Elephant Short Descriptionhttp://www.elephantdesign.comElephant News DescriptionCopyright 2010. All rights reserved.ElephantDesign.com RKS of United Stateshttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=25<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> CONTACT:<br /> Sudhir Sharma Elephant Strategy + Design<br /> +91 98220 93832<br /> <a href="mailto:sudhir@elephantdesign.com">sudhir@elephantdesign.com</a><br /> <a href="http://www.elephantdesign.com/1024/index_2.html">www.elephantdesign.com </a><br /> <br /> Elephant Strategy + Design and RKS from the United States Formalize a Bridge Between Continents and Cultures<br /> <br /> Los Angeles, California and Pune, India, October 16,2007 &ndash; Elephant &amp; RKS announce the signing of a formal strategic partnership between India&rsquo;s leading strategic design firm and North America&rsquo;s leading Industrial Design firm.<br /> <br /> <br /> &ldquo;Today we have announced a strategic partnership that will provide a bridge for North American clients seeking to improve their performance in the growing Indian market, and for Indian companies seeking presence in the US&rdquo; said Ravi Sawhney, PhD, CEO of US-based RKS. Together Mr. Sawhney and Mr. Sudhir Sharma, Director of Elephant Strategy + Design, described the unmistakable trend toward globalization by product manufacturers &amp; service providers seeking access to emerging markets whose cultures are sometimes unfamiliar to them.<br /> <br /> <br /> Mr. Sawhney said &ldquo;we think of ourselves as the guide for companies building brand value globally. With our partners at Elephant, we&rsquo;re able to craft a segment-specific understanding of international customs and cultures in order to develop new products and services that appeal to a range of global tastes and preferences.&rdquo; With the Elephant partnership, RKS and Elephant hope to deliver an even broader range of value and market access to its clients, which include many US-based market leaders.<br /> <br /> As part of the agreement, RKS will license the use of its exclusive Psycho-Aesthetics methodology. RKS uses this platform to enable its clients to achieve market goals once newly designed products are launched. With this platform, RKS is able to determine sources of market demand, and pinpoint the nature of target audience tastes and preferences in advance of the product design process.<br /> <br /> RKS, founded in 1990 by Ravi Sawhney, is a full service Industrial Design consultancy offering a full range of strategy, innovation and design services. The company is recognized as one of North America&rsquo;s leading Industrial Design firms, consistently ranked in the Business Week Top 10. RKS specializes in market segments that include medical / dental, consumer electronics, sporting goods, house wares, consumer products, and industrial goods. Its clients include Apple, JBL, Nokia, HP, Intel, Zyliss,Panavision, Medtronic, and many others. RKS has won more than 50 product design awards globally, and has been issued hundreds of US patents. <br /> <br /> &ldquo;With RKS and their immense experience in the product conception understanding, we at Elephant are very excited with the potential it brings to a growing country like India. We see a huge qualitative jump this partnership can offer to brands in India and Asian region. We look forward to share our deep understanding of Indian and Asian cultures with RKS&rdquo; says <br /> Mr. Sudhir Sharma of Elephant.<br /> <br /> Elephant Strategy + Design is a pioneering design practice in India .It specializes in design of brand experiences for products, services and environments for the emerging markets. Since its start in 1989, Elephant Strategy + Design has helped create confidence in Industry to use design as a tool for change. Elephant has created some of the best known Indian Brands and is a preferred partner for global companies such as Unilever, P&amp;G, Nissan, Henkel, Britannia, Bajaj Auto, Kirloskar Group, Aircel, Commonwealth Games Federation, Titan, Symphony, Nirlep, Bilcare and Panacea Biotec. With acombination of specialized skills, knowledge, innovation and passion, Elephant&rsquo;s segment expertise spans healthcare, information technology, banking, FMCG, house wares, consumer &amp; industrial products and transportation. Elephant also devotes considerable time and energy towards not-for-profit projects that support community, development and environment conservation efforts.</font></p>The Financial Express - April 5 2007<br/><br/> Those of us who saw the 1992 movie The Scent of Women, would remember it for one scene, if for nothing else. How the blind, cantankerous, middle aged Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade (Al Panico) picks the girls is about to tango by nothing more than her smallhttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=20<p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The Financial Express - April 5 </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Those of us who saw the 1992 movie The Scent of Women, would remember it for one scene, if for nothing else. How the blind, cantankerous, middle aged Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade (Al Panico) picks the girls is about to tango by nothing more than her small. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Less than a year ago, a Hindustan Lever team that manages Breeze a fragrant soap, positioned at the bottom end of the price pyramid, that commands 6.2% market share in the Rs.4,500 crore toilet soap market in India confronted a similar problem: How to communicate fragrance to a rural woman (Breeze's target consumer) who cannot read what's written on the pack and from whom a fragrant soap priced at mere Rs.8 for a 75 gm a bar is perhaps the only affordable beauty treatment option available?</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The communication was important because with the economy booming, Breeze had begun to lose market share to brands such as Lux and Rexona that occupy the middle and upper end of the beauty soap portfolio. &quot;Breeze was a superior product, so the brand team at Hindustan Lever was merit in investing in it&quot;, says R. Balakrishnan (Balki) executive director at Lowe, which holds the advertising account for Breeze. &quot;Eventually, they not just repacked but also re-engineered the product&quot;.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Explaining the rationale behind Breeze's rebranding, Ashok Venkatramani, vice president, skin care products, Hindustan Lever says, &quot;Although it operates at the lower end of the price continuum, Breeze is an important brand in our portfolio. It competes very well with the local brands in a market where design sells and a soap has to really stand out in the clutter in the over crowded shelf of the kirana shop. That's why we finally decided to rebrand the product from the roots.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The second objective for rebranding Breeze, explains Venkataramani, was to sharply differentiate four variants, especially in packaging terms, which was not the case earlier. This came from the design element. &quot;We experimented with the product formula and made our fragrances stronger&quot; add Venkataramani.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The market response in Breeze's case was almost instantaneous. There has been a reverse migration from Lux to new Breeze which launched in October, 2006 in four variants rose, green, sandal and rajnigandha priced at Rs. 8 a bar. &quot;It's early days yet, but we are happy with the response&quot;, assets Venkataramani. &quot; We have regained the market share that we lost to Lux and Rexona a couple of years ago&quot;.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The rebranding in Breeze's case was done in two complex steps, explain Ashwini Deshpande, a founder member of Elephant Design, an Ahmedabad based creative hot shop that worked on the rebranding exercise. First the team at Elephant Design had to identify that key attribute that differentiated Breeze from other products in the same price band and that would intrinsically appealed to rural women. They identified that it was its very pungent floral fragrance. The second step was to understand how these rural women perceived or rather wanted to experience fragrance in their soaps. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The second step was tougher to execute that the first . Even an urban, evolved woman is hard put to explain fragrances. So, to get a semi literate, small town, joint family, husband-dependent woman to talk about her memory o good scents was difficult. &quot;But after a few home visits, we got a hand of her aesthetic sensibilities, which are muted and not overly sexy&quot;, says Deshpande.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">&quot;The message is there when you look at the packaging, the thought that instantly comes to mind is &quot;Hey, baby, let's go out tonight&quot;. It's very fresh very inviting&quot;, says Balki. The relaunch was followed up with a new campaign claiming &quot;Scent ka kamal saboon main&quot; and storyboard that subtly weaves in the theme of romance between a husband and wife. To capitalize on this mood, Hindustan Lever even signed up Bollywood siren Mallika Sherawat for a one-off outdoor promotion for the rose Mallika Sherawat variant. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Breeze's success, in the most part, can be ascribed to &quot;the product changes and the strategic and creative brief&quot; from Hindustan Lever, acknowledges Elephant Design. &quot;They gave us sentences that got burnt on our psyche: &quot;we want colours that don't exist on the shelves right now&quot;, 'One should be able to smell the fragrance just by looking at </font></p>Outlook Business - June 20, 2007<br/><br/> A gang of NID graduates had, like the blind men in a Febe, varying ideas about the Elephant, till it started walkinghttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=21<p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Outlook Business - June 20</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">A gang of NID graduates had, like the blind men in a </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Febe, varying ideas about the Elephant, till it started walking.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">It's a case of Newton's apple getting notice bit to too late. Earthen pots with Warli paintings are too rich for the culinary purpose. A designer fursome advised a kitchenware company to try out a non stick terracotta. On their way to the bank, they realised they could have patented that product and charged a royalty. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Nirlep's Bhoomi range of non-stick earthen pots were not only ethnic, but it also removed the pungent taste with porosity of a pot. &quot;It was a miss; we should have patented it,&quot; rues Sudhir Sharma, Founder Director and Principal Strategist of Pune-based Elephant Strategy+Design.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Moral of the story, next time an apple falls, don't just pick it up, savior it. All the four founder members- Sudhir Sharma, Partho Guha,Ashwini Deshpande and Ashish Deshpande- huddled together and thought about giving intellectual property rights (IPR) a shot. Today, they have a dedicated team to deal with IPR. &quot;The largest business for us in the future would be IPR&quot;, Sharma says. In the next four to five years, he expects 80% revenues to come from IPR- related business. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Array of Clients </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Today, the 18years old Elephant Strategy + Design has a hot of clients across automobile, infotech, pharmaceutical and FMCG sectors. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">&quot;We do not want to be restricted to one particular sector, it limits our exposure', points our Partho Guha, a founder member.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">There is a whole range of learning from each of these sectors. Like, for instance, the company is into intensive research on designing soap delivery. While in India people use bars, western countries are more attuned to liquid soaps. The trick lies in asking the right question. Is there another alternative to soap delivery? There is, That's one area the company is working on.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The copany6 redefined branding for financial institutions by giving ICICI Bank an image makeover. &quot; Till then, all banks were blue in coulour. We brought vibrancy into banking with ICICI,&quot; says Sharma. The ICICI Bank project got them the global retail design contract of Standard Chartered Bank, In fact, the outfit went step ahead into city branding. Elephant strategy+ Design shaped a logo for Pune and charted our brand plan for urban development. The logo draws its inspiration from the coronation seal of Chattrapati Shivaji, the Maratha warrior. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">&quot;The coronation seal is the identity of Puneites&quot; says Sharma. The logo will be used during the Commonwealth games in Pune next year. The entire branding of the event and the mascot has been conceived by Elephant Strategy + Design. It is also partnering with 15 large-scale companies, industry associations and the local administration in Pune to set up 15 industrial design museums. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The company is also getting into publishing city-based literature. It has already launched two of them. All these initiatives would be used to reinforce the coronation seal-inspired logo among the masses. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">So how did this journey from setting shop in the city to finally branding the city start? Six National Institute of Design (NID) graduates, like the six blind men in a feble, decided to explore this elephant of an idea. Everyone had their own ideas about design. They decided to pool them for an enterprise. And in 1989 the Elephant was born. Two members left midway.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Their first client was BASF, a German chemical major. They had to shoot a corporate campaign for BASF, besides designing the corporate brochure. The deal size: Rs 17 lakh but big money in 1989. The German connection got them the branding assignment of Indo-German Chamber of Commerce. &quot;The myth then was designers have to struggle a lot in the initial years; we proved them wrong&quot; says Sharma with a wry grin. Today Elephant charges anywhere between Rs.25 lakh and Rs. 1 crore, depending on the project. It has 25 projects on hand, of which a third are international projects. &quot; We make clients realize that design is not a marketing expense. It is a serious investment in intellectual capital&quot; says Ashiwini Deshpande, another founder member.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">&quot;Most of our clients work with us on a long term basis, &quot; Deshpande adds. In fact, some clients have been with it for more than ten years; Bajaj Auto, Nirlep, Symphony, Bilcare. The others include Uniliver, P&amp;G, ICICI Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, TCS, ZenithComputers and Panacea Biotech to name just a few. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">IDEATION AT WORK : Design is not a marketing expenses. It is an investment </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Setting Benchmarks</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The company's foray into international markets has caused global design players to offer competitive prices. &quot;European or American deign companies have been dropping their fees drastically to compete with Indian design production,&quot; she says.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The company is looking at medium term contracts with companies. To facilitate this, the company is setting up large, dedicated studios within the design campus, which the company plans to set up. Says Sharma: &quot;We are looking at a campus of our own. &quot; The company is open to setting up joint ventures with promising clients. It is looking at joint ventures with four our regular clients to design and develop their brands.</font></p>The Economics Times - 18th October, 2007<br/><br/> Local knowledge, of markets, cultural issues, buying and selling patterns is a competitive advantages for Indian companies. Who better than a local to tell you of the do’s and don’ts of the marketplacehttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=22<p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The Economics Times - 18th October</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Local knowledge, of markets, cultural issues, buying and selling patterns, is a competitive advantage for Indian companies. Who better than a local to tell you of the do's and don't of the market place? This is an opportunity that Indian companies will increasingly be able to leverage and which the Pune-based design house, Elephant Strategy + Design has used effectively . </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">&quot; We have formed a strategic partnership with RKS, a Log Angeles basaed full service industrial design consultancy with a full range of strategy, innovation and design services&quot;, Ashwini Deshpande, founder director and principal designer, Elephant said. She was categorical that this was not a out-sourcing or off shoring arrangement, any kind of a BPO or KPO.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The tie up is targeted at those multi national corporations looking at entering the high growth emerging markets, a collection of close to 100 countries. &quot;US companies cannot sell what they sell there in these emerging country markets since they do no understand the cultural nuances of these countries and yet they need to know if they are to sell a shirt there. They need to localize and we will provide that local knowledge&quot; Ms Deshpande explained. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Under the partnership, RKS will licence the use of its exclusive Psycho-Aesthetics methodology while Elephant will provide insights into local markets. The two companies could either pitch together for business. Some projects are set to come &quot;very soon&quot; to Elephant . Ms Deshpande said, adding that revenue sharing will be based on the proportion of which the company originated and which supported. The higher share will naturally go to the originating company. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">RKS os a 27 year- old company founded by R K Sawhney. Who is also known for his design and manufacture of guitars for the likes of Santana and Eric Clapton. The partnership was announced simultaneously in Los Angeles and Pune by R K Sawhney and Sudhir Sharma, managing director Elephant Stretegy+Design. &quot;For us, the big benefit is access to technology, through RKS, so we can see the future&quot;, Ms Deshpande said.</font></p>Design Week - 5th October, 2007<br/><br/> India’s enviable economic growth is fostering a burgeoning design scene, but can the country’s infrastructure develop quickly enough to support it and will this new industry manage to retain links with the nation’s past? David Kester finds outhttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=23<p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Design Week - 5th October</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">India's enviable economic growth is fostering a burgeoning design scene, but can the country's infrastructure develop quickly enough to support it and will this niw industry manage to retain links with the nation's past? David Kester finds out.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">SIXTT YEARS ago a new independent India was born. Then years into his administration, amid the turmoil of 'midnight's children', Prime Minister Nehru's government invited Charles and Ray Earnes to ravel the nation, talk about design and recommend how it could shape India's future. What a far-sighted move. The now-legendary India Report, with its disarmingly poetic allegory about the design of the lota the classically perfect pottery water vessel that hs remained unchanged for thousands of years- sets out the precepts of for a modern design industry of polymaths with deep roots in culture and craft, new skills in design and broad and open minds to tackle the social and economic challenges facing India. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Indian today is reaping the rewards of the investment it made in design education when following the Eameses report, it established the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, India's nearest equivalent to London's Royal College of Art. Dr. Darlie Koshy, the current director, boast proudly of his alumni, many of whom are now the creative brains behind India's most successful brands. On visiting one of the country's biggest independent design consultancies, Elephant Design, I discovered that ll the partners met while at NID in the late 1980s. Another leading light of brand design, Sujata Keshavan, a graduate of both NID and Yale, affirms the importance of a rounded education that roots the nest of Western style design practice within thousands of years of Indian tradition. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">India's savvy new industry is wide awake to the urgency and scale of its calling. Hot product designer Mukul Goyal explains that, 'The future of design in India does not lie in the hands of designers, but in the expectations of a billion people.' The points and others make is that there are at least two Indias that are set to make very different, but ever-growing demand on India's design creatives capabilities. One India is the much-vaunted success story, with a 9.2 per cent annual rise in GDP, a middle class numbering a quarter of a billion, 45 million graduates in 2007 and a 20 fold growth in US patents in the same year. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">In the other India, 500 million people rely on agriculture for survival, the majority in Bihar lives in poverty, hand-loom weavers in Beneras commit suicide as their livelihoods are lost to the mills, the road infrastructure can't cope and the cities are choked. Both of these pictures are real and both offer huge design challenges.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Rapid industrial and technological growth is providing Indian design professionals with colossal and demanding commercial assignments alongside a live environment unparalleled in the West. Retail designer Darryl Noronha from Retailscape has been working with Unilever to help transform the environment of 7500 local grocers or Kiranas so that these family- run stores become, for better or worse, effective channels to market for global brands. In another example , Elephant design ran innovation workshops with industrial giant Kirlosker that led to a plan to revamp 100 products within six months and design 100 new products with ht next five years. The examples continue across every sector, from automotive and computing to banking and telecoms. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The surge in demand for design, from clients and consumers alike has had interesting and unanticipated consequences. There is a real sence that creativity and design are providing a new expression of Indian Identity. This is largely at national level, but evidence points to it extending internationally, the same way that Bollywood has won fans from all corners of the globe, For instance, in the UK, Kingfisher is a premium bottled bear, while in India it's an expressive brand competing successfully in the new arena of budget airlines. Similarly, Fabindia is a fair-trading, no-logo clothing and house-ware chain that's now opened in Milan. But in the rush to bottle and sell new India, writer, historian and creative guru Rajeev Sethi, who led the government's taskforce on cultural heritage, sees a downside in the potential eradication of ancient traditions and crafts, many of which are unrecorded. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">For a government wrestling with how to implement a new National Design Policy, the surge in demand from industry presents a potentially troubling capacity issue. On the one hand TC James, from the Ministry of Economic Affairs is seeking to establish new institutions, such as an Indian Design Council, to promote design to hundreds of thousands of SMEs. On the other, he is painfully aware that exponential growth in demand may be unsupportable by the design sector, even with predicted levels of growth from within education. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The increasing disparity in earnings between public sector design teachers nd professional designers raises added concerns about quantity over quality. The influx of Western design consultancies may provide part of the solution. Consultancies such as Landor are already important training grounds for indigenous talent. WPP has a good presence both through Fitch and its recent purchase of multidisciplinary Bangalore consultancy Ray &amp; Keshavan. Others are hovering. The right style of partnership will help to meet industrial demand and develop the sector. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Before leaving India I had the pleasure of speaking at the Designyatra, a design conference in Goa and the brainchild of entrepreneur and philanthropist Rajesh Kernwal. The even coincided with the religious festival of Dahi Handi, at which young people traditionally gather to form improbably high human pyramids to smash clay pots full of rupees, It's re-enactment of a story about optimism appetite, fearlessness and vitability all very much in evidence within what is arguably the fastest-changing design scene in the world.</font></p>Sudhir Sharma loves to tell the story of a small vegetable and grocery vendor in Pune.http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=24<p align="justify"><font face="Verdana">&nbsp;<font size="2">Times Business - 14th December</font>&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana">Sudhir Sharma loves to tell the story of a small vegetable and grocery vendor in Pune. &ldquo;He has a 600 sq.ft. store and we asked to him to get a neat glass fa&ccedil;ade, install air-conditioning and arrange the veggies in a clean and colourful baskets right in front of customers to pick and choose what they want. He got advertisers for the fa&ccedil;ade and door, so he recovered a chunk of his costs. Sure enough, he was able to win back the customers he had last to big stores like Reliance Fresh,&rdquo; says the founder director of Elephant Strategy+Design.</font></p> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana">Sharma and co-founder Ashwini&nbsp;Deshpande, who're participating at the CII-NID Design Summit happening in the city, believe that simple design innovation tips can help unorganized retailers retain their&nbsp;market share despite the increase in modern retail. &ldquo;Design intervention can play a huge role, but most small retailers have no idea of this concept. Awareness should be created soon, because they won't be able to stall the onslaught of modern retailers for long,&rdquo; says Anthony Lopez, CEO of Lopez Design. </font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana">The design community is gunning for a co-operative movement of small retailers, who need to go beyond cashing in on their customer base. The kirana stores have to rework their current chaotic store design and go beyond cosmetic facelifts. In terms of merchandising, the neighbourhood kirana store should also look at tailoring to the&nbsp;micro market instead of aspiring to stock. Everything under the sun, since that's the forte of large retailers given their size and scale.</font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana">When the lottery business went bust, we suggested to one of the people affected that he start a biscuit store. The idea seemed odd to him but he stocked every variety and brand possible and it's working,&rdquo;says Sharma. Small kirana stores also bring with them decades of insight and understanding of the local market that need to be effectively translated to workable business solutions.&nbsp;&ldquo; Concepts like sensory retailing which modern retailers are still working on, are not new to the unorganized&nbsp;market. They realized that the best way to sell spices is to display them for the pungency of the small and the sharpness of colour to attract the consumer,&rdquo; says Jacob Mathew, co-founder of Idiom. </font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana">Kirana stores should position themselves as neighbourhood convenience stores, where one can pick up necessities in a jiffy without the hassles of parking and looking for what one wants among rows of racks. </font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana">&ldquo;They take personal touch to a new level. You just have to say 'biscuit' and they know which brand and how much you want&rdquo;, says Mathew. </font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana">Home delivery is another strong point that small stores can cash in on. </font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana">&ldquo;It would be inconceivable for a large store to hire boys, with uniforms and vehicles for delivery since they're already working on a thin margins. Besides they would have a cash limit. But the chotu in the store down your gully, will cycle up even for a small purchase&rdquo; says Lopez.&nbsp;</font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana">He feels that the government should play an active role in facilitating awareness of design innovation and strategies for small retailers.&nbsp;</font></div>Elephant director to be a juror at Cannes 2008http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=26<p align="justify">&nbsp;</p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2"><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt; color: #666666; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><font face="Verdana"><font size="3">Nine Indians on Cannes 2008 juries <o:p></o:p></font></font></span></strong></font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2"><strong>The Economics Times</strong> </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">16 Apr, 2008, 0117 hrs IST, TNN</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana">There&rsquo;s still a full two months to go before Cannes Lions, the week-long advertising extravaganza that lights up the south of France every year, kicks off. But the Indian ad industry has already made its first impact on this year&rsquo;s festival. </font><br /> <br /> <font face="Verdana">Nine senior Indian advertising professionals have been named as jurors across various award categories, with McCann <font color="#0000ff">India</font><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"> executive chairman and McCann Asia Pacific regional executive creative director (ECD) Prasoon Joshi chairing the Outdoor Lions jury, Our Bureau reports from Mumbai. <br /> <br /> Bates David Enterprise chairman and Bates Asia Pacific regional ECD Sonal Dabral is on the Film jury, while Grey India national creative director Priti Nair is on the Press jury. <br /> <br /> The other Indian jurors include Lodestar Universal CEO Shashi Sinha (Media Lions), Arc Worldwide ECD Karl Gomes (Cyber Lions), iContract VP &amp; group CD Nishad Ramachandran (Direct Lions), JWT India ECD Senthil Kumar (Radio Lions), Encompass MD Roshan Abbas (Promo Lions) and Elephant Strategy + Design founder director Sudhir Sharma (Design Lions)</font></font></font></font></p> <p align="justify">&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt; color: #666666; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><font face="Verdana"><font size="3">Indians At The High Table<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></strong></p> <p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2"><strong>Tehelka Magazine, Vol 5, Issue 17</strong></font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">May 03, 2008</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">IN TERMS OF THE glamour quotient it may be the lesser-known cousin but for its participants, the Cannes Lions is just as prestigious. In the advertising world, its judgements and awards are crucial industry recognition. Held just a month after the Cannes International Film Festival, with its annual jamboree of the best cinema and its parade of top international film stars, the Lions showcases the best that the advertising industry has to offer.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">This year, in recognition of Indian advertising&rsquo;s growing contribution to the global business, there will be nine Indian executives on the judging panels. &ldquo;This has been happening since Piyush Pandey was selected some years ago and is part of a continuing trend. The fact that so many Indians have been selected this year is a sure sign that the Indian advertising industry is coming of age,&rdquo; affirms JWT senior Vice President Rohit Ohri.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">&ldquo;The Lions has the same relevance to the advertising world as the film festival has for cinema. The showcasing of India shows the applause that&rsquo;s coming our way and encourages people to look at the industry here,&rdquo; agrees McCann International Executive Chairman Prasoon Joshi, the third Asian to serve as a jury head at the Lions (Outdoor Lions).</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The decision puts the spotlight on India&rsquo;s advertising industry, which is worth over Rs 15,000 crore and is gaining ground worldwide. &ldquo;There is an increasing focus on India,&rdquo; says Encompass Events Managing Director Roshan Abbas, who will serve as a jurist for the Promo Lions. &ldquo;At a recent advertising festival in Goa, a whole series of speakers spoke of the Indian industry in glowing terms. I think, the size and scale of India&rsquo;s ad industry is one reason why people are looking at it with more interest. Also, a lot of the work coming out of here is worth noticing. The great Nike ads which have been done here (by JWT) last year have been catching the world&rsquo;s attention,&rdquo; he adds.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The Lions, now in their 55th year, are the biggest and most prominent affair in the advertising world. &ldquo;To be on a jury at Cannes is one of the highest goals you can achieve in this industry. Unlike other festivals, the judging at Cannes happens during the festival, instead of before; with the seminars and other events, you are exposed to so much advertising in a day that you&rsquo;re practically breathing it,&rsquo; says Grey India National Creative Director Priti Nair, who will sit on the Press Lions jury.<br /> Sudhir Sharma, founder director of Elephant Strategy+ Design, is similarly enthusiastic. &ldquo;I am excited about seeing work from around the world. When you go for an exhibition, it&rsquo;s different. Here (at Cannes), you get to hear different perspectives. It&rsquo;s more interactive and leads to a great deal of learning,&rdquo; he explains. Sharma will be on the inaugural panel of the Design Lions.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">OVER THE last six years, India has been entering more, and winning more and more attention and the recognition is coming,&rdquo; says Nair. This recognition is reflected in the more practical side of the industry too, with more tie-ups and more business, as multinationals come to India.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The Times of India is the Indian jury committee partner and headed the selection committee search. Other participants from the Indian advertising world will be Bates David Enterprise Chairman, Asia Pacific Region, Sonal Dabral (Film jury), Lodestar Universal CEO Shashi Sinha (Media Lion), Arc Worldwide ECD Karl Gomes (Cyber Lions), iContract VP Nishad Ramachandran (Direct lions) and JWT India ECD Senthil Kumar (Radio Lions).</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Having India&rsquo;s industry highlighted at the Lions will give it due exposure and recognition. &ldquo;Most of our ads have not been recognised as they are difficult to understand because of cultural differences. With any creative field there is a cultural context. But now people are starting to understand more and due recognition is coming our way,&rdquo; says Joshi. Not before time.<br /> </font></p> <p><font face="Verdana" size="2"> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt; color: #666666; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><font face="Verdana"><font size="3">Nine Indians to be part of the jury at Cannes</font></font></span></strong></p> <font size="2"><font face="Verdana"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2"><strong>agencyfaqs! news bureau | agencyfaqs! | Mumbai</strong> </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">April 22, 2008</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">India is shining. Slowly and steadily, but shining for sure. Nine Indians have been selected to be part of the jury at the Cannes Lions 2008. Each of the nine categories at Cannes has an Indian on its jury this year. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Sonal Dabral, chairman, Bates David Enterprise, and regional executive creative director, Bates Asia Pacific, is on the Film Lions panel. Priti Nair, national creative director, Grey India, will be on the Press panel. Prasoon Joshi, executive chairman, McCann-Erickson India, and regional executive creative director, McCann Asia Pacific, is president of the Outdoor Lions jury. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The Direct Lions panel will include Nishad Ramachandran, vice-president and group creative director of iContract. Lodestar Universal&rsquo;s chief executive officer Shashidhar Sinha is a juror on the Media Lions panel. Karl Gomes, executive creative director, Arc Worldwide, is judging the Cyber Lions, while Senthil Kumar, ECD, JWT, is on the Radio Lions jury. Roshan Abbas, managing director, Encompass, is one of the jurors for the Promo Lions, and Sudhir Sharma, strategy and design founder of Elephant, is part of the panel for the new category, Design Lions.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">&ldquo;There is a good trend of recognising Indian advertising at Cannes,&rdquo; says Nair. This being her first time at judging at Cannes, Nair is looking forward to seeing some well- crafted work. She says, &ldquo;What comes to mind is the Luxor print campaign, which has been done in sharp detail.&rdquo; </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The Design Lions is a new category at Cannes. Graphics, packaging and branding will be part of the work that will be judged. Sharma says, &ldquo;Design awards aren&rsquo;t big in India yet, though they are a big deal in the US and in Europe.&rdquo; He is sure that with Cannes having included the category, design will become the most looked forward to category in times to come. