Asia Meet: A Dialogue in Bangkok

Asia Meet: A Dialogue in Bangkok

The Design Alliance Asia recently held an “Asia Meets” event in Bangkok. The meet saw a sharing of thoughts and discussed the flow of design in Asian countries. Design team from Elephant reflects on a few insights learnt from the meet.   

Designers In conversation

ASHWINI DESHPANDE, ANAND PALSODKAR, MAYURI NIKUMBH, SHRISH TILEKAR, PRASAD KENKRE, PARTHO GUHA & ASHISH DESHPANDE

STATE OF DESIGN IN ASIA

Anand:

As I think about state of Design in Asia at a larger level, one wouldn't agree more with Thomas Friedman when he says that 'The world is flat' and perhaps becoming flatter as we head towards the future.

Prasad:

If one utters the word design, none of the Asian countries actually come first to our mind. Mostly European countries like Germany, The Netherlands are strongly associated with design. Design as a field in Asia still largely remains misunderstood to the vast amounts of population. “Design is vast and covers everything from ceramics to aeronautics is Design”.

Shrish:

Since the Asian culture is deeply rooted with history of several years, it vastly differs in religion, language and beliefs. Most of the design, hence, is a result of very long evolution within each of these diversities. This evolution and diversity of design is very evident in all its forms, like architecture, town planning, products and so on. 

Partho:

The economy in South East Asia is presently in a depressed state and design profession and projects are affected by it. Design projects around real estate development are on the rise and interesting design projects are happening there. Asian Designers are quite evolved in terms of new principles and expressions in the cutting edge of design. Be it use of Design Thinking process or innovation in social media expressions, Asian

Designers are more vibrant and much extent leading the world.

Mayuri:

If one considers professional design practiced by Asian designers, the scenario is very promising and there are clear indicators of intense & original thinking, well-set processes and excellent execution being carried out. However, design percolating in everyday lives and its environment, is still a dismal situation. There is an absence of sensitivity towards the visual landscape. There seems to exist a parallel set of worlds, where design on one hand is shiny, digital and larger than life world heavily influenced by modern Orient and on the other hand there is the imagery and essence inspired by traditional elements, architecture and practices.

Ashish:

There was a period in Asia when internal consumption was limited, mainly, due to poor economic conditions. Countries had to look west for technology & markets. Today, Asia is changing. Asian markets are strong & local consumption can sustain economies. Most Asian countries gave up their habits, customs, and traditions in the period between 1950-1990 and aligned themselves to the developed world. However, there is a noticeable shift seen. Design in Asia seems to be aligning itself back to its roots and the results are astonishing.

Shrish:

While it is great to see and experience such diversity in design, at times it can also become very selfish. It gets too restricted to a particular type of people or a section of the society, while in its true sense it should be enjoyable by all. Coming from cultures with such deep roots, we often lack the vision to look beyond all these boundaries to create a holistic and global design.

Ashwini:

Design as an organized, professional activity or service is nascent in most of Asia. In places it has taken shape from strong cultural art such as calligraphy or traditional materials such as bamboo or handloom textiles. However, all the mass produce design took its inspiration from the west, which as that part of the world was a front-runner in industrial development.

 INFLUENCE OF LOCAL CULTURE

Mayuri:

It was heartening as well as inspiring to see a lot of influence of local culture and traditional forms in modern day design. The Arabic typography projects shared by Designer 

Tarek Attresi, drew a lot of inspiration from local calligraphy & markings, yet is global & contemporary. Traditional objects from local culture creatively inspire designer Pham Huyen Kieu’s, Haki Craft objects.

However, the corporate work done is very much global in approach & appearance. The bank branding done by Color Party, Thailand or the

products designed by NDD Design, Taiwan are truly global.

Ashish:

Yes, Design inspiration can stem from traditions & customs. However, in Asia, it also draws from local needs & economic conditions. That is why many times to make economic sense, design needs to have a universal appeal. Design & Designers in Asia tend to play a dual role. You see this prominently in Colour Party, Thailand or NDD Design, Taiwan work. However, William Harald Wong, Malaysia museum design draws sensibly from local folklore & crafts. The same can be said about the Book project shared by Subrata Bhowmick.

Shrish:

Evolution is still continuing around the same factors like traditional habits, religion. The original essence of the design is maintained to a certain extent making it very local and specific to particular region or country.

Prasad:

Design needs to solve problems. If a designer does not understand the culture of the people for whom he or she is designing, then it is sure to end up creating more problems. Understanding local culture, language, lifestyle of people and its nuances is critical. A designer fails if he is Insensitive to this and does not make a genuine attempt to actually understand culture and the people in context of the problem.

Shrish:

Though the problem would remain the same it is simply astonishing to see various solutions we would have in different parts of the country or the continent. These solutions are derived form the local culture, behavior and beliefs of people. The long-term solutions that would require a global and holistic approach often get neglected resulting in local design and design approach.

Partho:

It is still a challenge for Asian designers to align their solution to the cultural ethos and principals. Most of the culture led design, incorporates certain traditional motif and patterns in their solutions very successfully.

Anand:

Profession of Design has always functioned as a reaction to the needs

& aspiration of people, markets and technology. Aspiration of people is still largely driven by what happens in the Western world.

Developed countries have always been on the forefront of technology and design. Design in Asia seems to follow “the west”.

Leading brands today develop their markets based on the 'economy' of the geographies and design simply caters to that. So in such cases, I see very little or no influence of culture or region on Design in Asia at least as far as Industrial Design goes. Not sure if this is a point of concern or not, but it surely is reflection of The Flat World.

Ashish:

Let me take a few examples. The Rattan chair designed by late Irvan Noe’man, BD+A which received Good Design Mark, Japan and the Bhoomi pot series designed by Elephant, India are good examples of Industrial Design drawing influence from local crafts, customs. Freeman Lau’s chairs and much of the package design work by KL&K, Hong Kong are classic contemporary interpretations of regional crafts and customs.

