o
t
n
v
o
c
e
i
i
c
c
c
Conventions in
Vi
t
convention convention convention convention convention convention convention convention convention convention convention convention convention convention convention conventi on convention convention convention convention convention convention convention convention convention conve t c o e i n o v n in o c e i ve n o n t n n o o n v n t o c n e o e n o i n v o n i t c i v n e v c n cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché clic hé cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché cliché
Intervention ive pt
ign: A D s e D isr l a u u s
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
National Institute of Fashion Technology Certificate of Authorship and Originality I, Shachi Parikh,Son/Daughter of Mr.Brijesh Parikh, a bonafide graduating student with Roll No BD/17/L21 of NIFT Jodhpur campus, hereby certify that the work in this Graduation Design Report / Dissertation with title Conventions in visual design: A disruptive intervention dated 23 July 2020, submitted by me for the partial fulfillment of the UG degree in B.Des. (Fashion communication) Batch 2020, has neither previously submitted for a degree / diploma nor has it been submitted as a part of requirements for a degree/diploma by self or anyone else, except as fully acknowledged within the text of this report. I also certify that the report has been originally and completely authored by me under the supervision/guidance of my project guide/mentors allotted by the Institute/Industry. Any help that I have received in my design / research project / dissertation and the preparation of the same has been acknowledged. In addition, I certify that all the creative and research works / intellectual content presented in this document are original and all information/data sourcestextual, numerical and visual nature, other literature used are indicated and due credit has been given in the report. Certified by:
Verified by:
Shachi Parikh
Mr. Shadab Sami
Date: Place:
Department : Fashion communication Date: Place:
Copyright Š 2020 Student Document Publication meant for private circulation only. No part of this documentation can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means digitally or mechanically, including photo copying, xerography or recording without permission from the publisher Shachi Parikh & National Institute of Fashion Technology, Jodhpur. Edited & Designed by Shachi Parikh shachiparikh332@gmail.com
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
Acknowledgements I will not say this project wouldn’t have been possible without the people, places, and things mentioned below. But I can say that it would’ve been a lot harder and not near as good as it is to do it alone. It’s a group project really. And I’m thankful for everyone and everything that’s been instrumental in building it.
:) NIFT, for being a second home to me. For giving me learnings and support through thick and thin for the last 3 years. For being a place that gave me enough space to be myself and grow at my own pace. And most importantly, it made it possible for me to have all the wonderful people listed below with me on my journey of growth. All my teachers at NIFT throughout the last 3 years, I am where I am today because of all the pieces of wisdom I’ve acquired from them.
My Parents, for always being supportive of my decisions through their love and kindness. For giving me teachings about the practical world. For doing everything in their power to make sure I’m comfortable enough to focus on my work. Mr. Sami, for always being patient and kind. For all his thorough inputs. For invaluable life lessons as well as academic knowledge he gave me. For being a very good listener and helping me grow out of my insecurities. For letting me explore my own thing always being a great project guide. TBWA Mumbai, for providing me a platform to accomplish this project. For the very friendly and warm people there. And for being a very open and accepting workplace.
Geet, for encouraging me to always ideate and push my limits for more ideas to come. For making time to support and guide me in my self-initiated projects. For being a role model in my pursuit of success in the field of design. Hitarthy, for being a truly great mentor. For always taking a personal interest in my projects and guiding me every step of the way. For not just pointing me to the ‘what’ but making time to explain the ‘why’ and ‘how’. For being so humble I could see a friend in her. Her teachings were for a couple of months, but my learnings were for life. Diksha, for she has been the best partner I could’ve asked for. For being a great listener and all the insightful conversations. For I probably wouldn’t have grown as much as I have if it wasn’t with her. For being so humble and so, so encouraging and positive. For there’s so much good in her as a person my vocalbulary cannot cover it. Shruti, for being my incognito project partner/critic. For being my partner in stress-relieving trips to beaches and artsy things on weekends. For being encouraging and kind in my moments of doubt and being a very good human in general. For having and sharing her beautiful vision of the world around us.
2
Dev, for always inspiring me to keep going. For being an enthusiastic mentor. For making me come to terms with the fact that everyone has their own pace of learning and growing in this fast-paced world and its quite alright. Arun, for always being a very supportive human. For being highly encouraging/critical when the situation asks for it. For being my constant and believing in me when I could not. Joshua, for all the good music and energy. For sharing your headphones and being my Jukebox on shuffle at work. Sanu, Shreya, and Palak, for being there from the first day through the end. And for being the positive and enthusiastic bunch they are. Pooja, for giving me a home away from home through good food. The city of Mumbai, for the culture, good food and the positive vibrations. For being a city so good it inspired my work. For never making me feel like an outsider. For all the beaches. For simply being beautiful in its every aspect. Christoph Niemann, for inspiring me through his great sense of humour and conceptual Illustrations.
[L to R : Palak Agrawal (Art), Me, Shreya Mehta (Art), Ajay Narsimhan (Copywriting), Sanu Kumar (Art) and Joshua Prathypati (Copywriting) ]
A very truthful and practical thought by Danielle Evans, an art director, that describes the brilliant group of interns I grew with during my time at the company:
“While a beautiful thought, a room full of designers nullifies the shared skill. If everyone is a logo designer, who will make the logos when the need arises? Everyone, and therefore no one. Keeping like-minded company is critical to be seen but diversity will help us survive�
Queen, Tom Odell, The Lumineers, Kailash Kher, Florence+The Machine,Prateek Kuhhad, Gregory Alan Isakov for producing brilliant music. Noopur choksi, whose grad doc helped me shape mine.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention I'm a part of the very inquisitive and observant millennial generation of the country of India. I have been studying visual communication for just about 20% time of my life. But one doesn't have to be a creator to engage with visual design. We've all beensurrounded by it since we grew up. We'vebeen exposed to a plethora of imagery through films, albums, Product packaging, TV ads, ketchup bottles, logos, and endless other products & services. From the time of baby diapers to Adult diapers, our lives are filled with visuals around us.
There's a lot of conventions I've noticed around me during the non-designer phase of my life. The typical chopstick lettering that every Chinese food joint logo has no matter what part of the country you are in, to the direct representation of tomatoes on every ketchup bottle label available in the market, I’ve noticed conventions in visual design my whole life. And a lifetime is a long time to be exposed to the same kind of imagery. Repetition brings predictability and results in moderate interest by the consumer. Hence, a convention becomes a cliche. Clichés, in short, are the empty calories of the design world: like junk food, they are available everywhere and easy to consume, but pass through us without leaving nutrition behind. Their prevalence arises from the shared nervousness with which designers often view their clients and their clients
view design: satisfied merely to get to the point across in an obvious manner, both sides neglect to create a message that will live in a viewers memory and foster long-term recognition and loyalty. (n.d) www.smashingmagazine.com As a part of a very sensible generation, I like a little mental stimulation. And I do not gain that by spoon-fed information through direct representation. Think of non-conventional visual imagery like an intellectual joke. Why do people enjoy it when they get it? Is it because it was good? I don't think so. It’s less about the joke being good and more about the instant gratification we experience because we understood it when we put our minds to it. It is the same with mentally stimulating imagery, you have to have an AHA! moment when you engage with the visual and get what they're trying to say. It's the effort you had to put in it thatmakes it valuable. I wanted to go against the grain. Play a little part in bringing nutritional visuals to our world or as Jessica walsh would say “Get comfortable with the uncomfortable” But how do I do that? How far from the convention should I be? I didn’t want to avant-garde my visual. I needed to shift the status quo but still be relevant to the audience. The Abstract-O-meter (Next page) by Christoph Niemann really helped me simplify things and hit the right spot.
