THE HANDOVER EXPERIENCE – DO CU MENTATION Ritika Srikumar Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology
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Documentation book by Ritika Srikumar Course: The Handover Experience Course Instructor: Yamini Temujin Srishti Institute of Art, Design & Technology Semester 1, August – November 2015 2
ABSTRACT – Create a hypothetical brand as a real estate developer operating within the Rs. 3-5 crore segment. Identify possible opportunities for intervention in the handover ceremony to enhance customer experience.
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PHASE 1
Brand Development
Design Brief
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Market Research
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Conceptualisation Phase I
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Review
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Primary Research
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Conceptualisation Phase II
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User Personas
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Customer Journey Map
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Areas of Engagement
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About the Brand: Raya
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Brand Philosophy
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Brand Values
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Brand Strategy
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Raya Sapphire
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PHASE 2
Individual Design Intervention
The Handover Experience
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Design Intent
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Research
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Conceptualisation
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Inspiration Mood Boards
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Type Specimen
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First Iteration
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Visual Language
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Tone of Photography
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Maps and Plans
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Print techniques
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Material Exploration
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Final Iteration
136
Reflections and Learning
150
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Phase I Brand Development
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DESIGN BRIEF – In groups of seven, create a hypothetical brand as a real estate developer operating within the Rs. 3-5 crore segment. Group: Medha Mistry, Shaan Shiv Suleman, Sanya Thakrar, Kaushika Nair, P. Sushma, Fahad Hussain, Ritika Srikumar.
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MARKET RESEARCH In order to create a fictional brand, it was essential to understand the current real estate market in India, identify trends and gaps in need in order to conceptualise a more inclusive, realistic brand. We used online resources and books to learn about the real estate market in India, the current trends in residential real estate, the most favoured cities, nature of buyers, costing, and amenities provided.
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1. Real Estate Sector in India 2. Real Estate in Bangalore 3. Brand Study 4. Location Trends 5. Logo Study 6. Newspaper Ad Study
We also researched and discussed various designthinking methods, looked into handover ceremonies undertaken in other sectors such as the automobile industry to have a better idea of the level of customer experience currently provided in the luxury segment.
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R E A L E S TAT E SECTOR IN INDIA The real estate market is a booming industry in India, with Bangalore being one of the most popular cities for investment in residential and commercial real estate. As we were unfamiliar with the real estate industry in India, we spent the first two weeks studying and analysing various sections of the market. The real estate sector is a booming market in the country, being the second largest employer after agriculture. With the growth of the corporate environment, there is an increase in demand for residential and office spaces. The sector is slated to grow at thirty percent over the next decade.
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The Indian real estate market is expected to touch USD 180 billion by 2020. The housing sector alone contributes 5-6 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
Mumbai is the best city in India for commercial real estate investment, with returns of 12-19 per cent likely in the next five years, followed by Bengaluru and Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR).
In India, real estate is the second largest employer after agriculture and is slated to grow at 30 per cent over the next decade.
Bengaluru is expected to be the most favoured property investment destination for NRIs, followed by Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai, Goa, Delhi and Dehradun.
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R E A L E S TAT E M A R K E T IN BANGALORE Bangalore has been the fastest-growing city of India since the past few decades. According to a study by ICRA, Bangalore is expected to be the most favoured property investment destination as it has a large base of high net worth individuals. Being the IT hub of India, Bangalore has a multi-cultural population with good social infrastructure, excellent educational institutes and constantly upgrading physical infrastructure. High-end property developers in Bangalore are all providing bestin class services in terms of amenities, quality and size. Competition has moved away from just selling a space, but to providing superior, distinctive experiences to it’s customers.
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IT has been the major growth driver and is responsible for aggressive real estate development in the city.
Bangalore is the third-largest hub for High Net worth Individuals. It is estimated to be home to over 10,000 individual dollar millionaires.
There has been increased demand for high-end residential apartments in the Central Business District, Secondary Business District, Whitefield, North Bangalore and Outer Ring Road sub-markets.
Villa and row house developments are most active in the North Bangalore, ORR, Sarjapur Road and Whitefield micro-markets.
High-end residential property buyers in Bangalore are very sensitive in terms of amenities, product quality and unit sizes.