Anand:

In 50s, Honda developed a motorcycle ('step through' segment) for SE region catering to the local needs of traditional clothing (read culture), muddy &

bad roads and affordability. This was a huge success. Today after many years the segment is still very popular, albeit people who do not dress traditional, have smaller families and road conditions are far better than in the past.

FUTURE OF DESIGN FOR ASIA

Shrish:

The problem of integrating local design with global approach must be taken up very seriously and in a very effective way.

Prasad:

Design in Asia has slowly but surely started getting recognition. Increasingly more and more governments have started noticing the changes that design can make. They are actively promoting design like the example we saw at TCDC in Bangkok. It also very strong in Hong Kong through Hong Kong Design Centre and various organisations & activities. This is a Positive step.

Mayuri:

The future of Asian design is on the right path of becoming a strong element in the DNA of big corporates. However, there is a need to stay rooted and retain our identity in design expression wherever possible. There are of course cases when design solutions are required to be more universal or westernized but eventually Asian designers are predominantly designing for Asian consumers and we need not ape western concepts blindly. Each Asian country has its own unique quirk and character. Designers here are trying their best to retain or imbibe these in their design solutions. If we keep at it, Asian design can really make its own mark and be recognized for its own brand of design, else the boundary between design sensibilities across borders and continents will keep merging and Asia will be seen as cookie cutters!

Ashish:

Asia presents a brilliant opportunity for designers. Take example of Hugh Hu of NDD Design, Taiwan, who has been curating design efforts by local Taiwanese Designers to draw from traditional habits & crafts to design objects with new meaning. Staying rooted with new meaning is one of the path.

Shrish:

As a result of being Asian, I see design making a great mark in the world. Asian design ranges from very complex and intricate designs to a very minimalistic design approach and this variety is gaining popularity worldwide. Strong traditional and regional influence coupled with a global approach will make the proposition very interesting and unique. This approach to use the power of design to create change may start a revolution that will affect the lives of each and every person in Asia in a very big way.

Prasad:

However, Design in Asia should focus on solving developing world problems e.g., Lack of Sanitation, maximizing with limited resources. Designers underestimate the Power that Design can make if it solves a single Problem. The implications are humongous as millions of people can be effectively affected by a single design intervention.

Design in Asia is definitely moving forward, albeit at a snails pace and lots still needs to be done to make design gets its due.

Partho:

The learning from the west is more or less complete and now there is a lot more respect for culture influenced design. Keeping with the overall cultural progression of Asian societies, expression around traditional mixed with western is emerging. Other cultural expressions like Music, Cinema, Painting, Writing in Asia is following a similar path. Overall Asian design is maturing and ready to take on a new path, which is culturally deep, technologically expressed and relevant to modern way of living.

Elephant is India’s Best Design Practice (ET-Brand Equity 2012-2014 ranking) with a multi-disciplinary experience of 25+ years having presence in India & Singapore and has been transforming brands, organizations & businesses using Design led Innovation. Apart from being a thought leader in the field of design, especially in emerging markets, Elephant has made significant contributions through design to Paperboat, Symphony Appliances, Bennett University (TOI Group), Axis Bank, City of Pune, Britannia, MultiX, V Wash, VOOT and even social initiatives like Pune Bus day, Sakal Group amongst several others.   

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The Missing Esslinger

The Missing Esslinger

As they say, the search continues, yet the journey stemming from an inspiration has yielded results.

By ASHISH DESHPANDE

Hartmut Esslinger1 caught my imagination during NID2  days, way back in mid 1980's. As students, we would spend hours at NID's Resource Center (library), reading rare periodicals like DESIGN, ID and FORM. These magazines were our windows to Design in the western world (remember, there was no Google, those days). Esslinger & his firm, FROG, represented the epitome of design flow. He was enigmatic and the work being done by frog was an inspiration. Young FROG, a student initiative by FROG was to be ogled & drooled over, and the little haiku3 quotes were the seeds for our day to day philosophy & debates. 

As students, we would wait for the next periodical to arrive with the latest FROG creation. We dreamt of designing Skate Boots, Computer Work Station’s, Walkman's, all fired up by the 6 month old news provided by the “customs approved , imported & late arrival edition” of ID, Design or FORM magazine.

Stepping out of NID, armed with a graduate diploma in Industrial Design, I quickly discovered that there were no Skate Boots to design. There were no Macintoshes or Walkman's in India. India presented a different opportunity to look at design, playing to an unexplored field of functional needs of a developing nation. We had basic concerns about water, energy, health , hygiene, productivity that needed attention. Design business had to survive in a fledging economy by proving itself. The “Esslinger dream”quickly became an enigmatic inspiration of what an ugly Elephant4 could transform into one day.

27 years later, I was recently invited to speak at International Design Congress, 2015, at Gwangju, Korea. I scanned the list of key speakers and found Dr. Hartmut Esslinger, founder, FROG5 was speaking on day 2. This got me super excited. Listening to Esslinger was the closest, I would come to my Esslinger dream as a student. I grabbed my 2kg copy of Esslinger's latest book Design Forwardand lugged it all the way to Gwangju. The thought of listening to Esslinger live, getting my copy of his book autographed sentKimchi6 textured goose bumps all over me. I even included a quote by Esslinger in my talk at the conference.

Dr. Esslinger never arrived. No one explained. I re-read a few lines from his book after two days of carrying his book in my back pack and set it down into my luggage for its journey back to India.

May be, I thought, the journey is still incomplete. It began 30 years ago as an inspiring dream, morphed into co-founding anElephant4. Till today, the search continues for the missing Esslinger.