4
But | still needed a proper methodology to approach this. That’s when I came across the Disruptive Design Methodology by Dr. Leyla Acaroglu. This approach is all about intent to positively intervene and disrupt the status quo of any problem arena to ensure that the outcome is more effective and equitable. And I felt this was a brilliant and quite fresh approach to design methodology. And for my grad project, I wanted to work at a place that practices the disruptive method in design. And I found one, TBWA aka The Disruption Agency. I talked to their design director, Geet Rathi about the kind of growth I needed in my life and she supported me by accepting me into the agency. I have always been an Illustration enthusiast. I believe in the power of the sketched word. But if a design project was a story, I’ve always seen Illustration as quite the supporting character in already existing projects. I've always wanted to build a designproject where the illustration is the protagonist. So when I got a chance to create illustrations for a brand that supported the thought of disruption in design, I was very excited to take it up. And this project has proved to be a very big opportunity for me as I got to create disruption in what I believe is one of the biggest and most visually conventional sectors in the country’s market i.e. Banking and insurance sector. And the excitement of brining my thoughts to life is something that has kept me motivated throughout the projects.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
Contents Introduction
8-18
Project 1 1. Groundwork:Brand study
21
2. Brand positioning
25
3. Thinking on paper
39
4. Execution
44
5. Rework on client feedback
47
6. Brand Applications
51
6
Project 2 1. Groundwork:Brand study
79
2 . Brand positioning
81
3. Thinking on paper
84
4. Digital Execution
97
Minor Project 1. About Linen Club
101
2. Concept
104
Open brief by Greenpeace
114
References Conclusion Learning outcomes
121 122 123
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
8
Introduction
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh•B.Des Communication Design• GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
About TBWA TBWA is The Disruption® Company founded in 1970 in Paris, France, by William G. Tragos (American, Management), Claude Bonnange (French, Marketing), Uli Wiesendanger (Swiss, Creation), and Paolo Ajroldi (Italian, Client Services). The first letter of each founder's name provided the initials for the new organization. They were purchased by the Omnicom Group in 1993. In the mid-1990s TBWA began expanding globally and spreading rapidly.
They create disruptive ideas that locate and involve brands in culture, giving them a larger share of the future. Named one of the World's Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company for 2019 & 2020 and Adweek’s 2018 Global Agency of the Year, their international collective has 11,300 creative minds across 323 offices in 97 countries. TBWA’s global clients include Adidas, Apple, Gatorade, Henkel, Hilton Hotels, McDonald’s, Nissan, and Singapore Airlines.
10
TBWA Mumbai: A Cure for the Common TBWA Mumbai is not a traditional ad agency network —they are a radically open creative collective. They look at what everyone else is doing and strive to do something completely new. Completely ownable. They live and breathe Disruption, and that's been the secret to their clients' unprecedented success. (n.d) www.tbwa.com
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
Services Advertising Making advertising look like a story well told.
Digital and social media Generating and integrating brand language in social media activations, managing and overseeing online marketting strategies and solution.
Print and Outdoor Print and outdoor campaigns for product and brand communications.
Brand Identity, collaterals and design extensions Undertaking brand and market research to fathom the brand’s needs and positioning , alongwith building on the existing brand’s voice and visual language.
Motion design
12
Workflow Client Input
Account and Creative Team Start up Meeting
Art Director
Copywriter
Account Executive
Production
Studio
Schedule the Media
Account Executive
Client
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
Hierarchy CEO
CCO
Client Servicing Head
Design Director
Copywriting Head
Strategy officer
Client Servicing Unit
Design Unit
Copywriting Unit
Strategy Unit
Account Manager
Art Director
Copywriter
Strategy Analyst
Account Intern
Graphic Designer
Copywriting Intern
Strategy Intern
Studio
Design/ Creative Intern
14
Clients
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
Brand
Philisophy One of the first agencies to use disruption in marketing and now it's a trademarked term. It has three simple elements: 1. Identify Conventions in the market 2. Defining a vision for a brand 3. And then developing a disruption platform That will help the brand escape convention and achieve its vision. This philosophy allows them to bring meaningful change, not only in the lives of our brands but also in the lives of the communities around them. This strategy helps them bring innovative solutions to business problems.
There are too many conventions in the world and you have to break them in order to stand out to find the white space to grow. We live in a world that is being impacted and influenced by so many things. It’s bigger and it’s faster than ever before. To disrupt other companies we should be open to disrupting ourselves. They believe brands need a way to play a daily role in life and culture to get a competitive advantage.
“After we’ve defined where a brand belongs in culture, it’s time to show up. Preferably in an asymmetric tux and striped neon socks.” (Source: TBWA.com)
16
Convention
Disruption
Vision Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
DISRUPTION IN ACTION
An estimated 60 million patients of ALS, spinal cord injuries, and paralysis live all around the world with a paralyzed body and an alert mind. Many alternative methods of communication are unaffordable and inaccessible to patients, leaving them with the everyday struggle to communicate their needs. The only body part that is functional till the very end? Their eyes. (n.d) https://www.tbwaindia.com/portfolio/blink-to-speak/)
18
TBWA\India joined forces with non-profit Asha Ek Hope Foundation and NeuroGen Brain & Spine Institute to find a solution that was convenient and accessible for all. They developed Blink To Speak: the world’s first eye language for patients who have an alert mind but a paralyzed body. (n.d) https://www.t b w a i n d i a . c o m / p o r t f o lio/blink-to-speak/)
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
PROJECT:1
20
Client
Standard Chartered Bank
Objective
SCB Minor account Debit card design
Team
Shachi Parikh (Design) Geet Rathi (Design Direction) Vishnu Nair (Client Servicing) Rohini Radhakrishnan (Client Servicing)
Deliverables
Debit card design, Design extensions in form of collaterals.