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font face="Verdana" size="2">&ldquo;In India, we are beginning to see a lot of integrated campaigns with digital playing an important role, and not just as a campaign website or a display ad unit. Today, we have virals, downloads, widgets, Facebook applications and a lot more social and mobile merchandise with integrated campaigns. I truly believe the time is now, when most brands can have, not just transparent dialogues with their consumers, but use the Internet and its various tools to react and optimise efforts,&rdquo; says Gomes.<br /> </font></p> </font></font></font></font></font></p>As a co-founder of one of the country's leading design office, Elephant Design, maverick ASHWINI DESHPANDE sure has a trunk full of ideas. Here's why --- Vimmy Sinhahttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=29<p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style3"><em>As a co-founder of one of the country's leading design office, Elephant Design, maverick ASHWINI DESHPANDE sure has a trunk full of ideas. Here's why --- </em><em><strong>Vimmy Sinha</strong></em></span></font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> A Graduate from National Institute of Design (NID) and it was during her years there that Ashwini Deshpande met Ashish (now her husband) and another colleague and together they conceptualized the country's first ever multidisciplinary design office in Pune, Elephant Design (ED). But that was then. Today they have come a long way and their dream project today is a leading multidisciplinary design office that has created, redesigned, and repositioned several leading brands. And she attributes a lot of its success to her international exposure. &ldquo;My visits abroad have helped me understand cultural nuances when we do projects for international markets.&rdquo; Just back from the prestigious 2005 AIGA Design Conference, Boston, where she was invited as a speaker, she tells Rouge about her conception of Elephant Design, and how branded environment is big business in the country. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>Creative Juices <br /> <br /> </strong>&ldquo;My creative inclination was always there. I would draw, paint, make collages, make models of villas and paste all kinds of scrapbook pages all over the house as a kid. For a long time I was not clear what I wanted to do as a profession. But NID happened. I appeared for the entrance at 16, a small town girl with little exposure to &ldquo;design&rdquo;. <br /> <br /> <br /> </font></p> <table width="486" height="318" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="113"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><img width="113" height="318" src="http://www.elephantdesign.com/1024/Images/ashwiniphoto_01.jpg" alt="" /></font></td> <td width="113"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><img width="127" height="318" src="http://www.elephantdesign.com/1024/Images/ashwiniphoto_02.jpg" alt="" /></font></td> <td width="113"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><img width="114" height="318" src="http://www.elephantdesign.com/1024/Images/ashwiniphoto_03.jpg" alt="" /></font></td> <td width="147"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><img width="132" height="318" src="http://www.elephantdesign.com/1024/Images/ashwiniphoto_04.jpg" alt="" /></font></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> <br /> <strong>Conceptualization of ED <br /> <br /> </strong>&ldquo;NID was a great platform to learn, explore and improve. The general philosophy of education was to let the person discover his true potential by guiding only when necessary. The biggest learning was that &ldquo;design is teamwork.&rdquo; We formed some lifetime friendships here, and I even found my life partner. There were five of us from the same batch, doing different disciplines and specializations. In our fourth year, one such exercise was to form a design office and figure out what it takes to run it. It was a group assignment and while concluding it, we stumbled upon the idea of actually making it happen. The story of blind people trying to figure an elephant out is really our guiding principle. No two people may have the same interpretation of what design is, and yet each one of them is correct in his unique way. We thought we will make our country's first multidisciplinary design office and take it to the international level. It was a big decision not to take up jobs anywhere else and to start on our own right after graduation. All of us came from middle-class families. But the acceptance was encouraging. We managed to get our first project just as we were graduating in April 1989; an international one.&rdquo;<br /> <br /> <br /> <strong>Branded environment <br /> <br /> </strong>&ldquo;Not just designing branded environments, &ldquo;design&rdquo; is a new profession in our country. Branded environments, the world is moving into providing multi-sensorial and experiential occurrences rather than just creating functional spaces or things. More and more Indian brands feel the need to compete globally through the experiential medium of branded environments. These could be museums, expos, campus environments, retail spaces and even outdoor places. In designing a branded environment, the focus is to build an involving brand-world that does wonders for building a lasting image. An example would be the &lsquo;Probiking' showrooms we designed for high-end motorcycles of Bajaj Auto.&rdquo;<br /> <br /> <br /> <strong>Working together <br /> <br /> </strong>&ldquo;When we started Elephant Design, the word &lsquo;individual' was dissolved. As friends, we have been together for 22 years, and as partners, 16 years. A period much longer and more significant than what we spent with our families. And that really is the success of our company. I have absolutely no thirst for being &ldquo;alone.&rdquo;<br /> <br /> <br /> <strong>Challenging projects <br /> <br /> </strong>&ldquo;As a guiding rule, we take up projects that are challenging and truly believe we can make a positive difference to it. Our projects range from the Automobile, IT, Banking, White Goods and FMCG industries. Our clients include Bajaj Auto, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Standard Chartered Bank, Symphony etc. We are working on a &ldquo;Money&rdquo; Museum for a bank in Indonesia. We have just signed up a project that will be implemented in 70 countries. &rdquo; <br /> <br /> <br /> <strong>On her husband <br /> <br /> </strong>&ldquo;My husband Ashish is an industrial product designer and leads everything &lsquo;3D' at Elephant. We try to adjust our travel dates so that one of us is around for Ashay, our 11 year old son.&rdquo;<br /> <br /> </font></p> <p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>Chilling out <br /> <br /> </strong>Well&hellip; work is leisure. I am one of those lucky people who converted their passion into a profession. I like listening to music. I am enjoying listening to &ldquo;The Confluence of Clayderman and Rahul Sharma&rdquo;. It kind of represents the state I am in. I am looking at fusion fashion, fusion cuisine and a balance of local/ global in our work.</font></p> 12 th December, 2005 Page No. 62 Design. http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=30<p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Bajaj Auto has unveiled a brand new two-wheeler retailing experience in Pune for biking enthusiasts designed by Elephant Design. The new store, Bajaj Probiking, has been created to deliver to three key parameters understand Bajaj technology, experience Bajaj engineering and buy Bajaj Products. </font></p> <p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Says Chandrasekar R., Manager Probiking, Bajaj Auto, &ldquo;The biker community, for whom riding goes much beyond just commuting, has been largely ignored by Indian manufacturers. These Probikers need to be addressed in a meaningful way with every element of the sales and post sales process speaking a language that is relevant to them. Bajaj Probiking is the externalization of our desire to excel in engineering and a showcase of what we do best-create exciting bikes.&rdquo; </font></p> <p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The team at Elephant took an integrated design approach that started with extensive consumer interactions to understand the delights and expectations of bike enthusiast. The next stage was to convert the insights and inferences into tangible and beneficial branded experiences. </font></p> <p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Says Ashwini Deshpande, Director, Elephant Design, &ldquo;Bajaj Probiking is a new-age experience specifically designed to create exclusive zones for the bike enthusiast. We have created a complete program that included brand identity, branded environment, interface design, marketing communication and visual vocabulary. The Bajaj Auto identity clubbed with the statement of &ldquo;Power biking&rdquo; culminated into a distinct blue and orange expression for Bajaj Probiking.&rdquo; </font></p> <p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The Virtual Elephant Team has built maximum interaction into the store with kiosks that enable visitors to browse through in-depth information, book test rides, get quotes and even book orders. Probikers can understand the technology that go into the bikes by looking at the cut sections of important parts and by viewing the expert videos on the interactive workstations. The most exciting part of the experience, however, is the in-store test-ride complete with all parameters on a real-time display panel. </font></p> <p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Says Chandrasekar, &ldquo;Probikers can experience the product's superior engineering and all its capabilities by riding it on a state-of-the-art dynamometers. The dynamometer enables them to check out all the parameters that are important, like acceleration time, top speed, power, torque etc., all of which cannot be experienced on a normal road test. Finally he can buy the products in a hassle-free, conducive environment and have the bike delivered at his doorstep.&rdquo; </font></p> <p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">A chain of off-site, exclusive service facilities is also being set up for Probikers with Smart Cards to capture service history, special vans for pick up and drop and a lounge in the service area where customers can watch the vehicle being serviced. Providing relevant pre and post sales experience to &ldquo;Probikers&rdquo; is what this concept is all about. </font></p> <p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Says Chandrasekar, &ldquo;The Pune showroom is the first of its kind in India and the initial experience has been overwhelming. We believe that Probiking is an integral part of our product strategy. The product coupled with the Probiking retail format will enable us to power ahead and continue to dominate the performance bikes market&rdquo;.</font></p> 12 th December, 2005 Page No. 62http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=31<p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>Tomorrow's Designers </strong></font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Judging design is not easy. And selecting a handful of industrial design companies from among several that are doing signature work is even harder. But BW has never shied away from a challenge. We used four basic parameters to come up with our list &ndash; the buzz about the firm, the quality of its clients, peer feedback, and projects in hand. Here, then, is our pick of 10 (in alphabetical order) for the future </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2 style3"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>The Elephant reborn </strong></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style4">Elephant Strategy + Design, Pune <br /> Major thrust areas: Industrial design, graphic design, and integrated brand and communication solutions <br /> Number of designers: 30 <br /> Number of clients/MNC clients: 150/8 <br /> Projects completed /in hand: 2,000/25 <br /> Select clients: Airport authority of Indonesia, Design Alliance</span></font></p> <p align="justify" class="style4"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Elephant Strategy + Design is an unusual name for an industrial design house, nay, for any company. The re-christening of Elephant Design House in October 2005 reflected a shift in its focus from graphic design and branding to integrated design consulting. Says Sudhir Sharma, director, Elephant Design: &quot;We have to design products and services that will make money for our clients. We cannot live in isolation and limit ourselves to our brief.&quot; <br /> </font></p> <table width="500" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td><font size="2" face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></td> <td width="113"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><img width="113" height="342" src="http://www.elephantdesign.com/1024/images/directors01.jpg" alt="" /></font></td> <td width="127"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><img width="127" height="342" src="http://www.elephantdesign.com/1024/images/directors02.jpg" alt="" /></font></td> <td width="10"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><img width="114" height="342" src="http://www.elephantdesign.com/1024/images/directors03.jpg" alt="" /></font></td> <td width="201"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><img width="132" height="342" src="http://www.elephantdesign.com/1024/images/directors04.jpg" alt="" /></font></td> <td width="13"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></td> <td width="15"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p align="justify" class="style4"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> The company works with 10 studios across South-east Asia, and has some interesting projects on hand, including one to design a museum in Jakarta for Bank Indonesia. Going forward, it sees growth by offering engineering services through a subsidiary. Resources, apparently, aren't a problem. Says Sharma: &quot;There are enough angel investors who want to give us money. We have to decide our growth path.&quot; Sixteen years into the business, it's time for Elephant to do some soul searching.</font></p>Sunday , 4 th December 2005 Page No. 10http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=35<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style6"> It's where you share gossip with friends over a glass of wine, watch TV with your family, or join them for a meal. The kitchen's getting to be all-important, find</span></font></p> <p align="justify" class="style7"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> With time spent at home gets less and less, while expendable incomes increasing, there's a look-out for intense personalized experiences. &ldquo;The various modular components let people build kitchens according to their own style and comfort. A design that provides for easy replication for a manufacturer as well as easy customization for the user is really the winner. Materials, shapes, colours, textures and usability &ndash; all are being looked at as components of personalization,&rdquo; says Ashish Deshpande, founder Director &amp; Principal Designer, Elephant Strategy + Design. Kitchen spaces today have to be organized, devoid of clutter and responsive to individual needs. Kitchens are also style statements, hence the emphasis on material and colours.</font></p>How Elephant Design has done the retail identity and visual vocabulary for Samir Modi's 24 x 7 retail chain of stores, which dawns the concept of shopping at consumers' convenience in India.http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=36<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> How Elephant Design has done the retail identity and visual vocabulary for Samir Modi's 24 x 7 retail chain of stores, which dawns the concept of shopping at consumers' convenience in India.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> The retail chain of K K Modi Group called 24 x 7 has just been launched with the first store in Delhi's Lajpat Nagar. As the name suggests, it is a chain that will remain open 24 hours. Plan is to scale this up to national level, which means scaling the back-end as well as the front-end stores. Modi Enterprises, a K K Modi Group company, with Samir Modi at the helm are ready with the back-end plan as well. The company would roll out multiple stores in multiple locations in Delhi this year and then take the concept to other metros. Soon ATMs would also be installed inside each of these stores. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Elephant Design has worked on the identity&mdash;a stunning graphic work that shows a stylized owl on the badge-like identity of 24 x 7 suggesting the day-night nature of the retail chain. It has also conceptualized and executed the inside look-and-feel of these stores. How Elephant Design has infused design and aesthetics into Samir Modi's business plan is an interesting case study. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style2"><strong>The Brief </strong><br /> The brief given to Elephant Design was 24 x 7 is targeted at the metro-workers of today, people who work late hours. The idea is to take the shopping off their mind completely so that anytime they need something, all they have to do is to drop in at any 24 x 7. Be it pre-prepared food, groceries, toiletries, stationary, kitchen stuff, medicines, tobacco, electrical&hellip;anything. The venture is first of its kind in India, although many such examples exist in developed and other developing economies. </span></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style2">Says Sudhir Sharma, Director, Elephant Design, &ldquo;We did look at K-stores in Japan, and other day/night stores in Vietnam and Indonesia, which we had visited before. The other factor that helped was open and positive attitude of Samir Modi and his team.&rdquo; </span></font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>Use of Owl </strong><br /> Mythological owl is the vahan for Laxmi, the goddess of wealth. Although many pray to Laxmi almost daily, few appreciate the value that owl brings. Besides being a symbol for wisdom, the popular belief that an owl stays alert and awake at night brings out the 24 x 7 store's USP. Says Ashwini Deshpande, Director, Elephant Design, &ldquo;We seek to bring the positive associations of this bird that we all are aware of and have named this bird as Sunny. Sunny is the brand ambassador for 24 x 7 convenience stores, which are open all the time heralding the concept of shopping requirements of the consumers at their convenience.&rdquo; Elephant Design did consider other options such as Sun and abstract flowers. &ldquo;But Sunny was just too strong an icon to leave aside.&rdquo; Elephant Design's research also confirmed that owl is perceived as a wise and alert creature right from Greek to South Asia. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>Look and Feel </strong><br /> Says Deshpande, &ldquo;Once we decided that the feel should be warm and cozy, the colour palette almost emerged, orange and yellow along with a contrasting blue. We feel orange and yellow will be dominant retail colours for retail environments in India.&rdquo; </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Inside the 24 x 7 store, the visual ambience is very bright and warm, and welcoming at anytime of the day and night. The colours used are orange and yellow with a contrasting blue. &ldquo;All the three colours have very ethnic connotations in Indian psyche, but the representation is very modern, complimenting the latest retail equipment.&rdquo; </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2 style4"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong><span class="style5"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.mallmarketingdigest.com/Story.asp?SectionID=5">Link to the website</a></span></strong></font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2">&nbsp;</p>November, 2005http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=37<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Specializing the trade is what Bajaj Auto's new &lsquo;Probiking' is all about, says the two- and three-wheeler major's managing director, Rajiv Bajaj. &ldquo;Dealers typically sell every model under one roof,&rdquo; he points out. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&ldquo;The new Probiking showrooms will sell only our premium performance bikes, the Pulsar 180 DTSi and the Avenger. The other models will be sold by three different channels: one for volume sales in cities, a new initiative for rural dealers and a separate one for three-wheelers.&rdquo; </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> The company, which has kick-started its initiative with the first such high-end showroom in Pune, plans to have a round 10 by the end of 2005-06. The new showrooms separate the men from the boys by concentrating on motorcycling enthusiasts, offering interactive computer terminals and a unique ride on indoor dynamometers. &ldquo;This generation has grown up on e-mail and computers,&rdquo; explains Ashwini Deshpande, founder-director and principal designer at the Pune based Elephant Design, which created the concept. &ldquo;But there is also the need to experience a product like this yourself, not just see it on the screen.&rdquo; </font></p> <p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">When Elephant &ndash; which designed the company's new &lsquo;flying B' logo to reflect its new image &ndash; was first asked to look at the marketing angle, too, chairman Rahul Bajaj asked if they had ever done something like that before. &ldquo;We said no. He immediately replied, &lsquo;Neither have I!' And so we began,&rdquo; says Deshpande. &ldquo;We felt that the basic M80 step-through and auto-rickshaws shouldn't be sold from the same place as the high-end bikes &ndash; just as Honda wouldn't self its scooters and cars from the same showroom.&rdquo;</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Working on the concept first, the agency began with the idea of a virtual channel; but it ended up with a brick-and-mortar showroom because, as Deshpande says, because a bike is an experiential product. &ldquo;The high-end ones, especially, are hedonistic and part of a macho dream,&rdquo; she says. While the computer interfaces include films about the vehicles &ndash; including genuine critiques from expert riders on what's lacking &ndash; and browsing for accessories, add-ons and booking a trial ride, the dynamometer, which is normally used for technical work like engine tuning, offers a physical back-up. &ldquo;We used it first at the Auto Expo in Delhi,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;It was a huge success, but we had to withdraw it &ndash; the crowd was unmanageable!&rdquo; </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Bajaj himself sees the Probiking concept as offering great value. &ldquo;At Rs. 2 crore for a 23-sq.m. showroom, it costs less than a half-page ad on a national level, but it has a much longer shelf life!&rdquo; he grins. &ldquo;The &lsquo;one size fits all' concept doesn't work any longer. This new move towards four types of dealerships will help change it.&rdquo; </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> The gross dealer commission on bikes in India is around 5 per cent, which Bajaj says is unfair to those in metros and other cities who need to invest far more in their showrooms than their counterparts in smaller places. The Probiking dealerships will make almost double this, in keeping with the 10 per cent that is the average in the Asian region. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> &ldquo;This can take a dealer's total margin from a Pulsar or Avenger to as much as Rs. 8,000, especially with finance from institutions like ICICI Bank. That's the same as on a Maruti 800!&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;A dealer who sells 150 bikes a month can gross over Rs. 10 lakh.&rdquo; No wonder the company is planning to keep these showrooms to itself. As Bajaj points out, this will enable them to &ldquo;earn while doing ourselves a favour&rdquo; in terms of keeping a finger on the customer's pulse. Of course, he says, some existing dealers in the metros will also be encouraged to upgrade. But there will be &ldquo;only 20, 30 or 40 Probikiong showrooms, not hundreds&rdquo;, he adds. A new experience for everyone: the company, design consultants, dealers and customers, all set to vroom! </font></p>5th September 2005http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=38<p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Zip to Zoom - Bajaj Auto is pushing its image as a maker of performance motorcycles. It has already seen the benefit of having a bigger capacity bike in its portfolio. The Pulsar, which is made in both 180 cc and 150 cc versions, has seen the volumes of the smaller version surge partly because of the good image of the bigger sibling. Now, to boost the company&rsquo;s image as a maker of aspirational performance bikes, Bajaj Auto setting up Bajaj Probiking showrooms. The first one was opened in Pune on 1 August. These outlets, created by Elephant Design, will sell 180 cc or bigger bikes; at present the Pulsar 180 DTSi and the Avenger DTSi. Here enthusiasts can look forward to an in store experience or riding a 180 cc bike and having their geeky queries answered. They can also find out the latest advances made by Ahead Bajaj, the company&rsquo;s R&amp;D division. Bajaj Auto wants to set up 15 probiking showrooms by the end of this year and, eventually, 50 across the country. With Probiking showrooms, the bigger bikes will not be sold at the regular dealerships any more. The company says that given the right attention and information, the performance bike segment of the market will grow.</font></p>Thursday, 14 July 2005http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=39<p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">It's a dazzling new sunrise, giving the company a vitality it felt and needed to reveal. The Bank of Baroda now has<br /> a resplendent new logo, a stylized B with the sun's rays worked into it, to signify it is now modern and tech-savvy.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Be it environmentally-friendly papier-m?ch? footwear, a hi-tech gizmo or a spanking new corporate identity, design is what is giving entities the edge over others of their ilk. In recent times, the quest for an identity all its own through ground-breaking design has been assuming more importance in a world that is crowded with several products all claiming to offer the same benefits. In India too, there is rising awareness of design's benefits. The last few years have seen many companies changing their image to suit evolving work philosophies. <em>Catalyst </em>, in fact, explored this from the companies' perspective in its article &ldquo;Why logo?&rdquo; in the issue dated June 16. This article looks at design from the designers' points of view.</font></p> <p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&ldquo;It always adds value for the customer, which in turn increases the sales or margins for the company,&rdquo; says Sudhir Sharma, Founder Director and Principal Designer of Pune-based Elephant Design, which is responsible for the new look Lux soap and Wheel detergent, among other brands. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong> Consumer's prime </strong></font></p> <p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Not only for companies but for the designers themselves, it pays to keep consumer interests in focus. Says Sharma, <br /> &ldquo;At Elephant Design, we are fiercely pro-consumer. Many times, when companies are cost-cutting, they sacrifice the basic needs of the customers. By being innovative, skilled and knowledgeable about newer methods, materials and processes, design firms always make manufacturing, distribution and displays more efficient and effective. All this adds to the bottom line while making products/services more appealing and usable.&rdquo;</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong> More than logo</strong></font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Underlying all this is the passionate belief that design firms go beyond logo to influence the company's future. Says Elephant's Sharma. &ldquo;Identities are meaningless by themselves. They always are representative of the company, its products and its behaviour. We build insights into what this company or its products could be. In practical terms this may mean changes in product offerings, brand offerings, value propositions or even distribution to the customer. Not all this may be done by us, but is definitely triggered by Elephant Design.&rdquo; He also pooh-poohs established beliefs in symbolism. &ldquo;It is nonsense that blue means this and red means that, or Helvetica font means modern and Times Roman is old&hellip;.all this is jargon which non-evolved designers use to sell sub-standard work to clients. Consumers can see, and feel a good product and it is not possible to mislead them.&rdquo; </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Elephant's Sharma is more caustic. &ldquo;As revenues involved in advertising are huge, and design is fundamental to any change, many advertising agencies offer design as a free offering. Worse, they make only cosmetic changes as they do not have the expertise. This is making people cynical about design.&rdquo; </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> While estimates of market size are hard to come by, Elephant's Sharma says these are exciting times for design firms in the country. There is a need for many more design firms in the country. There is need for many more design firms.<br /> <br /> <br /> <strong>Shavanthi Challapalli<br /> <br /> </strong><strong>The Hindu Business Line, </strong><br /> <br /> </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style2">Thursday, 14 July 2005</span></font></p> Since 1989, Elephant Design, a Pune based creative shop and a brainchild of five graduates from National Institute of Design, has grown many times over. http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=40<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Since 1989, Elephant Design, a Pune based creative shop and a brainchild of five graduates from National Institute of Design, has grown many times over. Perhaps because the dynamic team believes that successful design in contemporary times needs a strong convergence of various disciplines. Ashwini Deshpande, Director, Elephant Design, speaks to Impact on why such shops are the future of Indian ad world.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>How do you see pure design and strategy shops like Elephant Design (ED) competing against the full service agencies in India? </strong></font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Elephant Design is in the business of design strategy and innovation since 1989; a time when design, as a service, was very nascent in the country. Proprietary design research techniques, which go in-depth on anthropology to ergonomics, are the factors that make Elephant Design unique. Empathy to the user, clubbed with spirit of innovation, is the winning combination from Team Elephant. Full service agencies in India do not have the experience and knowledge base required for an all expansive (consumer insights, design innovation, technology and ability to convert ideas into brands).</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong> What do you think are the advantages that a client like, say, Bajaj, saw in Elephant Design vis-&agrave;-vis their roster of &lsquo;regular' agencies? <br /> </strong></font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> To answer this question, we have to understand the difference between advertising and design. Design is the tool that creates a positive differentiation in a product or a service. Advertising is the medium that communicates this differentiation. When there is a requirement for &lsquo;design innovation', a regular advertising agency simply does not fit the requirements. It can be brought in only after the design differentiation is achieved positively. <br /> <br /> <strong>There is a view that creative shops are not equipped with enough manpower or knowledge resources to compete with the big agencies. Comment? </strong></font></p> <p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Absolutely not true. They are what they are by choice &ndash; and not because they do not have what it takes.</font></p> <p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> <strong> There is a limit to geographic growth if studios like yours stay small. If you grow big, you become one of the big fish yourself. How are you planning on growth &ndash; where will it come from? <br /> </strong><br /> <span class="style2">If we get the facts right, Elephant Design is not a small studio by any parameters. We are the largest multi-disciplinary design office in India, perhaps the longest running too. </span></font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Our model is based on the fact that work comes from every possible geography in India and gets analyzed and solved at the core place, which is our studio in Pune. We are working on a number of cross-cultural and trans-country projects. That is a big growth area, given our knowledge and experience of diverse cultural ethos across India. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">By now, there must have been a number of offers from large agencies. Can you comment on offers that you have received (without naming the entities) and how you saw them? Almost every large advertising agency has shown interest in collaborating. There have been some international agencies as well. We have evaluated every offer very seriously, but the idea has never been to earn big sums against these alliances. Our work excites us every single day and that remains the focal point of any decision. We are exploring possibilities that will give us access to projects that encourage innovation in every sense. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> <strong> The Bajaj work has put ED on the map. Getting an entry into Bajaj must have been a monumental task. Can you share the Bajaj experience (the entry, the pitch, the winning, the relationship) with us?<br /> </strong><span class="style2"><br /> Bajaj Auto, ICICI, Standard Chartered Bank, Hindustan Lever (Lux, Lifebuoy, Wheel) &ndash; each of these have been monumental. This is not to say that other long-term clients such as Nirlep, Symphony and Bilcare have been any less exciting. </span></font></p> <p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">With Bajaj Auto, we started with designing showroom standardization programme ten years ago. It has been a steadily building relationship where Bajaj management showed tremendous faith in our capabilities and gave us opportunities in various image-building exercises. I am happy to share some words by Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto: &ldquo;Elephant Design is truly our business partner. Every time we are creatively challenged, it has become second nature for us to ideate with them.&rdquo; That about sums up the relationship! </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> <strong> <strong>Do you see more clients opting for ED? Why? </strong> <br /> </strong><br /> We see more clients approaching us every year. We do not have any formal marketing team. Hundred per cent of Elephant Design clients are &lsquo;walk-ins' for the last five years or so. The reasons could be many: </font></p> <ol> <li class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">We have a number of proven projects; </font></li> <li class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Need for design led differentiation is increasing; </font></li> <li class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style2">India Inc. is faring well on the international scenario and to keep up the position, it needs support from design innovation.</span></font></li> </ol> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style4"> Can you share your thoughts on your competition (across India)? Which are the design shops that we need to look out for? </span></font></p> <p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> There are a number of design offices that work in pockets of identity of packaging or product design, But there is no cohesive design service offering that can be called a competition. We are waiting.</font></p> <p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>Finally, what makes Elephant Design tick? </strong></font></p> <p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Excitement in innovating and the team spirit! We believe design is a team effort. Two plus two will always deliver more than four in a design project. </font></p> <p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Elephant Design celebrated 16 years in May 2005. Every single day has been full of hope, excitement and the urge to explore; discover and fulfill. We look forward to many more associations, relationships, projects and awards in the coming years. We are working on a number of international projects. This is a growth area as well. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style2"><strong>IMPACT, </strong></span><br /> </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style2"> The Marketing, Advertising and Media Weekly<br /> June 27 &ndash; July 3, 2005 </span></font></p>13th June 2005http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=41<p align="justify" class="style2" justify=""><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Ninety-seven year old Bank of Baroda has replaced its blue and yellow identiry with a vibrant orange sun. Kinetic has transformed its red and blue letter logo to a sleek, metallic grey and silver one that symbolises high-precision engineering.</font></p> <p class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Some time back, Dabur, the traditional grandmother brand, rejuvenated its trademark banyan tree. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>Bajaj Auto too orchestrated a makeover, reflecting the changes that had taken place within the company. Its 40-year-old logo was replaced by an open, abstract form of a stylised B &ndash; the flying B, as it has been named. </strong></font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Tata AIG and ONGC had earlier done a similar exercise. And all of them have hired professional design companies to execute the changes.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Why do companies feel the need to look more savvy? Analysts attribute it to the simple pressures of growing competition. They emphasise that for many companies, it's not just a look change but representative of the restructuring taking place within the organisations.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong> 'More and more companies are rejuvenating identities in a bid to maintain their relevance in a changing society,' said Mr.Sudhir Sharma, Director, Elephant Design, the company that ideated brand identities for Bajaj Auto, Standard Chartered and ICICI. <br /> </strong></font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Companies that unveiled their new brand image just last week explained why they did so. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&lsquo;The fresh identity comes at a time when we are preparing to launch a series of very exciting Italian-designed new scooters. The new logo will appear on all Kinetic two-wheelers, dealership insignia, advertising and other brand-related initiatives,' said Mr. Ajinkya Firodia, General Manager (Marketing), Kinetic. