In March 2015, International Innerwheel Club felicitated Ashwini Deshpande on World Women’s Day by conferring TejaswiniPuraskar, an award that recognizes women achievers.
In the same month, Ashwini was also listed among 50Most Influential Women in Media & Advertising by Impact magazine.
Ashish Deshpande was felicitated at the by Ico-D as the ‘Regional Ambassador’ at Internationa Design Congress in S Korea. This recognition comes as an acknowledgement of his work in promoting the profession of design in the Asian region. He is also recognised as the Regional Ambassador for Design for Asia Awards by Hong Kong Design Centre.
Ashish Deshpande on India Design Mark jury being held on 19-20 February 2015
India Design Mark recognizes and evaluates good design through a systemized process. The specific Mark reflects virtues of good design in Indian context and can be used as a symbol of distinguished excellence of the product. India Design Mark is granted by India Design Council - an autonomous body, established by the Government of India.
Ashish Deshpande (Director, Elephant) has been on the selection jury since the inception of India Design Mark in 2012.
In the same context, Ashish was earlier invited to visit Japan to understand practices followed by Good Design Mark of Japan. The visitor delegation was hosted by Overseas Human Resources and Industry Development Association (HIDA), Japan.
Ashish Deshpande leads the ADI delegation at Global Design Network, Hong Kong.
As the Vice President of Association of Designers of India, Ashish Deshpande was invited to lead the delegation of select association members visiting Hong Kong during the Business of Design Week 2014.
ADI was inducted as an honorary member at the Global Design Network symposium concurrent to the conference.
At the same event, Ashwini Deshpande was invited to represent the Design Alliance Asia that is already an honorary member at the Global Design Network.
Ashwini Deshpande to speak at “Design For a Billion” Conference at IIT Gandhinagar
The Design For a Billion conference is a cross-disciplinary forum to bring together researchers, educators, practitioners, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists to discuss the implications and future of mass impact design. Conversations will interweave the theoretical and the empirical, research and applications, market pragmatics and social idealism.
Ashwini Deshpande has been invited as a distinguished speaker where her talk will include applied design case studies. Her session will take place on 7th November 2014.
Symphony & Elephant
Twenty fifth year of design partnership with Symphony, world's largest cooler company... Every product seen in the ad is designed by Elephant!
Sachin & Elephant
Elephant Soundsense team designs audio-branding for Delhi Duty Free at T3, first ever in retail space
Elephant SoundSense has designed the aural experience at 5 critical touch points at the international arrival and departure at Terminal 3 at Delhi International Airport. A signature tune has been composed with different renditions for different touch points. The brand attributes, geographical location, spirit of the country, products on display, busy travel times and the wide range of travelers were the key points in the design. Elements of bio-rhythm have been incorporated and a new range of hardware by Bosch EV has been installed in July 2013 for the project across the stores at the airport to enhance the aural experience.
Future of Talent in Media & Communication Industry
Elephant Co-founder Ashwini Deshpande was invited for panel discussion on Future of Talent in Media & Communication Industry at the Impact Careers 360 conference in Delhi in June 2013. The panel was moderated by Roshan Abbas, a well-known media personality.
Read more about the conference here:
IIM Ahmedabad invites Elephant to speak on Brand Experience
At Elephant, it has been an endeavor to connect design with management for a greater impact on society. Prof Abraham Koshy invited Elephant to conduct a session on Brand Experience for the post-graduate programme at the prestigious Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Ravi Kabara conducted this session in June 2013.
SAHSI, a film by Elephant screened at Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards 2013
Elephant Dehi was invited to make a film on the virtue of ‘Courage’ to commemorate
Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards. The film was screened at the awards function in Delhi and was highly appreciated.
To see the film, check:
Kalyani Centre for Technology & Innovation invites Elephant co-founders Ashish Deshpande for Masterclass on New Product Development
In May 2013, Kalyani Group invited Elephant to conduct a Masterclass on Product Design & Development as part of Engineering Business Module.
Participants included working professionals from the group companies.
British Council invites Elephant co-founders Ashish Deshpande & Partho Guha, to conduct workshop on Innovation.
In April 2013, British Council Pune invited Elephant to conduct a workshop on Design led Innovation. Participants included working professionals from diverse domains like IT, Engg, academics etc.
Elephant wins again at REBRAND 100® Global Awards (USA)
Elephant was declared the merit award winner at REBRAND 100® Global Awards 2013 for its outstanding work for Venky’s Nutrition products.
