You name it and they have it. With over 400 Buy 1 Get 1 free vouchers, CitySurf steps into the digital world with its brand new app. Previously with 2 successful editions CitySurf brings all the fantastic deals of the town to this app.
A new look for a new medium. CitySurf underwent a makeover this year. The studio was a part of the rebranding of CitySurf 1.0, where we were asked to create a new look on the same principle of gift wrapping happiness and celebrating each and everyday as a festival. Not only the rebranding but the studio also designed the first ever version of the app which gives you access to some unbelievable deals in the town.
CitySurf just got some new skin, from bold and strong to casual and young, exactly what CitySurf embraces. The entire app is divided into 4 major categories. Every category is symbolised by an icon here. Not just the categories but each and every page has been given attention to detail.
‘