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Mr Anil K. Khandelwal, Chairman &amp; Managing Director, Bank of Baroda, said &lsquo;The new corporate logo is much more than a cosmetic change. It is a signal that the bank recognises and is preparing itself for the new business paradigms in the globalised world.' </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">In tune with its new avatar, the Bank also announced the launching of a number of customer-centric initiatives, including IT products and expansion of electronic delivery channels in the coming few months. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">But that may not be the end of the corporate rebranding story. In the pipeline are several other initiatives, including that of an Indian subsidiary of a FMCG major. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Though their names are being kept strictly under wraps, design houses are surely in for big business and India Inc for some more makeover action.<br /> </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>The Hindu,</strong><br /> </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style2">13th June 2005</span></font></p> Sunday, 22 May 2005http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=42<p align="justify" class="style2" justify=""><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Established in 1989 in Pune by four NID graduates (Sudhir Sharma, Partho Guha, Ashish Deshpande and Ashwini Deshpande), the idea behind the organization was to provide multi-disciplinary design services. About the intriguing name, Elephant Design, Deshpande explains, &quot;Just like the story of blind men and the elephant, we believed that the word design has a different people. Design does have a vast expanse to address and thus we decided to look into three areas: brand design, brand communication and brand environment.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Recently ED won an award for creating a new identity for Bajaj Auto in the first annual ReBrand 100 awards. &quot;The credit goes to our team and not to any individual&quot;, says Deshpande. Ashwini Deshpande speaks to Vimmy Sinha:<br /> </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Which are the prominent brands that you've been associated with? How challenging are your projects?</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Some of our significant works include corporate identity for Bajaj Auto, retail identity for ICICI, look and feel of Standard Chartered Bank, product design for Symphony, brand and product design for Nirlep, marketing communication for TCS and so on.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Since none of our projects are identical, I would say all are equally challenging. However, if I've to pinpoint some projects, it would be creating a retail identity for ICICI. Though now retail banking is taken for granted, at the time when we took up this project, no one knew what retail banking is all about and so there was no benchmark. We not only had to understand the concept ourselves but also make sure that graphically too, we make a statement, which is comfortable with the consumers.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> The other was the re-branding for Bajaj Auto that had a 30 year old legacy and was a consistent brand. The company had over-hauled its technology and come up with stunning scooters and bikes but had a certain identity, which did not match with this change. Based on consumer feedback and our own research, we created a new identity.<br /> </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Recently Lux and Wheel, two established brand names, went for a revamp. What was the need for it?</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Any successful brand needs to keep reinventing itself in order to stay at the top. The Wheel exercise was limited to an incremental change in package and logo. Our contribution was to make the latter contemporary and smart. We worked on making the pack look fresher, with a dynamic play of lemon slices and wheel mnemonic thereby bringing out the enhanced lemon fresh product attribute.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> In the case of Lux, the exercise was to define 'visual vocabulary' for the brand across Asia. Our research was on two levels.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> One was to look at the relevance of the current communication pieces, consumer feedback on the brand's association with film stars and the changing idea of beauty. The other level was to look at global benchmarks for beauty based communication, inner beauty as against outer beauty. This research gave us insights on defining a distinct look for the static media communication pieces.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> We proposed a confident brand play along with enhanced and relevant emotive postures that were mapped on bolder colours that make a statement for the brand and it's variants.<br /> </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Recently many brands have gone for a revamp. Is revamping a new trend in the market?</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Every great brand needs to innovate and reinvent continuously. No brand can sit pretty on its success.<br /> </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Doesn't revamping confuse consumers?</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> On the contrary, revamping if done sensitively (to the changing mindset and aspirations of consumers) can infuse confidence in the minds of consumers. Reinventing makes the consumer notice the fact that this brand is willing to travel the distance for me. I believe every successful brand need to look at itself objectively every few years and earnestly address the changing product/aspiration needs effectively.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Brand change has to be at the root, and not just as the TV commercial strategy. TVC is a tool to effectively communicate the change. Design strategy is the tool to arrive at the change.<br /> </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>Financial Express,</strong><br /> <br /> Sunday, 22 May 2005</font></p>Monday, May 2, 2005 Pg. A9http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=43<p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2" justify=""><font size="2" face="Verdana">Facing problems of stagnation in terms of brand presentation and product packaging. HLL decided to &quot;tweak up the looks and make the product more appealing&quot;, says Ashwini Deshpande of Elephant Design who helped HLL redesign products like the Lux and Wheel.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot;Expanding HLL's existing markets, revamping its connection with the consumers and finally leveraging technology to improve operational efficiency and margins was what the company had in mind when they approached us,&quot; shared the founder director and principle designer, Elephant Design.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">A Pune-based multi-disciplinary design consultancy, Elephant Design received clear instructions from HLL that the products needed a &quot;new and premium look.&quot; Getting started was easy but delivering what was asked was the tricky part, says Deshpande. &quot;We set our creative minds rolling for the package designing of Wheel. Within two months we had delivered HLL the new logo for the brand with a slight change in the colour scheme, using lemon slices as design and making the entire packaging more alive.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The green Wheel has been made more sleeker and placed in a way that creates a play of dimensions,&quot; elaborates the creative head. The reinvention also includes stylized interactive illustrations on the back of the pack that comes across as uncluttered images that are easier to communicate.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">When it comes to the highly respected brand under the Unilever product wagon, the laurels rest all the way with the Lux - the beauty bar from HLL's stable. &quot;The brand has the highest market shares in most of the Asian countries and all we were required to do were to define a visual vocabulary for it in the regional markets,&quot; explains Deshpande. The firm was asked to rejig the brand to accelerate acceptability with the regional markets. &quot;Lux has always had an actress flaunting the concept of beauty. We conducted consumer surveys and realized that the perceptions of beauty have changed. Its no more a physical aspect, consumers today relate it with individuality, achievements and style,&quot; elucidates Deshpande.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Elephant Design had to maintain the brands legacy and yet present Lux as a beauty icon. &quot;We proposed that Lux should reflect the modern poise of women - their style, confidence, allure and glamour.&quot; says Deshpande. The new look will be used in the regions like India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot;While Pakistan will feature local model Amna Haq as the brand star while other countries will have Aishwarya Rai as the Lux star. Elephant Design has already canned the static media shoot for the Pakistani star and Ashwarya Rai and for rest of Asia the firm will lead and direct the visual expression.&quot; Summed up Deshpande.<br /> </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">By Priyanka Joshi</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style2"><span class="style3">The Maharashtra Herald,</span> <br /> Business<br /> <p>Monday, May 2, 2005<br /> Pg. A9</p> </span></font></p> Saturday, 30th April, 2004, p. 4http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=44<p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">FMCG major Hindustan Lever is in the midst of effecting a major change in the way one of its oldest soap brands, Lux will communicate with consumers.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">HLL, which recently made significant changes in the manner its brands are handled by key management, has roped in the Pune-based design consultancy, Elephant Design, for revamping the visual vocabulary of the personal-care brand, which is one of the oldest in the market. Over the next few months, the company will implement a strategy to convert Lux from being one among the many in a highly crowded market to a product that is picked up by consumers by the sheer power of the brand name.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot;HLL's brief was very challenging for us since revamping a brand is traditionally done through re-packaging but they wanted much more than that, &quot;Ms. Ashwini Deshpande, Director, Elephant Design, told Business Line. The company pitched for the contract against three agencies and commenced work on the visual vocabulary (which means developing the static media for the brand at points of sale, including banners, hoardings, danglers and brochures) in September.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The design company has wrapped up work on the Indian leg of 'project Madonna' and is expected to roll out the new-look communications of Lux in the Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and South-East Asia markets over the next few months, Ms. Deshpande said.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Customers walking into stores will notice a distinct change in the way the brand now looks on retail shelves.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The product packaged in pastel colours with a soft focus visual of a film star has been replaced with stronger visuals, bolder and brighter colours with the model making an emotive appeal directly to the consumer. Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai, who is the brand ambassador for Lux now, appears in the new variants of the soap in striking reds, purples, greens and magentas. &quot;We actually went into the homes of Indian women and talked to them about their concept of beauty and discovered that beauty for most women now translates into confidence and a host of other qualities, all of which a film star does not necessarily personally.&quot; Ms. Deshpande said, pointing out that this automatically meant that appealing to the consumer to buy the soap because a film star uses it, no longer made sense.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Elephant Design also discovered during the market survey that the brand, which has over 30 per cent share across all the Asian markets, has lost is 'brand confidence' over the years and become a product that people bought because of the exotic ingredients that it contained which promised better skin and other benefits. &quot;There are any number of soaps in the market positioned with the same pitch and so the brand value was lost in the crowd.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot;Over the next few months the consumer will get to know an all-new Lux and the idea behind the entire exercise is to make it a iconic beauty brand across the Asian markets,&quot; Ms. Deshpande said.<br /> </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style2"><strong>Sudha Menon</strong><br /> <p>Pune, April 29</p> </span></font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style2"><span class="style3">The Hindu Business Line</span><br /> <br /> Saturday, 30th April, 2004, p. 4</span></font></p> 27th April, 2005, p. 3http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=45<p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">More on the HLL front&hellip;.post the Liril relaunch, it seems another two mega-brands are set for a total overhaul: Lux and Wheel. We heard that from Pune-based design agency Elephant Design, which has apparently been given the mandate. It feels plenty of HLL brands need to &quot;keep reinventing-and design is the edge it can ride on.&quot; Here's what Elephant has prescribed for Wheel: more white colour (&quot;it indirectly says that Wheel will whiten your clothes better&quot;) and more lemon, instead for the sole one slice depicted earlier (&quot;looks like the slices are playing, dancing along, giving it more like a 3D image&quot;) are very much required. It's not just looks, it's taking care of the back end, so to speak: &quot;With Elephant Design also changing the way the back of the Wheel product looks, customers are surely going to read.&quot; Well, we'll wait and see if we're tempted&hellip;.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana">For Lux, things are more serious: it's a question of defining &quot;the visual vocabulary,&quot; and involved a survey which was commissioned to do some work &quot;on defining inner beauty (aka Kenzo) and outer beauty (aka Revlon)&quot;. The brief, that we have laid our hands on honestly states that HLL managers couldn't have thought of anything like that and their perspective had to be changed. If that seems like a mammoth undertaking, at least Leverites won't need to deal with a packaging change, though new variants are underway-orchid, golden glow and almond delight.<br /> </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style2"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style2"><span class="style3">The Economic Times,</span> <p>Brand Equity<br /> 27th April, 2005, p. 3</p> </span></font></p>Vol. 02/Issue 01/January - March 2005http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=46<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">This is who I am. This is what I stand for. If that's who I am, I must bring something special to your table.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">This is what more and more companies, in corporate India, and out of it, are saying to at their audience of prospective buyers. And they're saying it with their logo, their interiors and their overall look. In short, they're branding or in some cases, re-branding, to present an image more in tune with the new world around them.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">While this is sometimes just astute packaging, more often than not, companies have in fact re-attuned themselves to be leaner, meaner killing machines, more in synch with the global, competitive economy. Companies have busied themselves becoming more efficient, better staffed and more international, and they want their presence to say this. This includes their logos, their stationery and the face of the company, bet it retail or corporate.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Since the translation of who they are or what stand for, into the right message is such an important function, companies are increasingly budgeting enormous amounts for such exercises. Clearly the effectiveness of this communication translates into significant business. This has made the transition of branding exercises from a luxurious indulgence to almost a necessity for survival.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">IFJ spent an afternoon with Ashish Deshpande, Director, Elephant Design, Pune, one of the leading companies in the sphere of composite corporate design, to understand this interesting new function, at first hand. He walks us through the concept and the processes, at firsthand, in his own words.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Deshpande describes their function as &quot;The development of proprietary branding strategies involving a long term relationship with the clients where we provide multi disciplinary and compact design solutions.&quot; He explains that the client is studied holistically, with three focal points : brand design or identity, product design and packaging; brand environment or retail, exhibition and signage; brand communication or print and communication media.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot;The environment reinforces the brand and brand value. A table or a reception counter is not merely for functionality. The environment reinforces the brand value and can motivate the end user, the customer and the internal staff.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">With this kind of promise, its hardly surprising that corporates are in a hurry to put their money down on branding and brand development strategies. And they appear prepared to dig deep into the exchequer to cover the costs of such exercises, which start at about INR 1 or 2 million and shoot up all the way into the INR 50 million mark. Essentially if you have a problem writing in the zeroes, you're out of this game. But not too many companies seem to have a problem with the zeroes. This includes the smaller proprietorships, which, at first sight, appear to be surprising buyers in this high priced arena. The promise of translating this cost into business benefit seems to be one that has actually been kept.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">While the business benefits are attractive, the concept of creating a composite design entity has one its bit to pushing out the frontiers of design. We take a look at an Elephant Design project for Bajaj, which provides a comprehensive, and beautiful look at what branding can do for the company, and for design itself.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot;Ahead&quot;, an internal Bajaj brand geared to technology generation within the company, to be housed in two buildings, one a product engineering block, the other an R&amp;D center. The spaces had to be innovative, motivational centers, demonstrating technology and have the capacity to interact.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">One of the truly inspired elements of the design of the corporate identity was the creation of a set of five pillars, each with a different brand value engraved on it. The magic happens at the point where all the pillars join to create the Bajaj logo. The simplicity of the concept is itself an inspiration. The effect is tremendous as one of the motivational elements to transform and think afresh.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Carrying forward the thought of motivation is a high-traffic space near the R&amp;D center, where new inventions within and out of the company are displayed to inspire and rejuvenate the people working at the company - a motivational synergy center.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Within the structure, the furniture and fittings were all created on a customized basis, and are basic, with the functional in mind. The work was out-sourced to multiple, small manufacturers, rather than single-point sourced from a large, organized-sector manufacturer.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The design of the Bajaj showrooms and exhibition spaces reinforced the color scheme ad the product, with the aggressive use of the product itself in all displays, to dramatic effect.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">What does it actually take to undertake this kind of humungous rebranding exercise? To start with, a design team comprising multiple skills, including industrial designers, graphic and communication designers, product designers and engineers, architects, environment designers, interactive media designers, software programme designers and research staff. It hardly needs to be said that it also takes a serious understanding of the client, and where he is headed, a lot of ingenuity and commonsense to see to the detail and the actual working of the project. Ashish Deshpande tells us more, &quot;When it comes to mass production and execution, we never suggest materials which will run into supply bottlenecks, preferring to use materials that can be sourced locally or be easily imported. We ensure that the manufacturers themselves are capable of scaling up and supplying it across locations&quot;.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Manageability of any project points to the increasing attractiveness of Indian suppliers and manufacturers. Deshpande tells us, &quot;There are enough players in India. You have to identify them and at times, to develop them. There are excellent manufacturers in this country who only need proper guidelines and training, to be able to deliver.&quot; Despite this belief in the small manufacturer, the designers themselves have sourced furniture and panels from large manufacturers like BlowPlast, based on project requirement.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Despite the client's clear willingness to pay the high prices charged by the design gurus, Deshpande tells us that, &quot;Economy is the issue when it comes to planning in India, as most clients are extremely sensitive to price. If there is a cheaper option, whether Indian or imported, they go for it.&quot; Maintenance too is an issue. While Indian manufacturers have proven capable of handling precision jobs, the Indian client is also appreciative of the local fabrication talent. They are skeptical about fabrication assignments from abroad because there is an inherent fear about timely delivery and maintenance.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">When all is said and done, the designer clearly rules - so long as he is making sense and money for the client. Ashish Deshpande tells us the bottom line. &quot;If you have the capacity to think, the client listens to you, but if you cannot think, the client has to think for you and this affects your capacity to comprehend the client's business in totality and work around his needs to create effective solutions. Our clients give us enough room and leeway. Understanding the client is the primary necessity. The successful programme is one, which can be managed effectively.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">When you talk about interior spaces, they are important because you function within these spaces. However, there is a brand at one end and logistics at the other and it's the designers brief to make them meet. Basically the spaces designed by the designers have to generate revenue to the clients. Only then does the client appreciate the effort, and is ready to invest.&quot;<br /> </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>Index Furniture Journal,</strong></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Vol. 02/Issue 01/January - March 2005</font></p>20th December 2004, Page 58http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=47<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">www.bajajauto.com<br /> Elephant Design</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>Click to Chase</strong></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Bajaj Auto's website guarantees a smooth ride on the information highway. Click on the digital-biking link - it will take first-timers to the 'Digital Twin Spark Ignition', which means about a minute to load. Once past that, the display of motorcycles is impressive, complete with sleek web pages and information on each brand. The content is easy and personalized. A service diary, for instance, provides customized fare to users. Updated every 15 days, the site is an e-branding experience.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Juryspeak: The brand identity is clear, and there is sufficient information without clutter.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style1">Business World, </span></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">20th December 2004, Page 58</font></p> Wednesday, November 17, 2004 http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=48<p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Move over, coffee. Drinking tea is soon going to be the coolest thing to do for India's GenNext and working hard to make this happen is the Pune based design company Elephant Design, which has been roped in by FMCG major Hindustan Lever to make its tea brand, Lipton, hot and happening. Soon HLL will roll out Lipton tea kiosks that will make drinking tea a stylish option. Prototypes of the customized kiosks, designed by the company, are now ready and waiting to roll out. For HLL, the move to reach out to an younger audience and getting them to reach out for a hot cuppa tea instead of coffee could mean significant growth in its tea business. To make that happen, its flagship brand, Lipton, has seen a flurry of innovations in the way tea is marketed, including the launch of iced tea, considered 'cool' by the younger generation, in a couple of flavours. Unilever, incidentally, is the leader in the global tea market and the company is planning to replicate the success of the tea story in India.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">&quot;For us the assignment began with naming the retail points from where the company will reach out to this target audience and went on to designing strongly branded modular kiosks that will be visible across the country at various points where there is a footfall of younger audience, including multiplexes, malls, airports, petrol stations, and IT offices,&quot; says Ms. Ashwini Deshpande, Director, Elephant Design, which won the contract an year ago.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The first of the kiosks, aptly christened &quot;T&quot; and sporting Lipton's bright yellow and red colours will be seen at Delhi's upmarket Ansal Plaza and Snow at Hyderabad next month, before coming up in other cities. According to initial plans, the kiosks will serve up tea an innovative forms like mocktails and cool sips and also use the platform to promote its other products like soups and other on the move foods.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Elephant Design was set up in 1989 by five National Institute of Design (NID) graduates based out of Pune and works, among other things, with creating brand identity as also integrated design services. Two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto enlisted its service a couple of years ago to redesign its 400 showrooms/service stations with a view to give more value to customers. More recently, the company was roped in by the Dhirubhai Ambani Trust to design Harmony, a magazine targeted at senior citizens.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /> Sudha Menon<br /> <br /> <span class="style1">The Hindu Business Line,<br /> </span><br /> Wednesday, November 17, 2004 <br /> </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /> </font></p>The Indian Express, 8 November 2004 The Maharashtra Herald, 8 November 2004http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=49<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> The Stainless Innovation Award by Jindal Stainless has been given to Elephant Design for the year 2004. This award is to recognize and reward Elephant Design for its ingenious open to sky corporate sculpture using Stainless Steel for Bajaj Auto. The sculpture reflects corporate values &amp; identity defined by Elephant Design earlier this year.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Five sleek pillars meet at an illusionary point to form one single whole to depict new &quot;flying B&quot; identity. A cluster of five pillars, each representing a value that strengthens the future of Bajaj Auto, was designed in Stainless Steel. The expanse of the sculpure is 7 mtrs X 7 mtrs. This visual illusion in steel is the first of its kind in India and is installed at Bajaj Auto Corporate Office in Akurdi, Pune.<br /> <br /> Elephant Design was established in 1989 in Pune to provide integrated multi-disciplinary design consultancy services to the industry. Today Elephant Design is a thought &amp; technology led enterprise with a team of over 50 professionals and projects spread across the country. The mission at Elephant Design is to make a positive difference by design.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> <span class="style1">The Indian Express,</span> 8 November 2004<br /> <span class="style1">The Maharashtra Herald,</span> 8 November 2004</font></p> Vol. XXXIII No. 7, May 29, 2004http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=50<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Ashwini Deshpande of Elephant Design</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> Elephant Design, India's one of the largest integrated brand consultants. The name which is associated with designing corporate identify programmes trade fair displays and exhibition in India and overseas, designing retail standardization programmes, package design and print design for clients ranging from Automobile, Banking, Information Technology (IT), Service sector and FMCG brands. The design house designs everything from marketing, communication to product designs for corporate houses like Tata Consultancy Services, Computer Associates and FMCG major HLL. One of the forces behind bringing Elephant Design this stature is Ms. Ashwini Deshpande, a Founder Director, Elephant Design Pvt. Ltd.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Coming from a small town from Aurangabad district, Ms. Ashwini Deshpande graduated from the faculty of Visual Communication, National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, in 1989 with specialization in Branded Environments. Being a creative person, she was attracted to this course on designing. In those days, there weren't many opportunities available for a designer. The only prospect available for her was to work with some advertising agency. Since she preferred working with like minded friends, she started her own enterprise, Elephant Design Pvt. Ltd. (EDPL) with her four friends (NID batch-mates) at Pune in 1989. Coming from a middle-class family, initially there were some initial apprehensions about this not being nine-to-five job.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Elephant embarked on a systematic and planned strategy focusing on the neglected niche of design. Way back in 1988, when she was student, she had done a project with the Indian counterpart of BASF. Based on the results, the BASF corporate communications head from Germany offered a project of doing a multilingual corporate film and brochure for worldwide exposure for their chemicals business. There was no financial risk involved in this project as the client had offered to pay design fees in advance.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Fifteen years later, Elephant Design has emerged as one of India's largest integrated multi-disciplinary design set-up doing communication and product design projects. It has grown with its ever-expanding client-list that includes automobiles, FMCG, banking and software companies like Bajaj Auto Ltd., ICICI Ltd., Maruti Udyog Pvt. Ltd., Modicare Pvt. Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services, Standard Chartered Bank, Reliance Industries, Computer Associates. It competes successfully with UK-based branding houses like Fitch, Enterprise IG, Minnale and Landor who service their clients directly from London. &quot;Our USP lies in providing integrated design consultancy services to industry&quot;. She said.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Today Elephant Design has projects spread all over the country. It has a staff strength of over 55 professionals like graphic designers, industrial designers, architects, graphic artistes, project managers, artwork specialists, model makers and administrative teams. &quot;We are a thought/technology led design office with sate-of-the-art design and detailing software packages. We believe in design that facilities business communication and all our work is directed towards presenting a clearer identity and achieving a cohesive direction for the same&quot;. She said.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Elephant Design is also partner of the Design Alliance, which is a network of Asian design consultancies for a regionwide network to implement projects based on cultural exchange and research. Today, the Design Alliance has partners from 11 Asian countries - China/Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">She believes that &quot;Design is the Future&quot;. She has to her credit several articles on Design, Displays and exhibitions. She was a panelist on the first ever Colour Forecasting Programme in India in September 2003. She has also delivered lectures at the National Branding seminar at Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and at the &quot;International Design week in Istambul, Turkey&quot;, in January 2004.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">She has attended &quot;Visualogue' seminar, a part of international design week in Nagoya, Japan', in October 2003, She has also conducted student workshops on 'Discovering Design in Chinese' at TFIT, Taiwan in November 2003.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Quoting design as a combination of relationship, passion, promises, expectation, ecstasy, she says, it is a process of embedding the tangible and intangible attributes in a product or service that gives satisfaction to users of design. She says that there is need to create design awareness in India. For this, many more design houses should come up. &quot;India can offer the 'Differentiation Quotient' designs because of the diversity, spirituality, long history, unique skills&quot;, she firmly believes.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">She thinks other most important aspect of being a successful designer/entrepreneur is the team spirit. She is of the opinion that in teamwork, two plus two is always more than four. Every individual has some strength and some weaknesses. &quot;If you learn to work as a team, the results will always be superior. At Elephant Design is culture is strongly that of a team. It is never &quot;I&quot;, but &quot;we&quot; who do things!&quot;, she says.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style1"><strong>Economic Diges</strong><strong>t</strong></span><strong>,</strong></font><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> <br /> Vol. XXXIII No. 7, May 29, 2004</font></p>Elephant Design has emerged as one of the largest integrated brand consultants in Indiahttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=51<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Elephant Design has emerged as one of the largest integrated brand consultants in India</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Pune-based Elephant Design an integrated branding services company with design as its core competence recently bagged a contract to design Symphony air-coolers which are now being rolled out into the market. The Rs. 15 crore design house, which was started by four graduates of NID in 1989, has emerged as one of the largest integrated brand consultants in India, designing everything from interior to product designs or corporate houses like Tata Consultancy Services, Computer Associates and FMCG major HLL. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">With an initial investment of Rs. 10 lakh raised through its first client German BASF, Elephant embarked on a systematic and planned strategy focusing on the neglected niche of design. Recalls Sudhir Sharma, one of Elephant&rsquo;s four founder-directors, &ldquo;Way back in 1988, when we all were students, one of us had done a project with the Indian counterpart of BASF.&rdquo; Based on the results, the BASF corporate communications head from Germany had offered a project of doing a multilingual corporate film and brochure for worldwide exposure for their chemicals business.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Fourteen years later, Elephant has grown with its ever-expanding client list that includes automobile, FMCG, banking and software companies. It competes successfully with UK-based branding houses like Fitch, Enterprise IG, Minnale and Landour who service their clients directly from London. &ldquo;We designed two products for Symphony the &ndash; &lsquo;Sumo&rsquo; and the &lsquo;chotha sumo&rsquo; winning the pitch against home-grown retail design companies incubis from Delhi and Tesserect from Bangalore,&rdquo; explains Sharma.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Symphony has already recovered the Rs. 4 crore design cost having sold 15,000 pieces at Rs. 2,000 a piece. However Sharma says, &ldquo;Benefits to our clients are more intangible rather than direct.&rdquo; Citing the example of his experience with Bajaj &ndash; &lsquo;Elephants most visible works&rsquo;, he says, &ldquo;We use many simulation tools and techniques to make clients understand what is not seen.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The entire transformation of &lsquo;Bajaj&rsquo; to &lsquo;Planet Bajaj&rsquo; cost Rs. 20 lakh per showroom in 1996, according to Deshpande, who adds that Bajaj saw a 47 per cent increase in sales. The most recent change in visual identity of Bajaj with a new logo and symbol along with a fresh colour scheme is just being rolled out. &ldquo;The impact is visible in places where the change has happened and it would be quantifiable in the next few months,&rdquo; says Deshpande. Says Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto, &ldquo;Every time we are creatively challenged, it is natural for us to ideate with Elephant. The last five years of working together with them has given us the confidence to trust their judgment over our own.&rdquo;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Sharma says that Elephant has now has moved into the brand-consulting arena rather than just design consulting. &ldquo;We got a very good response after redesigning the Bajaj logo and showroom, and were flooded with enquiries from other companies as well.