Elephant is the only Indian company in the 2013 awardees with this being be the 8th REBRAND 100® accolade for Elephant.
Read the detailed case study at:
Lacto Calamine targets today’s ‘self assured’ women with new look by Elephant
While Lacto Calamine had established credence with the woman who equated beauty with simplicity, it was time to ladder up to a larger and aspirational space. It was time to connect with a ‘self-assured’ woman who makes informed decisions.
The brand needed alignment with the new positioning without losing its core of simplicity. From being present in basic categories like moisturizing and face wash, the trade-up was also about introducing newer products in sun protection and skin renewal space that came with definitive promises and differentiations. The challenge for Elephant was to create packaging that carried simplicity from the past and also looked believable as an advanced skincare solutions expert with a growing portfolio.
Read the story on:
Elephant Refreshes Lacto Calamine
Lacto Calamine, by Piramal Healthcare, has a 25-year history and equity as a trusted skincare solution. With rebranding exercise done in 2009 (also by Elephant), it had expanded into two skincare categories with solutions for different skin types from being just one moisturizer product brand. While Lacto Calamine had established credence with the woman who equated beauty with simplicity, it was time to ladder up to a larger and aspirational space. It was time to connect with a “self-assured” woman who makes informed decisions. Speaking about the exercise, Supratik Sengupta, GM Marketing Innovations – Piramal Healthcare Consumer Products said “Elephant has brilliantly amalgamated three key elements; the brand legacy, the present brand core & the future roadmap, while creating the design identity of the entire Lacto Calamine range architecture. It is always very comforting to work with such creative partner who can imbibe the strategic aspect in the creative rendition”
http://www.mxmindia.com/2013/02/elephant-refreshes-lacto-calamine/
The biggest obstacle is that we have no measurement tools for design success stories
The biggest obstacle is that we have no measurement tools for design success stories: Ashwini Deshpande, Founder Director Elephant
Design is an investment : Elephant's Ashwini Deshpande
Ashwini Deshpande is the founder, director, and principal architect of Elephant Strategy + Design . Its India’s one of the largest independent pioneering design consultancy in India. They have been one of the key forces instrumental in establishing the business of design in India since 1989. Ashwini is an alumni of National Institute of Design, India. As a trained Graphic Designer from National Institute of Design, Ashwini embarked upon the unexplored sector of design entrepreneurship in 1989. As India’s largest independent design consultancy, Elephant Design has played a pivotal role in establishing the business for over 21 years. Elephant' Design's work has been recognized by several international bodies including ReBrand International, Asiastar Packaging Excellence, International Spark, Global Green Gadgets etc. Ashwini has lead experiential branding, packaging & retail projects for some of the leading brands ranging from Britannia, P&G, Unilever, Titan and Nirlep.
Since Ashwini is one of the initial few who have champioined the domain of design hence she is very much sought after in the Indian and Internatioinal circuit to speak on the same. Ashwini’s speaking engagements include National Conference of AIGA at Boston, Icograda Design Week in Istanbul and The India Innovation Summit at Bangalore, CII-NID Design Summits at Bangalore & Delhi. She has been a guest lecturer at premier Indian institutes including IIM, NIFT, MICA, American University in Lebanon and the Duke University USA. She has visited more than 20 countries as a guest speaker, jury or workshop leader.
HP features her as their brand ambassador for colour printers in India. She is also on the Asian Paints Style Leaders ColourNext Panel.
Ashwini divides her time between teaching, pro bono work and professional consultancy to help products & services become relevant in the emerging markets.
At Elephant Strategy + Design they believe in creating brand experiences that engage and transform people. Their work is intended towards envisioning an innovative , relevant and differentiated future for their clients.
Adgully caught up with the multifaceted lady ,Ashwini Deshpande to talk about Elephant Design her labour of love, challenges , aspirations, her views on being a professional and her stature in the industry. Her answers are very inspiring. This is what she had to say:
Adgully (AG): According to you while setting up a media/creative agency entrepreneurs face tremendous challenges. What according to you are those challenges?
Ashwini Deshpande (AD): When I co-founded Elephant in 1989, design as a profession was very nascent. There were some boutique design studios, but there was no multi-disciplinary, professionally run design company in India. Neither industry at large nor the creative industry had much experience and (therefore) faith in how design thinking could make a positive difference. “Design” was a highly misunderstood word. No client had faced an item called “design fees” in their budgets or expenses. So the challenge was that of “concept selling” the practice of design consultancy. We have spent much of our 23 years in propagating value of design thinking & design led solutions to clients, associates and users of design.