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B R A N D ST U DY Once we understood the current trends in the residential real estate market, we began to identify the brands prevalent in the real estate sector in Bangalore. The following are the major brands identified: •
Total Environment
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Century
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Sterling
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Embassy
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Sobha Developers
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Prestige
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Brigade
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RMZ Homes
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Legacy
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Adarsh Developers
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BANGALORE MAP Mapping luxury residential real estate projects in the city to map location trends. Sobha
Brigade
Embassy
Legacy
Prestige
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LO G O ST U DY We analysed the logos of the brands we identified as our competition to identify possible patterns that current brands might follow. The following are general observations of all logos, followed by an in-depth analysis of logo elements of each brand:
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Most logos include a logo mark accompanied by a word mark
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The sun was a common element used in various ways to represent height
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Use of warm tones
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Use of royal colours such as gold and corporate colours such as black
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Typography included both serif and sans-serif typefaces
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All tag lines accompanying the logo focus on selling a lifestyle
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Most logos represent a scenery including skylines, water bodies and the sun
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SO BHA LIM I TED Passion at Work
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Attention to detail
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Use of golden ratio to denote balance
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The red dot is symbolic of being auspicious
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The colour yellow denotes energy and positivity
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CEN TURY
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Solidity and legacy
Thinking Ahead
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Futuristic approach
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Colour: red, blue and grey
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Spiralling spark reflects the brand’s acumen, dynamism and future thought
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M ANTRI DEVELO P ER S
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CEO’s signature
Turning dreams into reality
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Represents energy, enterprise
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Provide innovative design, investment value and matchless quality
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PRESTIGE G R O UP Add Prestige to your life
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Started as a tailoring business
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Moved business to real estate
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Imagery: falcon
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Represents ambition through flight
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STER L I N G DEV ELO P ER S
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Represents building blocks
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Heart shape
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Feeling of comfort
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Geometric
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B RIGA DE G R O UP
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Elegant typeface
For a better quality of life, upgrade to Brigade.
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Blue strokes-abstract form of a building
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Upturned ends represent growth
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Each stroke represents one of their values
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Yellow circle represents the sun- life giver, source of all energy
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DLF Building India
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Typeface represents strength and solidity of the enterprise.
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The pyramid is all encompassing in nature
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Represents cohesion, interdependence, support, foundation.
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N E W S PA P E R A D S T U D Y In order to understand these brands better, we compiled newspaper advertisements of different brands across a span of two months. The following are some observations and patterns we noticed during our study: •
Most of the slogans associated with the project focus on selling a lifestyle more than selling apartments/villas.
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The maximum number of real estate advertisements are released on the weekends. There is an increase in number of ads during festivals and holidays, especially during diwali as it is considered an auspicious time to buy property.
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Advertisements for luxury real estate projects are usually followed by luxury furniture advertisements.
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Most projects are based on themes to reflect the architecture and ambience of foreign countries.
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C O N C E P T U A L I S AT I O N : PHASE I From the two weeks of market research, we began brainstorming concepts and ideas for our hypothetical real estate brand.
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CONCEPT 1 Luxury | Smart Technology | Green Living Our first concept was based on providing customers with an all round experience of a luxurious lifestyle aided by smart technology, and yet be respectable and responsible to the environment through green living practices. The brand would focus on constructing highend automated homes under the price category of Rs. 4 crore and above. Our aim would not be to create just sustainable homes, but regenerative homes that can give back to the environment through technological advancements.
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REVIEW After our first session of peer review and feedback from facilitators Manasee Jog and Vijaykumar, we decided to re-look our initial idea as there were gaps in our research to support our concept. The following are some of the reasons due to which we concluded that our brand concept would not work in the market: •
The balance between luxury, green living and smart technology is critical. It would be difficult to attain that balance as each element opposes the other.
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Green living is not considered a luxury from the customer’s point of view. There are too many limitations on consumption of resources. Recycled material has less appeal, and is not considered to be luxurious even though it is equally expensive.
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Current green practices and smart technology available in India are not very efficient.
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Green living is expensive to install and maintain. Customers would need to pay more for similar or less features compared to other projects in the price category.
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Smart technology is a relatively new concept in India. There may not yet be high demand for this concept as there is high cost in installation, maintenance and learning how to use the system.
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Lack of awareness and interest of the customer towards green living and smart technology.
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From our field research, it is clear that current projects following similar concepts of zero waste green homes have not been successful enough for completion.
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PRIMARY RESEARCH For us to conceptualise a more realistic brand based on current needs of the market, we undertook field visits, consumer surveys and informal interviews with potential customers.
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FIELD VISITS As a group, we visited nine projects in and around North Bangalore that covered apartments, villas and plotted developments in the price range of 3 crore and above. We put together a set of questions about the property specifications and information about handover experiences and later compiled them to look for pattenrs and trends.
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Q UESTI O N S 1. How many of the projects fall into the luxury segment? 2. How much of the real estate growth results from this market? 3. What amenities does a buyer expect when he buys a property under this segment? 4. Do you have a handover ceremony after
completion? What does it include? 5. What is the intent of the handover ceremony in this context? 6. Is it done one-on-one or in a group? 7. What is the budget for an average handover ceremony? 8. Are customers interested in the idea of
smart homes? 9. Are buyers leaning towards villas or apartments? 10. Which takes precedence-space or location?