&rdquo; Elephant bagged the retail design account of major financial glant &ndash; ICICI Bank and more recently Standard Chartered Bank. Now Elephants part of the Design Alliance, a collaborative network of 10 Asian design agencies located in 10 countries. &ldquo;This is more of a cultural exchange programme,&rdquo; says Sharma.&ldquo;The domestic market is still the main source of our business.&rdquo; Presently, Elephant has nearly 50 clients and the grapevine has it that Martin Sorell&rsquo;s WPP group has shown interest in buying it over. &quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">But does Elephant want to sell? &ldquo;We could do very well with come inputs on the business side of it and we are not afraid to share equity. WPP has the largest branding company in the world &ndash; Enterprise IG. We respect their work and approach to work.&rdquo; Says Sharma. </font> <font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> <p align="justify">Currently Elephant wants to demonstrate that design makes a positive difference. The company also wants to become a brand on its own at the suggestion of Karim Rashid (iconic designer from NY) and Fukuda San (legendary designer from Japan). Our largest private independent home-grown design firm, which has remained low key for a while is now keen to claim its place in the sun.&quot;</p> </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">By Abhinav Ayyar<br /> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> <strong>Business India</strong>,<br /> <br /> March 29-April 11, 2004</font></p>Mr.Sharma participated from India as a speaker in group lecture discussing [Heartbeats of Asia-Discord seen in signs and symbols].http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=52<p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Mr.Sharma participated from India as a speaker in group lecture discussing </font><font size="2" face="Verdana">[Heartbeats of Asia-Discord seen in signs and symbols].<br /> <br /> Apart from working as a creative director he also grooms graphic designers as visiting lecturer in 4 colleges.</font><font size="2" face="Verdana"> In India graphic designing is popular as an interactive profession using computers.Percentage of people using computers is high, there are more than 100 T.V. channels and 22 official languages. Therefore Mr.Sharma says that there are diverse roles for a designer. [In spite of technological progress even in big cities basic social arrangements like pavement of roads are lacking].<br /> <br /> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana">About his impressions of Japan he says &ndash;In Japan there are Braille blocks on footpaths, </font><font size="2" face="Verdana">and easy to use vending machines and people are friendly(national character) compared to other countries. </font><font size="2" face="Verdana">Starting from signs, work of designers is seen (or some times it is shadowed ) while walking the roads.</font></p> <blockquote> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> </font> <font size="2" face="Verdana">Japan, Human AD, vol. 54, 2004</font></p> </blockquote> 27th Februaryhttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=53<p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Transnational firms are building up their Design Centres in India. Home-grown firms are bagging global assignments. Like the software engineers before them, Indian Designers are going global&hellip;.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&hellip; Elephant Design has emerged as one of the country's largest independent design firms. Started by four graduates of the National Institute of design 14 years ago, Elephant design's first project was for BASF, Germany, and the firm has kept up its global orientation ever since. Now it's joined The Design Alliance, a collaborative network of ten Asian design agencies located in ten countries - China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Says director Sudhir Sharma, &quot;India and China are the originators of much of Asian culture. So our sensibilities in terms of colour and such transcend borders.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The designers in the alliance meet regularly on the seminar circuit and exchange notes on their projects. For example, Elephant Design has done a lot of work for Bajaj Auto - redesigning everything from its corporate logo to its collaborating on a similar assignment for a two-wheeler company in Laos. &quot;This is more of a cultural exchange,&quot; says Sharma. &quot;The domestic market is still the main source of our business. Young Indian entrepreneurs today understand the value of design and the market has really opened up over the past few years&hellip;.</font><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> </font> <font size="2" face="Verdana">Corporate Dossier,<br /> <br /> <span class="style1">The Economic Times, </span><br /> <br /> 27th February</font></p> Bajaj perhaps saw red when it realized that its blue and white logo had been there for far too long time.http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=54<p><font face="Tahoma, Courier New, Times New Roman"><font size="-2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Bajaj perhaps saw red when it realized that its blue and white logo had been there for far too long time. The company quickly set to work on a new identity and the result is an all-blue new logo, a modification of the older one that was officially launched at the Auto Expo Show in New Delhi in January. Thus, the old hexagonal blue and white logo of the company is being replaced with a more dynamic, vibrant, stylized and trendy B. the brief by Bajaj to elephant design who redesigned the company's identity was that the B had to be retained.</font></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="-2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The project was awarded to Elephant Design in September 2002 and when the company approached Pune-based design elephant Designs with whom the company has had a long-standing relationship, the overriding need was brand rejuvenation. The new corporate identity essentially convey a new set of values with the new brand essence being excitement which is to be delivered through these new value.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="-2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Elephant Design team took the cue from there. Says Ashwini Deshpande, Director, Elephant Design talking about the philosophy behind the change in Bajaj's identity, &quot;Bajaj has been changing in many different ways over the years. The manufacturing infrastructure has become very high-tech too, there is lot of emphasis on research and development, consumers have changed too. The customers are younger than what they used to be. Their exposure is much wider, expectations are very high, Bajaj has a very dynamic distribution and servicing set up and amid all this Bajaj is producing non-polluting and stylistically as well technologically advanced vehicles. The change in Identity recognizes all these changes and presents an easier interface for audience to understand the change.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="-2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Says she further on the new logo, &quot;the new identity is very dynamic and represents style and technology in no uncertain terms. It also continues the lineage of Bajaj from the hexagonal out form, the new blue colour is also an improvement on the earlier blue. Blue represents precision and stability. But our belief is that the new inspire confidence, in that sense sure it should result in higher sales finally.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="-2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The entire project, that took about a year's time to complete, included the following, according Elephant Design:</font><font size="-2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">New Brand Map / Brand Architecture for Bajaj Auto</font></p> <table width="85%" cellspacing="3" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="33" height="18">&nbsp;</td> <td width="47" height="18"> <div align="right"><font size="-2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">&middot;</font></div> </td> <td height="18" colspan="2"><font size="-2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">New Visual Identity</font></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="33">&nbsp;</td> <td width="47"> <div align="right"><font size="-2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">&middot;</font></div> </td> <td colspan="2"><font size="-2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Contextualisation of New idientity</font></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="33">&nbsp;</td> <td width="47"> <div align="right"><font size="-2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">&middot;</font></div> </td> <td colspan="2"><font size="-2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Guidelines Manuals for standardization and monitoring identity usage in:</font></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="33">&nbsp;</td> <td width="47">&nbsp;</td> <td width="14">&nbsp;</td> <td width="341"><font size="-2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Communication</font></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="33">&nbsp;</td> <td width="47">&nbsp;</td> <td width="14">&nbsp;</td> <td width="341"><font size="-2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Corporate &amp; Regional Offices</font></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="33">&nbsp;</td> <td width="47">&nbsp;</td> <td width="14">&nbsp;</td> <td width="341"><font size="-2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Other Properties - Vehicles, factories, Godowns</font></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <blockquote> <p align="justify"><font size="-2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Elephant Designs apparently spent about four months exploring alternatives during the implementing stage. A market research was also undertaken to ascertain the perception among customers and non-customers. Says Deshpande, &quot;The research resulted in qualitative analysis of the options available and helped us take an informed decision. We conducted this research in representative markets of North, West and South India. We were positively surprised to find a huge acceptance of the designed identity and very favourable value fits.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="-2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Elephant Design is also hopeful that the redesign would have a favourable impact on the business. According to them, the returns are more intangible since identity means a symbol, and it symbolically represents what a company is about. Well, it looks like for Bajaj there is only one way to move now-ahead.<br /> </font></p> <p align="justify"><br /> <font face="Tahoma, Courier New, Times New Roman"><span class="style1">By <font face="Tahoma, Courier New, Times New Roman">N Jayalakshmi</font></span><br /> <br /> <span class="style1">POP Today</span><br /> <br /> March-February 2004</font></p> </blockquote> 18 January 2004http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=55<p><font size="2" face="Verdana">EVEN as it is preening time for automobile majors at the seventh Auto Expo, currently on in the Capital, auto component manufacturers are not to be left behind. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">No longer do they consider themselves mere `spare parts shops', but on their way to cater to the global market through increasing exports, they too have taken to branding exercises and hiring design companies to chalk out a special company identity. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">In fact, Pune-based Elephant Design, the country's largest design company, is at the Expo making its presence felt through the theme pavilions it has built for component companies Kalyani Group and Varroc. Though Elephant Design's identity makeover exercise for Bajaj, including the company's new logo, is what has come to the forefront, the theme displays of component companies exposes where this sector is headed. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Kalyani Group, with flagship company Bharat Forge, displays the theme, `World in Motion'. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">With a display that shows all the companies, the flagship and the followers, under one arrow-shaped roof, the use of several global languages and dynamic auto colours such as chrome, blue-black and silver, the company's future intentions are as clear as day. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot;There's now a realisation in the market that design drives industry,&quot; says Elephant Design's Director, Ms Ashwini Deshpande, as she explains the concept behind the Kalyani pavilion design. The roof represents a seamless group where all the six companies come together and move forward, the language displayed symbolises Kalyani's global forays through exports, while the auto colours represent the sector the company works in. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The Varroc pavilion is also clued on to the future. &quot;This Rs 450-crore company with 10 factories is also looking at exports. Its three divisions, Polymer (moulded components for automobiles), Engineering and Electronics have all been brought under a common corporate identity. &quot;Here the pavilion design has been stylised and the strong colours, blue and red, have been used to convey the company's expertise and its ability to invest and deliver,&quot; says Mr Sudhir Sharma, Director, Elephant Design. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Elephant Design's relationship with Bajaj Auto and its involvement in building the company's brand identity go back to the mid-Nineties when it started with a makeover for Bajaj showrooms. The new `Flying Bird' logo unveiled at the Expo is again Elephant Design's efforts at projecting the changes taking place at the company. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot;Everything had changed about Bajaj as a company, but not the logo. The new logo retains the core values of the company, but symbolises the will to fly higher,&quot; explains the design team. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">While auto companies became design savvy a while ago, it is now the turn of auto component manufacturers to make their presence felt. &quot;Companies recognise that a good product is not enough today, you need an image to go with it, specially if you are poised to meet the global players,&quot; says the design team.</font><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style1">By Preeti Mehra<br /> <br /> Business Line</span>,<br /> <br /> 18 January 2004</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> </font></p> The ubiquitous, familiar, hexagonal blue and white logo of Bajaj Auto is set to fade away into history.http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=56<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> The ubiquitous, familiar, hexagonal blue and white logo of Bajaj Auto is set to fade away into history. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">With ambitions of becoming an Indian multinational company and after discovering in-house talent at developing new technology for its new motorcycles, Bajaj Auto (BAL) is now all set to overhaul its brand image and corporate identity. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The 59-year old institution, which is the one of the country's largest two-wheeler and three-wheeler manufacturers, is set to go through a complete image makeover, including a new brand logo and corporate brand identity to disseminate a more modern outlook for the company. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Bajaj seems to have had compelling reasons to plan a revamp of its branding strategy. Some of these are the rapid rise of the company's motorcycle sales, its plans to go global with proposed assembly plants in one or two South Asian countries, the increasingly lower age profile of its average customer and the need to pithily showcase its in-house design and technological capability. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Bajaj's current logo, which is more than 40 years old, is being replaced by a new, more dynamic insignia, to better reflect these attributes. The new identity is expected to be very dynamic and represent style and technology. Company sources said that the new logo, which will continue to sport the blue colour, will however, continues the lineage of Bajaj from the hexagonal form. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The new blue colour is said to represent precision and stability. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The job of revamping and redesigning the company's brand image, corporate identity and the logo's various manifestations has been done by Elephant Design, a Pune-based, multidisciplinary design office that has created, redefined and repositioned several brands across a wide range of industry segments. The new logo and repositioning was preceded by a nationwide market research to ascertain the new identity's acceptance among customers and others. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Elephant Design has been associated with Bajaj for a few years now and had successfully designed and implemented the `Planet Bajaj' interim identity. They had also designed and implemented BAL's retail identity project across the company's showrooms, service centres and product manuals. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Sources said that while the Planet Bajaj identity helped Bajaj showcase its manufacturing strengths in the whole range of two wheeler categories, since it was traditionally being looked upon as just a scooter manufacturer. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Now, with the induction of modern manufacturing technology and infrastructure, high-tech, aggressively styled products in its portfolio, sustained research and development and younger consumers, the change in identity is expected to recognise all these changing values and present an easier interface for the world to understand the new Bajaj.</font><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style1">By S. Muralidhar </span><br /> <br /> <span class="style1">Business Line</span>,<br /> <br /> January 06, 2004</font></p> January 06, 2004http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=57<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Shifting gears: The company's Akurdi plant adopted the new logo with effect from Monday. The change is an attempt to give it a more colourful and contemporary look.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Express News Service</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The old is giving way to a vibrant new. This is a shift of gears no one is going to miss. Decades old, the Bajaj Auto logo - the alphabet 'B' in a hexagon - has been replaced with a more dynamic, stylised and trendy 'B' with the alphabets in 'Bajaj&quot; changing from lower to upper case. All this to symbolise the rejuvenated Bajaj Auto Ltd.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The new logo was adopted at the company's Akurdi plant in Pune today. The company had been working towards giving its logo a more colourful and contemporary look to go along with its new line of products.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Design house elephant Design, responsible for creating new identities for ICICI Bank and Standard Chartered Bank, worked on the new look for the logo. Elephant had earlier worked with Bajaj on the new look that the company gave its dowdy showrooms across the country. The retail outlets were transformed into the more contemporary 'Planet Bajaj' showrooms, a success story that has led to the firm building a long-tem relationship with two and three-wheeler manufacturer.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Sudhir Sharma, director, Elephant Design, said the new logo was very modern, dynamic and stylish. It also symbolised the new brand excitement - excitement in engineering and speed, he added.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style1">Indian Express</span>,<br /> <br /> January 06, 2004</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> </font></p> 06 January 2004http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=58<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The symbolism is deep. The shift of gears cannot be missed. The old is giving way to a vibrant new. It is a new Bajaj Auto logo that will greet the world form 2004 onwards. The decades old logo of the 'B' in a hexagon that stood for 'Hamara Bajaj' has been replaced with a more dynamic vibrant, stylised and trendy 'B' with Bajaj moving from lower caps to upper caps to symbolised the rejuvenated Bajaj Auto Ltd.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The logo was adopted at the Akurdi plant in Pune on Monday and the company gates flashed this new logo. The make-over had been announced by the company last year. The company last year. The company ahs been working on acquiring anew more colouful and contemporary look that would go along with its new lineup of products.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Elephant Design have worked on the new look for Bajaj Auto. Elephant design has been responsible for creating new identities for ICICI and Standard Chartered Bank.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Elephant had earlier worked with the Bajajs on the new look that the company gave its showrooms across the country. The dowdy retail outlets were transformed into the more contemporary 'Planet Bajaj' a success story that has led to the design house building a long term relationship with Bajaj. Sudhir Sharma, director, Elephant Design said, the new logo was very modern, dynamic, stylish and looks like inspiring confidence. It also symbolises the new brand excitement, excitement in engineering and speed, Sharma said.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style1"><span class="style2">By Geeta Nair</span></span></font><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> <br /> <strong>Financial Express</strong>,<br /> <br /> 06 January 2004</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> </font></p>When someone says "Times are changing…", Mr. Rahul Bajaj adds, "Let me assure you that Bajaj Auto will led this change…"http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=59<p><font size="2" face="Verdana">When someone says &quot;Times are changing&hellip;&quot;, Mr. Rahul Bajaj adds, &quot;Let me assure you that Bajaj Auto will led this change&hellip;&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">For the past six years, Elephant Design has been an active partner in the change.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Whether it is a change in the way a new generation two-wheeler is launched, or the way it is displayed at the expos or the way it is shown and sold in showrooms or the way it makes a statement on the internet website. Elephant Design has even been a key partner to Bajaj Auto in changing the way a two-wheeler is serviced at a service station.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">In 1995, the Elephant Design team designed a retail environment that created a contemporary backdrop for its avant grade vehicles at 400 odd showrooms across the country.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Over the past five years, Bajaj Auto has established its superiority in two-wheelers, aptly demonstrated by launching future-ready motorcycles and scooters, it was necessary to communicate all this to the future customers of two-wheelers. Thus was the birth of a culture called Planet Bajaj.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Planet Bajaj are not just two words. Together, they spell a culture that guides the quality of products, manufacturing processes, product offerings and even the quality of service. A graphic identity was designed by Elephant Design to bind the theme. The thread that ran across the communication was that of an eco-friendly, caring organization with most advanced technology to back the human touch.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Auto-Expo is seen as the biggest exposure available in the automobile sector in India. The Bajaj and Elephant core teams decided to use Auto-Expo 2000 as the launch pad for Planet Bajaj.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Everything about this pavilion was designed to give a unique experience. It is evident that everyone in India has seen every single Bajaj vehicle every day of his life. So the challenge lay in attracting visitors to the Bajaj Pavilion and sending them back with something awesome, something that gives a unified cohesive image of Bajaj future.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> Special design decisions:</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&middot; The entire 12,000 sq.ft. pavilion was covered with patterned terracotta outdoor tiles. The choice of flooring had more to do with the cohesive experience that was intended than the actual shape and pattern. We were talking about ecology and concern for the environment. So synthetic carpets or shining surfaces were ruled out. We wanted to create an outdoor, earthy, yet contemporary feel. The large patterned terracotta expanse was enough to remind one of the connections with Mother Earth, and yet came very close to the Italian plazas in look and feel.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&middot; Large (the largest wall graphic was 120 x 40 ft.) graphic images of micro (ecology, flora) and macro (images from space) were spread across the periphery, depicting both ends of the spectrum. The images were for revoking concern for something as micro as a butterfly or a grasshopper and on the other hand as macro as seeing the earth from the moon. This provided a spectrum of colourful backdrops for vehicles. The backdrop images were in a scale ordinarily unseen. It was meant to communicate the understanding and concern of Bajaj as a corporate towards the spectrum and its own position in the bio-diversity.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&middot; An overhead metal space frame of 70 ft. diameter was raised for projecting lights. This was a structural and aesthetic wonder for that space and time available.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&middot; This space frame was covered with a specially imported poly-fabric from France. (The French teams worked overnight stretching this material with gas fired sealing guns). This cladding was also used for graphics and corporate branding.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&middot; The central plaza had reflective surfaces at the base and ceiling. Most significant vehicles were displayed here. This area had two special lighting features. Computer controlled moving heads threw light on the reflective ceiling, which then deflected the light on vehicles and flooring. This was designed to look like choreography of lights. It is a common practice to throw light on the vehicles. We did not want to do anything conventional here. What we were trying to do was a unique way of displaying vehicles&hellip;literally in a different light!</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&middot; The other special lighting was a laser fountain that had thousands of tiny light dots splashing. When viewed though specially created 3D viewing goggles, these light dots showed the Planet Bajaj Identity. This was truly a magical show. We got this made by a German company who supplied the goggles and fountain to our specifications. Every unique experience needs a WOW factor. This was designed to be just that&hellip;something memorable, never-seen/experienced before and a technological marvel.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&middot; Rather than having static backdrops, we decided to have an entire side of the Pavilion in motion graphics. A 24 screen - 48 projectors audio-isual was created for this event. This was a hitherto unexplored feat that required technology working in perfect synch. This made the event larger than life. Vehicle marketing is about motion, movement, and energy. By achieving such an awesome montage of moving images, we managed to display the energy that Bajaj has embedded into its unique positioning.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&middot; The entire space was treated like a central city square or plaza where people were encouraged to move, interact, even dance to the music. We believe an experience must becomes as participatory as possible. Thus the effort.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">This is believed to be the event that pronounced Bajaj Auto's presence in the future. It not only changed the way customers felt about Bajaj, but also raised the belief in dealers and staff about how serious Bajaj Auto was about looking into the future through cutting-edge technology and customer-oriented offerings.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The Planet Bajaj concept, as conceived, went way beyond the launch exhibition.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">In order to take the concept to other towns in India, Planet Bajaj modular, travelling exhibition was designed. This was displayed at various metros and towns throughout India in the subsequent year, gathering a large awareness on the concept of Planet Bajaj.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">When Bajaj Auto was launching Eliminator in the year 2000, a future-age cruiser motorcycle that cost little less than a lakh a rupees, it clearly needed an exclusive positioning in the showrooms. Elephant Team pro-actively came up with a suggestion of boutique showrooms and service centers for this bike targeted at a premium segment. Going beyond the realms of conventional display, the Elephant module recommended an exclusive service centre for Eliminator with state-of-the-art service bays. This idea could be termed as a pioneering concept in retail service design that India would ever witness. A good looking and efficient showroom plays only a part in satisfying a customer when he takes the buying decision. What matters repeatedly is the after sales experience. Elephant research team benchmarked the hospital ICUs and Five Star kitchens for achieving a reliable, clean and efficient vehicle service station. Thus was the evolution of a new service culture where a customer could watch his vehicle getting serviced in a bright and friendly ambience.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The first Planet Bajaj ICU was started in Pune in the year 2000, subsequently replicated in all major metros and sub-metros in India. The first of the large service stations was started in Delhi, followed by Cochin in 2002 and replicated in all major towns subsequently.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> <span class="style1">Ashwini Deshpande</span><br /> Director, Elephant Design<br /> Pics courtesy Elephant Design </font></p> 'POP Today', Aug-Sep 2003http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=61<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> If you thought selling a motorbike was all about grimy shopfloors, mumbling mechanics and haggling buyers, think again. And, if you thought sleekly designed window displays were confined to apparels, jewellery, watches and such other lifestyle accessories, you couldn't be more wrong. Check out the showrooms of some popular two wheeler brands and you will now why. The TCS showrooms, for example, make a loud statement that says 'showroom is the key to the brand experience and communication'. And so you have attractive backlit signages with branding, pop-ups and banner stands with the latest model - the Fiero F 2 being given maximum focus, danglers and attractive price charts printed on vinyl. There are also separate metal stands for the newer models of bikes and another one for helmets that are arranged nearly on it. Sunboard cutouts of Sachin Tendulkar are placed at strategic locations along with the products. Small bulbs placed over the signages and price charts give the effect of focussed lighting. Outside, the fa&ccedil;ade in a bright yellow and red sunboard frame talks about the running process that says. &quot;Victor Kharido, Balla Ghumao' with images of the offer / gifts represented all around.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Bajaj, a fore-runner in showroom design, realised the significance of showrooms in '95. In that year, the company tied up with Pune-based Elephant Designs and that was the starting point of a very systematic and strategically planned design change.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">According to Ashwini Deshpande, Director elephant designs, (See case study),a design change was looked at on a replicable scale rather that as an &quot;involvement in providing a singular interior design solution&quot; &quot;Our communication understanding spelt the need to look at a retail environment from the point of view of the visitor rather that the sales team and its functions,&quot; says Deshpande.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">And thus was introduced a kind of &quot;standardization guidelines manual that helped the company project the contemporary backdrop for its avant grade vehicles at 400 odd showrooms across the country&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Adds Deshpande, &quot;:Bajaj Auto had graduated to superior technologies backed with investments in state - of - the - art manufacturing facilities. It was necessary to communicate all this to the future customers of two wheeler. Thus was the birth of a culture called Planet Bajaj. &quot;A graphic identity was designed by Elephant Design to bind the theme. The thread that can across the communication was that of an eco-friendly, caring organisation with the most advanced technology to back the human touch,&quot; says Deshpande.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The company's showrooms do substantiate this. Besides effective signages, daughters and banner stands, there are different zones inside the showrooms like the customer interaction area (CIA), the auto finance desk, the testing stands, the delivery area etc, all of which have been carefully planned and laid out, intended to keep the customer at ease. The CIA, for instance, with a TV and sofas looks more like a chill-out lounge. Round tables and chairs all around the reception area further enhance the relaxing and customer - centric ambience.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Other brands like TVS, Yamaha and Kinetic too have either already jumped or planning to jump on to the showroom bandwagan. Some of the new showrooms of Yamaha, for example, are already making a shift from the past in terms of their design and layout. The showroom manager of one such showroom at layanagar Bangalore agrees it has made a difference, especially in drawing customer interest. As for TCS Motors, says Harish K, V P Marketing of the company, &quot;We have made a beginning to our showroom strategic by changing the front fascia to signal out company becoming independent from out earlier joint venture partner. We are in the process of putting together a comprehensive strategy for the interiors that will get rolled out over the next year or so. &quot;Kinetic Motors too is planning to roll out a new showroom sometime this year all the works in place.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">So what drives this new buzz? To begin with, the dynamics of the two wheeler segment itself are undergoing changes. Says Firodia Motwani, MD, Kinetic Motors, &quot;The two-wheeler market in the Country today is very large and growing. It is the second largest two wheeler market in the world today, after China and is projected to become the largest in the next 4 - 5 years. It is also a very competitive market today - one where the consumer has really becomes the King&quot; adds, &quot;In the last three years, this market has seen a spate of new product launches, giving the consumer a very wide choice of product offering. The industry has also made a huge leap in terms of product design, development and technology. In this context, the showroom experience becomes very important in terms of a purchase driver. The company showroom makes the company's image in the marketplace. That is the point where a customer interacts with the company and a good showrooms experience can go a long way into swaying the customer decision. It can project the company as a professional and customer oriented one.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Says Harish K. of TCS Motors, &quot;I see the two wheelers maintaining a growth of 10 - 15%. It would be fair to say that retailing plays a very significant part in overall sales. With the mushrooming of products and brands, the need for an organised and effective retail store has become all the more important.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> Of elephantine scaleHere's an account of how the showroom redesign was executed in Bajaj, based on the conversation with and inputs supplied by Ashwini Deshpande, director, Elephant Designs, the firm that redesigned the Bajaj showrooms.It was 1995 and the project was to design a company - owned showroom for Bajaj Auto in Pune. But at larger level it was an attempt at &quot;re-orienting the process of sale into a userfriendly manifestation for Bajaj Auto customers&quot;, according to Ashwini Deshpande.The initial objective was to work on one showroom and set it up as a benchmark for the other showrooms of the company where it could be replicated. The need was for standardisation. Says Deshpande, &quot;It led us towards thinking on a replicable scale rather than involvement in providing a singular interior design solution. Our communication understanding spelt the need to look at a retail environment from the point f view of the visitor rather that the sales team and its functions.&quot;The first step thus included convincing the dealers, who owned the showrooms, on the need for a change and on retail standardization. And this had to be done across 80 showrooms. A standardisation guidelines manual was prepared hat helped the company project a contemporary backdrop for its vehicles at 400 odd showrooms across the country. A large - scale study was also conducted on customer as well as sales personnel psychology. For this purpose, a detailed questionnaire was prepared regarding customer walk-ins, behavior etc and distributed among dealers. The idea was to create a new overall showroom experience.The birth of the Planet Bajaj culture was the logical extension of the new showroom concept. It was meant to convey quality of products, manufacturing processes, product offering and service. So a graphic identity was designed by Elephant Design to bind the theme. The thread that ran across the communication was that of an eco-friendly, caring organisation with the most advanced technology to back the human touch.As part of the changes, lot of visual excitement was created inside the showroom in the form of touch-screen information kiosks, back-lit and vinyl signages (for all product categories) new age materials, mezzanine flooring and false ceiling. The background colours were changed from white and blue to bright yellow. The front fascia too was given a facelift and the shop window was spruced up to include large transparent glass panes for better visibility. The customer interactive area (CIA), the auto finance desk and the reception desk was raised to prevent people from learning over it and this helped that area remain clutter-free. The finance desk tool was designed in such a way that there was ample space for customer to keep their papers.Specific brands too needed specific strategies. For example, when the Eliminator was launched in 2000, it needed an exclusive positioning in the showrooms. So the Elephant team thought up boutique showrooms and service center for this bike targeted at a premium segment. The elephant module also recommended an exclusive service center for eliminator with state-of-the-art service bays, setting the trend for a new retail experience of sorts. Says Deshpande, &quot;A good looking and efficient showroom plays only a part in satisfying a customer when he takes the buying decision. What matters repeatedly is the after-sales experience. The Elephant research team benchmarked the hospital ICUs and Five Star kitchens for achieving a reliable, clean and efficient vehicle service station.