Maybe, one day,

                    "The old pond,

a frog jumps:

                    Plop!” – Bashô 7

the sound waves & ripples might lead our Elephant to find the Frog.

1.     Dr Hartmut Esslinger, Industrial Designer, founder FROG
2.     NID, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India
3.     "Haiku" is a traditional form of Japanese poetry
4.     Elephant, is India’s premier design consulting firm
5.     Frog, is a global design and innovation firm founded in 1969 by industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger
6.     Kimchi, a vegetable side dish in Korea
7.     Haiku Poem by Bashô quoted by FROG

ASHISH DESHPANDE is an Industrial Designer, Co-founder & Director at Elephant. An alumnus of National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, he is a keen Design Thinker, a member of India Design Council & Jury for India Design Mark. He has worked on several design programs, notably, Titan Eye+, Ceat Tyres, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Symphony, Paperboat and works on medical & healthcare devices amongst others.

Recently, Ashish spoke on Design with Context : Design for Real Needs, at the

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Being Woman

Being Woman

Ashwini Deshpande, Co-founder, Elephant, looks at her career journey as a woman, an entrepreneur, today as a motivator shares insights that she found on the way.

By Ashwini Deshpande

In my long work-life of 25+ years, I have rarely looked at myself from a gender lens. Partly because women have a natural acceptance in communication design and partly because I have been fortunate to be surrounded by equalists. Maybe the unequalists fell off the earth’s surface & I never noticed them!

In recent years, with experience & reach, I am frequently invited to speak to women at various workplaces, in various stages of their careers. First such opportunity was at a research organization that had over two dozen women scientists. I was rather excited to get to meet these highly accomplished women and looked forward to getting motivated rather than the other way around. So I did not question the occasion much though it was held on World Women’s Day. 

Many such opportunities followed. Each time I thought to myself whether it is right to be addressing women as a woman. I would question often myself whether I would be considered less accomplished if I was a man, whether my limited success is unfairly attributed to being a woman, whether being a woman is a handicap or advantage. There was no resolving these conflicts. 

I can’t quite articulate whether the discomfort was out of questioning my own ability to motivate people or whether I was in denial that women are differently abled at workplaces. 

I have now come to terms that I was in denial. Just because I was fortunate and could pursue my path unhindered by family responsibilities or other biases, I had no right to believe that every woman had it smooth. 

I started looking keenly at this issue this year as I was listed among "50 most Influential Women in Media" by Impact magazine, invited by "Microsoft Women in Tech” initiative as a motivational speaker and invited by Businessworld’s "Young Entrepreneur Awards" conference to be part of an all-women panel discussion. 

So here are 7 insights that I found to share ;

1. Every single merit list of any exam small or big has girls topping the lists. Why they are not seen in equal percentages at leadership positions is an unresolved pain point. 
2. Large percentage of girls take a break from work between 28 to 35 because of marriage, motherhood, husband’s career choices, health of parents or in-laws. Most of them get married without actually asking the crucial question about equal respect to each other’s work. So, I rarely see a father in his early thirties taking leave for his unwell child or mother. It is exactly at this point that women need to be counselled or mentored so they keep going. 
3. Girls give up too early on themselves. They take the choice of opting out as a way to avoid conflicts at home front. In turn they give up on their own potential. Unfortunately, this is rarely acknowledged by the family members. They switch off before they can shine. 
4. There are many flexi-options available today that border on entrepreneurship. Women need to consider options other than full-time job or full-time home-maker to discover their own place under the sun. 
5. Despite education, urbanization, nuclear families, global exposure etc, family structures & expected behavioural patterns have seen very little change. The traditional definitions of a woman’s duties towards her household & family still remain what they were in the last century. 
6. Even today, majority of girls are brought up to believe that working outside the house is a choice they will make and that their household will not be dependent on their income (fathers, brothers, husbands are there to do that). However, working inside the house is a given and that they will have no choice there. So what do you think the girl takes seriously? 
7. Popular media glorifies the traditional roles & makes vampish characters out of those who defy them. 

The list can go on… 

Meanwhile, here is a link to short conversation between Sapna Bhardwaj of Businessworld and me… 

Published on Jul 31, 2015

Ashwini Deshpande, Co-Founder, Director, Head- Communication Design, Elephant Strategy + Design, spoke to BW Businessworld’s Sapna Bhardwaj at the sidelines of Young Entrepreneur Awards, recently held in New Delhi, India. Credits: Editing - Vijay Shankar, Ratnesh - Camera, Head Video Editorial - Sapna Bhardwaj      License- Standard YouTube License

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'Make in India' + 'Design in India' = Empowered creators

Not just Make in India, have Design in India to enable creators, says Ashwini Deshpande of Elephant Design

Success Quotient is a weekly feature that appears every Friday on Firstpost, which looks at the pains and joys en route to success for a head honcho - whether a CEO, MD or an entrepreneur. The column looks at the ideas that helped launch a company, its highs and lows.

Starting out in 1989, Elephant Strategy+Design was co-founded by Ashwini Deshpande, Ashish Deshpande and Partho Gupta in Pune. In a short span the company rose to the top with a distinct identity of its own and now represents India at the Design Alliance Asia, a consortium of design consulting companies across 13 Asian countries. Ashwini Deshpande, Co-Founder and Director, shares her continuing passion for work.

Excerpts from the interview:

What did you want to take up as a career? 

I grew up in Aurangabad, a small town. I was highly inclined towards art, creativity, advertisingand visual story telling in school. I was also good at academics. Towards the end of high school, I realized I was not interested in walking down the conventional career path of engineering or medicine. My parents were very supportive. So we explored options like commercial art, architecture and then we came across some information on NID, the premier design institute in Ahmedabad. Though I wasn’t fully aware of what a designer does as a career and there was nobody to find out from, the prospect of going through the professional design education seemed very exciting. In 1983, NID selected 24 students to join the undergraduate batch. Being one of them felt rather special.