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INSIGHTS: SUMMARY
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From the field research conducted, we noticed that there was a trend moving towards north Bangalore due to proximity towards the airport and easy access to the city. Most buyers were top management officials, and a few NRIs. There was an equal demand for apartments and villas, with unit sizes ranging from 3,000 sq.ft to 10,000 sq.ft.
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INTERVIEWS During ideation, we discussed the idea of dream homes as a selling point in luxury residential properties. We first asked ourselves the question - “If you had all the money in the world, how would you envision your home?�. We then took this exercise outside to our friends, family, people on the streets and documented the variety of answers that we retrieved.
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CONSUMER SURVEY To better understand the current gap in needs and wants of customers in this sector, we prepared and published a consumer survey. The aim of the survey was to understand preferences of the buyer, familiarity and preference of current brands, lifestyle practices and their vision of their future home.
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SURVEY Q U EST IO NS 1.
Age
2. Occupation 3. Annual Income 4. What is your monthly electricity bill? 5. Where do you currently live? 6. What is luxury to you? 7. What are the amenities/facilities you need in your home or the community you live in? 8. How would you prefer to buy your home? 9. What type of housing would you prefer? 10. Where would you prefer to live? 11. List down your preferred furniture and fashion brands. 12. What is your favourite room in your house? Why? 13. What is the one thing you cannot do without in your home or community? 14. What kind of living would you favour? Green living vs. Smart technology 15. If you had all the money in the world, how would you envision your house?
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S U R V E Y: F I N D I N G S The following is a summary of the findings we compiled from our survey. The survey was taken by nineteen people from the age of 25-60 years. While most people stayed in apartments in a gated communities and independent bungalows, they did aspire to stay in an independent villa or a villa in a gated community someday. The findings show that people state they would prefer green living, but at the same time have a very high electricity bill to actually do so.
Age
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Annual Income
Electricity Bill
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What kind of house do you currently live in?
Where would you prefer to live?
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What type of housing would you prefer?
Green living vs. Smart Technology
GREEN LIVING
SMART TECHNOLOGY
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C O N C E P T U A L I S AT I O N : PHASE II Based on our primary research, we came up with a more informed concept for our brand that would cater to the consumer’s needs.
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adaptability diversity comfort royalty
established
interior group dedication craftsmanship luxury
finesse personalisation
class detail customisation creativity
tailor made design global
experience lifestyle
collaboration
culture
innovation
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CONCEPT 2 Personalised Luxury Our final concept was based on the idea of personalising luxury. From our research, we gathered that everyone has their own idea of what they consider to be luxury. ‘Luxury’ is anything excess of our needs, and every one of us has different associations to this idea. Most brands create large-scale projects with villas/apartments that all resemble each other. There is nothing personal to the home as they all look identical. Our brand would focus on each customer’s needs and tastes. The brand would tailor homes to suit the customer’s preferences through a team of interior designers. The customer could choose to personalise their homes in addition to the numerous options of plans initially provided to them.
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USER PERSONAS In order to strengthen our concepts for the brand, we created five distinct user personas to understand our potential customers. The user personas focus on the goals, tastes and behaviour of potential customers. We have included demographic and psychographic information in each example. We created a range of personas from the age of thirty five up to sixty five years with different backgrounds, professions and goals to cover all extremes of potential customers so we could address all their requirements while conceptualising the project.