&quot;The first Planet Bajaj ICU was started in Pune in 2000 and subsequently has been replicated at all major metros and sub-metros in India. Also, the first of the large service stations were started in Delhi and Kochi in 2002 and replicated in all major towns subsequently.The entire exercise cost Rs.20 lakh per showroom in '96, according to Deshpande, who adds that it was a 47% increase in sales. While Bajaj's Ravi Kabra does not believe in quantifying the returns of such a revamp into sales benefits, he does admit that the exercise delivered what it was expected to According to him the result are more intangible. N. Jayalakshmi</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">He has another interesting observation to make, &quot;Approximately 40% of two wheeler sales are made from outlets where retail ambience is not being focused on at all, these outlets are unorganised multi-brand outlets or rural outlets.&quot; This obviates the need to spruce up the showrooms.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Says Ravi Kabra of Bajaj, &quot;A showroom is where the actual sales happen, it is the best avenue to establish your band values. So showroom design is obviously an important aspect. It is part of the branding and marketing exercise.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">An ICFAI study conducted last year and found on the Net points to-other changes in this industry, some of which have a bearing on the way the two wheeler brands positions themselves. For instance, scooters have seen a decline in sales in the last few years as they lost out to the &quot;more macho&quot; bikes and lighter vehicles like mopeds. According to this study, in 1994 scooter sales accounted for 48% of the total two-wheeler sales fell to less than 25%. It says that motorcycle accounted for 57% of the total two-wheeler volumes for the 2001 fiscal rising from 28% in 1994. Besides, according to this study, the trend of Indian two wheeler makers going in for a foreign tie up for technical support, design etc has been changing. Also, with the Indian market for these products getting developed, most of the foreign manufacturers have been eyeing this market to enter it on their own.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Given these industry dynamics, the need to establish a strong retail identity assumes greater significance.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">So what kind of investments would brands have to make in their showroom revamp/ Says Kabra of Bajaj, &quot;As a percentage of the total cost, it is very less.&quot; And what about the returns? Says he,&quot;I don't think one can quantify the returns, it is more intangible and cannot be quantified into sales benefits. &quot;He adds talking about the Bajaj showroom revamp exercise, &quot;The design exercise ahs more or less met with our expectations. It has delivered what it was supposed to.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">And what are the dos involved in such an exercise and that give the maximum returns? Says Motwani of Kinetic Motors talking about an effective retail strategy and its effects in the context of a showroom, &quot;Good lighting, intelligent use of space and creative POP material can substantially enhance product presentation to the customer,&quot; She adds, &quot;We want to project a modern image, so we want to modernize our showrooms too. I also think that a standardized showroom design is important to reflect one image of the company across the country.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">It certainly looks like there's no stopping the two wheeler brands in their race towards effective retail communication.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>N. Jayalakshmi</strong><br /> <br /> 'POP Today', Aug-Sep 2003 </font></p> Mumbai: With Rahul Bajaj's sons, Sanjiv and Rajiv, rearing up to take over the steering wheel at Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL), the company has decided to cast off its old look for a more colourful and contemporary image.http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=62<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>By Baiju Kalesh<br /> Times News Network</strong><br /> <br /> Mumbai: With Rahul Bajaj's sons, Sanjiv and Rajiv, rearing up to take over the steering wheel at Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL), the company has decided to cast off its old look for a more colourful and contemporary image. The two-wheeler major has roped in Elephant Design, an international design firm based in Pune, for a corporate makeover. The plan is expected to be implemented by 2004.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">R. L. Ravichandran, vice-president (business development and marketing), confirmed the decision to change Bajaj Auto's corporate identity. &quot;We have decided redo the old logo as well as the product design,&quot; he told this paper from Cochin. Elephant Design will submit the new corporate plan to the Bajaj Auto board in two weeks, he added.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Sources close to the development say the new initiative is intended to enhance the 'visual' culture of the company and provide a more contemporary interface with the customer.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Bajaj Auto's new branding initiative is also a response to the intensifying competition in the two - wheeler market. Even as Japanese giant Honda Motors is inching closer to Bajaj Auto's scooter sales, it is also setting up a 100 per cent subsidiary in India to manufacture motorbikes.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Bajaj Auto is currently the market leader in scooters and three-wheelers, and is second only to Hero Honda in the motorbikes segment.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The Tatas, one of the oldest Indian corporate houses, were among the first to shed their conservative image for a more contemporary public face. As part of this initiative, the group roped in ace car racer Narayan Karthikeyan as its brand ambassador last year. More recently, it rechristened its flagship Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO) as Tata Motors to reflect its cure business.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Niteen Bhagwat, chief executive, Interface Communications, an IPG group company, said,' A company tends to change its logo when the existing one fails to capture the values it stands for. Over a period of time, the logo becomes dated, and hence companies try to infuse it with a more modern and global outlook.&quot;</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">In the case of the Tatas, Bagwat said the group wanted a single logo to present a unified image to the world rather than a diversified visual identity. He cited the example of the common GE signature for all of the diversified conglomerate's lines of business.</font><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> </font></p> Mumbai: With Rahul Bajaj's sons, Sanjiv and Rajiv, rearing up to take over the steering wheel at Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL), the company has decided to cast off its old look for a more colourful and contemporary image.http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=63<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>By Baiju Kalesh<br /> Times News Network</strong><br /> <br /> Mumbai: With Rahul Bajaj's sons, Sanjiv and Rajiv, rearing up to take over the steering wheel at Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL), the company has decided to cast off its old look for a more colourful and contemporary image. The two-wheeler major has roped in Elephant Design, an international design firm based in Pune, for a corporate makeover. The plan is expected to be implemented by 2004.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">R. L. Ravichandran, vice-president (business development and marketing), confirmed the decision to change Bajaj Auto's corporate identity. &quot;We have decided redo the old logo as well as the product design,&quot; he told this paper from Cochin. Elephant Design will submit the new corporate plan to the Bajaj Auto board in two weeks, he added.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Sources close to the development say the new initiative is intended to enhance the 'visual' culture of the company and provide a more contemporary interface with the customer.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Bajaj Auto's new branding initiative is also a response to the intensifying competition in the two - wheeler market. Even as Japanese giant Honda Motors is inching closer to Bajaj Auto's scooter sales, it is also setting up a 100 per cent subsidiary in India to manufacture motorbikes.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Bajaj Auto is currently the market leader in scooters and three-wheelers, and is second only to Hero Honda in the motorbikes segment.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The Tatas, one of the oldest Indian corporate houses, were among the first to shed their conservative image for a more contemporary public face. As part of this initiative, the group roped in ace car racer Narayan Karthikeyan as its brand ambassador last year. More recently, it rechristened its flagship Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO) as Tata Motors to reflect its cure business.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Niteen Bhagwat, chief executive, Interface Communications, an IPG group company, said,' A company tends to change its logo when the existing one fails to capture the values it stands for. Over a period of time, the logo becomes dated, and hence companies try to infuse it with a more modern and global outlook.&quot;</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">In the case of the Tatas, Bagwat said the group wanted a single logo to present a unified image to the world rather than a diversified visual identity. He cited the example of the common GE signature for all of the diversified conglomerate's lines of business.</font><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> </font></p> If there's a place Bangaloreans can draw heartfelt inspiration from, it's at the 90th session of the Indian Science Congress ---. Pride of India, being held currently in the city, it's the Hall of Pride. http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=64<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> If there's a place Bangaloreans can draw heartfelt inspiration from, it's at the 90th session of the Indian Science Congress ---. Pride of India, being held currently in the city, it's the Hall of Pride. This special pavilion dedicated to eminent scientist, the late Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and distinguished industrialist the late Dhirubhai Ambani, is definitely one of a kind. It has been designed to enabled visitors to read, learn more about the lives of, internalise, draw inspiration and glean from their wisdom, besides providing valuable insights into their valuable insights into their careers. The theme is the contributions and life of these two stalwarts who changed the face of Indian science and industry and took the country forward in their fields.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot;The Hall of Pride features these personalities, one from science and one from industry as this year, the focus of the congress is frontier science meeting cutting edge technology and they both personify these fields in India. Visualisation of the idea took about a month, and erecting the pavilion here took around a week.&quot; Said Sudhir Sharma, director of the Pune-based elephant Design, which conceptualised and executed the design of the pavilion. Spread over 4,000 sq. ft, the pavilion comprises two halls, each dedicated to Dr. Sarabhai and Dhirubhai, joined together by an auditorium where films about the pioneers will be screened through the day. Bangalore university and managed by event managers MM Activ. Around 7000 scientists are expected to participate in the congress and thousands of visitors including students and industry bigwigs are expected between January 4-7, the days of the congress.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Elephant design, a multidiscipline design firm, which was started by five students of Ahmedabad's National Institute of Design, is said to be the first integrated design office in the country and boasts top-rung clients &quot;Elephant design has a connection with these two personalities that goes quite deep. Dr. Sarabhai was one of the NID and out core team of directors are alumni of NID and we have Reliance as one of our leading clients.&quot; Said Ashwini Deshpande, director Elephant Design, including Ashish Deshpande, Partho Guha and Gargi Sharma have had key roles to play in the realisation of the pavilion.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">'Ambani, Sarabhai: Two pioneers, one pavilion</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>By Anupama Bijur</strong></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The cynosure of attention at the 90th Indian Science Congress here is a near biographical documentation of the lives of two Indian stalwarts. A 4,000 square feet pavilion called the Hall of Pride will showcase the achievements of Reliance founder and visionary Dhirubhai Ambani and the architect of India's space programme - Vikram Sarabhai.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Designed by India's largest design company Elephant Design of Pune, the Hall of Pride pavilion aims to be more than a verbose, pedantic study of the two personalities. &quot;It's a reflective, inspirational space for visitors to read, observe, ruminate and contribute their opinions to the panel featuring opinions by the Dean of the Wharton School, L. K. Advani and s. M. Krishna,&quot; says director, Elephant Design, Sudhir Sharma.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The space has been divided into areas which mirror each other in terms of their structure and layout. The huge Gothicarch supported by two majestic columns leads to a curved wall with a verse from the Bhagwad Gita describing the qualitites of great men. Inside the pavilion, you will see panels on the two personalities on either sides along with a time-line charting their lives from the beginning till end.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">At the far end of the room is an auditorium of seat about 40 people which will screen films on the two personalities. A space for seating in the middle of the room gives visitors the much-needed space to muse about these great men.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The construction of the pavilion was implemented by a team of about 20 contract workers in just two days. A star attention at the pavilion is a very young A. P. J. Abdul Kalam with Sarabhai.</font></p> Sunday , 4 th December, 2005 Page No. 14http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=32<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style6"> Ashwini Deshpande is reshaping perceptions</span></font></p> <p align="justify" class="style7"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Design is defined by perceptions and each one is interesting in its own right. The challenge to put these varied perceptions together on one platform is what excites Ashwini Deshpande, founder, director and principal designer, Elephant Strategy + Design. A graduate in visual communication from National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, she co-founded Elephant Design in May 1989 with her three of her batch mates from NID. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style7"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Over the years, the design consultancy has notched up big and interesting projects including the corporate identity and signage for the National Games in 1993, ICICI Re-tail, Standard Chartered Banks, corporate identity programmer for Bajaj Auto, branding and product design for Symphony, Nirlep and Transasia. Among the most exciting new projects that Deshpande is involved with are designing a Museum for the Reserve Bank of Indonesia and a new terminal at Jakarta International Airport. The common thread running through all projects for Elephant is a highly strategised and well-researched initiative, something that Deshpande herself swears by. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style7"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style2"><br /> </span> &ldquo;We never take a project brief at its face value. Design research on functionality, access and aesthetic preferences across various cultures has been an intrinsic part of all Elephant projects because we feel a design surpasses the expectations only if it is based on a strong strategy,&rdquo; says Deshpande who is passionately into conducting design awareness workshops at premier institutes like IIMs, MICA. It's her mission to help India build up a world-class pool of designers.</font></p>Sunday , 4 th December, 2005 Page No. 12http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=33<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> The crowded shelves of kirana shops are the biggest challenge for packaging design in India. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style7"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Ashwini Deshpande, Director, Elephant Design, said the need to stand out is greater in such a situation, versus what happens in developed markets where the retail is an organized business.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style7"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&ldquo;In the developed markets, from where most of the FMCG companies come, the retail market is an evolved one. So, a customer, say in the US, can pick up a cake of soap off the shelf, smell it, feel the package and then decide on either buying or not buying it. In India, or any other developing country market, there is the &lsquo;kirana' shop, where the customer stands behind the counter, is unable to touch and feel the same brand of soap. The customer vaguely points to something on a crowded shelf. There is no interaction. The big challenge is that the brand is international with an international value built into the product. The value cannot change yet it has to stand out from the clutter of the kirana shop shelf,&rdquo; Deshpande explained. This requires some &lsquo;tweaking' in the packaging, she said, with even the colour scheme likely to be changed and adapted to our market. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style7"><font face="Verdana"><span class="style2"><font size="2"><br /> There is also the challenge that all emerging country markets are not the same so what works in India will not work in Pakistan, Vietnam or Indonesia. And vice versa. She cited the example of an acne soap from Lifebouy where the packaging was changed, from a wrapper to a carton, to provide a solution and to make it aspirational</font> </span></font></p> <p align="justify" class="style7">&nbsp;</p> Design adds the critical edge, which Indian businesses can no longer ignore. Are we growing up to train the next generation of designers in the country? Sudhir Sharma finds out.http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=34<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style7">Design adds the critical edge, which Indian businesses can no longer ignore. Are we growing up to train the next generation of designers in the country? <strong>Sudhir Sharma </strong> finds out. </span></font></p> <p align="justify" class="style6"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Culture it is said is looking for perfection in everything. It follows that designers world over are seen as custodians of culture today. And with training designers tend to achieve a certain level of perfection within some set parameters. Some say artist do so as well. The difference is that an artist looks for perfection in everything he/she does, this is why perhaps design is seen as a creative field, or designers at times cross over to become artists. But there is a difference and it is not a subtle one.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style6"><font size="2" face="Verdana">It seems magical when at some airport when looking for toilet you spot a sign that shows you where the toilet is at that very moment, or when you buy a new digital camera, the manual makes it so easy to understand and help you set it up, almost as if you knew how to do it by instinct. When shopping and making choices you are so sure about a product because it has the logo of a well-known company (even if you are not familiar with the product). An artist looks for &lsquo;perfection' as defined by himself, or for his own self-satisfaction, some people appreciate or understand his values and passion and most respect and regard him for this.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style6"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> The designer looks for &lsquo;perfection' as defined by a predefined set of people and parameters, over his own judgement of self. A design always solves a problem of compromises. Sometimes this difference is very subtle especially if the art and science of a certain subject is very intricate and beyond the understanding of the person for whom the designer may be working. Designers needs to have a very good understanding of people, behaviour of people, he needs to be extremely sensitive to the environment and very perceptive to notice trends. He needs to be knowledgeable about materials, processes and methodologies. He is always open to experiment with new materials and new processes. Design training does aim to instill these traits in some ways through methods of teaching, framed exposure and lot of practice. A keen eye, very sensitive to learn and an expressive hand to articulate what does not exist make designers a need for growing developing societies. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style7"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Keen articulation skills make designers a strategic resource for the growth and future planning of any enterprise. You will find many designers working in areas, which may need insight and experimentation. That is why many designers are active in NGOs or other social cause activities. Since results are not known in the beginning and designers start with the unknown, they are also trained to work out processes and map innovation. Most designers would not rely on one process in any two projects, they would always innovate the process itself. This quality of designers is extremely useful in enterprise building or creating new things and structures, within an organization. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style6"><font size="2" face="Verdana"> High quality production of a design can easily be called a work of art, since it touches perfection in aesthetic and functional ways. Posters designed by graphic designers are collected and displayed as works of art. Design as a profession embraces various specializations, such as product, industrial design, visual communication and graphic design, interior, environmental design, fashion, multi-media and interaction design. All these today have matured and developed into various business activities leading to economic growth and higher quality of life. The specialization is the application of basic design abilities in conjunction with a specific management and technology.</font></p> <p align="justify" class="style6"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Today's highly visual society needs solutions of graphic design facility on to every thing &ndash; from printed word, moving images, signage's to automobiles, washing machines, phones and architecture. The manufacturing industry needs engineers to make things work and designers to make them desirable. The designer-engineer interface is yet another face of industrial layout or product designs. The service industry needs architects to design methods of delivery and serving the technological solution needs interfaces, which can be understood. The complex future is demanding more from designers; they need to become more responsible for the world we would live in. The future society and industry is being shaped by designers today. The societies which have recognized this are already reaping benefits of social and economic developments. In India, we need to recognize design as a critical tool for development and invest in design education and design on an urgent basis. </font></p> <p align="justify" class="style6"><font face="Verdana"><em><font size="2">The writer is, Founder Director and Principal Designer, Elephant Strategy + Design &ndash; A design consulting and services company focused on creating and building brands. He is also a member of the CII National Council for Innovation, Technology &amp; Design.</font> </em></font></p>Exhibitor magazine, 2003 http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=60<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Haute couture or pret-a=porter? That is the question. Or in the context of exhibition design, custom design or system design. The system design protagonists point out that pre-fabricated systems have made significant inroads in the design process in the international exhibition industry. Custom design aficionados are convinced that pre-fab system can never match the creative possibilities affordable by a case to case approach to exhibition design. But ultimately the choice really boils down to client expectations, budges and the number of exhibitions that a brand has to be showcased at annually.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Exhibitions and trade fairs in India have largely relied on custom design. And the custom was to nail a few planks together, cover them with brightly coloured cloth and fit in some furniture. Throw in a vase full of flowers for that extra effect, if you may.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Not anymore, through. There is an entire league of professional exhibition designers in the country today, primarily from the National Institute of Design, who have taken exhibition design to the level of a fine art. Indian exhibition design has gone international and how!</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Pune-based Elephant Design is a case in point whose name merited mention in a leading, international design magazine as one of the hottest design houses across the world. Talk to Ashwini Deshpande, Director, Elephant Design, about customised exhibition design and you cannot help but wonder if you have wandered into a Linux Developer's Conference.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Says Deshpande, &quot;Exhibition design is getting more and more high tech. For example, we use surface modeling and surface finish software for designing. There are many such complex surface modeling software, which enables us to come up complex shapes and sizes in no time. Like for example, a display structure that we had created for the Aeroshow. The structure had complex curves that are impossible to design unless you have extremely sophisticated software. More so because we had very little time.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Like every other industry, technology has had its impact on exhibition design too and its impact on exhibition design too and Indian designers are right at the leading edge. And Elephant in one such act that designs and executes for exhibitions across the globe.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">If technology has revitalised custom design, it has also created a design alternative for exhibition - pre-fabricated exhibitions across the globe.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Rajeev Anand of Trade Shows International, the Indian representative for US based pre-fab major Skyline Displays, require just a forefinger to demonstrate the versatility of his pre-fabricated exhibition system. He has a huge, curved exhibition backdrop wall in his office that he can reduce to almost one-fiftieth of its original size with a poke of a finger. That demonstrates the first major advantage of contemporary pre-fab systems, portability.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Says Anand, &quot;We used to work with traditional techniques like plywood and board. Now with the latest modular displays for exhibitions, we can set up a pavilion in a few hours. But, first we have had to educate the customer about the product and how it works, as they are still using the traditional processes. We are getting a good response and I feel that in a couple of years, this will be a big industry. Another two years down the line, there will be no carpenters or painters working for us.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Anand's operation currently constitutes 40% of modular and 60% of structural work, a proportional that he plans to reverse over the next six months.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">So will pro-fab replace custom design? Not necessarily, but they do offer benefits that address requirements that may be part of certain clients' brief.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Says Selby Pereira, Manager - Marketing, Sohum Expo Displays one of the largest home grown players in the market, &quot;Internationally the ratio of custom vis - a - vis modular designs is around 50 - 50. But in India, modular systems currently account for only 10% of the market. But modular systems offer a huge flexibility without the headaches of a fabricated stall. By mixing and matching multiple components, any structure can be created. These systems are also extremely easy to set up, offer mobility because of the travel kit and then there is the cost benefit as they can be reused just by changing the skins.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Pre-fab or modular systems do seem to offer some obvious saving in terms of cost and time. But design purists still remain unconvinced.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Says Deshpande, &quot;We do not go for prefabs unless there is a scenario where we connot customise. We believe that every client has his own unique needs and that cannot be addressed by a pre fabricated systems. No matter how different the skin is the structure is the same. There are also limitations in terms of materials, dimensions, sizes etc. Most of the exhibitions that we work on are all about making a corporate statement. So a customised design adds far more value than a pre fab. We do kits that can be dismantled but they are customised. And no one kit that we develop is the same as the other.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Now it is the other camp's turn to disagree. Says Binu N, Managing Director, Meroform, the Indian face of Germany based pre-fab is that the good systems are not available. When you use all the component of our system, and we have around 5,800 components, the difference between custom made and pre-fab disappears. Our prefab will look better than custom made, but most people do not know this. The concept has been misunderstood because for 20 years, people have been using bad quality systems. Now with space rental costs having gone up and time for construction having coma down, pre-fab solutions are the best bet.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Says Rajiv Jotwani of Delhi based Trient Exhibitions and Display Ltd, &quot;It is difficult to categorise something as had and good. Both customised and modular systems have their advantages. While customised or custom-modular systems afford more creativity, the components of modular systems afford flexibility of treatment.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Survaprakash, Managing Director, DesignCore, a company that offers both versions of exhibition design, brings a new perspective to this seesaw process of comparison, &quot;Internationally, any exhibition space greater than 300 square metres is custom designed. But for the past two years we have not done any custom design because nowadays no one takes more than 150 square metres. People prefer system design because it is cost effective.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">So one of the defining parameters of the choice between custom versus prefab system, apart from cost and time, is the space available. But notwithstanding all these variables and their influences on the decision making process, there has to be some objective evaluation of the two processes.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">And Amardeep Behl of Design Habit provides just that, &quot;I think it is the middle path that matters. It is not necessary to reinvent the zero every time you build an exhibition. I think we need to have a fixed skeleton that is pre-fab onto which you need to customize your personality. The best solution is always semi customise your personality. If it is completely customised, very often it becomes tacky as it is largely hand done in India.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The semi-customised argument is something that is borne out by an end user, the corporate. Says an Intel source in Singapore, &quot;The corporate are now more educated about the design options available and Intel for one has different requirements -from customised to modular to a combination of the two depending on the tradeshow or event, While purely systemized design is or 'custom - modular' displays.&quot; And there we shall rest the matter though the debate in the industry will surely go on.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">According to all players in the pre-fab segment, one factor that has definitely enhanced the charm of re-fab systems is the trend towards renting, rather than buying these systems. This international trend, that has already manifested itself in India, has definitely resulted in an increased usage of pre-fab systems. So it really is just a matter of time before prefabs becomes a more prevalent practice in the Indian industry, though it would be specious to assume that this would be at the expense of custom design.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Which brings us back to the opening question - battle couture pr pret-a-porter? The answer is simple. It just depends on where you want to be seen.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>Rahul Dev</strong><br /> <br /> Exhibitor magazine, 2003 <br /> </font></p> The Newspaper: The Economic Times, Mumbai Dated: 02 November 2002http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=65<p><font face="Tahoma, Courier New, Courier"> The Newspaper: The Economic Times, Mumbai<br /> Dated: 02 November 2002</font></p> <p><br /> <font face="Tahoma, Courier New, Courier">Tata Consultancy Services has won the 'Overall Best Stall' award at BangaloreIT.COM.Stalls at the exhibition were evaluated on criteria such as design, product display and presentation by a panel of judges, including Balkiraman from the Department of Science and Technology and Sharda Cherwoo, CEO of Ernst &amp; Young.</font></p> <p><font face="Tahoma, Courier New, Courier">(Elephant Design designed this stall for TCS and has been doing so for a series of exhibitions over the past many months)</font></p> The Newspaper: The Economic Times, Mumbai Dated: 02 June 2002http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=66<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> The Newspaper: The Economic Times, Mumbai<br /> Dated: 02 June 2002</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> A DESIGN SAFARI<br /> by Ishani Duttagupta</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Elephant Design, says founder director Sudhir Sharma, is going places. <br /> Quite literally</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> Good things come in jumbo packs. At least, that's what Sudhir Sharma and his NID classmates left when they named their company Elephant Design. &quot;In a way, the name was a metaphor for the blind men trying to define an elephant. We were also influenced by international design firms like FROG Design,&quot; says Sharma.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">But why would five young grads from a hot shot design school choose Pune for their start-up? &quot;Globally, the tradition is to have design offices away from congested capital cities. And as creative professionals we opted for a better lifestyle, which Pune offers. On the other hand, we were also comfortably close to Mumbai, India's business hub,&quot; explains Sharma, founder director and communication designer, Elephant Design.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Way back in 1989, Pune had looked like a futuristic location to Sharma, Partho Guha, Ashwini Deshpande, Ashish Deshpande and Gargi Sharma, co-founders of the design shop. Looking back, they of course have no regrets, working out of their office located on a lush green slope of the Western Ghats. Says Sharma: &quot;It is, in fact, the best of both worlds. Now with the new expressway, Pune isn't quite the boondocks.&quot; Elephant Design, meanwhile, is going places far beyond it's funky office that looks like something of a cross between a zebra and an elephant. Offices in Mumbai and London and a media company Virtual Elephant have been set up recently. The jumbo-sized 65-member team, world class infrastructure and Rs. 15 crore turnover make it, perhaps, the largest desi design consultancy. As for the client list, it includes big names like ICICI, Bajaj Auto, AT&amp;T, Tata Consultancy Services, Maruti, DaimlerChrysler India, Mahindra British Telecom and Escorts. &quot;We have worked out our own indigenous creative strategies in offerings which span product design services, brand identity, brand communication and environments. In fact, our multi-disciplinary team is a big hit with clients who have very often expanded their relationship with us way beyond the first brief,&quot; says Sharma, who was in New Delhi recently to participate in the launch of the NID-Indian Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) Showcase Design, a permanent display which brings together top names in India. Elephant's two projects on display are a room air cooler and water heater range for Symphony Comfort Systems.