How were your NID days? What are your memories of the place?

For many reasons, NID was a cultural surprise, even a shock. There was freedom, learning and exposure to global thought. There was a degree of social commitment. At NID, a student was only compared to his or her own benchmark or capability and never with anyone else. Years spent at NID taught me to think as an individual on a broader level and to be purposeful. It opened my mind, broadened my horizons. I also came out with a conviction that design is a team game.

Did your views towards design change after going to NID?

Honestly, I did not have enough understanding of design to form a view before I went to NID. But there, the first thing I learnt was the difference between art and design. I understood that design always has a purpose, a parameter, and a problem to solve.

Ashwini Deshpande, Co-Founder and Director, Elephant Design+Strategy

Who is your inspiration?

Companies like Frog Design influenced us in the 80s. There were some great professors, but they were not in the business. There were some peers and seniors who ran boutique design studios. But there was nobody ahead of us in the field with a dream of large scale, sustainable multi-disciplinary design consulting company. So the excitement was to carve a path, create a benchmark and keep raising the bar of design impact. The Elephant team is my inspiration. My teams are my heroes.

What was the genesis of the name of your company – Elephant Design?

Our name is inspired by the story of the blind men and the elephant. We believe design is a team game. We are always interested in adding another dimension to the process to form a richer, bigger picture. The name has worked well. It has had an excellent recall. It also becomes the icebreaker with most new teams that we meet.

What was the first assignment that the company got?

Our first assignment was a big break. I was in Pune working on my graduation project with the India office of a German multi-national company. As luck may have it, the global head of corporate communications happened to visit India during the time, saw some of the work and offered me a project to work on their international collateral. I took it up saying we will do it as Elephant. That project got us a 100,000 Deutsche Marks that roughly equaled Rs 13 lakh in 1989. In the initial days, a consultancy needs to pick up whatever work that may come its way. That money gave us the confidence to focus on meaningful work where we could bring about a positive impact with design intervention.

We saw decent double digit growth last year. Hopefully the trend will grow.

What are the changes in your sector that you welcome? What do you think needs to be done?

Design being a nascent profession, awareness about the impact of design intervention is very low.  There are no measurable tools or any documented case studies that explain how design helped increase profits for a business. Now that there are many design schools in India, we should be able to have better talent and awareness. When the Indian government promotes Make in India, it needs to start with ‘Design in India’. Otherwise we will become a nation of ‘makers’ and not ‘creators’.

I would like to see Indian products and brands becoming globally relevant and successful. I feel Indian design needs to focus on staying relevant to its audience and not get side-tracked by trying to showcase an outsider’s version of ‘Indian’ design.

What are your dreams for Elephant Design and how far have you come to fulfilling it?

We have always worked towards building an institution that transforms lives. The dream was to stay purposeful, make a large and positive impact and lead the way for establishing business of design in India. It took time, but we are quite there. The next dream is to put Indian design on the mainstream global map of design, to make design intervention meaningful to the masses and to use design as a tool for social impact.

How do you nurture your creativity?

The best virtue of a designer is to stay curious and to not be judgmental. I try my best.

You love travelling. Does travel for work give you Me-Time or it is only work?

There is a idiom in Marathi that I grew up with: Kelyane deshatan pandit maitree, sabhet sanchar, manuja chaturya yetase far. It loosely translates to: If you travel the world, meet experts, interact with others, you may become clever yourself!

I never see work as something I need to get away from. I love everything that comes with the profession. Who can complain about getting invited to Cannes for seeing the best work in one’s field and get to also have an opinion on it?

What is on your bucket list? How many have you finished on that so far?

I have travelled across more than 20 odd countries. And maybe 20 more are waiting. I edited a book called Colours of Asia last year, but now want to write one myself. I feel Elephant is an inspirational story that needs to be told. So I am hoping to complete that book soon. Other things from the bucket list will emerge as I go along.

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Adapting technology to create experiences

Adapting technology in physical environments : Create exuding experiences.

Branded environments in India are evolving. What trends are affecting experiences, how does new technology play a role in design of spaces and how does one connect with the new age end user.

By SHRISH TILEKAR

Experience based environments encompass a variety of sectors in today's world, they span across the service , manufacturing and retail industry .

Within the manufacturing sector, traditional companies, rather than carrying out boardroom presentations, are now setting up experiential spaces to communicate their offering. Working alongside designers companies are creating user journeys to best experience and explain their products & services.

The service industry having realised that customer engagement for good service is about good experiences, are creating positive memories at various touch points. They understand the relevence of this model to keep up in the ever competitive market. Mobile service providers are offering in store expert advice and value added service like free wifi, refreshments in an attempt to give a wholesome experience to their customers.

Banks are adopting user centered approach to design to make customer journey seamless and a pleasant banking experience. Such experiences help create an emotional connect with the  customers, helping build long lasting relationships enabling a loyal customer base.

 Hotels are coming up with theme based rooms to offer exclusive experiences to their guests and to try and present something new each time. Spaces like hotels are emphasising on distinctive moods and perceptions. Themes, lights, textures, alternative seating options make each visit into a novel experiences within a single space.

In Retail, brands have moved past the requirement of maximum SKU displays , brightly lit spaces, and use of multiple colours and materials. They have started to realise the importance of consumer centric designing , thus focussing on creating differentiated  journeys  and better experiences in the space which do not directly relate to the selling of the product but to build lasting memories , loyalty and superior impressions of the brand.

We are seeing a period when local players are realising the need for innovative and creatively designed experiences in the space that would help them compete with the global brands that are storming the Indian markets.

E retailing is also growing at the rate that one had never imagined. Though the e-retailers are changing the way people have been shopping and a complete change in the mindset of these people as well , the brick and mortar stores still hold their own charm amongst these users and also are an important element in the marketing mix.