Estimated Timeline
Actual Timeline
Interrogate Did the research
Empathize Ideated from Insigts
Surprise Executed
Understand Re-work on Client feedback
Present Produce brand applications
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
1. Groundwork: Brand study
1.1
1.1 About SCB Standard Chartered Bank is India’s largest international bank with 100 branches in 43 cities, and we have been operating here since 1858. Key clients segments include Corporate & Institutional Banking, Commercial & Private Banking as well as Retail Banking. Standard Chartered also has the following subsidiaries operating in India: Standard Chartered Securities (India) Ltd; Standard Chartered Private Equity Advisory (India) Private Limited; Standard Chartered Investments and Loans (India) Limited; Standard Chartered Finance limited and SCOPE International.
1.1 & 2.1 (Source: www.SCB.com)
22
1.2 *Core values Core values are the principles that support the organization’s vision, culture, and overall philosophy. Values bring character to the group, and it can help leaders and management guide teams through ethical and performance concerns. These are the standards that organizations can cling to in times of transition. For external stakeholders, they can serve as a PR tool, create bonds with customers, provide a basis for streamlining communication between customers, suppliers, and partners. It helps humanize a brand through humanistic actions through its Core Values.
*Courageous *Responsive *International *Creative *Trustworthy
2.1
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
1.3 Brand philosophy In everything they do, SCB is guided by their brand promise ‘Here for good’. They are committed to promoting economic and social development in the markets they serve, doing so sustainably and equitably in line with our purpose and three-valued behaviors: ‘Never settle’, ‘Better together’, and ‘Do the right thing'. This sustainability philosophy sets out how they integrate sustainability into their organizational decision-making.
1.3.1 USP They make the most of their deep roots in rapidly developing Asian, African, and Middle Eastern local markets to seek out opportunities at every turn. Placing a particular focus on supporting customers who trade, operate, or invest across their footprint.
3.1
What sets them apart is their diversity – of people, cultures, and networks. They use this to give them the best possible customer experience, whether you’re an individual looking for easy, fast, and convenient banking services, or a multinational corporation with highly complex financing needs.
24
1.4 Keywords that reflect the brand The brand study helped me understand the humanistic characteristics of the brand and will also be helpful in bringing out the brand characteristics through design. It is very important for the image that a brand has in the market to be projected through their products as well.
To make it easier to translate into the design, I summarized my understanding of the brand and noted down the keywords that define it. These keywords will be used later on in the Ideation phase to maintain the brand image.
3.2
3.1 Different beverages with different shades of color standing as a metaphorical visual for unity in diversity. 3.2 Picture from my notebook. I started noting down keywords from every stage of my research. This will help me translate my research into my design rather easily. The ones marked with the yellow marker were the ones that stood out the most as representation of the brand.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
2. Brand Positioning 2.1 Thoughts on previous design iterations done by the agency When I started this project, the agency had already sent one design iteration to the client which didn’t work out. I worked on a few color variations with this but it still wasn’t working right. The client then decided to change the card’s name to ‘Prodigy’ and wanted a new design direction for the card. Before going ahead with that, I decided to analyze the previous design and note my observations for future observations. While making the changes in the palette, their feedback also said they needed us to use only the brand colors like the orange outlines in the typography is ICICI bank’s brand color and they did not want their colors to clash with any of their competitors.
26
Pros:
Cons:
• The colors used in the typography makes it pop out. Children get attracted to bright colors and thus would love to have this card on them.
• Children are more into characters and stories. They can see themselves in them. This design based on typography is a good stand-alone visual but it may not be intriguing to children.
• The repetition makes the typography very interesting and draws attention to the name. • There’s brand color consistency through the blue in the background.
• Brand colors not maintained in the typography. • The visual doesn’t communicate SCB’s brand image.
Aspirations: • Communicate a story through the visual by relatable characters/ Illustrations. • Make the visual a reflection of Brand’s values.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
2.2 Meaning of the word ‘Prodigy’ The minor account was renamed ‘Prodigy’ by the client due to clash with their competitor. Now, I needed to understand what a prodigy was and what defines them.
1.3
Prodigy (noun): A young person with exceptional qualities or abilities. It is to achieve success and acclaim very early in life. Also called a wunderkind, it’s very similar to words like ‘genius’, ‘mastermind’, ‘whizz’ with just a stark difference. And through my research, I realized the Prodigy doesn’t just mean when a child excels at academics, Prodigies also translates to excellency in play. There’s chess prodigies, Music Prodigies, and so on. Since there are prodigies in both work and play, we started banking more on the direction of marrying those two elements together for our concept. I made a mental note of it because we still needed to research to support it before we chose a direction.
28
2.3 Understanding what the brand needs 2.3.1 Questionnaire for the key stakeholders Before we started the market research, we had a set of questions that we needed the client’s perspective on. Through the help from the client servicing team, we were able to get a few answers through the questionnaire below.
1. What is the main challenge or business opportunities we face? (Describe the context and problem we’re trying to solve, where the opportunity came from?) - To encourage kids to opt for saving accounts / give them a sense of responsibility. Make them feel more valued (their name on the card itself) 2. What is the desired outcome? (Examples: awareness, mindset shift, behavior change, acquisitions) - Making people / existing customers aware of this new account and increase the product offerings 3. If there was a previous campaign on this product/service, please share the topline results/materials (This includes creative assets and KPIs) -No 4. Please share a topline of competitive review if available (What messages and creative assets are the competition using for this segment/product? Has it been successful for them? Please provide proof points when available) - One such popular example is Kotak Junior (Junior Debit card) / 6% interest on Junior account / exclusive discounts & privileges across kid brands. 5. Who is the main target audience for this work? (who are you marketing to in broad terms? What are their general demographics and attitudes? What proportion of the population do they make up?) - The main target audience is basically young parents. We are marketing to the younger generation. 6. Please share topline customer insights and research findings (Who is your ideal target? (The ‘poster child’ for why this product or service exists). Describe them as a person: their character, personality, interests, and interesting facts. Step into their shoes and describe what they really think about the product or category being advertised) - They are young parents. Concerned about their young kid/s future. And hence, we are targeting them for “Minor accounts. Start savings early in life for a better / secure future. 7. What are the extra benefits if the client has a segment relationship or are part of a program with us? (Examples: Priority segment, Premium program or Entrepreneur program) - The product benefits is the same across all segments
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
8. What is the unique selling proposition/key attribute We want to communicate? (What is the key feature that differentiates us from the competition? Why should customers choose to buy the product from us?) - Minimum Account Balance (MAB): INR 10 K with bundled eSaver. Balances greater than INR 25k will be automatically parked into a fixed deposit. - Mandatory standing instruction to transfer any amount/month from Guardian account to minor account (minimum INR 2500/-, minimum tenure 1 year) - Interest rate: 3.5% p.a. on SA 9. What are the proof points/other key product attributes? (What is the product/service/offer, how does it work, any specifics regarding how it is sold? Are there any promotions and what are the mechanics and limitations?) - The minor account gives saving for children at a good interest rate. 10. How does it support our brand promise here for good? (How does this impact the customer positively? What good does it do for them?) -N/A 11. Are there any additional mandatory requirements for this work? (E.g. third party agreement with Apple) - No 12. What are the key deliverables expected for this assignment? (Advise agencies on specific expectations e.g. integrated campaign with print and digital concept executions. What are the preferred communications channels?) - Product name and card designs + suggestions for design extension 13. How will we measure success? (What are the KPIs we will use to measure the success of the work? What immediate action or behavior do you want your audience to have, after they see this advertising campaign?) - Increase consideration for the new product and deepen the relationship with existing clients
Points I gathered from their answers: a. They needed something to create a mind shift in a parent's mind that will help their children gain a sense of responsibility at an early age. b. They considered Kotak bank’s Junior account as their competitor. c. Their Target audience is young parents concerned about their child's future.