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MRS. M I R A P R ASA D Age: 32 Hometown: Koramangala, Bangalore Occupation: Proprietor, Food delivery application. About: Mira Prasad started a successful food delivery app with her husband, Aman Prasad in Bangalore. They both graduated from the London School of Business Management in 2009. Currently living in central Bangalore, she is looking for a house away from the city as a getaway from the busy and stressful lives they lead. She’s a very ambitious and fashion conscious woman. They currently own two cars- a Volkswagen Polo and an Audi A4. Education: Business Management, London Reason for buying: To live in a nice house outside the busy city Interests: Cooking, baking, travelling, shopping, fitness Income: Rs. 1.4 crore per annum Goals: Growth of the app into the national market
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MR. D I V YESH AGA R WA L Age: 52 Hometown: Delhi Occupation: Managing Director, Amazon India About: Divyesh Agarwal currently lives in an independent bungalow in Delhi with his family. Despite his busy work schedule, he tries to make time to maintain a healthy lifestyle through regular morning walks and yoga. He currently owns three cars- a Jaguar XF, a Toyota Fortuner and a Mini Cooper D. Divyesh plans on moving to Bangalore in the near future as he believes Delhi is a very crowded and noisy city. He would like to live in a home away from the city. Education: IIT Delhi Reason for buying: Possible future retirement home Interests: Reading, golf, morning walks, squash Income: Rs. 4 crore per annum Goals: To secure his childrens’ future
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DR. M ATTH EW VA R G H ES E Age: 42 Hometown: Seattle, Washington Occupation: Cardio-thorasic surgeon About: Born into a lower middle-class family, Dr. Matthew Varghese had a very modest childhood. His father was a bank manager while his mother was a teacher in his school. Matthew worked really hard to earn a scholarship to study medicine at the University of Washington. Currently residing in Seattle, Matthew is in a relationship with Dr. Isabel Richards and they have a twelve year old son. Matthew loves to cook when he gets time away from the hospital and would like to open a restaurant after retirement. He is currently looking to buy his parents a good home in his hometown, Bangalore. Education: Medicine, USA Reason for buying: To buy his parents a house Interests: Travelling, cooking, reading, swimming Income: Rs. 6 crore per annum Goals: To open a restaurant after retiring
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MS . A LI A BH AV NA NI Age: 55 Hometown: Mumbai Occupation: Art Curator About: Alia is a well-known art curator who has galleries in Mumbai and Bangalore. She recently got divorced to her wealthy husband, business tycoon Nitin Raheja. She plans on using her alimony to invest in a house in Bangalore so it is convenient for her to manage both galleries. Alia is very well-connected and outgoing. She is currently in a relationship with a 28 year old model, Francisco Fedrizzi. She enjoys partying and drinking and spends most of her weekends playing poker with her friends. Alia loves shopping and is extremely brand conscious. She currently drives a BMW 5 series in Mumbai. Education: Art History, Parsons, New York Reason for buying: Move to Bangalore to open a new gallery Interests: Fitness, shopping, collecting antiques, poker Income: Rs. 70 lakh per annum Goals: To start a gallery in every metro city in the country
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MR. LI YAQ UAT H USSA I N Age: 65 Hometown: Indiranagar, Bangalore Occupation: Corporate Lawyer About: Mr. Hussain has been married to his wife for 35 years. She is a classical singer and they met at one of her shows. They have one son who is 30 years old and got married recently. He enjoys meeting his friends at the clubhouse and playing bridge, is a tech-lover and a social drinker. His son and is daughter-inlaw live with him and he wants to buy a big house for his whole family. He owns a Pajero and loves to go on long drives. Education: NLS, Bangalore Reason for buying: Family home outside the city Interests: Playing Bridge, watching cricket, listening to music Income: Rs. 2 crore per annum Goals: To live a relaxed retirement life with his family
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CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAP From the five user personas we created, we made a detailed map of their journey from the trigger to the final handover experience. We chose one of our personas to create the customer journey map - Mr. Liyaquat Hussain. We follow his experience from the trigger of noticing ads of the project to the buying process and the final handover ceremony after completion of the project. During the journey, we listed all possible events, emotions, conversations and questions that would come up to look at possible areas of engagement where we could intervene to improve the experience.
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TRIGGER
Passes billboard advertisement
Listens to radio advertisement
Notices newspaper advertisement
Recommendation from friends
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APPROACH BRAND
Visits website. Acquires contact number.
Calls to book appointment
Drives to site
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SITE VISIT
Contacts receptionist
Transferred to sales team
Visits experience centre
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Project overview
Visits model villa
FAQs with the sales team
Drives back home
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DECISION MAKING
Discusses visit with family
Discusses options with son
Compare options
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Family site visit
Further discussion as a family
Short-listing projects
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BUYING
Receives promotional material
Banking/financing
Selects one project
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Background Check
Buys the house
20% down payment
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C U S T O M I S AT I O N
Hires an interior designer
Customisation
Gets progress reports
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Occasion-specific gifts
Daughter-in-law gives birth to baby girl
Construction Completed
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HANDOVER
Snag list by management
Snag list by customer
Identifying and fixing problems
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Handover
Manuals and collaterals given
Move in
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AREAS OF ENGAGEMENT The following are possible areas of engagement identified after analysing gaps in the customer journey map. They are opportunities where we can improve customer experience through our design interventions.