Axis bank branches designed to suit every need and comfort of the customer to the highest order. A customer centric design approach that ensures customer comfort and hence builds better relations and brand loyalty within the customers.

Over the last two decades advancements in technology and the rising internet and mobile phone penetration has changed our lives and the way we communicate, do business and the way we shop or receive a service.

Technology has reinvented almost every aspect of the journey of a user within spaces through new ways of browsing,  digital shopping cart, reinventing changing rooms, sizing and customising on screen, in store remote video broadcast, real time SKU tracking, multiple payment options and methods. Technology is affecting how a store operates, thus presenting a completely new canvas to the designer.

Design will not just be restricted to one channel but there will have to be a holistic approach towards omni-channel retailing. Design of these physical spaces will have to be thought of keeping in mind other channels, where essentially the same kind of experience will have to be replicated or where the digital experience will have to be seamlessly integrated with the physical space. It is about the digital interactions and journey that comprises of human to space ,space to human, human to digital and digital to human interactions.

One such current technology is the mPOS ( mobile point of sale). The introduction of this technology has comprehensively transposed the journey of a user in any given environment.

It eliminates cash counters, queues, paper receipts, dependency on wired or even WIFI internet connections, bulky billing devices, and much more. For the customers it means safe transactions, cash free wallets, hassle free multiple payments and no long boring queues, all this for more shopping time with a better experience.

mPOS is now being used by every retailer around us, at fuel stations, grocery stores , retail stores ,cab drivers,  e-tailers for payment on delivery and so on. Ezetap is a good India centred example.

User fast adapting to new tech, are also evolving simultaneously. The needs and the demands of these users have changed drastically prompting the brands and the designers to take quick steps towards creating environments to suit their expectations. In this scenario designing environments will be more about mapping an experience of a target customer and less about clever furniture or a different looking space. Experience Retail will be less about trying to sell more things but moreso be focused towards great customer therapy.

Retail will no longer be just a place to buy. It will be more of social zones, hangout places, informative and educative. It will be a place that provides a holistic experience and a seamless integration with out-of-store engagements. People manning these places will be a lot more than just sales people. They will be the facilitators to conversations, educators and also designers that would make changes in the journey of a user based on his past experience with that particular user. Personalisation of experiences will be taken beyond the visible expectations of a customer like on the go, adventurous, relaxing, involving and so on.

Designers now will play a crucial role as an integrator, showing keen understanding of new tech, e commerce and people psyche’.

SHRISH TILEKAR is a Senior Designer, Environment Design at Elephant. An alumnus of National Institute of Design, Bangalore and with a Masters from IED, Milan, he leads a cool team of designers focussing on retail, special functional spaces and branded environments.

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WHAT VALUE AM I CREATING #3

TEAM ELEPHANT SPEAKS

WHAT VALUE AM I CREATING #3

I'm a preacher for planning. I love to work on well-planned projects. It helps me maintain the enthusiasm, fun & love for work.

I was blessed with really good, encouraging seniors. And I try to bring those qualities of encouragement, guidance, humbleness & fun on the table as we work.

Suraja Kotnis - Graphic Design Team

I am working on photo-shop tablet sketching and through peers I have learnt the process from scratch in Elephant and will continue to try and learn new methods like this independently.

Aarish Netarwala - Product Design Team

I strongly believe that my greatest value is my love for illustration. And if there is any illustration work required by any team, I am happy to help!

Nivedita Kekre - Graphic Design Team

Beyond the defined solution I also make few innovative routes, which are a few steps above the requirement. This way the client can know our expertise and understanding of the problems in his market. Also the client can come back to us when he/she has more evolved requirements as well.

Rimpy Batra - Graphic Design Team

I am encouraging all designers to create one pro-active design work a month. This not only creates a healthy competition but also pushes ones creativity. One also ends up doing something different beyond the regular projects.

Nikhil Phadke- - Graphic Design Team

Constraints as well as possibilities with the vendors/supplier organizations are important. This helps us to know the latest trends and technologies in the respective sector. I am creating a cutting edge vendor list, and will try to arrange visit for the team.

Yogesh Maralkar – Product Design Team

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WHAT VALUE AM I CREATING #2

TEAM ELEPHANT SPEAKS #2

WHAT VALUE AM I CREATING

I always have options ready.   Being in Administration and HR we have to take extreme care about planning. Still we should think about the worst problem may occur in between and always be ready with the options so that all functions happens smoothly.

For example, arrangement for any event / workshops check all small thing like food type, drink flavour, mosquito repellant in working condition, etc.

Jayashree Babar – HR & Admin Team

Whenever I encounter a design brief or a design problem I try to look at divergent ways to come up with concepts ( e.g Method cards, Visual Thesaurus etc)  and to bring the same to a logical execution. Being empathetic to the users/clients needs is something that I have learnt over time here.

Meenakshi Borgohain - Graphic Design Team

A design that is practical and easy to execute as per the production methods. I try to educate the younger designers the importance of smart design.

I try to involve in other teams project also and give my inputs wherever necessary new technique, method and new design trends.

Abhay Patil - Graphic Design Team

I have also been organizing out of office activities with my colleagues that include home visits, outings, treks as well as get-together for Elephants. Meeting outside the office helps the team synergies and know each other better, building friendships and camaraderie.

Harshad Choudhari - Program Management Team

I maintain a list of work, which I have to do. And try to done it as per priorities.  It is very helpful to me to keep track on my daily, weekly, monthly work.

One thought can change our mood. I try to write one good thought on our white board everyday.

Rohini Natu – Finance Team

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WHAT VALUE AM I CREATING

TEAM ELEPHANT SPEAKS #1

WHAT VALUE AM I CREATING

Smallest of things I learn at vendors & printers, I feel the need to convey it to our designers as well as artwork people quickly.