d. They needed card name suggestions, design, and possible design extensions. e. They needed to connect strongly with their clients through this account and increase consideration for new products. f. Their marketing team didn’t pay much importance on the brand’s promise- Here for good
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
Basic Text Unit with rainbow gradient to highlight the word ‘kids’
An image of happy kids
30
2.3.2 Market Research To understand what the project needed, I had to identify and study the bank’s competitors’ card designs. This exercise will help decide where to position the product and make it stand out in terms of design.
I analyzed their debit card designs and tried to understand their visual as well as verbal communication. I also wanted to understand how they translated their brand’s identity and vision through their design.
Competitors already working in the same market segment are: 1. Yes Bank - My first yes account 2. State Bank of India- Pehla kadam and Pehli Udaan 3. IDBI Bank- Kid’s Card 4. Bank of Baroda- Champ’s Saving account 5. Kerala Gramin Bank- Junior Debit cards
Basic Text Unit for card name
Brand color palette maintained
A narrative built for card Usage
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
32
Basic Text Unit for card name
Bright colors used
Used a logo element in the background to establish identity
Image of the child on the card helps the debit card double as an identity card.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
Geometric elements with brand colors used
Brand Logo element in the background
No logo unit made for the debit card name.
34
Remembering the Mental note I made earlier while understanding the meaning of the word ‘Prodigy’, I decided to categorize this design to understand the visual feel and see if we have an advantageous edge if we chose to go ahead in that direction. The designs that I studied fell either in the work category or the play category. This showed that there was space to develop a concept in the work+play category. Work
(A formal aesthetic)
Work & Play
Play
(Playful aesthetic)
SCB Prodigy card
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
2.4 Understanding Target Audience I needed to understand who SCB aimed to reach? What motivates them? How will the design affect them? According to the questionnaire, SCB considers just young parents to be their target market. But in reality, we had two target segments we were designing for:
A. Young parents (Customers) Benefit: They teach their children about the importance of saving money but will also allow them to experiment with the 'buying power' of money
B. Children (Consumers) Ages: 7-14 Benefit: A sense of responsibility and ownership from a young age.
36
It was important to understand the needs of the target market. And to gain insights about the financial relationship between children and their parents and why they have or do not have debit cards, I interviewed a few parents from my community. That helped me determine 4 common reasons a parent considers giving their child a debit card: • In the case of a financial emergency • Parents want to track their kid’s spending habits (which can’t be done easily with cash)
• Help their kids build a credit history • Purchases that would require a card, such as online shopping Now, the reason they’re hesitant to give their child a debit card: • A high spending budget can cause a child to spend more than they are financially able to • Fear of debt • Security Issues
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
2.5 Restructured brief Now that we understood the a.) The expectations of our client b.) Products existing in the market and the right space to position our design of the product in and c.) The needs of the Target market, we restructured the brief filling in the information we derived from our research and made a simple method to understand it:
GET - Target consumer and their barrier. TO - Desired mindset or behavior BY - Message/action the brand can communicate
WHAT WE WANT TO DO
INSTEAD OF
Problem – Children have tuitions for everything, except money matters
Problem – Upgrade the child from a piggy bank to a bank account.
GET – Parents who want to further develop the prodigy in their child TO – Teach money management to their children as a life skill (and the SCB Prodigy bank account as its primary tool) BY – Pitching it as an essential component of growing up (rather than become entitled brats demanding for it)
GET – Parents who believe that their child is a prodigy TO – Use the SCB Prodigy bank account as a pocket money dispensing ATM (instead of the piggy bank) BY – Showing happy kids using the debit card to indulge in buying their favorite things.
This brief will help us stay in the right direction as we get into the path I personally enjoy the most i.e. getting into the visual design part of the project.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
38
To summarize the whole research for future reference I noted a few keywords that will be helpful in translating the research well while designing.
5.1
5.1 Picture from my notebook with the shortlisted keywords for concept building.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
3. Thinking on Paper It was time to get to the most anticipated part. Personally, I try to go straight to digital explorations but with all the time I put into research, I wanted to do justice to the outcome as well. So I got my sketchbook and pencil and got to it.
3.1 Working with keywords derived from brand study and brand positioning Before I started sketching, I jotted down all the key points I’d noted before to help structure the visual direction. I highlighted all the points that really stood out to me and were the ones that even Geet felt we needed to translate these points into our visuals.
After compiling the keywords from the research, it was time to shortlist a few that will decide the direction of our design. There were a few words that kept overlapping in their meanings giving a strong hint of a direction I could work in. So I picked them for the final concept building excercise through sketching.
International Prodigy Creative Community Progressive Evolving Cultural values Brand color consistency Customers Consumers Characters and stories Money management Mindshift Younger generation Work+Play
40
1.1
1.1 Picture from my notebook with the shortlisted keywords for concept building.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
3.2 Design direction We wanted to explore the Work+Play direction for our visual concepts while trying to merge the community, cultural values through characters, and visual metaphors. So we started noting down what was considered Work and play for kids in india. We wanted to show our culture through those Illustrations as well so we had the kind of ‘Play’ that Indian kids have.
A rough attempt at building visual metaphors 4.
5.
Science
Periodic Table
Books
DNA
Discipline
ld the shape to b u i
ed us
e
s
DNA fig ure use da sK
NA ral D Seve
es ston
Marble s as
de Sli ’s d i
fi g
ur
Every
ca rr e
a field of science ents es pr
ap er io di
c
e em el
The snake g row sw he n
nt
le
of ead o o k s in st
a
Try i n g to buil d up b
on
b Ta ic d rio Pe
it ch oo se s th e rig ht wa ys to spend
3.
too of la
2.
Hop sc ot ch
1.
Hopscotch Kancha Slide Latoo Seven stones Snake (Nokia) Roller coaster 2.1
2.2
4.1
4.2
3
5
1
We wanted to explore the Work+Play direction for our visual concepts while trying to merge the community, cultural values through characters, and visual metaphors. So we started noting down what was considered Work and play for kids in india. We wanted to show our culture through those Illustrations as well so we had the kind of ‘Play’ that Indian kids have.