P RINT MEDI A
D I G ITAL ME DIA
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Newspapers
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Video (brand)
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Billboard hoardings
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Audio (radio ads)
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Booklets and Brochures
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Online ads
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Magazines
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E-paper
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Newsletters
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Promo-sponsorship banners
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Communication material –
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Personal (birthday cards,
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R EA L E STAT E EX P O S
season’s greetings, etc)
Social Expos (through digital and
Progress Reports
print media)
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ABOUT THE BRAND Raya is a luxury lifestyle, interior
Craftsmanship is key at Raya. Our
and real estate brand that helps you
adaptability and our appreciation for
realize your dream home. We help you
diversity makes our work unique. Our
establish your mark on the world map.
focus on quality and attention to detail
Established in 1965 under the Mysore
has been the pillars of our success.
royal family, Raya started as a luxury
As a brand, we believe in appreciating
interior group. Along with boutique
and celebrating diversity around the
stores around the country, we also
world, in culture, creativity and design.
handled commissioned projects from
We pride ourselves in establishing
our esteemed customers including the
new frontiers, creating value through
royal family of Jodhpur, the Gaekwads
unparalleled quality and transcending
of Baroda and the Vijayanagara Empire.
our own boundaries.
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BRAND PHILOSOPHY Our sustenance comes from never ceasing
The success of our project overseas
to experiment, learn and be receptive
motivated us to provide the same
to the nuanced requirements of our
unrivalled living experience in India. Ever
esteemed customers. Through the years,
since, Raya’s goal is to be at the forefront
we have been constantly discovering and
of residential real estate development.
interpreting design languages and styles
During this time, we have strived to
from around the world. Our passion for
build a reputation for delivering the
diversity led us towards expanding our
highest quality properties in India and
reach into new sectors. While our interior
are now amongst South Asia’s leading
lifestyle brand established a strong market
developers.
position in the country, we advanced into the residential real estate sector. We were first introduced to the market through collaboration with Dubai-based developer, Damac Properties to successfully launch our first villa development in Dubai, Acropolis in 1995.
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Mood board: Raya, furniture brand 75
Raya celebrates the diversity within
custom exterior options, additional
people by designing and creating
customizable rooms, and tailored
homes that mould into the individual
amenities based on customer needs
needs of our esteemed customers. Our
and interests. As a leading luxury
background in interior craftsmanship
real estate developer, Raya strives
helps us relate to our customers’ tastes
to provide dream homes and unique
and design to their needs better. Raya
living concepts to customers from all
gives their customers the freedom
over the world.
to define their own luxury through a multi-layered customization process, including a team of interior designers,
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B R A N D VA LU E S T RUST With Raya, there are no asterisks tucked away and no hidden clauses in our legal documents. Due to the trust we build, our customers can rest easy knowing we will go the extra step in meeting all of their needs. To maintain this trust relationship, we strive to uphold our values and follow through on all our commitments.
DYNAMISM We strive to constantly improve customer experiences through innovation and understanding, with a focus on quality and transparency of processes. We work very hard to stay at the top of the game and bring world class standards of service right to your doorstep.
INNOVATI O N If there is an innovative way of doing something, we will find it. We are about finding newer ways of setting benchmarks. We aim to be creative, effective and efficient to help create personal, inspired, dream homes for our esteemed customers.
S OPHIST I CATI O N For over fifty years, we have been understanding and adapting to the nuanced tastes of our customers. Our experience in the foreign market has given us exposure into global tastes and aesthetics to provide superior services to our customers.
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B R A N D S T R AT E G Y Unique Insight Giving them the freedom to decide their own luxury.
Brand Positioning (Advertising Promise) Providing exceptional personalised homes at an emotionally enriching level.
Tone of Voice Warm and inviting whilst promising class and sophistication.
Expected Reaction from the Target Audience “I have never been offered this level of customisation before.�
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BRAND VISION Create personalised homes through refined craftsmanship, globally.
BRAND MISSION With the introduction of international standards through collaboration with global real estate brands, we are constantly challenging ourselves to exceed your expectations.
COMPETITION International brands that have started operating in India: Four Seasons Lodha - Armani 3C - Four Seasons Supertech - Armani Ireo - Hyatt
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Mood board: lifestyle, space, typography
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Type Location Status Size
Residential Villas BSF Campus, Doddaballapur Road Under Construction Type A: 4,500 sq.ft Type B: 6,000 sq.ft Project Area: 8 acres (348,480 sq.ft) 48,480 sq. ft (common Area - excluding Villa plots)
Developer Price Total Units Architect
Raya Rs. 7,000 per sq.ft. 50 T.N. Rao Architects
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ABOUT THE PROJECT Raya Sapphire is a luxury villa
disappear when you move into the
development in Doddaballapur, North
property. When you trust your home to
Bangalore. Consisting of fifty elegantly
Raya, you can be rest assured that your
designed villas, Raya Sapphire is home
property will be maintained with utmost
to some of the most successful people
care. Your home will be exactly how you
in the city. Spread across eight acres of
envisioned at all times, thanks to our well-
spacious landscape, Sapphire offers you
trained in-house housekeeping staff.
exquisitely crafted homes in the most peaceful environment money can buy.
