C STRATEGY + DESIGN
www.elephantdesign.com Elephant Design Pvt. Ltd.13, Kumar Shrushti, Bavdhan, Pune 411021 India Tel/Fax : +91 20 229 51055 +91 20 22951059 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or used by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy or recording on any other information storage or retrieval system, without the written permission of Elephant Design Pvt. Ltd Designed and published by Elephant Design Pvt. Ltd First Edition: 2013 Printed at :
Object Story
We chose objects which influenced us. The journey of ‘Elephant’ is about many choices we have made over the years. Each object has an engaging history and a moral to learn from. We share these ‘objects’ & their strong linkages which have shaped our past and present. Partho Guha Ashwini Deshpande, Ashish Deshpande and others at Elephant
the story began way back in 1989
The first milestone
Ashish’s father had gifted a typewriter while we were in our first office. The typewriter cupboard was built into the wall. Our first employee was a typist. He would open the cupboard, pull out the typewriter and start typing. At least two members had to leave the room because there was no space for all of us. The typewriter maintenance technician was a perfectionist. He used to come for maintenance at a pre-decided day of the month and finish his job in exactly 7 minutes. All of us would watch him with lot of awe and appreciation. Elephant values professionalism in terms of using right person for right job. We strive for excellence in every job including documentation and office processes.
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We belong to the school of supremacy of handwork over computer-based design. The drafting board reminds us of devotion, patience and precision required in working with hand. It also signifies the importance of the hand drawn line as an imprint of designer’s personality.
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go
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Technolgy journey starting from slide projector to the first computer -PC 286 followed by Dot matrix printer and fax machine
One of us had got handsome remuneration for a design job abroad. We wanted to invest this valuable sum in buying something equally valuable. Thus we bought the slide projector. We also bought 286 PC with very expensive newly launched software, called coral draw. The cost benefit analysis clearly showed that we could not have recovered the cost of 2.5 Lakhs (only of Coral Draw). Unlike the industry practice we started developing our logos and other graphic work on the computer but we did not have a printer. We started taking the photos of the screen and made slides to project with the help of a slide projector. The slides brought a new life due to bright colors and finesse. It became an overnight hit. It also led to a substantial saving in time. This ingenious method became so popular that some of our clients requested us to convert their in-house presentations on the slides via the Coral Draw. This marked a step change in the journey of Elephant Design. The dot matrix printer gave a much needed relief .We could start printing the line drawings. Thanks to the coral draw the drawings were neater and geometrically proportionate. The artists would then paint these to create the final picture. This reduced the throughput time of the process. The output of the dot matrix printer was faxed to the client (we were early buyers of fax machine as well). The two-way faxing between us and the clients expedited the design approval process. The fax machine became the last mile connectivity device. Using the latest technology to enhance the capacities of Elephant Design is a matter of passion and principles. Going beyond the short-term cost benefit analysis, we believe in investing in resources to sharpen our edge.
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The Tektronix printer taught us a lesson- the hard way. Obsession with technology can be a mixed blessing. It needs to be supported with rational thought process.
Knowing our penchant for technology, one sales engineer managed to sell us a huge color printer from Tektronix, USA. We had the distinction of being the first buyer of this printer in India. We were mesmerized with the 3D printing quality and fresh colors, which substantially enhanced our designs. The printer became so famous that many of our clients and others used to come to elephant to make use of the printing facilities. Our honeymoon with the printer did not last for long. We discovered that there was no local maintenance and spares support. Every time there was a problem we had to call up the US office to arrange for the spares causing a huge time and cost overrun. Finally we decided to sell off the printer as a junk (we could not find any tech savvy buyer to take over this liability)
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sorry, no beige
iMac G3
In the year 1997, we had our first encounter with the Apple G3. It was an azure colored sexy looking Mac. We knew that most of the western design firms used Mac. Obviously we bought our first Mac.We discovered to our horror that most of the softwares were not compatible with Mac and largely it remained unused and became a showpiece. Thanks to ingenuity of our team members, we converted it into our central internet access centre. There was a queue to check emails. Mac also had very powerful speakers. We went on playing our only CD that time (by Bryan Adams) the whole day. Today, of course, Mac has become de facto standard for all machines in Elephant Design.