42
1
2.1
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
2.2
4.1
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
44
5
We felt the visual metaphor of a child playing hopscotch on a periodic table expressed the word ‘prodigy’ the best. Because when a child prodigies love something, they see their passion everywhere. To depict this, we visualize a hop-scotch outline as a periodic table and carry on that style throughout. And this also showed the ‘cultural’ and ‘community’ aspect through the classic Indian game of hopscotch.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
4. Execution The final phase of the whole process was very crucial. It was very important to get things right by translating the Brand Image through colors as well.
4.1 Color Palette
Hex: ED272E
Hex: F494BB
Hex: 2097D4
4.2 Final Illustration
Hex: 169849
Hex: E9E84E
46
Brand color consistency
Screens
I also created a logo unit for the name ‘Prodigy’ in a periodic table element style that helped maintain consistency in style.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
5. Rework on Client Feedback 5.1 Client Feedback We had a discussion with the client about our design to understand their concerns. They thought the visual had the right message but needed to use more brand colors. So we worked on our color palette. Realization: While making the changes to our existing visual, geet felt that we needed one more option with a more Indian-ness in it. And I felt the same so we worked out a different composition with more Indian looking character for increased relatability and sense of familiarity. We wanted the consumer to see themselves in the visual.
5.1.1 Revised design a.) Based on the revision by client
Hex: 403B72
Hex: F494BB
Hex: 2097D4
Hex: 169849
Hex: E9E84E
48
Screens
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
b.) Second Option with different composition and visual style
Hex: 5DAD82
Hex: ED9D77
Hex: 2097D4
Hex: 10567B
Hex: 341811
50
Screens
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
6 Brand Applications 6.1 A micro app While sharing the design to the client, we also share a few design extensions we felt could help give an edge to the product. We came across a lot of pros and cons for giving a child a debit card.
A solution to address both:
Create a debit card for children that allows them flexibility, but gives parents monitoring capabilities and financial assurances. In order to achieve this, we can build an app that allows parents to monitor their child’s activities. A few features that we could add in the app design were: 1. Parental notifications: Customizable to how often, price, etc. 2. Ability to lock or unlock a card at a moments notice 3. A monthly subscription fee 4. A mobile app to track spending 5. Location approval by parents 6. Compatible with Paytm/Google Play 7. No age restriction 8. Charge requests 9. Child able to pay directly Now, we needed to outsource the app design and construction but we needed to be consistent with the brand image in context of colors and visuals. We needed to create an aesthetic for the app that would work well with the vision and identity the brand has. Based on my prior interaction with the folks at SCB, I’d come to understand that they wanted the brand colors to be very heavy in any visual. It was very important for them to be distinctive from others.
Since this was my first interaction with the arena of UI design, I needed to learn more about the process, the trends and how to choose the style of UI design. Now I realized that for the design to be heavy with brand colors, I needed to strip down to the very essentials in a way that isn’t too passive. Since the product is for the kids there needs to be some non-excess elements of fun (Visuals, UI interactions)
52
? m s i h p or
m u e Sk
Mate
rial D
esign ? ? m s i h umorp
Ne
? n g i s e D t s i l a
Minim
I started with a quick search on the internet (wrong move!) to get acquainted with the UI vocab as we were already extending way past the deadline. I came across a plethora of terms in UI visual styles that a.) I did not understand how to choose one. and b.) I could not distinguish one from the other. They all looked very much same to me. This was a dead end. So I decided to create a mood board and then choose the style matches most to the vision I had for the micro-app.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
54
Words that decipher my vision:
Tangible in its intangibility Tactile Material Stripped Sense of Depth Inviting
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
I got a sense of visual direction through the mood board. But these styles were quite similar to each other. I needed to analyze them and understand their distinct features. I wanted to choose the style that fit the closest to my vision.
Flat Design
Material Design
Neumorphism
Source:https://www.medium.com/
Skeumorphism
56
Skeumorphism
Material Design
Neumorphism
Skeumorphism was created in the 80’s by Steve Jobs. He wanted to provide users with much more intuitive experience by mimicking physical world graphical objects, shadows, shapes, details to a hyperreal degree.
Flat design, a minimalist and classically digital aesthetic, was inspired by the Swiss style.
Neumorphism combines developments of flat design and skeuomorphism. It is changing the ‘super flat and minimal’ vector to something midway to realism.
It engaged auditory/visual cues to capture users’ attention and show them how things work. It had its time and place in the first iOS versions design until the 2000s. In 2007, Forbes stated that skeuomorphism is dead like a past life thing. This statement was accepted as the truth six years later after iOS had redesigned with
Taking the Flat design further, google rolled out material design. A style that was based on making flat design a bit more realistic by adding shadows and depth. Flat design and material design are being dominant in interface design so far, offering minimalism, convenience, personalization. Dmytro Dvurechenskyi, (2020, Mar 2.Neumorphism. The Next Big Thing In UI Design? www.medium.com
After the research on different style, I came to a conclusion that neumorphism was the best fit for the app UI. Before finalizing the style, I needed to learn more about its feasibility for the user since I didn’t see this UI used much in apps. Accesibility :Inclusivity is necessary in design Consideration: This style looks great, but how would it appear to visually impaired users? Chances are that it would be a real problem, with crucial things disappearing into the background, becoming unusable.
Neumorphism mimics real-life objects. It brings clean interfaces to life through adding a physical element to flat UI paradigm. Neumorphism combines developments of flat design and skeuomorphism. All that allows achieving a soft, extruded plastic look, and almost 3D styling which creates the look and feel that user interface components are being pushed through a display.
Research: Most color blind people are able to see things just as clearly as the rest of the population, the difference is their inability to distinguish red, green. Not only is minimalistic design a timeless and aesthetically pleasing trend, it’s also useful when you’re designing for color accessibility. Rebeca Costa, (2020, Apr 14.Neumorphism: why it’s all the hype in UIdesign.https://www.justimind.com/blog/neumorphism-ui/ Solution: To create a neumorphic design with proper contrast between text and the button rather than the usual subtle contrast.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
The button issue: Buttons are a key UI component in any interface. They need to be very noticeable, and need to change button states as users interact with them. Consideration: It is possible that with a lots of buttons and same palette it may become difficult for the user to navigate. Solution: There will be very minimal navigation as this is a micro app.
CTA Problem:Neumorphism is meant to be soft on the eyes. This style calls for colors that all but blend with each other, going against what we all know about CTAs: they need to be flashy. Solution: It calls for minimal color contrast and very few pops of color. This will be a suble highlight for the CTA buttons.
Based on the research, I made a visual board that contains the image, colors and texts to be used in the UI design. This will serve as a reference point while designing.
Visual Board
58
Visual Palette Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
60 56
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
1/3
Type card number
**** **** **** ***4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0
62
Balance:
` 2,569
Lock
Transactions Toys Jan 7, 2020
Games Dec 30, 2019
Food Dec 25, 2019
-` 575
-` 130 -` 240
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
6.2 Print Collaterals The next step was to design the print collaterals for the Minor account. We made a list of collaterals that they may require. The list was as follows:
carry the card and keep it safe. They also tend to loose things. So we add a belt with clip on the top so they can carry it as a keychain.