Pravin Mutkekar – Artwork team

By educating everyone around us with the projects that we have worked on and letting them know of the mistakes committed, so that such errors and mistakes can be omitted in future, adds to a lot of value to the Team.

Sharing and using new technologies, new trends and new insights from the industry/cross-industry

I have learned a lot from this place, and wish to give back with pleasure.

Vidyavati Gore – Program Management Team

I try to go the extra mile and do something additional for my colleagues who are stressed out. This in turn gives me an exposure to a task that I may not have worked before.

Gouri Kamat – Graphic Design Team

Quality is always maintained in urgent work, many a times in hurry, there is a big chance that slip up might happen for some things.

Power Saving - I take care of mine as well as my floors machines when is not in use, at that time I switch OFF the machines / ACs / Lights / Fans etc.

Harshad Deo - Artwork team

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What’s happening in Visual Design: Before & Beyond

Mayuri Nikumbh

Visual Design and Graphic communication is evolving. What are the trends that will sway the graphic world, how does new technology play a role in this new evolution and how does one connect with the new age end user.

By MAYURI NIKUMBH

With the lines between different media of visual communication blurring by the minute, it is inevitable that the design trends are being heavily cross-pollinated as well. While skeuomorphism has taken a big beating in the latest versions of all digital platforms, it is a trend that is not going away for a long time to come but rather is being adopted by print as well. Simple, flat graphics with solid, contrasting colours is the flavour of our present and fast becoming the preferred style of visual communication for designers & viewers alike.

What’s also emerging as a visual delight and emotional connect is ‘handcraftedness’. Whether it is the use of freehand fonts or unfinished textures or rough sketch lines – imperfection is the new perfection. It is probably the coming of a full circle after the visual fatigue of too much slick & shiny in the preceding seasons. People as consumers are now looking for rootedness and familiarity of the days gone by!  Since products & services are also speaking of the same language – their means of communication cannot remain unaffected.

An offshoot of the above is also another visual trend which sees the mixing of the old and the new – the classic contemporary or the retro new age! Both compliment each other beautifully in terms of image & typeface or colour & form or even tone of voice & visual expression.       

Packaging Design for Britannia Good Day Chunkies, truly emphasizes the imperfect, handcrafted feel of the product within.

Today technology is enabling in more ways, to express the desired design outcome. If all the above design trends can be brought to life, say in a packaging design exercise, it is due to the advances in printing technology. Whether it is about making a plastic pouch appear like paper or whether is it about creating illusionary glass bubbles on a flat surface, it is all being made possible to attract the consumers’ attention sitting on a shelf and communicate the right brand story.

Another area technology has impacted communication is the new way of purchase – online! The way packs look and engage a consumer is rapidly requiring newer strategies and design expressions. Here the competition or concern is not so much about the shelf shout. The challenge is to appear distinct and engaging in a few pixels and help make purchase decision without holding and feeling the pack in hand!

Substrate treatment simulating actual paper does complete justice to Paperboat Drinks in bringing alive its brand story of being pure and unadulterated nostalgia

In an age where there is prolific usage of internet & new-media not just by the youth but every set of hands who has a cell phone, easily spanning an age divide from 12 to 80, the end user is changing with every new download or upload. The only way to strike a chord with these people is to understand their world – become them. As a designer, one has to constantly be shifting identities and changing shoes based on for who is he or she is designing. One could be reading ‘The Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ on a day to understand what does today’s ‘tween’ think like or could be speaking to a pediatrician on another to understand what a mother is truly anxious about. A designer of our near future has to be a heady mix of psychologist + ethnographer + crystal gazer! J

MAYURI NIKUMBH is a Principal Designer, Visual Communication at Elephant. An alumnus of Industrial Design Center, IIT-Powai, Mumbai, she leads a cool team of designers with work straddling across brands, packaging and branded environments.

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Journey in Elephant Design is like my first roller coaster ride

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Expanding the Envelope

By Anand Palsodkar

Anand Palsodkar

For designers, one of key drivers at a design consultancy is the variety of design assignments one gets to work on. It expands the designers’ perspective about the design as a faculty and helps a designer ‘Grow’. With that said, it also expects a great deal from designers in terms of the skills, knowledge and ability to understand complex nature of new design opportunities.

With competition increasing, the industry becoming aware of role of design in keeping their products, brands alive and relevant, designers need to meet with ever growing expectations from industry on various fronts. Designers ought to do conscious efforts to push the boundaries of skills, knowledge and communication beyond what has been traditionally taught in schools and expand the envelope. Availability of the latest information at fingertips, rapidly changing tools for design and manufacturing, the designers have to straddle between keeping abreast with the latest in design and dynamic business environments. Designers are a bridge between the users and businesses, technologies. In present scenario, it has become crucial more than ever to develop a better understanding of complexities businesses concerns, market challenges and to be able use design as tool to solve it.

Design has always been teamwork and the designers deal with diverse stakeholders in the process. Ability to communicate effectively and accomplish the task, from a supplier or a client is a key to the success of a design assignment. Teams are an asset; to be able to effectively use team skills and deliver the right solution in shortest possible time has constantly been a challenge. Managing a team of designers, keep them motivated all the time is a constant endeavour.

Such efforts to learn and achieve something new, add a great value to an individual and the task at hand. Pushing the boundaries has always helped designers remain on their toes and keep the ‘designer’ inside alive and that’s what a designer should always strive for.

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Elephant & New year

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'Design was a lucky break for a shy, small-town boy like me'

'Design was a lucky break for a shy, small-town boy like me'

By Priyanka Nair

Partho Guha, Founder Director, Head - Innovation and Strategy at Elephant takes us through his artistic journey and shares his insights on how to keep a perfect balance of logic and intuition in design:

Why art?