Getting the best talent that comes out of premier design institutes is a challenge as the brightest minds either become entrepreneurs themselves or go overseas for education & exposure. But with years of consistent good work & good practices, Elephant is a brand that clearly attracts very talented people from design as well as management backgrounds.
AG: How according to you is it possible to strike a balance between business and creativity?
AD: I never see business interests coming in the way of a creative solution because both their goals are essentially the same. Design answers a need, solves a challenge or a problem for the user. There is no place for self-expression or abstract creativity unless it actually adds value to the solution. Design thinking is a fair balance of right & left brain. While the insights, inferences & strategy have to be analytical, the solution needs to be a synthesis of unique, relevant and creative.
AG: Your company believes in creating brand experiences that engage and transform people. What are your views on this?
AD: At Elephant, we believe good design is about creating positive experiences for people. Whether it is a product, brand or a space, we believe it needs to make a positive difference to the user.
So one of the most critical factors is to understand the user & get rich insights that lead to innovative ideas. We use tools & processes that ensure that the idea goes through all the filters necessary for making it a winning idea.
AG: How much competition and what kind of challenges do you face in your field of work?
AD: Surprisingly, there is no other independent strategic design consultancy of the scale & experience in India. There are many small & mid-sized design companies as well as some well known ones from global alliances that operate in variety of competencies. We do face competition from them occasionally. The bigger challenge is in getting the industry to look at design as a capital investment and not a marketing expense.
AG: What is the growth foreseen in this industry and how is international exposure helping to expand the business?
AD: Early on, we were clear that our learning could be sharpened only through international exposure and alliances since there was no benchmark to look up to inIndia. We have consciously been giving international exposure to our teams. We represent India at the Design Alliance Asia, a network of design companies from 13 Asian countries. We were the first Indian company to sign MoU with npk, a Dutch design company and also got to partner with Continuum Innovation consultancy from USA.
We have seen benefits on two fronts. You can grow far & wide only when your roots are firmly in place. With the Design Alliance, we are able to reflect cultural empathy in our work as we learnt to appreciate tremendous value in being rooted.
With our international exposure & access, we have developed the ability to convert global values into something that is valued by Indians.
As a result, when multinational companies like Daimler, Nissan, P&G, Bausch+Lomb, Heinz, Dulux etc decide to create something very specific for India, they recognize our expertise in understanding the user, market ethos & believe in our appropriacy of strategy for India.
Now with Elephant Delhi firmly established and Elephant Singapore taking wings, we also have the advantage of richer strategic offerings and reach.
AG: What factors have contributed towards the success that you see today in your journey since the inception of the company?
AD: I think we are very earnest about adding value by design. We work on projects where we can add genuine value. Recently I heard a Chairman of a large company saying he never pats anyone on the back for getting their first project from a client. But he hugely appreciates the team when they get their second project from that same client.
I am happy & proud that many of our client associations are well over 10 years and some like Symphony & Nirlep go as far back as 20 years!
AG: Many of the global giants have been developing products for India. The latest in line is IKEA. What are your views regarding their strategy plans for India?
AD: There was a time when an international brand could come to India and get it right if the pricing was right. But we are not in that phase anymore. It is not just about affordability. We want objects & services that suit our lifestyle. We have become a country of demanding consumers. We have a voice, we tweet, blog & socialize with growing fervor. We talk about what we like or dislike.
So IKEA may have to localize or even develop specific products for India; something I believe they do not do in any other country.
AG: In your leisure time what are the hobbies you indulge in and any particular genre of books that you like to read?
AD: I really love what I do. I like to travel. I have travelled to more than 20 countries for work or for speaking/ jury invitations. I have been the face of Indian design at some of the biggest platforms including Rockefeller Foundation, Danish Design Foundation, ICOGRADA & AIGA.
When I see the entire Elephant team at our Monday Morning Meeting, I get all the positive energy I need. Honestly, I don’t need another hobby as work does not stress me out.
I just finished reading Bossypants by Tina Fey (Liz Lemon of 30 Rock) and realized how much I identify with satire and I am looking forward to more of such reading…
AG: The women of today especially metros and big cities have evolved rapidly and they are seen as key decision makers. What would you attribute this change to?