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> The global safari, meanwhile, is also rolling for the Elephant team, which has signed on projects is Singapore and Europe. &quot;We participate in technology, consumer and design seminars and conferences around the world. Our design strategy ranging from a brochure for BASF shareholders to AT&amp;T World retail stores, is about brand communication for products and services globally in the context of the consumer. In any case, there's no single Indian context,&quot; feels Sharma whose internal responsibilities include strategic planning and overseas business development. &quot;As for our London operations, we set it up last year mainly as a learning experience. For an Indian design firm to tap the international market is a big challenge,&quot; he adds. Meanwhile, the South East Asian markets are proving equally attractive. &quot;At a design event in Singapore recently, the country's President spent 25 minutes at our stall and tried to convince me to set up shop there instead of London,&quot; says Sharma.</font></p> The Newspaper: The Hindu Business Line, Pune Dated: 04 March 2002http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=67<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> The Newspaper: The Hindu Business Line, Pune<br /> Dated: 04 March 2002</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> Duraware plans good old clay pot with non-stick coat <br /> by Sudha Menon </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">DO you ever get nostalgic about the delicious taste of appams and stew or `meen curry and rice ' that grandma conjured up in her ubiquitous clay pots way back when people still had time to spend on slow cooking instead of the eating out-of-the-box times of today? </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Duraware, the company that made non-stick cookware almost a generic thing with its Nirlep brand is now all set to roll-out its `bhoomi' range of `terraware', (terracotta cookware with non-stick coating) to bring back the lost flavours of traditional handi cooking into upscale Indian homes. Gourmets in Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Calcutta can look forward to some lip-smacking times with the company all set to roll out this customised, ethnic, chic product this month. Next stop for Bhoomi will be Delhi in April. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot;Bhoomi is the result of a need to innovate in a market which is crowded with many unorganised players in all segments,&quot; says Mr Mukund Bhogale, Managing Director, Duraware. While Mr Bhogale had flirted with the idea of developing a product using clay, he admits that neither he, nor his design consultancy, Pune's Elephant Design, had any idea of how they would actually create such a product and put it out in the market. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Says Mr Ashwini Deshpande, Director, Elephant Design, &quot;It was an entirely different concept for us, there was no product, no market and no positioning and none of us had ever heard of a clay pot with non-stick coating.&quot; </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">From conceptualising to designing the product, it took almost two years and Mr Bhogale says it is all that he ever hoped for. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot;Beginning with its name itself, everything about Bhoomi is about going back to nature and the product itself is all about discovering the fun of cooking the old way.&quot; </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Going back to nature, in this context, however, is strictly for the upwardly mobile, what with a set of two terraware pots costing upwards of Rs. 2,000 &quot;We wanted to position it as a premium product since each edition of the hand-crafted, hand painted product is limited and thus unique,&quot; says Mr Bhogale. The inaugural edition of Bhoomi uses hand-painted motifs from Maharashtra's warli tribe and plans to launch limited editions in Punjab's Phulkari art, Saora and other traditional art forms. In keeping with the positioning of the product, Bhoomi will be available only at select boutiques, lifestyle stores and studios like Bombay Stores and Contemporary Arts and Tressorie and gourmets picking up the product gets treated to stuff like a collection of traditional handi-cooking recipes from food critic, Karen Anand. Having forayed into unchartered territory, Mr Bhogale says response to the product has been enthusiastic in Mumbai and Pune and is now gearing up to cash in on the craze for all things exclusive and ethnic. There are now plans to extend the Bhoomi brand to cover the entire range of tableware including serving ware, salad bowls and even spatulas. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot;The Indian consumer is finally ready for design input even in functional items and is willing to pay the price for it,&quot; says Mr Bhogale. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Meanwhile, the company that pioneered in non-stick cookware in the country and stuck to it till wannabes created clutter in the market, is now getting ready for some action. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The company also plans to foray into pressure cooker segment where there are only two national brands: Prestige and Hawkins. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Duraware is already testing the waters with a soft launch in West Bengal and now that he is confident of not burning his hands, Mr Bhogale is all set to roll out the product this year in Gujrat, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh. The company is also now consciously promoting various sub-brands in the economy, mid and premium segments with a view to catering to the needs of consumers at each price level differently. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Last year, for instance, it launched its premium brand Vajra, with a USP that most users of non-stick cookware are likely to find irresistible: the product is scratch resistant and thus metal and steel spoon-friendly. In addition, the products with contemporary aesthetic appeal, also have a porcelain exterior which is durable and easy to maintain than conventional non-stick cookware exteriors. Duraware's mid-segment brand and money grosser Select, is now being repositioned. Mr Bhogale says that the company is now ready to add extra zing to the range with some value addition for a little extra cost. &quot;While we had a huge range in Select, the idea is now to prune it a bit with the rest of the products shifting to our low-end Sakhi brand,&quot; he says. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Mr Bhogale says that with the rise in disposable income, increase in awareness about health and change in lifestyle, the demand for non-stick ware, is growing. The company expects to touch the Rs 20 crore mark in revenues this year. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The company is also planning to enter the cookware segment. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Presently, the team is all set to cash in on the popularity of the brand and is pushing sales through a string of in-store promos and cookery events. Last year, the company sold 5 lakh units of its products on the internet. The majority of the buyers (90 percent) were NRIs who sent their desi cousins stylish gifts for festive occasions. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">``This is the only segment in the cookware business where brand takes priority over price with most customers and that is working out just fine for us,&quot; adds Mr Bhogale.</font></p> The Newspaper: HindustanTimes.com Dated: 23 January 2002http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=68<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> The Newspaper: HindustanTimes.com<br /> Dated: 23 January 2002</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> Mind Blowing Designs<br /> by Radhika Sachdev</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Creative skills, a knowledge of technology, the ability to visualise, a sense of aesthetics and a strong business acumen come together to produce designs that win awards, says Radhika Sachdev</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Did you know that the film posters of Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai were designed by Simrit Kaur Brar, a 1994-95 alumnus from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad? </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">That had it not been for the two Foley brothers (Michael and Neil Foley, 94-96 batch), Titan probably would not have managed to take on Swiss watchmakers in their own country? And, were it not for an obscure Pune-based creative hot shop called Elephant Design, 'Hamara' Bajaj would still be outsourcing its design requirements from Kawasaki in Japan.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Rahul Bajaj launched 12 new products last year - all designed by three NID alumni (Ashwini Deshpande, Ashish Deshpande and Sudhir Kumar Sharma). Their retainer-ship from the two-wheeler company? A whopping Rs. one crore! NID graduates have in fact, left their stamp almost everywhere in the design arena. A few examples: the 'Elanza' collection from VIP, Futura pressure cookers from Hawkins, a new track maintenance system for the Indian Railways, Museum Design for Khalsa Heritage Museum and logos for Mother Dairy, DTC and Vadilal's ice cream. And while industrial design is still at a nascent stage in India, with only a few professional colleges offering the course - and none as many disciplines as NID (9 at the UG and 11 at the PG level) - the demand for trained manpower is bound to increase in the coming years, thanks to globalisation and the stiff competition between the various brands. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">There's a growing realisation that designers can also contribute to a company's bottom line and that design is more an investment than an expense for a company that wants to beat its competitors with superior product features. &quot;We are gradually moving into an era where companies have begun to understand that there's no use bringing in designers at the last minute, like the 7th cavalry in a Hollywood movie, when a business is already on its last legs. Designers have to be involved in the whole product development process, from the drawing room to the showroom,&quot; remarked Sir Chirstopher Frayling, Chairman, UK Design Council at the NID-CII summit held in Bangalore, recently. Some &quot;under-designed&quot; sectors, which hold tremendous promise for the new crop of designers, are medical equipment, auto-industry, multi-media and makers of security gadgetry, besides the FMCG sector.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The entry point <br /> To pursue Industrial Design at IIT-Delhi, IISc, Bangalore and SPA, Delhi, you require a 'good' bachelor's degree in Engineering or Architecture. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">However, getting into any design discipline at NID is a different ball game altogether. The process is multi-layered and rigorous, to say the least. An advertisement is issued in September, application forms have to be submitted by December-end and the written test and interviews are scheduled between January and March. &quot;Last year, we received 1,500 applications to the 60 UG-level seats,&quot; says M.G.D Nair, Sr. Adm. Officer, NID. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The written test is of three-and-a-half hours duration. Held at eight centres (Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Kochi), the emphasis is on testing your design aptitude. For the PG level entry, the same aptitude test is made much more intensive and discipline-specific. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The second step is a half-day workshop held at the NID, Ahmedabad (in April) where candidates are given a material to manipulate (which could be clay, paper, crayons or paints) while the NID faculty watches the proceedings. Then comes the final hurdle, one that is accorded the maximum weightage by NID - an interview by a panel of five (four faculty members from NID and an outside consultant who'll present his psychometric assessment of the candidate). At this point, the institute might also ask the candidate to present his or her portfolio or any previous artwork. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot;What we look for in a student is passion for the Arts, an interest in his surroundings, a genuine feeling for people and their needs, along with a keen insight into their problems. Aesthetics, of course, is a pre-requisite. We don't want absolute raw hands, who first have to be taught how to draw or paint,&quot; says Nina Sabnani, Co-ordinator, Animation &amp; New Media, NID. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">According to Bhaskar Ramchandra, a Second Year student at NID, what's important is, &quot;A rapid sketching ability, skill at visualisation, an element of innovation, a sense of colour, balance and aesthetics, a good knowledge of technology and some amount of business sense. This is needed to make the cost assessment of a project, for design management and other entrepreneurial requirements.&quot; A good number of NID students are driven by the ambition to launch their own design consultancy, someday. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The cost-benefit ratio<br /> The total expenditure for studies at NID, including hostel and mess charges add up to Rs. one lakh/annum (likely to go up by 20 per cent next year), while for an overseas student it comes to US$ 6,000 (also under revision). As far as earnings go, the sky is the limit. Says Dr. Chandrashekhar, HoD (Industrial Design) at IIT-Delhi, &quot;Eventually, a designer's earning potential lies in his creative skills and the quality and scale of the projects he's able to attract from the industry.&quot; </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">(For more information contact NID, Paldi, Ahmedabad, Tel: 079-6639692/6605243, e-mail: academic@nid.edu)</font></p> The Newspaper: The Indian Express Dated: 22 February 2002http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=69<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> The Newspaper: The Indian Express<br /> Dated: 22 February 2002</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> Design on the City<br /> by Nisha Nambiar</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">From designing the magnificent book, Pune - Queen of Deccan to winning the recent NASSCOM exhibition award, Elephant Design, a design house started 12 years ago with five National Institute of Design (NID) designers, have sure made their mark-by just being different.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Operating from their design house, nestled in the hills of Pashan, near Bavdhan, the five operate on their different perspective - similar to the story of the five men and the elephant, evident from the name-Elephant designs. &quot;Each one of us have our own specialisation and in totality we are able to give the best&quot;, is how Partho Guha, one of the directors puts it. The other directors being Sudhir and Gargi Sharma, Ashish and Ashwini Deshpande.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">After passing out of NID they cherished a dream and now they are glad to see it evolve and grow. &quot;When we passed out there were not enough options and so we decided to start on our own,&quot; is how Ashwini puts it. &quot;There were also very less options eleven years back,&quot; she adds.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Today, twelve years later, there is been no looking back, for these youngsters. Whether it is the signages of the Asian Games or the book, Pune - Queen of Deccan written by Jaymala Diddee and Samita Gupta, they have given it their very best.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Though they have numerous assignments on them, the nature of assignments is equally important to them. &quot;One has to enjoy the work. If you enjoy what you are doing, you are not working at all,&quot; is how Ashwini puts it. And this attitude has taken them a long way since their inception, twelve years ago. Today, they have the credit of designing showrooms, exhibitions, gensets, books, aircoolers, brand packaging and more. &quot;We always try out new experiments. Recently, we have undertaken hoardings for Bajaj for their new vehicles. We have also designed AT&amp;T retail outlets in Maharashtra and Gujrat. Besides, we have also designed the new product of Nirlep earthenware and for Schenectady Beck, Pravin Masale, Mapro and for Dinshaw's ice - cream, &quot; reveals Ashwini. The list seems endless.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">What about support from outside the team? &quot;We were helped by many. Almost all our clients functions as our marketing extensions. Most of our work came from referral clients,&quot; adds Partho. And does competition affect them? &quot;Presently, we do not have competition in totality, but it is more prominent in segments. <br /> Management consulting companies, advertising agencies compete with us when it comes to brand consulting, advertising agencies complete with us for communication / branding / packaging / design work, while architectural firms compete with us in retail design work.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Regarding the design scenario at present Partho says, &quot;It has changed and evolved. And the growth in design research, growth in appropriate technology utilisation has been noticed by the group. &quot;We want to be a quality service provider in the area of creating, developing and communicating brands with the focus on creativity and innovation. We cherished a dream and we are glad we sustained it and it's a great feeling to see it grow,&quot; is how Ashish puts it.</font></p> The Newspaper: The Economic Times Dated: 19 February 2002http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=70<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> The Newspaper: The Economic Times<br /> Dated: 19 February 2002</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> Design of the Times<br /> by Ravi Balakrishnan</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">WHO&rsquo;S GOT the look? That&rsquo;s a hotly debated question as advertising agencies and independent consultants slug it out over the hitherto largely ignored area of design.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Agencies have made abortive attempts to establish a foothold by starting design divisions with often less than spectacular results, O&amp;M&rsquo;s Artistree being a case in point.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">But with clients willing to spend big money on everything from retail to product design and extensive corporate identity programmes using design firms from abroad, agencies and independent brand consultants with a focus on design are stepping into the arena.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Says Rabia Gupta, founder, Rabia Gupta Designs, &quot;Traditionally a brand&rsquo;s visual destiny was given to a junior art director. Now clients specifically ask for designers to work on identity.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">As expected, with a few exceptions, both independent set-ups and advertising agencies are dismissive of each others&rsquo; skills. Says Sudhir Sharma, director of the Pune-based elephant designs, &quot;A lot of agency-led shops are just fluff. They often consider design a freebie to get to the corporate business. The skill sets required are very different from those of an agency.&quot; </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Sharma claims to have the largest design set-up in the country which handles product and corporate identity, retail design, showrooms and workshops, and stalls at exhibitions.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">His contention is that even in the event of an ad agency understanding the client&rsquo;s problem, its solution will almost invariably be restricted to an ad campaign.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">A view that&rsquo;s endorsed by Preeti Vyas Giannetti, chairperson and executive creative director, Vyas Giannetti Creative, &quot;In traditional agencies, there&rsquo;s a mental block from the top to the bottom and recommendations are largely in the area of mass media.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Of course, agency-led outfits claim that&rsquo;s not true. Designsutra, a sister concern of Contract has worked on the retail identity for ABN Amro, the Platinum International Guild, and retail shops run by Bharat Petroleum. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">dCell, a division of Lowe has forayed into product development, with the launch of Rexona Orange, besides doing projects for Shaw Wallace and Johnson &amp; Johnson. The firm also redesigned the office space of HLL&rsquo;s detergent division.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">And these are services that clients are willing to pay for. While SV Siva, associate director, dCell is not particularly confrontational in his attitude towards independent set-ups handling design he says, &quot;We do not offer free services, least of all for design. It&rsquo;s part of our rate card and people who make statements like that are ill informed.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The advantages of being associated with an agency are numerous according to the in-house shops. Says Vetry Ramachandran, creative group head, designsutra, &quot;It gives us the larger picture. A design house cannot be considered in isolation. We have access to main communication and control over all aspects. 60 per cent of identity works in the way it gets carried across, mainly through advertising.&quot; </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">An association with a mainstream agency amounts to the &quot;best of both worlds&quot; according to Colette Austin, creative director at dCell, &quot;We can be as independent as we want to be and have the backing of a huge company like Lowe.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Both designsutra and dCell claim that their clientele is not restricted to that of their parent companies, but are unwilling for various reasons to discuss the independent business. While dCell believes it&rsquo;s premature, Ramachandran declares, </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot;The proportion of external business really doesn&rsquo;t matter, especially in a market trying to get a firm grip &mdash; business matters, but work matters more.&quot; Besides, she says, clients are a lot more confident trusting their business with a firm that has the backing of an established set-up: &quot;While working in isolation, one often has to outsource the design and planning. With both groups trying to get a grip on the brand, there could be significant information loss which hampers them. In a system like ours there a lot more quality checks.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Having the backing of a large agency also gives in-house shops a broader canvas to operate on as opposed to the more &quot;boutique&quot; clients that independent set-ups are generally reckoned to have. The independent outfits refute this critique by drawing attention to their client lists.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Vyas Giannetti Creative has worked on a corporate identity programme for the Aditya Birla group and on Sangam, a retail project for HLL, while Alok Nanda and Company was instrumental in the positioning and launch of the Barista chain of espresso bars, an assignment Nanda&rsquo;s particularly proud of.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Nanda and Giannetti refuse to have their firms viewed as design shops claiming this is just an aspect of the work they are involved in.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Nanda also disputes the logic of agencies setting up design cells as distinct entities: &quot;If agencies are offering advertising as well as design, that&rsquo;s exactly what we are doing, without having an artificial wall separating the two. We occupy the crack that exists between an ad agency and a design shop. We occasionally start from design and carry it outwards to advertising.&quot;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">In spite of all the action on the design front, several large clients still call in overseas firms like Shining Strategic Design and Wolff Olins to handle critical corporate image overhauls. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Nanda believes it&rsquo;s because Indian agencies have not demonstrated skill in identities and graphic design: &quot;The ad industry view is to slap the logo wherever you can. Clients will begin to consider them only when they can prove their ability to go beyond short term advertising led thinking.&quot;</font></p> The Newspaper: Financial Express Dated: 05 December 2001http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=71<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> The Newspaper: Financial Express<br /> Dated: 05 December 2001</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Elephant Design looks for tie-ups with European shops<br /> by Kumarkaushalam</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">With more and more Indian companies seeking to build international identity and branding, the design scene is getting animated. For the Pune-based Elephant Design Ltd, which has designed &lsquo;Planet Bajaj&rsquo; showrooms and planned ICICI&rsquo;s new retail identity, it&rsquo;s time to grow in size, build new connections and look westwards.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Says Mr Sudhir Sharma, creative director, Elephant Design: &lsquo;&lsquo;India is a huge market next only to China and we foresee a lot of European design companies entering India. It&rsquo;s become important for us to grow in size to pre-empt them&mdash; many of these have revenues 200 times ours despite fewer staff.&rsquo;&rsquo;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Elephant Design has adopted a two-fold strategy: forge design collaborations with European firms and second, establish alliances with creative agencies in India (as it is seen in the US and Europe).</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The company is in advanced stages of negotiations with two UK-based firms. Also, in a bid to offer integrated branding experience to its clients, the company is talking to around a dozen advertising agencies.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Says Mr Sharma: &lsquo;&lsquo;Most of these agencies either get designs in-house or from foreign agencies. One reason for their maintaining in-house facilities is that there are not many design shops in India which can implement big projects with competitive expertise.&rsquo;&rsquo;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The company sees sectors like banking, insurance, pharma and automobile companies drive the demand for brand-design solutions. &lsquo;&lsquo;More and more manufacturing companies are opting for re-positioning,&rsquo;&rsquo; says Mr Sharma. &lsquo;&lsquo;The thinking in the auto industry, for instance, is to be seen not as a mere engineering company but also as a hospitality service company.&rsquo;&rsquo;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The 70-employee company has done projects for 120 clients, including Bajaj Auto, TCS, and Mahindra British Telecom. With operational expertise in the sphere of corporate identity, retailing ambience and brand communication (Web-building and multi-media), the company manages 15 to 20 projects at any given time.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">In the case of Bajaj Auto, for instance, Elephant Design undertook the first phase of retail update across Bajaj&rsquo;s 600 showrooms five years ago. &lsquo;&lsquo;Based on our retail and brand audit, we decided there was need for standardisation in logo, vehicle displays; and for small things like the showroom&rsquo;s appearance when it was shutdown,&rsquo;&rsquo; says Mr Sharma. The company is currently working on Bajaj Auto&rsquo;s &lsquo;Planet Bajaj&rsquo; showroom project. Under this, it has created small service stations (300-sqft) with critical auto maintenance equipment at select Bajaj Auto dealerships to provide apt brand ambience to buyers of top-end bike Eliminator.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&lsquo;&lsquo;Since its launch in January 2001, in all, 80 &lsquo;Planet Bajaj&rsquo; centres are operational in 50 cities,&rsquo;&rsquo; says Mr Sharma. &lsquo;&lsquo;These units operate like ICUs (intensive care unit) do in emergency hospitals and they have supported consumer confidence.&rsquo;&rsquo;</font></p> The Newspaper: Pune Times of India Dated: 24 November 2000http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=72<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> The Newspaper: Pune Times of India<br /> Dated: 24 November 2000</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> Five Designers and their Elephant<br /> by Meghana Prasad</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">A firm called &lsquo;Elephant Design&rsquo; and an office painted with zebra stripes. It&rsquo;s the story of five talented graduates from the National School of Design (NSD) and their design house, which today, nesting in the hills of Pashan, has a staff of 50, including engineers, architects, web designers and artists.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">From dreams to riches is the script and it&rsquo;s as feisty as the name. &ldquo;Our name is based on the story of the five blind men and the elephant. One man mistakes the trunk for a tree, another, the tail for a snake, another the body for a wall, and so on. That&rsquo;s what design means to us. Something indefinable, something that depends on a person&rsquo;s perspective,&rdquo; says director, Sudhir Sharma.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Apart from Sudhir, Ashish Deshpande, Partho Guha, Gargi Sharma and Ashwini Deshpande are the other directors of Elephant Design.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">And it&rsquo;s also very much a family affair, with Ashish married to Ashwini and Gargi being Sudhir&rsquo;s wife. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">It was the lack of options available to designers that drove the five to start their own design consultancy. &ldquo;There weren&rsquo;t so many options available 11 years ago. When we began and we opted for Pune because it is centrally located, the quality of life is better and the work ethics are good,&rdquo; says Ashwini, adding that, &ldquo; It also gave us the space to work in peace.&rdquo;</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Ironically, none of the five are from Pune, but their undestanding of the city is evident from the book they published and designed - Pune, Queen of the Deccan, written by Jaymala Diddee and Samita Gupta.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&ldquo;We printed the book in Singapore, as we did not want to compromise on quality. We wanted to evoke a respect for the city in the readers mind. Making money was not the intention, we had fun working on it,&rdquo; says Sudhir. And fun is the bottomline for Elephant Design. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Admits Sudhir, &ldquo;Our philosophy of work is simple. If you&rsquo;re not going to enjoy the work, don&rsquo;t do it.&rdquo; Elephant&rsquo;s Design work is varied and includes designing showrooms, exhibitions, gensets, books, air coolers (they claim they are in the Guiness Book of World Records for designing the largest air cooler prototype) and websites. &lsquo;We&rsquo;re desiging a CD for Anna Hazare presently,&rdquo; adds Sudhir.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The joie de vivre that the five directors display, is evident in their work. The Bajaj exhibition which they designed around the theme &lsquo;Planet Bajaj&rsquo;, had a huge screen on which images were projected from a 3D laser projector which came from Germany and a &lsquo;ceiling of lights&rsquo; from Paris.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&lsquo;The colour of the bikes displayed was chosen from a range of nail polishes and lipsticks. We wanted something that would appeal to teenage girls,&rdquo; says Ashwini. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&ldquo;We research the psyche of people as it&rsquo;s very important we understand their needs first,&rdquo; says Sudhir, of their design process. It is this commitment to excellence that has got them so far. And the vision for the future is big, with Elephant Design spreading all over the world. &lsquo;We&rsquo;ve recently opened offices in Delhi and London,&rdquo; says Ashwini, adding, &ldquo;we&rsquo;re contemplating Bangalore and Singapore and even the United States, sometime in the future.&rdquo; </font></p> The Newspaper: The Economics Times Dated: 16 February 2000http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=74<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> The Newspaper: The Economics Times<br /> Dated: 16 February 2000</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> Design is a Tool for Global Marketability<br /> ET Interactive / Gouri Agtey Athale </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Design is not yet seen as being a critical input for goods, since it is little beyond its infancy here unlike in the developed world, where products have to meet design specifications before they can be put in the market. Ashish Deshpande, director of the Rs 2.5 crore Elephant Design Pvt Ltd, a 12-year-old Pune-based design house and the oldest in the country, believes this is changing, with the increasing realisation among corporates that design is an integral part of their image. Excerpts from a conversation with Gouri Agtey Athale. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>The Internet and e-business are everywhere. What direction will Indian design houses take?</strong></font><font face="Verdana"> Everything is moving to the Internet. We ourselves will soon officially have a new company, Virtual Elephant, which is now a division. Corporates have two needs: those who want to display their wares, and for e-commerce clients, who want a portal, a wider and more comprehensive site, across the industry segment. Some of our clients have begun with e-commerce sites which they want to eventually turn into portals. Yes, growth will be higher in this than in our design studio since eventually everyones going to move to the Internet. Virtual Elephant is expected to do business of Rs 1 crore in 2000-01, its first year. The virtual design company will be formally created in a couple of months time although it is already offering its services. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>What is the scope for growth for design houses, in the country and overseas?</strong><br /> Design is a tool for global marketability; you need to create an image which is what design does. The design team looks at expanding and communicating the image. For instance, we have designed air coolers for a high-end air cooler manufacturer. This is a market dominated by the unorganised sector, so design is the differentiating factor and its importance as a tool is increasingly being recognised. We've built the image of an agri-based manufacturer by applying design to the packaging. Here, design is a tool. <br /> We plan to open offices outside the country and in the next six months hope to announce a tie up with a German design-oriented company. <br /> We are looking at sectors like household appliances, which have a life of about five years, after which people want a change, rather like the fashion industry. It generates business, being fast changing. The industrial market is very competitive and related to the overall health of the engineering sector while the auto sector is the cream. It will take some time before Indian designers raise themselves to the level of being auto designers. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>What are the factors holding back Indian designers? </strong><br /> We lack infrastructure and this infrastructure is capital intensive. Why do Indian automobile manufacturers go to overseas design houses for their new models? Those design houses provide them a full package, including a small production batch, which can be tested and the test results incorporated into the design. Today, the climate is not conducive to the creation of such facilities. One is that it requires large investments and the second is that patents cannot be protected here. When I can bid with my design, offering the entire package of a fully researched report, a small batch production and backed with a test report, then design in India will have come of age. Such a package eliminates ambiguities for the manufacturer since he does not have to take a risk on the final outcome of just a design. The earnings of the design house also go up. We plan, in the next five years, to have our own small batch production facility. For this, we will have to collaborate with a foreign partner for technological expertise for small batch production. We plan to go public in the next three years, too. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><strong>What is the eventual aim for you, the country's oldest design house ? </strong><br /> The five of us who set up the company, all alumni of the National Institute of Design (NID), dream of setting up a Design Village in or around Pune. This will be a place for design practitioners, who could be architects and others, to get together to create a commercially synergistic atmosphere, preferably in a campus-style setting. </font></p> Publication: Autocar India Date: February 2000http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=75<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> Publication: Autocar India <br /> Date: February 2000 </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> Bajaj Auto comes of age</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Ashraf Sheikh </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">India's largest two and three wheeler manufacturer, Bajaj Auto, determined as ever to retain it's position as India's number one, presented some of it's current as well as forthcoming models in an attractively designed pavilion called 'Planet Bajaj'. The display was the work of Elephant Design, the highly-sought-after Pune-based design studio, and provided a fitting showcase for the numerous new products Bajaj plans to launch over the next couple of years. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">The centre of attraction was the Kawasaki-derived and much-awaited 175 cc four-stroke Eliminator. The cruiser-styled Eliminator features lots of chrome. A five-speed gearbox and a front disc brake add to its desirability.</font></p> Publication - Business India Date: December 13-26, 1999 http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=76<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Publication - Business India <br /> Date: December 13-26, 1999 <br /> Featured in 'Businessman in the News' </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The elephant is over the moon! Pune-based Elephant Design has just bagged contracts to set up the exhibits for three biggies in India's automobile industry - Maruti Udyog, Bajaj Auto and the Kalyani Group - for the forthcoming AutoExpo 2000. &quot;It is very exciting to work with the best minds in the industry,&quot; says the design consultancy's director Sudhir Sharma. &quot;It's also a learning experience on how the industry will look in the new millenium.