As a child, drawing on the floor and walls with colored chalks was great fun. Possibly because my parents had a high tolerance level. I was not particularly winning awards for my creative pieces then but that never discouraged me. Drawing was more like getting into a secret world that you are most happy spending time in.

Why did you choose to be in Design?

Design to me happened by accident. I was totally confused about what is that I wanted to become. The fear of becoming anything predictable like a doctor, engineer, army officer, bank clerk or even a government employee made me stay away from those options.

I was instead attempting entrance tests for all obscure unheard of courses. The entrance exam to NID was one such attempt. The test itself was great fun and it seemed joyfully fresh. Especially at a time when nobody knew what exactly you will end up doing after you pass out as a designer. Design was a lucky break for a middle class small town, shy boy like me.

Your thoughts on, the conflict between 'regular' work and the more artistically satisfying work

Design is a mix of logic and intuition. There are some projects, where intuition is dominant making them artistically demanding. The intuition can be expressed through a 'visual' or multiple 'thoughts' depending on the context of the project. But a great solution happens when logic and intuition fit each other perfectly. If one listens carefully, one can hear the click of a perfect fit: that's real satisfaction.

How often do you get to do something that challenges you as an artist?

To be artistic is an attitude, a way of approaching projects or even life. It involves going beyond what your logical mind tells you and listening to your inner intuitive whispers. Believing in those soft feelings and taking hard decisions based on them. Sometime the whispers get expressed through paintings but that's just a little part. In that sense, almost everyday there is a situation where you are responding intuitively. Actually if one makes purely artistic decisions, the day becomes cheerful and at night one gets the best sleep.

Which artists inspire you the most?

The design masters like Paul Rand, Saul Bass are definitely an inspiration on balancing design with art. A painter like Paul Klee is an inspiration on how art can also learn from design.

Is there any difference in creating art or design, considering both are creative in nature?

Personally the approach to work and painting differs by 180 degree. While approaching design, one starts with logic, market, production and the intuition comes later to define the context. It is driven by the mind with some help from the heart.

While doing a painting my concern is to keep logic away so that the inner whisper can flow free and uninhibited. Looking for meaning only gets in the way; it destroys the purity of intuition. The more one paints, the intuition gains power and is expressed strongly. In my process of painting, it is all about heart, where mind is not allowed. The outcome of art is that immense peace and joy. That is the only motivation. 'Design was a lucky break for a shy, small-town boy like me'

[Partho's Art Gallery: Work done for MBT (1,2), Bilcare (3), TCS (4) and Elephant (5)]

Do you try to add to the art quotient in whatever it is that you do?

I do not consciously mix it in. The work has its role and context and art has its own, and to me they are very different. But, deep down I am one person and within a design work the art flows in a subtle way. This mixing happens in a complex manner. And one knows that when you enjoy your work.

What is the scope for an artist in a world going digital?

The real art lies within the artist, media only helps in expression. Historically art has evolved through various media, from cave painting, oil, charcoal, spray and the properties of the media has affected the final outcome. Digital is one such media and it has its strengths and weakness. It is for the artist to use them so that the expression stays pure.

(This story is a part of our series that features some of the real art talents of Indian advertising)

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Design + Culture

"Maybe we should question if we have isolated some of the cultural finess towards objects, buildings & spaces in our effort to survive post-colonial growth period"  - Ashish Deshpande | Creative Brands | Sept 2014 issue

http://issuu.com/creativebrandsmagazine/docs/creative_brands-india_edition-sep-2/c/sl7e1y2

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Around the Palm Beach Café

We have been immensely busy, doing very diverse set of engagements, exploring the length & breadth of what design thinking can do, and enjoying many high points. Here is what has happened at Elephant in the last 2/3 of years: It is a long note, but I think you may enjoy going through it. 

Big deal: Elephant completed 25 years this May; the only independent multi-disciplinary design agency to reach this milestone in India. We are rather proud of this achievement considering we started & grew in Pune, which is not a main-stream business or media hub. We believe Elephant pioneered “business of design” in India. We have stayed profitable in the entire journey, though initially, for at least a decade, we had to painstakingly explain & prove the power of design-led thinking to Indian businesses. Elephant  has also been a launch-pad for many of its former interns & employees who are now successful design entrepreneurs or intrapreneurs in various corporates. 

Growth: through work across India, SE Asia, Africa& Europe leading to deeper understanding of global trends and consumers. Overall, the focus has grown from delivering design projects to partnering with clients for design thinking & strategy for a sustainable success.  As of today, Elephant is 80+ team with largest number being at Pune, its centre of excellence. Delhi team celebrated 6 years, with 25 people. Team recently moved to Cyber City at Gurgaon in a swanky place, closer to many clients. Singapore team, now in its 3rd year has grown too and remains housed at a plush business complex off Orchard Road. Elephant’s relevant experience in design-led innovation found great traction in SE Asia with clients from diverse domains including hospitality, spa, beauty products, art, education etc. An Elephant outpost near Bonn in Germany has been activated recently and it also won couple of strategic projects in the consumer goods domain for brands looking to enter emerging markets. This outpost may soon become a full fledged office. 

Elephant Culture: When you always want to do the new, and discard repetitive, templatised solutions, the challenge is to the keep teams consistently curious & engaged. We celebrate every festival, encourage multi-cultural ethos, have our own band, Elephant Premier League cricket internal tournament, celebrate Fruit Day on 10th of every month, make eco-friendly Ganesh idols, have our own café called Palm Beach. We welcome interns from USA, Turkey, Singapore, Germany, France & most frequently, The Netherlands. We strongly believe that we are unparalleled in keeping a vibrant culture alive at work among our fraternity. We have Monday Morning Meetings as a ritual at Elephant where we come up with a new group engagement every single week. This helps us keep a positive mindset despite trying deadlines to solve wicked problems. 