Our background in furniture and interior
Our dedication to personalization gives
design helps us bring to life your
you the freedom to define your
dream home with tasteful interiors,
own luxury.
contemporary design and modern architecture. Each villa is adapted to the
With our globally acclaimed designers
needs and interests of the homeowner,
and architects focusing on bringing alive
to provide the perfect combination of
your dreams of luxury living, choosing
personalization, comfort and elegance.
your new home cannot get any easier.
We aim at unravelling each layer of the
Sapphire provides you with a luxurious,
customer’s personality and reflecting
personalized home at the new heart of
them in their homes. We don’t just build
the city. With close proximity to the airport
four walls, we build personal homes to
and major business parks and upcoming
celebrate our diverse customers, and
shopping centres, all your travel troubles
reflect their success.
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Location map: proposed site
RAYA SAPPHIRE
ADDRESS
BSF Campus, Yelahanka Airforce Base, Off Doddaballapur Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560064
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PROXIMITY
Bangalore International Airport: 20 mins Yelahanka Police Station: 15 mins Columbia Asia Hospital: 20 mins
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Phase II Individual Design Intervention
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DESIGN BRIEF – Within the scope of the brand developed, identify and work on an area of engagement to enhance customer experience during the handover ceremony.
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TIMELINE: HANDOVER CEREMONY N OT I F Y A ND IN V I T E C L IENT
PICK UP CLIE NT
OR GAN IS E P ICK U P A N D MOV E IN
PE RSONALISE D GIFTS
TO U R O F P R OP E RT Y IN B U G G IE S
INT ROD UCT ION TO STAFF
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W E LC OM ED BY SA L E S T E A M ON S I T E
RE FRE SHME NTS AT T HE E XPE RIE NCE CE NT RE
H OU S E VIS IT W IT H SAL ES EXECUTIVE
BRIE FING BY PROJE CT M ANAGE R
LU N C H AT TH E LO U N G E BA R
RE T URN HOME
Project brochure handed over to customer during briefing in the villa
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Design Intervention
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To create a project brochure to familiarize customers with systems and amenities offered within the house and the gated community. The project brochure would provide all necessary information for customers while moving into the property which would include technical specifications, information about the security system, house keeping services, amenities provided, emergency contact information, community policies, etc.
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DESIGN INTENT As a visual communication design student, my role in this project would be to enhance this experience provided through visual media. Communication design plays a vital role in providing any experience. It can be used as a tool to inform, educate, entertain and influence people. Through our customer journey map, I identified the following possibilities as design interventions based on my interests and skills: •
Newspaper ads
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Billboard hoardings
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Booklets, Brochures and Manuals
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Magazines and Newsletters
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Other communication material: progress reports,
season’s greetings, etc.
As the project focuses solely on the handover ceremony, I propose to create a brochure pertaining to the handover experience for this project. Through this brochure, I would look into how print media can be effectively used to support the USP (personalization) of the brand, and how it can be adapted to successfully resonate with each customer.
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Buying property and moving into a new home is a complex process, as the customer can feel uneasy and unaware of how things work. The brochure would need to be structured to play a dual role:
S OU R C E OF IN FORMATION The brochure would provide all necessary information pertaining to systems within the house and in the common area which would include specifications about the security system, house keeping services, details about mechanical-electrical-plumbing, information about amenities provided, emergency contact information, association policies, etc.
E M OT I ON A L CON NECT As the brand focuses on personalization, it is essential that we reach out and build long lasting relationships with each customer. The challenge for this project would be to successfully tailor content and visuals to give personality to the brand and add emotional value to create a sense of belonging during the phase of the customer moving into the property.
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RESEARCH Before designing the project brochure for Raya Sapphire, it was important for me to research print media, print processes and techniques of production. I also did some research to understand existing real estate brochures, their intent, content and quality of production. I looked at brochures we collected during our field research and also looked at collaterals in other sectors like hospitality, automobile manuals, etc.
Engaging Tangible
Durable
W H Y P R I N T M E D I A?
Credible
Brand recognition Attention span
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PRINTING METHODS 1. Wood block printing It is a relief process in which an image is carved in reverse into a piece of wood, inked up and paper is pressed down on top of it to transfer the ink and image. 2. Letterpress A technique of relief printing using a printing press, a process by which many copies are produced by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against sheets or a continuous roll of paper. 3. Flexography It uses rubber plates and water based inks which dry quicker and allow for faster production times. 4. Offset Lithography Offset printing is created using plates generated for each colour used in the printing process. 5. Digital Press Digital printing is a process that uses toner, rather than ink, which sits on top of the piece of paper instead of being absorbed by it. 6. Screen Printing It involves a design being laid on top of a screen which is coated with photo emulsion and exposed to light. The emulsion hardens and the rest can be washed away leaving a stencil that ink can be pulled through using a squeegee.