&quot; Elephant Design, which earlier conceived and set up the Bajaj Auto pavilion at AutoExpo 1998, has not only retained the country's premier two-and three- wheeler manufacturer's account but added two more feathers to it's cap with the accounts of the biggest carmaker and a leading engineering group with a major presence in automobile forgings, hydraulic brakes, and other components. The AutoExpo motor show, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry, is scheduled to be held in New Delhi in January 2000. </font></p> Publication: Times of India - Pune Times Date: November 6, 1999http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=77<p><font face="Tahoma, Courier New, Courier"> Publication: Times of India - Pune Times <br /> Date: November 6, 1999</font></p> <p align="justify">News Item</p> <p align="justify">Prime Accounts for Elephant Design City based design consultancy</p> <p align="justify">Elephant Design has bagged two top accounts for AutoExpo 2000 - Maruti Udyog and Bajaj Auto.</p> <p align="justify">Organized by CII, AutoExpo 2000 is among the most prestigious auto shows in Asia. It is scheduled to be held in New Delhi from January 12 to 18.</p> Publication : Pune Mid-day Date : 23 Oct 1999http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=78<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Publication : Pune Mid-day <br /> Date : 23 Oct 1999<br /> Shriram Shinde </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Capturing Changing Urban History</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Nobody has realized that Pune has always been on the brink. It was a disaster that helped it revive everytime.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The disastrous floods of 1961 helped in it's resurgence.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Recently developed colonies like Kothrud and Bibwewadi have been gifted by these floods. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Jaymala Diddee, an urban geographer, and Samita Gupta, an urban historian were speaking about their joint venture Pune, Queen of Deccan. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">They have captured the changing urban history of Pune in this first of its kind book, expected to be on the stands by November end. The desire to compile a historical details of Pune was always in Gupta's mind.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">She has been teaching history at Nowrosjee Wadia college since she came to Pune in 1978. Incidentally, she met Diddee, who was thinking on the same lines.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Tremendous leg work, many interviews and a lot of conceptualization resulted in a perfect compilation of the long and checkered past of the three and a half centuries of Pune.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Sandesh Bhandare's photographs have made the product all the more attractive.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot;It is not a scholarly publication,' Diddee quips. &quot;We have made it as simple and readable as possible so that tourists and students should like it, along with academics and researchers,&quot; she adds.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">'It was difficult to explain the history or geography of a city in a readable form , but the output is satisfying,' Gupta says.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Long sessions with history scholars, hours of scanning through records in the Archeological Society of India's office, the Pune Daftar, the Council hall...along with other such sources and meetings with common people who could provide information went into making the book, Gupta says.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Taking pictures of modern Pune was efficiently handled by Bhandare. Obtaining photographs of old Pune took extra effort.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot; I remember calling up a senior citizen, who perhaps was the only one in the city to have a rare picture of the 1961 floods. He willingly gave it to us with instructions to return the picture after scanning, so that it can be lent to anyone in the future,&quot; Diddee said.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Having compiled a lot of interesting information, it was a big task reducing it to fit into 200-odd pages, along with an equal number of pictures and about 30 maps.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Diddee and Gupta still have a lot of information, not included in the book. It is likely to appear in a sequel.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">And this time, it is going to be a scholarly publication targeted mainly at academicians and researchers.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Meanwhile, their first product will be converted into a compact disc, information of which will be placed on the Internet.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The first attempt by urban researchers to understand the city's intricate urban pattern happens to be the first publication venture of Elephant Design, one of the country's premier design consultancies.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">&quot;Entering the field of publication is a logical forward integration for Elephant Design,&quot; said Sudhir Sharma, the director. <br /> Pune, Queen of Deccan is a tribute to the city of Pune, from where the company has made its mark since its inception in 1989, he added.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Priced at Rs. 1500, the publishers have announced a pre-publication offer for bulk bookings, aimed at a corporate buyers.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">However, marketing of the book does not bother he authors. They are more occupied conceptualizing their next venture. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Both are once again busy compiling data to present he history of Maharashtra and Pune through maps. </font></p>Brand Planet Elephant’ (BPE) Launches In New Delhihttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=82<p>&nbsp;</p> <p align="center"><strong>Elephant Strategy + Design Expands To New Markets And New Domains. &lsquo;Brand Planet Elephant&rsquo; (BPE) Launches In New Delhi.</strong></p> <p align="center"><font size="2">In the media&nbsp;</font>&nbsp;: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.afaqs.com/perl/news/index.html?sid=21704">www.afaqs.com/perl/news/index.html</a></p> <ul> <li><em><strong>Brand Planet Elephant is a first of its kind integrated brand solutions enterprise in the country </strong></em></li> <li><em><strong>It brings together industry experts from three domains: Brand and Marketing Strategy, Advertising &amp; Communication and Strategic Design &amp; Innovation </strong></em></li> <li><em><strong>To offer new age innovative, integrated, multi-disciplinary brand solutions for clients </strong></em></li> </ul> <p><strong>New Delhi, July 21, 2008:</strong>&nbsp;</p> <p align="justify">Elephant Strategy + Design, a pioneering design practice firm in India today jointly announced a strategic expansion in the formation of a new entity - &lsquo;Brand Planet Elephant&rsquo; (BPE) with its first office in New Delhi. This announcement marks a new era in the domain of brand stewardship in India as it aims to offer a host of multi-disciplinary brand solutions for its clients under this newly formed entity.</p> <p align="justify">Announcing this latest initiative, <strong>Ms. Ashwini Deshpande, Director, Brand Planet Elephant, said,</strong> &quot;As founders of the oldest and largest independent design company; we were often asked by our clients and the industry at large, as to why we do not offer advertising solutions as well. While entering the advertising space would have been a natural move for us; we believed that we needed to offer services that were more than what the conventional definition of advertising suggested. Brand Planet Elephant is an outcome of getting those specialized skills together in addition to Elephant&rsquo;s knowledge &amp; experience of brands &amp; design across diverse domains. Brand Planet Elephant will be the new age consulting company that provides communication strategy through focused trans-media solutions. &quot;</p> <p align="justify">The principal aim of the new entity Brand Planet Elephant is to offer brands a host of integrated solutions spanning specialist verticals like brand and marketing, advertising, brand and corporate identity development and integrated brand experience - all seamlessly managed and serviced by a single entity.</p> <p align="justify">&quot;Brand ecology is blurring the edges of specializations. This is so evident in international award programmes like Cannes this year; this blurring is bound to create outfits like &lsquo;Brand Planet Elephant&quot;. Brands of tommorow need simple but world-class ideas that requires coming together of such masters. It is a new thought and we hope it will push the envelope for businesses of our clients like Elephant Strategy + Design did in last 19 years. It is a bold idea and early adoptors to embrace this philosophy will discover the light which only a higher state of knowledge can bring, said <strong>Mr.</strong> <strong>Sudhir Sharma, Director, Elephant Strategy + Design</strong></p> <p>Since its start in 1989, <strong>Elephant Strategy + Design</strong> has helped create confidence in Industry to use design as a tool for change. Elephant has created some of the best-known Indian Brands and is a preferred partner for global companies such as Unilever, P&amp;G, Nissan, Henkel, Britannia, Bajaj Auto, Kirloskar Group, Commonwealth Games Federation, Titan, Symphony, Nirlep, Bilcare and Panacea Biotec. With a combination of specialized skills, knowledge, innovation and passion, Elephant&sup1;s segment expertise spans healthcare, information technology, banking, FMCG, house wares, consumer &amp; industrial products and transportation. Elephant also devotes considerable time and energy towards not-for-profit projects that support community, development and environment conservation efforts.</p> <p><strong>Mr. Anjan Roy, Director, Brand Planet Elephant </strong>elaborates on the alliance &quot;This is the first time that brands doing business in India will have a partner with multi-discipline skills instead of discreet companies. At Brand Planet Elephant, strategic advisory, communication and the design &amp; transformation domains are all being led by specialists. Over the last 3 years we have observed brands having a primary need in these core areas&quot;.</p> <p>&quot;Having worked with over two dozen communication companies across product categories over the last decade, I felt that the time has come for new ventures, such as Brand Planet Elephant, that understand the rapidly evolving brand economy landscape and exist with the sole purpose of positively impacting businesses&quot;<strong> Mr. Shouvik Roy, Director, Brand Planet Elephant</strong> further added<strong>.</strong></p> <p align="justify">Elephant Strategy + Design is also a key partner in The Design Alliance (a collaborative network of Asian design specialists working towards developing corporate identity and business transformation projects in the Asian region) and RKS Design, California. <br /> <br /> Key Contacts:</p> <p align="justify">1. Sudhir Sharma, Director Elephant Strategy + Design: +91 98903 66644</p> <p align="justify">2. Ashwini Deshpande, Director Brand Planet Elephant: +91 98220 94362</p> <p align="justify">3. Shouvik Roy, Director Brand Planet Elephant: +91 98112 24227</p> <p align="justify">4. Anjan Roy, Director Brand Planet Elephant: +91 98106 08116</p>‘Brand Equity’ names Elephant as one of the best ‘Design Specialist Agency’ in Indiahttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=88<p>&lsquo;Brand Equity&rsquo; puts Elephant Strategy + Design on its list of Top 10 Design Specialist Agencies.</p> <p>&nbsp;<em>&ldquo;This is good news. Elephant has always done No1 work for our clients. We never do average or No2 work. We are seen as a main resource to growth.&rdquo;<br /> </em><font size="1">Says Sudhir Sharma &ndash; Founder Director and Principal Designer, Elephant Strategy + Design.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="1"><font color="#ff6600">Download.</font><a style="text-decoration: none" onclick="window.open(this.href,'','resizable=yes,location=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=yes,status=no,toolbar=no,fullscreen=no,dependent=no,width=600,height=600,status'); return false" href="/Portals/0/Brand Equity.pdf"><font color="#ff6600">Brand Equity.pdf</font></a></font></p>Director and COO of Elephant Strategy+Design, Sudhir Sharma, has been invited to join the prestigious panel of jury members at AdFest 2009 in Pattaya, Thailand. Sudhir will be the jury on the Design Lotus & Print Craft Lotus judging panel.http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=89<p><img style="width: 558px; height: 86px" height="74" alt="" width="488" src="/Portals/0/Adfest.jpg" /></p> <p>Director and COO of Elephant Strategy+Design, Sudhir Sharma, has been invited to join the prestigious panel of jury members at AdFest 2009 in Pattaya, Thailand. Sudhir will be the jury on the Design Lotus &amp; Print Craft Lotus judging panel.</p> <p>He was invited to be a jury at the inaugural Design Lions at the very glamorous Cannes Festival last year.</p> <p>Commenting on this invitation as the jury for the AdFest 2009, Sudhir says, &ldquo;Two things are getting recognition simultaneously, Design and India. Design is becoming mainstream in business environments and India can no longer be ignored. I am glad that I am representing India at such beginning of recognition for Design at Festivals around the world&rdquo;.</p> <p>Sudhir graduated from National Institute of Design (India) in 1989. He co founded Elephant Strategy + Design with other NID friends.</p> <p>As India's first and the largest independent integrated design consultancy, Elephant Strategy + Design has played a pivotal role in establishing the business of design in India since 1989. Recent recognitions include nomination as India's Best Design Company (by Brand Equity ET), Asia Star award for packaging excellence &amp; 3 ReBrand International awards.</p> <p>Sudhir's recent work includes leading design teams to strategise and execute the branding and look work for the 3rd Commonwealth Youth Games 2008 in the city of Pune.</p> <p>His pro bono work includes visualizing the city branding for Pune and initiating a full programme without any commissioning. This is a unique example of city branding in the world.</p> <p>Last year Sudhir was invited for a workshop at Bellagio, Italy by Rockefeller Foundation for arriving at business models for design companies &amp; NGOs to work together.</p> <p>Sudhir recently attended a full-day &quot;innovation charrette&quot; as part of the ongoing Sustainability for Tomorrow's Consumers project for the &ldquo;World Economic Forum&rdquo; as an Expert.</p> <p>Sudhir believes that Sustainability, Environment and CSR are the basic deliverables of design business. He has taken to the passion of photography seriously again after a gap of 20 years.</p> <p>AdFest 2009 will be held at Pattaya, Thailand between 19th of 21st March 2009. For more information AdFest 2009 visit <a href="http://www.adfest.com">www.adfest.com</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <hr /> <p>&nbsp;</p>Ashwini speaks as a ‘Lifestyle Guru’ on CNBC Awazhttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=92<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font size="2">Color is an effective tool that can be used to attract and create impact. We respond to colors instantly as they create the first impression on our minds.</font></div> <p><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%"><font size="2">Ashwini is on Asian Paints style leaders Colour Next panel. On CNBC she spoke about the color trends for the year 2009</font></span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RGsOHCi6u6A&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" width="480" height="295" scale="ShowAll" loop="loop" menu="menu" wmode="Window" quality="1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></p> <p><hr /> </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>It is a world class management magazine with a mission to update its readers on the latest thought provoking strategic ideas from experienced world class managers, academics and consultants from across the globe.http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=94<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Sudhir writes about the Elephant journey so far, touching upon various situations that Elephant faced right from the thought of starting a design office to having a full fledge multidisciplinary design consultancy. </font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"> <p><font face="Verdana" size="2">The Smart Manager is India&rsquo;s first world class management magazine with a mission to update its readers on the latest thought provoking strategic ideas from experienced world class managers, academics and consultants from across the globe. </font></p> <p><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><a style="text-decoration: none" target="_blank" href="/Portals/0/Smart Manager - Sudhir.pdf">Download pdf</a></font></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <hr /> </div>Britannia Pure Magic packaging designed by Elephant awarded the AsiaStar 2008 Award http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=95<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Britannia Pure Magic packaging designed by Elephant Strategy + Design won the AsiaStar 2008 award for packaging excellence in consumer products category. This category winner is based on maximum emphasis on graphic appeal. Other criteria for the winning entry are structure, use of material and quality of production. </font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"> <p><font face="Verdana" size="2">Apart from giving acknowledgement, recognition and encouragement, the award recognizes teamwork between Britannia, Elephant Design &amp; Parksons.</font><font face="Verdana" size="2">&nbsp;</font></p> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><strong>About Asian Packaging Federation</strong><br /> <span style="color: black">The APF, a non-profit organization, established in Tokyo, Japan, in 1967, unites the packaging interests of all trade and industries in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, under one co-operative umbrella. </span></font></font></div> <div style="line-height: 125%"> <p><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black; line-height: 125%"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The objective of the federation is to enhance cross country co-operation among all packaging-related bodies, covering a gamut of subjects like training &amp; education, package development, environmental aspects, law and regulations. The APF Secretariat rotates among the member countries and is currently situated in Thailand.</font></span></p> </div> <p><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black; line-height: 115%"><font face="Verdana" size="2">About Elephant Strategy + Design</font></span></strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black; line-height: 115%"><br /> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Elephant Strategy + Design is a 19 year young premier strategy and innovation company, recognized worldwide for creating unique brand experiences. Elephant is also one of the largest / one destination design companies (from product strategy to implementation) with a strength of over 75+ professionals and multi-disciplinary projects across several emerging markets around the world.</font></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%"><font face="Verdana" size="2"><a style="text-decoration: none" target="_blank" href="http://www.elephantdesign.com/Default.aspx?TabID=92&amp;CsID=22&amp;CstID=5">Case Study</a></font></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%"><font face="Verdana" size="2"><hr /> </font></span></p>He was also invited to speak on a talk show 'What's Up'http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=96<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <p><img height="375" width="500" alt="" src="/Portals/0/OutPut2.jpg" />&nbsp;</p> <p><font face="Verdana" size="2">Ashish Deshpande was invited to be part of an international jury panel of eminent designers &amp; academicians from Germany, USA and The Netherlands, to judge the :output awards 2009, which is organised by output foundation which conducts one of the largest design competitions for students worldwide to foster new talent and initiate innovation projects by connecting education, economy, politics &amp; culture.<br /> <br /> </font></p> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Verdana" size="2">As part of this event, Cultuur Fabriek, an organisation based in Amsterdam dedicated to promoting creativity and innovation through platforms created by linking professionals on the basis of their knowledge and experiences organised a talk show &ldquo;What&rsquo;s Up &ldquo;. &ldquo;What&rsquo;s Up&rdquo; on 16^th. night show cased an interesting dialogue between jury panel and the audiences.<br /> <br /> </font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Ashish spoke on this unique platform about the level of design activity in India, trends in design, challenges and opportunities with in India. He spoke of his love for seeking design intervention for masses and the future of design.&nbsp;<br /> </font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <p><font face="Verdana" size="2">What Up? the international jury on this talk show : Laurent Lacour (communication design) , lector Santiago Piedrafita (communication design) of the university of North Carolina, Ashish Deshpande (industrial design) from India and professor Florian Pfeffer (communication design) from the Netherlands.</font></p> <p><font face="Verdana" size="2">This special evening concerning design of global level was moderated under the guidance of Jorgen Tjon A Fong.</font></p> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <hr /> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><font face="Verdana" size="2">&nbsp;</font></p> </div>Elephant revamps Britannia Bourbon and Lacto Calamine brands - Exchange 4 mediahttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=99<p>Exchange 4 media carried an article on the Britannia Bourbon and Lacto Calamine, two brands revamped by Elephant</p> <p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.exchange4media.com/e4m/news/fullstory.asp?section_id=1&amp;news_id=34723&amp;pict=7&amp;tag=30027">Read the article</a></p> <p><a target="_blank" href="/Portals/0/Bourbon &amp; Lacto Calamine story.pdf">Download pdf</a></p>Elephant Strategy + Design bags ReBrand 100 Global awards for 4th time in rowhttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=100<p><img height="70" alt="" width="600" border="0" src="/Portals/0/dna title copy.jpg" /></p> <p>&nbsp;<img height="392" alt="" width="600" border="0" src="/Portals/0/DNARebrandnews.jpg" /></p>Elephant directors Partho & Ashwini to speak at ‘AsiaMeets” event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=102<p>&nbsp;</p> <p><font face="Verdana" size="2"><strong>The Design Alliance</strong><br /> </font><font face="Verdana" size="2">The Design Alliance (tDA), founded in 2001, is a collaborative network of Asian<br /> design thinkers and consultancies with associates in 11 Asian countries.<br /> tDA undertakes design, cultural, educational, publishing and community projects<br /> and is well positioned to assist organizations in the creation, implementation and<br /> management of design programmes throughout the Asian region.<br /> This is the first tDA meeting in Malaysia. </font></p> <p><font face="Calibri" size="3"><br /> <font face="Verdana" size="2"><strong>AsiaMeets</strong><br /> </font></font><font face="Verdana" size="2">The tDA AsiaMeets is a series of presentations where each country representative<br /> highlights recent developments in design and innovation, lifestyle trends and<br /> influences, or key projects in their respective countries.<br /> This session is open to invited guests who participate as observers, with a Q&amp;A<br /> session towards the end. It will take place at Royal Selangor Visitor Centre.</font></p> <p><font face="Verdana" size="2"><a style="test-decoration: none" onclick="window.open(this.href,'TheDesignAllianceAsiaMeets','resizable=yes,location=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=yes,status=no,toolbar=no,fullscreen=no,dependent=no,width=600,height=600,left=100,top=150,status'); return false" href="/Portals/0/tDA_AsiaMeets_Invitation 2.pdf"><img height="279" alt="" width="239" border="0" src="/Portals/0/Picture 6.png" /></a></font><font face="Verdana" size="2"><br /> <a style="text-decoration: none" onclick="window.open(this.href,'TheDesignAllianceAsiaMeets','resizable=yes,location=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=yes,status=no,toolbar=no,fullscreen=no,dependent=no,width=600,height=600,left=100,top=150,status'); return false" href="/Portals/0/tDA_AsiaMeets_Invitation 2.pdf"><font color="#000000">Download PDF</font></a></font></p>Ashwini Deshpande on 2010 ReBrand100 global awards juryhttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=105<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 9pt">Ashwini Deshpande, director, Elephant Strategy + Design has been selected as a part of the 2010 ReBrand100 jury panel from India.</span><span style="font-size: 9pt">&nbsp;</span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><br /> <span style="font-size: 9pt">The ReBrand100 global awards identify the best case studies from around the world by Anaezi Modu and her team based in Rhode Island, and aim to provide recognition for excellence in brand repositioning. Those eligible to enter include global organizations, Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, entrepreneurs, non-profit organizations, cities, and universities.</span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">&nbsp;</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 9pt">Having been bagged the prestigious award four times in a row, Team Elephant is delighted for Ashwini been selected as a part of 2010 ReBrand 100 Jury panel.</span></div> <p><span style="line-height: 115%; font-size: 9pt">More Info: <a style="text-decoration: none" target="_blank" href="http://www.rebrand.com/2010-juror-ashwini-deshpande">http://www.rebrand.com/2010-juror-ashwini-deshpande</a><br /> <br /> <span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><a style="text-decoration: none" target="_blank" href="http://www.campaignindia.in/news/2009/09/23/ashwini-deshpande-on-2010-rebrand100-global-awards-jury">http://www.campaignindia.in/news/2009/09/23/ashwini-deshpande-on-2010-rebrand100-global-awards-jury</a></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> </span></span></span></p>Go Mechanical Charger, finalist at the International Spark Awardshttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=111<div><em>About Spark awards</em>: <span>Spark Awards is an exciting competition created to promote great design and designers and encourage people to explore their creativity. The c</span><span>ompetition is created to support multidisciplinary, multicultural, global, and aspirational design for all. <span>The international awards recognize great design at a range of levels. </span></span></div> <p><a style="text-decoration: none" target="_blank" href="http://sparkawards.com/Galleries/09_Entries.htm?appid=2406">http://sparkawards.com/Galleries/09_Entries.htm?appid=2406</a></p> <p><img alt="" width="432" height="334" src="/Portals/0/GMC 2.jpg" /></p> <div><em>About Go Mechanical Charger</em>: &nbsp;Go-Mechanical charger is a <span>portable mobile-phone battery charger that works on mechanical movement, generating enough power to charge a phone anytime, anywhere without the need of electricity. Idea Forge, a startup formed by IIT alumni developed the technology. Studying user ergonomics &amp; behavioral patterns, team Elephant designed the product around a rolling and handcranking mechanism that could be used with a single hand even while the user is talking, thus increasing utility of the product. To keep costs down, team Elephant designed the product with a minimum number of parts, which aided the young company in lower break even time. The product has also been awarded Plasticon Award 2009 in &lsquo;Innovative Product Award&rsquo; category &amp; is featured on International Council of Societies of Industrial Design&rsquo;s website.</span></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <p><a style="text-decoration: none" target="_blank" href="http://www.icsid.org/news/year/2009_news/articles753.htm">http://www.icsid.org/news/year/2009_news/articles753.htm</a></p> The Newspaper: The Observer Times Dated: 28 February 2000http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=73<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> The Newspaper: The Observer Times<br /> Dated: 28 February 2000 </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana"><br /> A decade of satisfaction for Elephant Design</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">A decade is not a long period for a business organisation to boast of its performance. Yet, for Elephant Design, it has been a decade of trials, and tribulations, frustrations and satisfaction. The Pune-based private limited company has crossed a turnover of Rs 2 crore, again, may not be a big deal at a time when almost every other entrepreneur talks of a multi-million dollar business in IT sector. Yet not jealous of such entrepreneurs. <br /> <br /> For the five graduates of Ahmedabad's National Institute of Design (NID), who set up the ED, these ten years have been a period of great satisfaction. Satisfaction to have successfully run a outfit, which can legitimately claim to be India's largest Design Consultancy in corporate world. This success is significant in Indian business environment where designing a product was not considered a specialisation that is vital for business. Even now, most corporate houses opt to import designs from aboard and copy them for products and services meant for Indian consumers. Yet, as Ashwini Deshpande, one of the five directors of the company, avers the situation is fast changing particularly because of multi-nationals have entered the scene during the last few years. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Domestic industrialist have realised that design does not involve a mere cosmetic look of the product, but it is some thing which needs to be considered right from the strategic planning stage for largest customers. Ten years ago, when these dreamy-eyed NID graduates - Sudhir Sharma, Gargi Sharma, Ashwini Deshpande, Ashish Deshpande and Partho Guha- left Ahmedbad to land in Pune, they had no godfather, no funds and no idea on how to go about their career plans. They had only grit and determination to mark in the field. Each of them had a different perspective about designing, and even now they believe this is how it ought to be, like the story of the elephant and five blind men. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Outcome of their determination and dedication was a turnover of Rs 9 lakh in the first year, among their first assignments being a redesign of a magazine Hotel and Food Service Review, which was rechristened Professional Food Service. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Ten years down the line, the ED has grown into a multidisciplinary design team with operation areas of corporate identity programmes, strategic design for branding, packaging print and publications, exhibition design, interactive CD-ROM presentations, retails standardisation programmes and product design. And their clients include such leaders as Mercedes-Benz, ICICI, Bajaj Auto Ltd, Symphony Comfort Systems, Thermax Water Treatment Division, Escorts Pune National Games and Kirloskar Briggs Stratton, Core Health Care, Kalyani Group, Mapro Foods, German BASF, Praj Industries, Indo German Investment Promotion Project and Nirlep. Ashwini said interaction with Bajaj Auto had been a very satisfying experience as the team worked with the auto major for its 'Planet Bajaj' exhibition last January. The layout and design of the exhibition won accolades from who's who of the design and auto fields. Similarly. ED's design for car leader Maruti's exhibition left a mark. She would, however, like everyone to notice how the ED evolved retail standardisation of Bajaj Auto's show room. A meticulously documented manual was prepared after extensive study of the show rooms of Bajaj Auto dealers across the country. The ED evolved a generic design and prototype showrooms that were approved by the company. All the 600 Bajaj Auto dealers in the country would soon offer nearly identical showrooms designed for customer convenience and comfort. A touch screen display unit placed at such a show room to answer customer's queries has emerged as an effective aid also for training sales staff. Similar prestige job the ED carried out was for ICICI, which needed generic design for its investor service centres. The ICICI centres coming up in 300 cities in India will bear a stamp of ED's concepts of creativity and functionality of design. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Ashwini said ED had established its reputation in the field of industrial product design as well. Its Peritoneal Dialysis Machines and Electronic Powder Coating Machines designed for Thermax Surface Coatings Ltd, or Geysers and Coolers for Ahmedbad's Symphony have been received well by the industry and end users. She insisted that the ED had stopped going out in search of clients for its services, since potential customers have begun approaching the team on its own for the last five years . She agrees that ED had not been able to make a major foray into Industrial product design for automotive industry in this city, described as India's Detroit. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">This in spite of ED's long relationship with Bajaj Auto, The auto makers, it seems prefer to trust designers in Japan, Italy or Australia, rather than the sons (and daughters) of the soil. She is confident that this attitude of the automakers like Bajaj, Kinetic, Telco and others elsewhere in the country will change in the near future. This should help not only ED but other design firms in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, or Culcutta. The ED is now set to expand its activities. Its 31 member staff will soon move on to new premises at Bawdhan, on the western outskirts of the city. The 3,000 square feet bungalow has a picturesque backdrop of Green Hill, which she believed, would spur creativity and will induce the designers to come out with brighter ideas for ED's customers. The company has now invested Rs 60 lakh for infrastructure that includes new software and hardware and has its own web site: http://www.elephantdesign.com </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Among the company's plans are to set up branch offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore in the near future. It has begun offering multimedia and Internet-related services to continue to remain a leader among the design consultancy firms that offer multidisciplinary services to the industry. We five founders of the ED have been successful mainly because we have as a policy decided to accept an assignment only if it is exciting and only if we would be able to provide value addition to the client's products, Ashwini said. </font></p>28th Sept. 2008 Campaign Indiahttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=84<p align="center">&nbsp;</p> <p align="center"><a style="text-decoration: none" onclick="window.open(this.href,'','resizable=yes,location=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=yes,status=no,toolbar=no,fullscreen=no,dependent=no,width=600,height=600,status'); return false" href="/Portals/0/Page 11 Media 2 Double Standard.pdf"><font color="#000000">The complexities of revamping brand identity&rsquo; &ndash; download pdf</font></a></p> <p align="center"><a target="_blank" href="/Portals/0/Page 11 Media 2 Double Standard.pdf"><img style="text-decoration: none" height="863" alt="" width="600" border="0" src="/Portals/0/Page 11 Media 2 Double Standard.jpg" /></a></p>Elephant Strategy + Design & npk design of Netherlands have formed a strategic partnership. Both believe design helps organizations discover distinctive value that enables them to achieve strategic advantage. http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=98<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"> <p><font face="Verdana" size="2">Elephant Strategy + Design &amp; npk design of Netherlands have formed a strategic partnership. Both believe design helps organizations discover distinctive value that enables them to achieve strategic advantage.</font></p> <p><font face="Verdana" size="2"><img style="width: 491px; height: 190px" height="171" alt="" width="478" src="/Portals/0/directors photos.jpg" /></font></p> <p><font face="Verdana" size="2">This partnership will provide both the firms an opportunity to learn, exchange and share knowledge, skills, cultures &amp; ideas. This will help in strengthening the common goal of providing best of the practices in design and innovation to organizations world over. </font></p> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The Dutch government strongly believes in the value of design and has been working towards Indo- Dutch design collaboration for past few years. The partnership MoU between Elephant Strategy + Design and npk design will be signed on 11th Feb 2009 in the presence of&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The Minister for Foreign Trade - Mr. Frank Heemskerk </font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The Ambassador of the Netherlands to India&nbsp;- Mr. Bob Hiensch,</font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The deputy Head of Mission -&nbsp;Mr. Jeroen Roodenburg.</font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The Dep. Director General Foreign External Relations&nbsp;- Ms. Ria Westendorp,</font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The Consul General of The Netherlands - Mr. Hans Ramaker,</font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana" size="2">The Cousellor for Science &amp; Technology - Mr. Theo Groothuizen,</font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana" size="2">along with 6 other delegation members.&nbsp;</font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><strong><font face="Verdana" size="2">About Elephant Strategy + Design</font></strong></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Elephant Strategy + Design is a 19 year young premier strategy and innovation company, recognized worldwide for creating unique brand experiences. Elephant is also one of the largest / one destination design companies (from product strategy to implementation) with a strength of over 75+ professionals and multi-disciplinary projects across several emerging markets around the world. Elephant has helped in creating and building brands for Bajaj Auto, Bilcare, Britannia, Commonwealth Games Federation, Kirloskar Group, Nissan, Nirlep, P&amp;G, Panacea Biotec, Symphony, Unilever etc.