For when they send the card to the consumer: 1. Business card 2. Envelope 3. Letterhead 4. Card Sleeve
Designing this involved learning about layouting and typography. It was inportant to learn about the different level priorities the information carried in order to set the right hierarchy. During this excercise I learnt that how hierarchy in text can make or break a piece of information. It was very crucial to the process.
Kids don’t carry a purse with them. So a card sleeve was needed for them to
6.2.1 Collateral Dimensions 1. Business card
Trimline
2”
2.25” with Bleed
Bleed area
3.5” 3.75” with Bleed
64
2. Envelope 9.5”
Side Flap
4”
Side Flap
9.5”
2”
Top Flap
Bottom Flap
3. Letterhead 8”
11” Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
4. Card sleeve
Front
3.5”
2.3”
Back
3.5”
2.3”
66
6.2.1 Explorations The layouting of information in the business card was very crucial as I would extend the same information hierarchy to the rest of the collaterals. Since these business cards will be mass produced I chose to go with the standard dimension for the business card. It would carry information such as the brand logo, the minor account Identity unit, name, designation, contact information and adress. We wanted to use a very modern, simple and direct typeface. After an extensive sifting session through lots of typefoundaries, I settled on a very mid-century gotresk based font named Telegraf. Its a variable font whose counters become more rectangular as the weight increases. Hence, it will also proves useful for digital uses. It may also be helpful to highlight a message on the Brand’s print ads as its impact increases as the weight increases and it is bound to grab more attention due to its crude nature.
Brand logo as a pattern in the back with account unit on the right. Eye movement (Left:SCB bankRight: Prodigy account)
Sandra sawma
Manager T 0987-654321 M 9087654321 E sandra.sawma@sc.com
Standard Chartered Ground Floor, Abhijeet - II, Mithakhali Six Rd, Mithakhali, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380006
Information hierarchy baed on priority. Starting with name and contact info on the left and adress on the right.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
Just the Bank logo on the front
Sandra sawma
Customer Experience Manager (Prodigy)
T 0987-654321 M 9087654321 E sandra.sawma@sc.com
Sandra sawma Manager
Standard Chartered Ground Floor, Abhijeet - II, Mithakhali Six Rd, Mithakhali, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380006
The whole information chunk on the back. The account text unit and name of the person kept in heavy weight to maintain hierarchy of information.
68
Sandra sawma Manager
Product name on the front with other details like name, designation and contact info to divide up the information. T 0987-654321 M 9087654321 E sandra.sawma@sc.com
Standard Chartered Ground Floor, Abhijeet - II, Mithakhali Six Rd, Mithakhali, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Sandra sawma Gujarat 380006 Customer Experience Manager
Logo and address of the bank kept on the back.
(Prodigy)
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
Sandra sawma Manager
Company logo and Designation on the front.
T 0987-654321 M 9087654321 E sandra.sawma@sc.com
Standard Chartered Ground Floor, Abhijeet - II, Mithakhali Six Rd, Mithakhali, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380006
Account text unit, contact info and adress in the back.
70
9.5”
Side Flap
4”
Side Flap
9.5”
2”
Top Flap
T 0987-654321 M 9087654321 E sandra.sawma@sc.com
Standard Chartered Ground Floor, Abhijeet - II, Mithakhali Six Rd, Mithakhali, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380006
Bottom Flap
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
9.5”
2”
Top Flap
Side Flap
Standard Chartered Ground Floor, Abhijeet - II, Mithakhali Six Rd, Mithakhali, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380006
Bottom Flap
4”
Side Flap
9.5”
T 0987-654321 M 9087654321 E sandra.sawma@sc.com
72
Back
Front
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
Standard Chartered Ground Floor, Abhijeet - II, Mithakhali Six Rd, Mithakhali, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380006
T 0987-654321 M 9087654321 www.prodigy.sc.com
74
Standard Chartered Ground Floor, Abhijeet - II, Mithakhali Six Rd, Mithakhali, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380006 T 0987-654321 M 9087654321 www.prodigy.sc.com
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
Brand applications pack
Sandra sawma Manager
Standard Chartered Ground Floor, Abhijeet - II, Mithakhali Six Rd, Mithakhali, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380006
T 0987-654321 M 9087654321 www.prodigy.sc.com
T 0987-654321 M 9087654321 E sandra.sawma@sc.com
Standard Chartered Ground Floor, Abhijeet - II, Mithakhali Six Rd, Mithakhali, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380006
Side Flap
T 0987-654321 M 9087654321 E sandra.sawma@sc.com
Standard Chartered Ground Floor, Abhijeet - II, Mithakhali Six Rd, Mithakhali, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380006
76
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
78
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
PROJECT:2
80
Client
IDFC first bank
Objective
Feature Illustrations for One pager
Team
Shachi Parikh (Design) Sourabh Pathak (Design Direction) Rhea Talpade (Client Servicing)
Deliverables
One Feature Illustration
Estimated Timeline
Actual Timeline
Interrogate Did the research
Empathize Ideated from Insigts
Surprise Executed
Week 1
Week 2
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
1. Groundwork: Brand study
1.1 About IDFC IDFC First Bank (formerly IDFC Bank) is an Indian banking company with headquarters in Mumbai that forms part of IDFC, an integrated infrastructure finance company. The bank started operations on 1 October 2015. IDFC FIRST received a universal banking licence from the Reserve Bank of India in July 2015. IDFC First Bank (n.d) https://w-
ww.idfcfirstbank.com/new-look-new-mission.html.html
In 2014, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted an in-principle approval to IDFC Limited to set up a new bank in the private sector. Following this, the IDFC Limited divested its infrastructure finance assets and liabilities to a new entity - IDFC Bank. The bank was launched through this demerger from IDFC Limited in November 2015. (IDFC first bank website,2015)
82
1.2 Vision and Mission They want to create the world’s best bank right here in India, for aspiring consumers and entrepreneues. They wanna touch millions of indian by providing high quality banking products and services to them, with particular focus on aspiring consumers and entrepreneurs of our new India, using contemporary technologies.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
1.3 *Core values IDFC FIRST Bank is of view that the nation's growth hinges on the growth and empowerment of its citizens whether in rural or urban areas.