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PRE PRESS The processes and procedures that occur between the creation of a print layout and the final printing that include: 1. Checking format of graphics 2. Fonts used are converted to vector graphics 3. Crop and bleed marks 4. Colour set up 5. Creating camera ready artwork 6. Trapping 7. Imposition
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PA P E R A N D I N K
PAPER
I NK
Quality (coating)
路 Process inks: CMYK 路 Spot colour
Letterpress Paper
路 Fluorescent Ink
Offset paper
路 Metallic Ink
Newsprint Paper Writing Paper Weight Inner pages: 60-150 gsm Cover: 210-400 gsm
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PRINT PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES 1. Folding (Accordion, gate, roll, double, french, letter, single) 2. Binding (Saddle stitch, screw, perfect binding, spiral and comb binding) 3. Emboss/De-boss 4. Foil Stamping 5. Die Cut 6. Lamination (Gloss, dull, silk) 7. Varnish (Glossy, matte, satin, neutral)
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PA P E R A R T
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BROCHURES: EXISTING BRANDS
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REFERENCE BROCHURES I have analysed and referred project brochures of the following brands: •
Lodha
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Prestige
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Brigade
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Sobha
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Embassy
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Zuari
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Shriram
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RMZ
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Total Environment
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INSIGHTS · Layout: Simple, traditional, 1-2 columns · Focus on imagery · Typography: Decorative. Less focus on readability. · Tone: represents the lifestyle that the brand aims to provide. · Intent: sales, informative. · Two types: pre-sales, post-sales. · High production value - indicative of luxury · Bold, striking colours · Less clarity of content. · Size: Square, A4, A3.
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C O L L AT E R A L ST U DY As our focus was to improve customer experience, I looked into other sectors where customer experience plays a crucial role in sales and brand loyalty. I looked at collateral material from luxury hospitality brands, automobile brochures and manuals, clothing magazines, etc.
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Cost
Printing Typography
Visual language Content-writing Size and Scale Icons
P U B L I C AT I O N
Maps
Editorial Vision
Layout Photography
Illustration
Production Techniques
Distribution
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C O N C E P T U A L I S AT I O N WHAT Project Brochure for Raya Sapphire.
WHY To familiarise home owners with their new home and the facilities available within the community.
WHEN To be distributed during the handover ceremony.
WHERE To be presented to the home owner during briefing by the project manager in their villa. Will also be available at common areas like the reception and lounge.
HOW Print medium Form: coffee table book.
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EDITORIAL DESIGN The tone of voice of the brochure needed to reflect the brand’s USP of personalisation. The content is directly addressed to the customer in first person. In order to maintain uniformity between other collaterals, Medha Mistry and I set a tone of voice for all content written for the brand. It focuses on the brand and the customer as a co-dependent union rather than addressing it as an impersonal sales pitch. The content was categorised and clustered to form a smooth narrative in the form of a journey.
CONTENT •
About the Brand
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Location Map
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About the Project
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Community policies
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Project Specifications
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Team
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Floor Plans
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Directory
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Technical Specifications
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Amenities
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Site Plan
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TONE OF VOICE At Raya, we pride ourselves on building good-will and relations with our customers. The tone of voice for all Raya internal and external communications is formal, inviting and warm. We address the customer in first person whilst being in line with the brand’s values of trust and sophistication. The idea is to provide a sense of belonging when talking about the landscape, giving the customers an exclusive feel of Raya, whether talking about our fine craftsmanship, ease of customising one’s space or even how it would be to own and stay at any of Raya’s real-estate projects.
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I N S P IR AT ION MOOD BOA RD S Layout 110
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Print Production
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Photography 114
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TYPE SPECIMEN Before designing layouts for the first iteration, I experimented with the typefaces provided for our brand to check type size and readability. The following are the typefaces along with type sizes chosen from the type specimen: Header: Proxima Nova (Bold) 24 point/ 30 point leading 150 tracking Sub-heading: Proxima Nova (semibold) 20 point/ 26 point leading 40 tracking Body Copy: Adobe Caslon Pro (regular) 10 point/ 14 point leading
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I T E R AT I O N 1 VERSION 1
VERSION 2
Dimensions: 8 inch x 8 inch
Dimensions: 10 inch x 10 inch
Grid: Six columns
Grid: Six columns
Margins -
Margins -
Top: 14 mm
Top: 15 mm
Bottom: 12 mm
Bottom: 15 mm
Outside: 14 mm
Outside: 15 mm
Inside: 12 mm
Inside: 20 mm
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VISUAL LANGUAGE The visual language for Raya was based on the concept of contours. The contours were applied as marbling on paper and contour illustrations. I drew three variations of the contours that were later used as the base illustrations for the visual language across the brand collaterals. The illustrations and marbling had to represent the element of flow. I used the contours in my brochure as goldlined illustrations on translucent paper, through embossing and laser cut layers of paper for the cover.