</font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.elephantdesign.com/"><font face="Verdana" color="#ee6f10" size="2">www.elephantdesign.com</font></a></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><strong><font face="Verdana" size="2">About NPK Design </font></strong></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><font face="Verdana" size="2">npk design is an International design agency; a strong partner in the development, design, and realization of extremely diverse products for the brand and market of its clients. In addition to strategic advice on design, other services provided by npk are industrial design, public design, graphic design, engineering and supply management. Some of the many companies with whom npk design has worked include ABN AMRO, Airbus, Honeywell, Heineken, Siemens etc.</font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"> <p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.npkdesign.com/"><font face="Verdana" color="#003366" size="2">www.npkdesign.com</font></a></p> <p><font face="Verdana" size="2"><strong>In News</strong></font></p> <p><a style="text-decoration: none" href="http://www.afaqs.com/perl/news/story.html?sid=23302"><img style="width: 105px; height: 22px" height="64" alt="" width="144" src="/Portals/0/afaqs logo.jpg" /></a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="text-: none" target="_blank" href="http://elephantdesign.com/Portals/0/DNAnpk.pdf"><img style="width: 69px; height: 26px" height="93" alt="" width="144" src="/Portals/0/DNAnpk.jpg" /></a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://elephantdesign.com/Portals/0/Indian Express.pdf"><img height="25" alt="" width="144" src="/Portals/0/Indian Express.jpg" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <hr /> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> </div>Ashwini Deshpande, participated in Copenhagen Co’creation : Designing for Change 09http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=103<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">The Danish Design Association&nbsp;gathered&nbsp;twenty-five of the most recognized leaders, experts and practitioners in the world concerning co-creation for an exclusive inaugural summit, Copenhagen Co&rsquo;creation Summit in Copenhagen on August 29 &amp; 30.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"> <p>Ashwini Deshpande, Director at Elephant Strategy + Design&nbsp;was invited to join the summit, to bring in the perspective of an expert from the emerging markets. <a style="text-decoration: none" target="_blank" href="http://www.copenhagencocreation.com">www.copenhagencocreation.com</a></p> <p><img height="288" width="527" border="0" alt="" src="/Portals/0/AshwiniCocreation.JPG" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> </span></div> Publication : Pune Mid-day Date : 20 October, 1999http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=79<p><font size="2" face="Verdana"> Publication : Pune Mid-day <br /> Date : 20 October, 1999 </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">News Item</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Coffee -table book on Pune to be released soon.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Elephant Design, the country's premier design consultancy has ventured into publishing, with its first book, Pune, Queen of Deccan.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The 200-page coffee table, hardbound book is an extensive information store with the city's pictures and maps.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">The book is an attempt by urban researchers to understand the city's intricate urban pattern. I deals with the long and checkered past of three-and-a-half centuries of Pune until now, when it has come to be recognized as the foremost information technology city of the country.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Eminent academicians of Pune, Dr. Jaymala Diddee and Dr. Samita Gupta, have authored the book, while Sandesh Bhandare has shot the pictures.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Sudhir Sharma, director, Elephant Design, said that the book is excellent value as it has been thoroughly researched and beautifully produced, thereby making it an ideal gift.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">While the authors have put in years of research, Elephant Design has utilized special skills and technology to ensure that the book is of international standards.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Priced at Rs. 1500, the book will be in bookshops by November. A special pre-publication offer for bulk bookings aimed at corporate buyers can be availed up to October-end. </font></p> Publication : Times of India- Pune Times Dated: 24 Oct 1997http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=80<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana">Well, well, Puneites are really going places, in this case as far as the Emeralds isle. Elephant Design (ED), the design studio that we featured in Pune Times not so very long ago , prepared a CD presentation on India- its infrastructure, culture , heritage and design tradition , for the Indian Institute of Interior Designers (IIID) , which was bidding to hold an international covention in India in 2003. The presentation was made to IFI members in Ireland and guess what , India won the bid ! So , the IFI convention will be held in this country for the first time.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana">The Elephant Design presentation which went a long way to clinch the deal was ready in just 10 days and was in an interactive format that could be seen linearly as well . Charles Correa, Vishwas Lele, Conard Gonsalves and Ramesh Daswani was some of the big guns from Indian architechure sphere who were present. ED will be preparing a presentation to be made every two years on the progress of the programme planning. And that's progress for Pune too. <br /> <br /> <br /> </font> <font size="2" face="Verdana"><span class="style1">Publication : Times of India- Pune Times </span><br /> <br /> Dated: 24 Oct 1997 </font></p>Elephantversity Institute of Innovationhttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=81<div align="left"> <p><strong><font face="Verdana">Elephant Launches country's First Institute of Innovation, Elephantversity Institute of Innovation</font></strong></p> <p><font face="Verdana"><strong>Pune, July 18, 2008</strong> &mdash; Elephant Strategy + Design today announced the launch of India&rsquo;s first innovation institute &ndash; <strong><em>Elephantversity Institute of Innovation</em></strong>. The institute is offering a one year executive program in Innovation. The program has been created in response to increasing industry need for trained Innovation Leaders. </font></p> </div> <div align="left"><font face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></div> <div align="left"><font face="Verdana">&ldquo;Innovation is a very easy to learn process for smart individuals&rdquo; said <em>Sudhir Sharma</em>.</font></div> <div align="left"><font face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></div> <div align="left"><font face="Verdana">Offered alternate week-ends over one year duration, it is intended for participants who want to continue their full-time careers during the course of study. Participants will emerge from the program with a toolkit of strategies for leading Innovation in their respective organizations. The program comprises of six modules viz. user research, analysis, ideation, co-creation, prototyping and Innovation &amp; business.</font></div> <div align="left"><font face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></div> <div align="left"><font face="Verdana">The program is intended for mid-career professionals from any branch such as engineering, management, human resources, marketing, finance or any domain such as software, pharmaceuticals, engineering industry, electronics industry, etc. Eligibility includes an undergraduate degree and at least two years of high-level professional work experience. </font></div> <div align="left"><font face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></div> <div align="left"><font face="Verdana">The program is facilitated by <strong>international faculty</strong> with truly outstanding knowledge and experience. Our faculty is a combination of experts from industry and academia, faculty from various nationalities like Poland, Denmark, Germany, France, USA, Brazil, Korea. Faculty members from organizations like Oracle, McKinsey Consulting, Sapient Corporation, Continuum, SAP, INNOVATIKA, Novo Nordisk, institutions like INSEAD, Stanford D.School, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Aalborg University, British Columbia Institute of Technology, will be teaching at this program.</font></div> <div align="left"><font face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></div> <div align="left"><font face="Verdana"><em>Says Ashwini Deshpande</em> &ldquo;At Elephant Design we have been inspiring organizations to innovate and transform using design process. Elephantversity is a medium of translating our experiences into structured program.&rdquo;</font></div> <div align="left"><font face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></div> <div align="left"><font face="Verdana">The institute has developed a result-oriented curriculum drawing from its own experiences and with the help of an international advisory board. Each member of the advisory board has been part of a global business success story. </font></div> <div align="left"><font face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></div> <div align="left"><font face="Verdana">The institute has two important associations viz. Industry Association with Confederation of Indian Industry &ndash; CII and Academic Association with International Design Business Management Program, Helsinki, Finland.</font></div> <div align="left"><font face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></div> <div align="left"><font face="Verdana">&ldquo;Participants of this program will help organizations - improve product quality and differentiation, offer global-best products and services, improve business efficiencies, productivity and margins, increase revenues and achieve higher market share and accelerated growth&rdquo; says <em>Hrridaysh Deshpande</em>.</font></div> <div align="left"><font face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></div> <div align="left"><font face="Verdana">Additional information about the program and applications can be found at </font><a href="http://www.elephantversity.com/"><font face="Verdana">www.elephantversity.com</font></a><font face="Verdana">. &nbsp;</font></div> <div align="left"> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><font face="Verdana">Contact</font></strong></p> </div> <div align="left"><strong><font face="Verdana">Hrridaysh Deshpande</font></strong></div> <div align="left"><strong><font face="Verdana">Director - Elephantversity</font></strong></div> <div align="left"><font face="Verdana">+91 9922402750</font></div> <div align="left"> <p><a href="mailto:hrridaysh@elephantversity.com"><font face="Verdana">hrridaysh@elephantversity.com</font></a><font face="Verdana"> </font></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div>Relay Baton is a symbolic "mashal" which will relay the message of Commonwealth Youth Games 2008http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=83<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">&nbsp;<br /> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt">Also check <a onclick="window.open(this.href,'CommonwealthYouthGamesRelayBaton','resizable=yes,location=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=yes,status=no,toolbar=no,fullscreen=no,dependent=no,width=600,height=600,status'); return false" href="http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20080726/860/ttc-unique-baton-relay-to-start-commonwe.html"><font color="#000000">in.news.yahoo.com/43/20080726/860/ttc-unique-baton-relay-to-start-commonwe.html</font></a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt">Relay Baton is a symbolic &quot;mashal&quot; which will relay the message of Commonwealth Youth Games 2008 throughout its spirited journey from &nbsp;Delhi to the 2008 games City of Pune. The Baton is conceptualized, designed &amp; created by Elephant Strategy + Design, India&rsquo;s pioneering design &amp; innovation consultancy that has also designed the identity and livery for the games.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">According to CYG organizing committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, this is the first ever baton relay in the history of the Commonwealth Youth Games</span></strong><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt">.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt">Concept</span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"><br /> <strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">&ldquo;Relay Baton signifies the unified spirit of Youth through a&nbsp;journey that will pass through 200 towns and villages inspiring the younger and senior generation of India and the Commonwealth World.&rdquo; Says Sudhir Sharma, Director, Elephant Strategy + Design.<br /> </strong>The Baton will spread the message of &quot;Green Games&quot; by symbolically collecting water samples from all the 200 towns it passes through spreading the message of conservation of natural resources, importance of clean water, growing trees and preservation of ecology by launching &nbsp;&quot;Save the Tiger&quot; campaign.<br /> The water collected during the 70 day long journey of the baton will be used on the inaugural day to enrich a symbolic &quot;Garden of Life&quot; in the host city of Pune.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"><br /> <strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Inspiration<br /> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;</span>&ldquo;2008 Baton design signifies the pride of &quot;Puneri&quot; heritage, the host city. Elephant design team was inspired by the traditional Puneri &quot;Tutari&quot;, a curved wind instrument used as an auspicious trumpet of announcement to create the sleek form of Baton.&rdquo; Says Ashish Deshpande, Director, Elephant Strategy + Design</strong>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>The Baton towards the top takes the fluid upward profile of copper leaves carrying forward the &quot;Green Games&quot; theme.<br /> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Craft<br /> </strong>Elephant team was keen on utilizing local craft for the baton.<br /> The unfurling leaves at the top and the &quot;Mooth&quot; (grip) band at the bottom are crafted in copper by craftsmen artists from &quot;Tambat Ali&quot; area of Pune old city.<br /> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Design<br /> </strong>The body of the 2008 Relay Baton is tubular hollow which acts as womb for a copper capped container, which is used to collect water from the various towns. The relay runner can easily remove this container to fill water. The lid cap of the tube sports the Pune and CYG 2008 logo.<br /> The body bears intricate patterns symbolizing Green Games.<br /> The 2'-5&quot; high Baton stands erect on a Docking Base which promotes &quot;Save the Tiger&quot; campaign.<br /> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Manufacturing<br /> </strong>The Baton has been produced with a fusion of traditional craft and high technology, much in synch with the Pune region that boasts a rich cultural heritage in tandem with high technology manufacturing base, a befitting decision by the design team again&hellip; . The Baton tube uses the latest technique of digital design to get precision. The Baton is 720 mm in height and weighs 1kg 200gms <br /> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">The Baton &amp; Message<br /> </strong>The silver and copper tipped Baton embodies both the spirit of the Games and the essence of its host city Pune. It creates an iconic beacon without burning any fuel or flame. It educates people on the concept of &quot;Eco Friendly - Green Games&quot; campaign. The Relay Baton 2008 will provide a unifying spirit for the 80 participating nations and their sporting youth.<br /> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 21.0pt">Elephant Strategy + Design</span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 21.0pt"> is a strategic design and innovation consultancy that partners with organizations to transform them into dynamic, profitable and meaningful entities. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt">With a combination of specialized skills, knowledge, innovation and passion, Elephant&sup1;s domain expertise spans healthcare, information technology, banking, FMCG, house wares, consumer &amp; industrial products and transportation.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 21.0pt">Housed in a mini-campus at Pune, this team of 80+ design &amp; innovation thinkers has been the pioneering spirit for behind the profession of design in India.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 21.0pt">In 2006, Elephant was approached by the Commonwealth Games Federation to design the Commonwealth Youth Games identity, look &amp; livery for the forthcoming 2008 games event.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 21.0pt">After unveiling the identity, icons, mascot &amp; the visual language, Elephant team initiated and designed programmes such as Green Pune, Team Pune and Festive Pune that make the event more meaningful.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 21.0pt">Relay Baton designed by team Elephant is being launched on August 1^st to mark the beginning of Games&rsquo; relay.</span></strong><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: #bf0000; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt">&nbsp;</span></strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><o:p><a style="text-decoration: none" onclick_fckprotectedatt=" onclick=&amp;apos;amp;apos;amp;apos;amp;apos;quot;window.open(this.href,'CommonwealthYouthGamesRelayBatonStory','resizable=yes,location=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=yes,status=no,toolbar=no,fullscreen=no,dependent=no,width=600,height=600,status'); return false&amp;apos;amp;apos;amp;apos;amp;apos;quot;" href="http://elephantdesign.com/Portals/0/Elephant%20baton.pdf"><font color="#800000">** The Baton Story</font></a>&nbsp;(pdf)</o:p></span></p>‘Go Charger’,the compact mechanical mobile charger designed by Elephant, wins the Plasticon 2009 awardhttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=90<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">&lsquo;Go Charger&rsquo; ,the compact mechanical mobile charger designed by <strong>Elephant Strategy + Design</strong> , won the Plasticon 2009 award organized by Plastindia Foundation . Go Charger won the award in &lsquo;Innovative Product Award&rsquo; category. The award recognizes the effective and innovative use of plastic along with creativity in design, user-friendliness, cost-effectiveness and recyclability. The award ceremony was held in Delhi on 4^th February 2009</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"> <p><span style="color: black">&ldquo;This award justifies that there is enough scope to develop products for the segment at the bottom of the pyramid&rdquo;</span> says Ashish Deshpande, Practice Head &ndash; Product Design and Founder Director, Elephant Strategy + Design.</p> <p><font color="#ff9900">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /> </font>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.plasticsnews.com/china/english/headlines2.html?id=1235177410&amp;storycat=100&amp;q=Go+charger"><img style="width: 91px; height: 23px" height="64" alt="" width="160" border="0" src="/Portals/0/plastic news logo.jpg" /></a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.icsid.org/news/year/2009_news/articles753.htm"><img style="width: 35px; height: 27px" height="49" alt="" width="55" border="0" src="/Portals/0/IDAlogo.jpg" /></a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="/Portals/0/DNA.pdf"><img style="width: 45px; height: 23px; text-decoration: none" height="73" alt="" width="150" border="0" src="/Portals/0/DNA.jpg" /></a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a target="_blank" href="/Portals/0/FE.pdf"><img style="width: 239px; height: 26px; text-decoration: none" height="62" alt="" width="377" border="0" src="/Portals/0/FE.jpg" /></a></p> <p> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td>&nbsp;</td> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </p> </div> </div> <p><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9sZeH5P9y-M&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" width="425" height="344" scale="ShowAll" loop="loop" menu="menu" wmode="Window" quality="1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></p> <p><hr /> </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>One of the missions at Elephant is to expand our knowledge base by establishing strategic alliances with progressive partners around the world. http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=97<p><font face="Verdana" color="#49443f" size="2">One of the missions at Elephant is to expand our knowledge base by establishing strategic alliances with progressive partners around the world.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> </font></p> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <p><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: #49443f"><font face="Verdana" size="2">In&nbsp; </font><a href="http://www.dcontinuum.com/"><strong><span style="color: #df6e2a; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Continuum</font></span></strong></a><font size="2"><font face="Verdana">, a highly respected design and innovation consultancy with offices in Boston, Milan &amp; Seoul, we have found the partner with common vision.</font><br /> </font></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: #49443f"><font size="2"><img height="181" alt="" width="531" src="/Portals/0/continuum with ele_team.jpg" /></font></span></p> <span style="font-size: 11pt; color: #49443f"> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: #49443f"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Continuum and Elephant share a belief in the value of design. Both firms believe that design can help drive business success and that it is an essential contributor to the creation of value for economies, businesses, citizens and society. </font></span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: #49443f"><font face="Verdana" size="2">&nbsp;</font></span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: #49443f"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Continuum and Elephant will use this partnership to: educate, share a cross cultural understanding of ideas and processes, assess emerging opportunities together and provide thought leadership on design&rsquo;s ability to enact economic and social change.</font></span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: #49443f"><font face="Verdana" size="2">&nbsp;</font></span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: #49443f"><font face="Verdana" size="2">About Elephant Strategy +&nbsp; Design </font></span></strong></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: #49443f"><font face="Verdana" size="2">&nbsp;</font></span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: #49443f"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Since its start in 1989,<strong> <a href="http://www.elephantdesign.com/"><span style="color: #df6e2a; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none">Elephant Strategy + Design</span></a></strong> has helped progressive Indian Industry to use design as a tool for change. Elephant has created some of the best-known Indian Brands and is a preferred partner for global companies such as Unilever, P&amp;G, Nissan, Britannia, Bajaj Auto, Kirloskar Group, Commonwealth Games Federation, Titan, Symphony, Nirlep, Bilcare and Panacea Biotec. With a combination of specialized skills, knowledge, innovation and passion, Elephant&sup1;s segment expertise spans healthcare, information technology, banking, FMCG, house wares, consumer &amp; industrial products and transportation. Elephant also devotes considerable time and energy towards not-for-profit projects that support community, development and environment conservation efforts.</font></span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: #49443f"><font face="Verdana" size="2">&nbsp;</font></span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: #49443f"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Contact: </font><a href="mailto:sudhir@elephantdesign.com"><strong><span style="color: #df6e2a; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Sudhir Sharma</font></span></strong></a><font face="Verdana" size="2">, Director</font></span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: #49443f"><font face="Verdana" size="2">+91 98903 66644</font></span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: #49443f"><font face="Verdana" size="2">&nbsp;</font></span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Verdana" size="2"><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: #49443f">About Continuum </span></strong></font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Verdana" size="2">&nbsp;</font></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: #49443f"><a href="http://www.dcontinuum.com/"><strong><span style="color: #df6e2a; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none"><br /> <font face="Verdana" size="2">Continuum </font></span></strong></a><font face="Verdana" size="2">is a design and innovation consultancy that helps turn ideas into realities. Through exhaustive investigation and user research, Continuum undertakes a deeply immersive role in a client&rsquo;s businesses to formulate design and brand strategies that are both fiscally sound and consumer relevant. Since 1983, Continuum has created meaningful design for companies worldwide including American Express, Andersen Windows, Procter and Gamble, BMW, Master Lock, Moen, Samsung, Johnson &amp; Johnson. Continuum has offices in Boston, Milan and Seoul.</font></span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: #49443f"><font face="Verdana" size="2">&nbsp;</font></span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: #49443f"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Contact: </font><a href="mailto:kemberley@dcontinuum.com"><strong><span style="color: #df6e2a; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none"><font face="Verdana" size="2">Kerry Emberley,</font></span></strong></a><font face="Verdana" size="2"> Communications Director</font></span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: #49443f"><font face="Verdana" size="2">617-928-9582</font></span></div> <p><hr /> &nbsp;</p> </span></div>Ashwini Deshpande spoke at Mercatique 09, the marketing seminar at XIM, Bhubaneswarhttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=115<p>Ashwini Deshpande was invited to speak at the Mercatique&rsquo;09 series by XIM, Bhubaneswar on 10th October 2009. In an interactive session full of discussions, she presented three case studies that showcased the role of design in branding, product development &amp; retail spaces.</p> <p><a style="text-decoration: none" target="_blank" href="http://picasaweb.google.co.in/ximb.photostream/BrandingSessionByMsAshwini"><span>http://picasaweb.google.co.in/ximb.photostream/BrandingSessionByMsAshwini#</span></a></p>Elephant Director, Ashish Deshpande interviewed by www.pacakagingconnections.comhttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=93<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt"> <p><font face="Verdana" size="2">Packaging Connections is a portal which acts as a single point source for everything connected to packaging directly or indirectly.</font></p> <p><font face="Verdana"><font size="2">Click on the link to read the interview<br /> <span style="font-size: 10pt"><a href="http://www.packagingconnections.com/interview/mr-ashish-deshpande-founder-director-principal-designer-elephant-strategy-design.htm">http://www.packagingconnections.com/interview/mr-ashish-deshpande-founder-director-principal-designer-elephant-strategy-design.htm</a></span></font></font></p> <p><font face="Verdana" color="#000000"><span style="font-size: 10pt"><a style="text-decoration: none" target="_blank" href="/Portals/0/Packaging Connections - interview.pdf">Download pdf</a></span></font></p> </div>The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (icsid) is a global not-for-profit organization that promotes better design around the world.http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=101<p><span style="font-size: 11pt"><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2">The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (icsid) is a global not-for-profit organization that promotes better design around the world. Today, Icsid counts over 150 members in more than 50 countries, representing an estimated 150 000 designers.<br /> </font></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 11pt"><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2">Icsid members are professional associations, promotional societies, educational institutions, government bodies, corporations and institutions, which aim to contribute to the development of the profession of industrial design. <br /> Elephant Strategy + Design &nbsp;was accepted as icsid corporate member since 2008. <br /> </font></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 11pt"><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2">For Member Spotlight: <br /> </font></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 11pt"><font color="#000000"><a style="text-decoration: none" onclick="window.open(this.href,'ICSIDNewsArticle','resizable=yes,location=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=yes,status=no,toolbar=no,fullscreen=no,dependent=no,width=600,height=600,status'); return false" href="http://www.icsid.org/feature/current/articles838.htm"><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2">Read the article</font></a></font></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 11pt"><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><a style="text-decoration: none" target="_blank" href="/Portals/0/MEMBER SPOTLIGHT.pdf">Downloalad PDF</a></font></span></p>Elephant Directors featured in ‘The A List’http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=104<p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Campaign India has released 'The A List', a guide to who's who in Indian media, marketing &amp; advertising. The list features professionals who create brands, grow brands, create the communication, run media houses, get the brand messages to the consumer &amp; enable the wheels of economy to keep turning and basically have the power to change things for better. Elephant being the pioneering force in Indian design business, it is not surprising that Partho, Ashish &amp; Ashwini have been featured in this hand-picked list of who's who.</p> <p>&nbsp;<img height="375" width="250" alt="" src="/Portals/0/A List.jpg" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>Ashish Deshpande invited to join the global dream team at CLEAR Village Lab, Barcelona.http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=112<div>Ashish Deshpande was invited to join the global dream team at CLEAR Village Lab, Barcelona for co-creating groundbreaking sustainable village.</div> <p>CLEAR Village Foundation based in The Netherlands aims to develop and share sustainability led living solutions by bringing together leading figures from a variety of disciplines starting 5th November 2009 at Barcelona, Spain. The Foundation&rsquo;s collaborative design project is to construct a real life CLEAR Village with a sustainable future. The &lsquo;village scale&rsquo; of the project will address growing need for sustainable mid-sized developments to revive rural and semi-urban areas and will aim to involve innovative technologies and services to let people experience the future of living.<br /> The first ever CLEAR Village Lab will be hosted at The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain. IAAC is a latest-generation education and research centre dedicated to the development of architecture to meet worldwide challenges in construction of habitability.<br /> The intention of this initiative is not to build a &lsquo;perfect place&rsquo;, but rather to foster a dynamic, living community which embraces principles, technologies and forms of governance that allow for a more sustainable future of living and can provide a benchmark for other communities to follow.<br /> A &lsquo;dream team&rsquo; of 100 leading professionals from complementary domains across the world is being assembled to produce a replicable blueprint for a village. <br /> <strong>Ashish Deshpande, Director, Elephant Strategy + Design</strong> was invited to be a part of this &lsquo;dream team&rsquo; to bring in his perspective on sustainable living practices in the developing world as well as share his experience of creating products &amp; ideas for communities from India &amp; other emerging markets. <br /> For more information on CLEAR Village,&nbsp;<br /> check <a style="text-decoration: none" target="_blank" href="http://www.clear-village.org/">http://www.clear-village.org/</a></p> <p><img alt="" width="223" height="110" src="/Portals/0/clear village.png" /></p>Ashwini Deshpande conducted a session on portfolio making at National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Vashihttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=113<p>Ashwini Deshpande conducted a session on portfolio making for the final semester students of Fashion Communication at NIFT, Vashi on 21st October 2009. She spoke about what an employer expects to see in a physical or online portfolio.</p>Britannia Nutrition Foundation identity launchhttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=114<p>&nbsp;Elephant Team was privileged to create the visual identity for Britannia Nutrition Foundation, an independent, autonomous, non-profit initiative to address the issue of child nutrition. Britannia Nutrition Foundation will work proactively to secure &ldquo;every child&rsquo;s right to growth &amp; development&rdquo; through catalyzing thought &amp; action that drives meaningful nutrition agenda. Vinita Bali, Managing Director of Britannia Industries Limited launched this initiative on 12th October 2009 at a seminar on nutrition in New Delhi, India.<br /> <img alt="" width="432" height="409" src="/Portals/0/BNF Final logo.jpg" /></p>Ashwini Deshpande spoke at the India International Coffee Festivalhttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=116<p>Ashwini Deshpande was invited speak on role of brand &amp; design in coffee promotion at the India International Coffee Festival on 9th October 2009 at Bangalore. She spoke on four distinct areas: 1. Branding, 2. Brand Communication, 3. First Moment of Truth for the consumer, 4. Branded; all with out of box, game changing examples.</p> <p>Over 350 delegates from India &amp; overseas attended the presentation that ended as a vibrant &amp; interactive session.</p> <p><img alt="" width="137" height="145" src="/Portals/0/cofee.png" /></p>Partho Guha Interviewed by AEC Worldexpohttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=117<p>Partho Guha was interviewed by AEC Worldexpo &amp; Conferences portal. Find out more from the video section of this link <a style="text-decoration: none" target="_blank" href="http://www.aecworldexpo.com/sites/eoffices/website/361/index.html."><span>http://www.aecworldexpo.com/sites/eoffices/website/361/index.html</span>.</a></p>Elephant Design has been rated one of the top three design agencies in the Economic Times Brand Equity Agency Reckoner, 2009 for the 2nd consecutive yearhttp://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=120<div><font size="2" face="Verdana">Elephant Design has been rated one of the top three design agencies in the Economic Times Brand Equity Agency Reckoner, 2009 for the 2nd consecutive year. </font></div> <div><font size="2" face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></div> <div><font size="2" face="Verdana">The criteria for the ranking Design specialists in the survey were:</font></div> <div><font size="2" face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></div> <div><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><span>1.<span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span>Type of Creative and Strategic solutions</font></font></div> <div><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><span>2.<span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span>Interpretation and solving brand problems through effective use&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; of design</font></font></div> <div><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><span>3.<span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span>Providing solutions across design spectrum</font></font></div> <div><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><span>4.<span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span>Quality and Talent of people</font></font></div> <div><font size="2" face="Verdana">&nbsp;</font></div> <div><font face="Verdana"><font size="2"><em>About ET Brand Equity Agency Reckoner</em>: ET Brand Equity Agency Reckoner is the annual ranking on the nation's most admired ad agencies, design houses, media agencies, etc. The reckoner is an Initiative of Economic Times, India's most respectable, reliable &amp; progressive financial newspaper.&nbsp;</font></font></div> <p><span><font size="2" face="Verdana">The Brand Equity Agency Reckoner 2009 was unveiled to an august gathering of the Who&rsquo;s Who from the ad and media agencies and production houses in India.</font></span></p> <p><span><font size="2" face="Verdana"><img border="0" width="500" height="649" alt="" src="/Portals/0/Brand Equity Design co ranking_16Dec09.jpg" /></font></span></p>DNA newspaper’s List of 9 Newsmakers of 2009 is out! Read about Ashwini here http://elephantdesign.com//DesktopModules/Elephant/enduser/elephant_newsdetailpopup.aspx?newsid=121<p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Design introduced change in the city, with the founder-director and principal designer of Elephant Strategy and Design </font><span><font size="2" face="Verdana">Ashwini Deshpande &nbsp;being called to join the jury of the ReBrand 100 Global Awards in the US. Her team is the most-awarded Indian design house at the event with five recognitions in the past four years for Bajaj Auto, Unilever Breeze, Electronica, Panacea Biotec and Britannia Pure Magic. <br /> Deshpande has joined the panel for the 2010 awards. Pune has a lot of scope as far as design is concerned as the city houses some of the best talents, Ashwini feels.<br /> </font></span></p> <p><span><font color="#000000" size="2" face="Verdana"><a style="text-decoration: none" target="_blank" href="/Portals/0/ARTICLE - DNA - 31.12.09.pdf">Download Article</a></font></span></p>