*Innovative *Collaborative *Empowered *Customer Focused *Decisive *Action Oriented
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
84
2. Brand Positioning 2.1 Understanding the product Definition: These are diversified mutual funds which can invest in stocks across market capitalization. In other words, they are market capitalization agnostic. These funds resort to portfolio gyrations commensurate with the market condition. Definition of ‘multi cap funds’.(n.d).https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/multicap-funds
In Simple Terms: These funds invest in stocks across market capitalization. That is, their portfolio comprises of large cap, midcap and small cap stocks. They are relatively less risky compared to a pure mid cap or a small cap fund and are suitable for not-so-aggressive investors. Definition of ‘multi cap funds’.(n.d).https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/multicap-funds
My understanding: Multi Cap funds are diversified funds that are invested in stocks of different companies with differnet capital as each category comes with its own advantage and disadvantages. While large-cap funds provide better stability to your portfolio, mid-cap, and small-cap funds provide exceptionally high returns. In the long run, multi-cap funds are usually better wealth creators than other categories of funds as they can take advantage of investment opportunities across the market.
Keywords: Balance Long term benefits High returns Diversity
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
2.2 Understanding the Target audience The people that may invest in this fund: a. Investors who are newbies and are unable to decide which cap to go for mutual fund investments, they can begin with a multi cap mutual fund scheme. Multi cap fund investments offer the flexibility of multiple capitalizations and the investor will not need to get into nuances of picking up individual market capitalization or stocks. They may switch later once they are sure b. Investors who want to balance risks and returns in a single portfolio can go for this mutual fund plan as fund managers adopt a dynamic strategy to keep a check on market volatility affecting returns of the mutual fund scheme. Investors with moderate risk tolerance may go multi cap fund investment
c. Investors who want to accumulate corpus through equity fund investments in the long term as well as a diversified portfolio can go for multi cap mutual fund plans. If they are looking for short-term capital appreciation they can opt for debt funds which are liquid. They are relatively less risky compared to a pure mid cap or a small cap fund and are suitable for not-so-aggressive investors.
Keywords: Growth Non-agressive Investing
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
86
2.1
2.1 A peek from my sketchbook where I drew about how I understood my consumer would be.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
22
2.3 Competitive Market Research A quick search on the internet about banking Illustrations brought me to a whole another world with larger than life banking elements and tiny people. And this style may work as spot Illustrations but not when it comes to a feature illustration. A feature illustration is supposed to evoke a feeling, tell you how the brand’s product will help you in life and what it will bring to the table. I tried looking at it through a consumer’s perspective and it feels as if I’m the one
living in the world of those products when it should’ve been the other way around. And this style of Illustrations have become very widespread for sectors besides banking as well. So, there were a few questions I needed an answer to: Since this style of illustrations is so widespread, as a brand, how do I make them notice mine? What will be my USP? What will be my tone?
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
88
Pros:
•The larger than life elements in the illustrations make it very easy to tell your audience what exactly you wanna talk about. •They carry individual storylines in one compositon that makes it easier when the brand wants to talk about multiple things. It is like a composition of spot illustrations building a feature Illustration.
Aspiration: •Develop an empathetic understanding of consumer’s needs and show, through the illustration, how the product may affect their life.
Cons:
•One cannot exactly relate to it due to its fictional nature. •It does not evoke any emotions through which humans tend to connect more. •It is a very product focused approach.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
22
3. Thinking on Paper 3.1 Things to note: About the product: •Balance •Long term benefits •High returns •Diversity About the consumer: •Growth •Non-agressive Investing •Newbie •Wise •Flexible From competitive Market research: •Develop an empathetic understanding of consumer’s needs and show, through the illustration, how the product may affect their life.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
90
3.2 Design Direction “If you ask an Illustrator to define a stupid job they will probably say that it involves a client asking them to draw a businessman with preferrably a dollar sign which I try to avoid but you know what I mean so the cliche is that for an Illustrator, their happiness is being defined by the amount of business people they have to draw.” CHRISTOPH NIEMANN, in How yoga is killing kerning (Creative mornings talk,2012)
2.1
2.1 A slide from Christoph Niemann’s talk on ‘How yoga is killing kerning’
Illustrations with businessmen, currency signs and/or stock market arrows are the biggest banking Illustration cliche ever and also something I wanted to avoid. Christoph Niemann’s chart very accurately defines my views on it.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
3.2.1 Building the visual What message does the illustration give?
The message that needed to be conveyed throught the Illustration is about how having all three capital investments in the consumer’s portfolio will help them gain steady, balanced profits over a long period of time. And investing in multi cap fund can give them that profit. After a discussion with the client I realized that it was very important for them to focus on the three investments point. They wanted the visual to be about how those three caps will benefit them. Now, as being consumer focused is one of IDFC’s core values, I approached the process of creating the visual in a very human centered manner. I did not want the visual to be very direct. Because how can one relate to a visual of something if they’ve not experienced it yet? The audience needed to be converted to consumers. So I needed to dig deeper and find a relatable visual that gave them the same feeling they would get from the product if they engaged with the bank’s services. I wanted to create an analogous experiences for the viewers through the visual. I needed to find situations that a. The audience can relate to b. That can stand as an analogy for the message.
“Design should dissolve in behaviour” NAOTO FUKUSAMA, in Rams (A documentary on dieter Rams,2019)
92
3.2.2 Explorations Now that I had the message and direction settled, I needed a few insights on human behaviours that will build the context of the visual. I roughly sketched a few ideas and sent them to the client for approval.
Insight: Humans get the feeling of reward when they place the last piece of puzzle.
Concept: The three pieces of puzzle represent all the three caps which when placed together creates a Indian currency representing the profit consumers would gain with the three of them together.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
Insight: The indication of good luck when we get three balls lined up at a billiards game.
Concept: The three balls of billiard represent the three caps and the rupee symbol on all three of them show the consumer of the tripple amount of profits they would make if they invested in multi cap.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
94
Visual Insight: There’s a three pin plug that can stand as the three caps.
Concept: The three pins that represent the three caps that can be plugged into the rupee symbol shaped slot to generate profits.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
Insight: The feeling of reward one gets when they win all the three slots at the game of jackpot.
Concept: The three balls of billiard represent the three caps and the rupee symbol on all three of them show the consumer of the tripple amount of profits they would make if they invested in multi cap.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
96
3.2.3 Client Feedback We sent all the rough sketched to the client with their concepts to ask their opinion on which one they thought fit the best. They felt that the concept with billiards conveyed the message well and we settled on the concept while adding more details and context to the sketch.
2.2
2.2 A shot from my sketchbook with a different perspective for the billiard sketch
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
4. Digital Execution The digital execution needed a 600*150 px dimension. The perspective needed to be very steep to to fit in the short frame. The colors used for this were from the brand identity palette and rest for the ambient setting.
150 px
600 px
98
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
IDFC MULTI CAP FUND
(previously known as IDFC Premier Equity Fund) Multi Cap Fund- An open ended equity scheme investing across large cap, mid cap and small cap stocks
IDFC Multi Cap Fund is a benchmark agnostic portfolio investing across large, mid and small cap segments. It focuses on Long Term Wealth creation by ‘Buy & Hold’ and ‘Active Management’ strategies. A low beta fund that currently focuses on benefitting from the domestic consumption theme
FUND FEATURES: Category:
Multicap
Monthly Avg AUM:
` 4,254.98 Croresrores Inception Date:
28 September 2005
The fund endeavours to focus on high quality companies with good financial track record & highly scalable companies irrespective of valuation.