Sometimes we have overstretched ourselves in our enthusiasm for latest technology but possibly medium is the message. Mac has symbolized our desire to manifest our unrealized potential to match international standards.
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Our first office was in Shinde Ali – which is a densely populated area in the old city. It was an old building furnished with used furniture gifted by a well-wisher. We needed to create an inspiring atmosphere within the office to act as an antidote to the antiquated surroundings. We decided to paint the office and the furniture in purple. Though we have shifted to bigger and better office spaces we still cherish our urge to create inspiring workspaces in spite of resource constrains. It reminds us of our philosophy of doing more with less.
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Yellow Doors We shifted from one room office to a three-room apartment in the newly developed area of Navi peth. We needed to create more office like and distinctive look. Being a residential apartment it had many doors. We decided to paint them in bright yellow. We painted the external railing also in bright yellow. The yellow exterior possibly signified our desire to be distinctive and get noticed.
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When we moved to new office in Bavdhan it was difficult for clients to locate us, as our office was fairly non-descript. We painted the exterior of our building with black and white zebra stripes. Clients kept asking us the connection between elephant and zebra and we went on inventing the logics. For example: we want to combine the brains of an elephant (which has unattractive exterior) with dazzling façade of a zebra (which is not known to be a brainy animal) The stripes signify our struggles of establishing identity as a design firm-different from an ad agency.
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We were all young bachelors and had got bored of eating outside. We decided to create a make shift kitchen. We hired an office boy who had his own bicycle and was willing to learn cooking. Our time in office was more than our time at home and hence this kitchen became a unifying factor. We also had a convention that, anybody preparing food would share it with others. We were treated with delicacies like bread and omelette after we entered the office. Our work would start only after consuming the hot breakfast.
It is said that “A family that eats together, lives together�. The kitchen symbolized the source of nurturance and care. It was one of the many ways of creating a family feeling in the organization.
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We were taking part in exhibitions on behalf of our clients. The distances between the stalls were quite long. There was a company, which used to rent out mobile phones. Even at the cost of 16 rs per minute, we found that it was cost effective as it was saving lot of time and movement. This prompted us to buy our first mobile phone for the company. Unlike the pager, we found lot of use for the mobile phone for anyone going outside. Possession of mobile also added a sense of prestige, as it was a rare commodity even in the client organizations.We continued to use cost effective method like substantial use of ‘missed calls’! It is not the cost but cost benefit analysis which is more important for us.
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BIKE SCHEME
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We realized that, our office boys needed two wheelers because bicycling was becoming difficult. We were not rich enough to provide bikes to every office boy. We decided to give loans to office boys, to buy two wheelers, which they could repay in convenient installments. Ownership of the bike fulfilled the aspirations of the office boys. At the same time bikes became handy for more efficient office functioning. Creative solutions are possible in every aspect of business including employee welfare. Bikes represent the win-win approach in the organization.
Initially we had very few members in the company. As the numbers increased, we felt a need for creating some systems to ensure some kind of discipline. “Late note” was a form to be filled up by a latecomer and to be signed by his senior. The reasons given in the late note became funny and hilarious. “I got late because my husband asked for one more omelette” , “I was obstructed by a buffalo on the way“,“A long line of trucks seems to precede me when I leave for office“ were some of the reasons. However it did bring in some kind of awareness about the importance of time. “Late note” signifies our struggle for simultaneous well being of the self and the system. It is a tight ropewalk. We are finding our balance.
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When we moved to Bavdhan office , we used have a long table around which all of us used to sit to have food. As the numbers grew, we did not have the luxury to sit around the table.We designed a new piano shaped table so that all of us could stand around it.This table was made from recycled tetra pack material and was designed by Elephant’s designers.