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TONE OF PHOTOGRAPHY For our photography, we tend to focus on a more global, contemporary lifestyle. We aim to evoke emotions through our photography. The idea is to look at emotions and experiences rather than a stagnant physical space. The tone of photography is modern, providing a sense of calm, comfort and security. 1.
Snapshots of life at a Raya home.
2.
Bright, contemporary photography.
3.
Capturing the presence of people and their lifestyle.
4.
The style is closely cropped calling to attention to detail.
5.
Expressions and postures are magnified to convey an
actionable, approachable attitude.
6.
Demonstrates interaction and participation with others.
7.
Reinforces Raya’s engaging, warm and welcoming tone.
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Site plan
Location map 130
MAPS AND PLANS Maps and floor plans are an essential part of project brochures. As I do not have much experience in spatial design, I collaborated with Sanya Thakrar for the sections that required fair knowledge in architecture and spatial design. Sanya helped create and visualise the site plan for the property based on the initial visualisation of the project done by the group. She also conceptualised the floor plans for both villa types that I used for the project brochure.
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Gold foil Emboss
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PRINT PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES As Raya is a luxury brand, cost was not a crucial limiting factor in production. As a group, we decided to use gold foiling and embossing as production techniques. As my brochure would not be printed at a large scale, the inner pages would be digitally printed. The word mark ‘Raya’ would be gold foiled on book covers, letterheads and business cards.
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M AT E R I A L E X P L O R AT I O N Following the research done on paper art and the visual language for the brand, I chose to work with paper cutting for my layouts and the cover design. I first experimented with hand cutting paper and then used laser cut for the final cover for more precision.
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S P E C I F I C AT I O N S Dimensions: 11 inch x 11 inch Grid: Six columns Margins Top, bottom, outside: 15 mm Inside: 20 mm
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F I N A L I T E R AT I O N The final iteration of the brochure was an amalgamation of all the above techniques and processes coming together. When I referred to existing real estate brochures, it was evident that they lay emphasis on the production value as the brochure was a reflection of the luxury promised to the customer. Through this brochure, I attempted at creating a modern, sophisticated source of information regarding the common areas and the community at Raya Sapphire. It was designed keeping in mind the relationship that Raya as a brand strives to maintain with it’s customers. It is a combination of the research conducted as a group and individual research, our visualisation of the brand and my understanding of what the customer would expect and need from a project brochure while moving in. It aims at informing and aiding the customer, and creating and maintaining brand loyalty.
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REFLECTIONS AND LEARNING This project gave us the opportunity
Developing a brand from scratch
to work intensively in groups as well
was a new experience for me. The
as our individual interventions. As we
project really taught me how to move
have not been previously exposed to
away from designing for only myself,
this level of research, it was a good
to keeping the end user in mind and
learning experience to undertake
putting myself in their shoes at every
various levels of research and work on
step before making design decisions.
different methods of design-thinking.
Working in a group throughout the
The project really opened our minds
whole project also gave us a glimpse of
to the level of research required to
working in a real organisation as we had
be conducted before designing for a
to constantly understand and adapt to
real life project. The master classes
each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
we had regarding spatial design,
It taught me how to work alongside
design-thinking methods, research
people with varying skill sets and how
methods, user experience, etc. really
to utilise that potential to its maximum.
helped us put the pieces together and
We were each able to contribute to the
conceptualise our brand holistically.
brand development with our individual
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skill sets, break apart to work on our
text and image to complement and
individual interventions and then bring it
enhance the brand’s personality. This
back together and coordinate our work
required a lot of collaboration with my
to present it as a single, cohesive brand.
group members to visualise the brand,
In terms of our individual intervention,
and work together with regard to spatial
this project allowed me to apply the
design, copy-writing and the overall
skills I have learnt so far and challenge
visual language. I also looked into the
myself further to create a well balanced,
production side of publication which
comprehensive brochure that would
is a crucial part of publication design.
support the brand’s ideals and
Contacting vendors, understanding
enhance the handover experience. My
techniques of production, costing
experience in publication was limited
and then applying it to my design
to magazine design, this project gave
where necessary was one of the most
me a chance to explore other forms
interesting aspects of working on this
of publication and understand how to
project. It gave me good exposure to
approach such mediums differently
design publications for the corporate
based on its intent and audience.
sector in the future.
It was a great opportunity to analyse and adapt content targeted at a diverse set of users and effectively balance
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