Top work in 2/3 of years: 
Brand: Last 2 years got us 2 ReBrand 100 (USA) awards, CII Design Excellence & Designomics for CI Programmes. Daimler chose Elephant, a first ever design partner outside Germany to design their brand. Elephant team designed the Bharat Benz identity for Daimler trucks. The brand was cast keeping the legacy as well as cultural alignments in mind. Praj, a B2B engineering giant invited Elephant for rebranding. Talking about long term relationships, Elephant had also worked on the original Praj branding in 1996, which was up for change due to newer ambition & global growth. The new brand was launched in 2014. We facilitated an ‘integration through branding” exercise for a group of 10 companies led by Bhogales from Marathwada region. The group is now called AITG, that stands for Applied Innovation & Technology Group. We also rebranded another very ambitious engineering company called GrindMaster last year. 
Elephant has been the design partner for Champion’s League T20 for three consecutive cricket seasons including one in South Africa for creating brand livery for communication & venues. The most happening IPL cricket team, KKR invited Elephant to design the stadia livery for last season of IPL. 

FMCG Brands: Hector Beverages partnered with Elephant for naming, visual identity & packaging for a range of ethnic drinks. Paper Boat is considered the most successful beverage brand launch of the decade (the last successful one was Appy in mid-eighties, which later launched Fizz). Other very successful packaging launches include Good Knight Fast Card, Good Knight xpress system, Hit Anti-roach gel, Lacto Calamine rebranded range, V wash, Britannia Tiger, Marie Gold, NutriChoice, Cakes, Devaaya rice & staples, Colgate Visible White, Eraser skincare, Tzinga beverage, Kara skincare wipes, Kyron Brandy, Jolly Roger Rum, Venky’s sports nutrition, Heinz MaPlan, Galaxy & Snickers Festive packs, Haldiram’s Festive packs, rebranded Chandrika, rebranded Glucovita & many more. Elephant was also invited to work on two international brands from Godrej portfolio; Stella, a homecare brand in Indonesia & a hair brand across 5 countries in Africa. The former has had a very successful launch, the later is almost ready to go to market. We can easily claim to be in any Indian shopping basket through at least one brand designed by us. 
We published insights & trends around “new woman” on International Women’s Day this year. They can be read at http://issuu.com/ashwinielephant/docs/elephant_trendswatch_2014. 

Product Design: In our 25th year of design partnership with Symphony, the team designed two highly successful air-cooler ranges Diet & Storm. Symphony is world’s largest air-cooler brand with reach in 30 countries. Elephant has designed their products since 1989. We also continued to design range of products for India’s leading cookware brand, Nirlep, another very long & strong design partnership. 
Other work includes a global award winning milk chiller for Promethean Power Systems. This project was a partnership to achieve solution for rural milk-collection eco-system that faces huge challenges due to inconsistent power supply. Most exciting moment for this team was to get invited by BCCI to design an exclusive memento that was presented to Sachin Tendulkar on his last outing. 

Retail: Two consecutive VMRD awards for best retail design for QSR chains Venky’s Xprs & KrustysBistro. Our long time partnership with Axis Bank was instrumental in getting them CMO Asia Award for Impactful Retail & Merchandising Programme. Branded experience design work also includes Suzlon Global Campus, Eon Campus etc. 

Digital: Elephant has been involved in creating highly engaging digital experiences. As part of our long association with Delhi Duty Free Stores, Vir Sanghvi was signed on as India’s first Facebook editor for the brand. His deft inputs on Facebook and his engagement on luxury brands with bloggers and the DDFS team added an important dimension to the communication. When every TV channel went hoarse with their analysis on Lok Sabha election results, we launched itsmytake.com, a website for user generated infographics to express opinions on events of interest. This was a self initiated platform brought to life with IT giant Persistent Systems and Sakal media group as partners. We will be exploring immense potential of this platform in the near future through various participatory triggers. 

Social Impact: Elephant contributed to a global award winning social impact project with a couple of workshops and visually appealing and cost effective packaging for the laddoos once the recipes were finalized. The Laddoo Project is aimed to provide nutrition to under-privileged children and was executed by DeepaGriha NGO with support from Design Impact USA. Elephant has been chosen as a design partner by Delivering Change Foundation that is working towards “Draught Free Maharashtra by 2019”. The same team also partnered with Elephant for “Pune Bus Day” which was a huge success in November 2012. 

Elephant was invited by HK Government to be part of “Colours of Asia”, research project that culminated into an exhibition, seminars & book that was edited by me, with contribution from design experts across 13 Asian countries. 

For the Design Fraternity: Apart from speaking & jury engagements including ICOGRADA Design Week in Vancouver, Business of Design Week in HK, Design for Asia Awards (HK), Spikes Awards (Singapore), Pioneer Design Awards (China), Design for Change Awards, VMRD Retail Awards, PrintWeek Awards etc, co-founders of Elephant have played a key role in building Association of Designers of India. As Vice President of Association of Designers of India, Ashish is actively involved in supporting and promoting design as a profession and in convening Pune Design Festival for eight consecutive season since 2006. The Ministry of Industry & Commerce, Government of India invited Ashish as honorary member of India Design Council and of CII National Committee on Design. Ashish  was awarded certification in Good Design Awards system from Japan as part of cooperative initiative between Japan Institute of Design promotion & India Design Council. He has been on the jury of India Design Mark since its inception in 2011. 

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Color & Money

Color has a deep relation with the economic state of the people. General understanding is people with less money prefer strong & multicolor and rich people go for muted and soft color.

That may be simplifying things too much. The driver like youth, background, education, peer, context make the decision complex and subtle.

With greater access to media & self expression the color is becoming more personal and not about the segment.

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