The table is ecofriendly and it shows Elephants commitment to environmental issues. It serves as a place for bringing everybody together.
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In those days, user-friendly data transfer devices like pen drives or IP messengers were not available. We had developed a convention that every member would create a file named “truck folder� on the desktop. This folder would contain all documents, which were available for sharing to others. Truck se le le (take it from the truck) was a common conversation currency. Truck folder is yet another example of being innovative in using the technology.
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We felt the need for a space different than the office. This space would be close to nature and will provide different ambience for sharing, caring and learning. One day a plant vendor was passing by the office carrying saplings. The plant vendor, in his wisdom suggested that we could plant coconut trees all over the place,
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so that we could earn some money even when our design business does not do well. Thanks to our confidence in ourselves, we opted for planting coconut trees in limited area at the back of the office and we named it as Palm Beach.
It is a platform to build institution of Elephant as a co-created entity. A place to informally meet, share everything from food to gossips to insights.
THE ELEPHANT ROPE TRICK
Serendipity is a cousin of
creativity and we are open to chance discoveries and adventure. In our Pragati complex office, there was a long staircase without railings. Employees and customers alike felt afraid of walking up & down without the railing. For some reason we tied a strong nylon rope to the ceiling. People held on to that rope while going and coming, more as a psychological support. Slowly we found alternative uses for the rope. Our phone was downstairs and we used to sit upstairs. We started using the rope to climb down instead of using the staircase.
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Some of us had an opportunity to get international assignments. We started a convention that the visiting member should bring back a souvenir of the visited country and a box of chocolates. He/she would come back and make a presentation on the visited country – its culture and people. The souvenirs were exhibited on a long wall, which was behind our old reception of our third office. The novelty of visiting foreign countries has subsided but the convention of sharing new experiences continues…
We believe in knowledge sharing both formally and informally. It not only enriches the receiver but also the presenter. Everybody can’t personally experience everything but they can experience it through the eyes of other colleagues.
designer
pot fish For a long time we had cherished a dream of a fish tank in the office. This dream was realized when we shifted to Bavdhan office, we had a huge cement pot which we decided to convert into a fish pond. It became the centre of attraction for everybody. Every passer by would peep in the the fish pond to see that it is clean and well-maintaned. We deputed a security guard to ensure that the birds don’t eat the tiny fishes. Even blooming of a small lotus flower in the pond became a major internal communication coo. The fish pond also represents elephant on the facebook. The fish pond was painted in the same zebra stripes. Elephant values small joys of everyday living.
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When we moved from one room office to three-room office, we could not manage our newfound prosperity. After accommodating the office and kitchen, we were left with one room. We brought the board game of Scotland yard and laid it out on the table with a lamp hanging over it. During tea breaks and after office hours it attracted many of us to play together. The fun was not only in playing but also strategizing about the game and discussing the strategies vehemently. We intuitively knew the adage – all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. The games and entertainment provide one more way of engaging the team. It also breaks the monotony of work.
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We tou had on r Pre namen ce tak e m com ier L t that n par let t eag t p a o th in a lo the ny g ue a e cal g o a la t id m tea ms e, cre involve the IP ea of cricke iden etc L. T Elep t atin d in . me tities a There g, bidd desig he wh hant m o n cou bers nd na are six ing an ing th le me are e d nte t e s “wo r as i s. Un ams pon rules s m par The an” o ts. We mport like th with u oring of ant e n f h w iqu the t a I h in P the a v e spe ning te matc e “ma s thei L, wom e r n h cial en ly d am loo awar ” of th men Tho em esig ks f ds. u a o n g tch r ed EPL h w and cov ward t e ete op Som boug were d o ht u d s E e s i v PL e also emp ided s to trop ssing g lo rep i hy. orte yees ether a n diffe w r db ette ho be nd cre ent bu cam ated ildin r pe g rfor e ma hero enthus s nce es i i bac n EP asm. k at L wor k.
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Explore The objects
Delve
Deeper for intent
Live
The values
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