AD: Nuclear families, high cost of living in metros leading to working couples, growing up having a working mother, growing up as single child or with just one sibling getting equal opportunities in education & exposure…
AG: As for women professionals in media would you say they have some inherent characteristics that make them excel in business?
AD: There is really nothing to prove in the domain of design as women lead most of the top design companies in India. Also, I am not in favor of such comparisons as it makes women sound wannabe which is not the case at all. I am an equalist.
The Designer as Entrepreneur
Challenges as a design entrepreneur by Ashwini Deshpande
http://kyoorius.com/2012/06/designer-entrepreneur/
Elephant Director to speak at NTU, Singapore
Elephant Wraps up 2011 with 25 new businesses
Elephant wraps up 2011 with 25 new businesses
By Sai Prasanna
Thursday,Feb 09, 2012
With design thinking increasingly being recognised by brands as a necessary brand tool for positive differentiation, Elephant Strategy + Design, India’s largest independent strategic design outfit with a presence in Pune, Delhi and Singapore, is experiencing a steady increase in the number of new clients. Last year, Elephant Pune added over 15 new clients from diverse domains, which included Axis Bank, BCCI (CLT20), Essar Steel, General Mills, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Heinz, Mars International, Piramal Realty, Promethean Power, Reckitt Benckiser, and Wagh Bakri Tea, while Elephant Delhi added over 10 new clients, including Delhi Duty Free.
In conversation with exchange4media, Ashwini Deshpande, Director, Elephant Strategy + Design, spoke about some of the significant work executed over the year. She said, “Over a hundred projects of varying sizes and impact were executed between Delhi and Pune. The Complan re-launch, Britannia NutriChoice snacks launch, Suzlon One Earth experiential branding work, Experience Strategy, Design and visual language for Axis Bank, strategy, identity and communication for Delhi Duty Free, visual language for Champions League T20, and two innovative cookware ranges designed for Nirlep would be the highlights.”
The year was lucrative on the awards front as well. Elephant won Merit Award for retail design for Venky’s Xpress chain of quick delivery chicken outlets. The first edition of the Designomics Awards recognised examples of excellence in strategic design for the year 2011. Nirlep won the first ever Designomics Award for Strategic Brand Identity Programme done by Elephant.
Mukund Bhogale, MD, Nirlep, said, “Nirlep has partnered with Elephant for product design, product innovation, branding and package design since 1990. The newly launched brand identity, freshly defined brand values and a sharper brand vision has helped the company to streamline internal as well as external image and processes, which in return brought in 50 per cent more revenues. We couldn’t be happier.”
Britannia was conferred a Special Designomics Award for Outstanding Package Design. Britannia has been partnering with Elephant for branding and packaging work since 2006. Elephant created/ rebranded and packaged Britannia brands – NutriChoice, Marie Gold, Bourbon, 50-50, Treat, TimePass, Tiger, Tiger Zor, Pure Magic, Choco Decker, Cakes & Breads.
At the CII Design Excellence Awards, Elephant’s work done for Suzlon One Earth Global campus at Pune was recognised as the best Environmental Design. Elephant was also given a special excellence award as ‘best of the best’ across several categories for the same project.
However, despite winning several accolades, standalone design firms still don’t receive as much recognition for their contribution to building a brand’s image when compared with ad agencies. Agreeing with this, Deshpande said, “Design is a much younger profession in India. We believe sound design thinking is the foundation of good, user-led product or service. What advertising agencies do very effectively is to communicate about that product or service. But designers rarely are able to iterate the impact of good design as we still don’t have measurement tools. As the developmental and exploratory nature of work that necessitates confidentiality, design agencies do not speak about the process or details before or sometimes even after launch. And once launch happens, media is in a hurry to write about campaigns. So, design agencies do not get their due for sure.”
As for the focus areas for the year 2012, Service Design will see a lot of action at Elephant. Deshpande added, “Ongoing practices of product innovation and branding will continue to grow, but with a broader focus on Asia as our Singapore team is ready to bring in richer insights. As for adding a location, it is a strategic decision. Pune will always remain the centre of excellence for innovation and design at Elephant. We started Elephant Delhi in 2008 to be able to offer stronger strategic connect for national clients with base in North India. The Delhi team has also gained business from the East. Elephant Singapore was started in 2011 for global businesses, being handled from Singapore. There are no plans of adding a location in 2012.”
Deshpande divulged that the firm might be strengthening its operations with the addition of a research team this year.