Fund Manager:
Companies that look to gain market share by growing business ahead of competition, companies that are able to meet the ever changing customer priorities and companies that can commit higher capex ahead of future opportunity are the ideal universe for the portfolio.
Benchmark:
14.14% 9.27% 8.95%
Banks
Consumer Non Durables
4.73%
Consumer Durables
Finance
5.38%
switched out within 365 days from the date of allotment: •Upto 10% of investment:Nil, •For remaining investment: 1% of applicable NAV. •If redeemed / switched out after 365 days from date of allotment: Nil. (w.e.f. May 08, 2020)
Chemicals
3.49% 2.89%
TOP 5 STOCKS
ICICI Bank Limited
3M India Limited
Infosys Limited
HDFC Bank Limited
Axis Bank Limited
Regular: 2.03% Direct: 1.33%
Energy
Information Technology
Utilities
Financials
Auto
Health Care
-0.1% -1.5% -1.6% -2.3% -3.5% -6.1% -10.2% Telecommunication Services
0.0% Industrials
Cement / Building Mat
Commodities
Consumer Staples
Consumer Discretionary
PORTFOLIO POSITIONING
1.6%
Benchmark%
9.5% 2.3%
SIP Frequency: Monthly (Investor may choose any day of the month except 29th, 30th and 31st as the date of instalment.) Expense Ratio:
Sector - Overweight/Underweight 6.9%
Minimum Investment Amount: `10,000/- and any
Exit Load: •If redeemed/
4.13% 3.89%
S&P BSE 500 TRI
amount thereafter (Units of IDFC Multi Cap Fund, shall be available for lump sum subscription w.e.f. May 07, 2018)
15.07%
TOP 5 INDUSTRIES
Mr. Anoop Bhaskar (w.e.f. 30th April 2016)
Beta: 0.92 R Square: 0.92 Standard Deviation (Annualized): 20.19% Sharpe Ratio: -0.36
This is the current investment strategy. The investment strategy & asset allocation will be as per provisions of the Scheme Information Document.
100
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
Minor Project
102
Client
Linen Club
Objective
Activations for their social media
Team
Shachi Parikh (Design) Diksha Jha (Copywriting)
Deliverables
Five activations for different occasions for their social media calendar
Actual Timeline
Interrogate Did the research
Empathize Ideated from Insigts
Surprise
Executed
Week 1
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
1. About Linen Club Linen Club is the largest linen fabric brand in India with expertise in linen manufacturing and design, for more than 70 years. Linen Club is the pioneer of linen in India and is now retailed through both exclusive retail outlets and multi-brand outlets. It is the largest linen retail chain in the world.
Linen Club has expanded into ready-to-wear range with its brand, Linen Club Studio. A contemporary offering, Linen Club Studio finely blends classic styles and modern premium craftsmanship with unparalleled comfort. Linen Club also includes a blended linen range – Cavallo – targeted at a younger audience seeking to style up at affordable price points. Cavallo by Linen Club is an upcycled sustainable product with offerings in both fabrics and apparels. It is available offline and online.
104
2. Concepts 2.1 Letters from Linen The charm of the big Indian wedding lies in its versatility and diversity. Just like that of our Linen. We will reveal our festive collection in the form of a digital photo album. The album will comprise a grid of 9 coloured envelopes. Each of which, when clicked and swiped, will display a letter from Linen. These letters will be addressed to the different members of quintessential Indian weddings. We will post these on our Instagram handle. Users can click on the envelopes to see the person being addressed. Each picture will be accompanied by a personal letter to the people in the frame.
!"##$%&
'"(')%
!"##$%&
'"(')%
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
106
2.2 Passion of the month Honouring the passion for music through stories of inspiring, lesser-known artists. To pay ode to the passion of the month i.e. music, Linen Club will collaborate with the page Official Humans of Bombay, on Instagram. Falling in line with our positioning, we will capture the stories of three passionate musicians, across genres. In these stories, the artists will speak about their emotional journeys. By showing their struggles, the number of hours they put in, and their undying passion for their craft, we will give viewers an insight into their inspiring stories. 30th April: For International Jazz Day, OHB will cover the story of Asin Khan Langa (as shown in the image), a Jazz artist from Rajasthan. We will explore his story and what led him to pursue his passion. Other artists: Montry Thaalavattam (Junk percussion artist) The Local Train (Indie-Rock band) Anushka Manchanda (Indian Pop artist)
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
2.3 Proffesional stories As a part of our professional stories for music, we will interview popular singer, song-writer Prateek Kuhad. In this interview, he will be clad in signature Linen Club apparel. Here, he will talk about his passion for singing, and his distinct Linen looks. The catch, he can only sing out his answers. This interview will be posted on our social media channels. Example: Q. Describe your passion for singing. A. My days they begin with your name, And nights end with your breath. Q. You are known to have exceptional taste in fashion. Describe your outfit for today. A. महिफ़ल ज़रर खास है मैकौन हँयेराज़ ह
108
A musical duo that's notorious not only for their talent but also their co-ordinated outfits. We will have a two-segment interview with the duo for our music month. Segment 1: Here, they will talk about their passions and give us an insight into their spectacular outfit choices. Segment 2: We will bring the duo to a Linen Club outlet. They will be posed with a challenge to pick out co-ordinated looks, individually, without knowing what the other person will pick. At the end of the challenge, we will bear witness to their successful/unsuccessful attempt at coordinating with their partner. Through this, we will not only get to know these incredibly passionate musicians, but also reveal our extensive in-store collection of Linen apparel.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
2.4 Dance in Linen Passion doesn't see age; neither does Linen. This International Dance Day, we will collaborate with Team Naach (a popular dance influencer pair) to choreograph a dance set for a team of seniors from an old-age home. With this post on our Instagram handle, we will push forth the idea that Linen supports everyone’s passions. Especially, those who have lived the longest, most fulfilling lives, deserve the comfort and longevity of our finest fabric. Team Naach Instagram handle: @teamnaach
110
2.5 A very happy new year New year, new beginnings. This 14th April marks the onset of a new year for 4 different states of India. To offer our best wishes to the ones celebrating, we will post a New Year's wish GIF post. We will create a post using the scripts from the four different cultures celebrating on this day. The text will get highlighted, one sentence at a time, resembling celebration lights. States celebrating: Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
112
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
Open Brief by Greenpeace I got a really good opportunity to ideate on a global campaign as a part of TBWA team for a cause on plastic pollution. This was the first time I worked on an Ad campaign and learned a lot.
114
Client
Greenpeace
Objective
Stop Malaysia from becoming the world’s plastic wasteland
Challenge
Since China banned the import of low-grade recyclable plastic, Malaysia has become the dumping ground for a multi-billion dollar industry. No thanks to our lax policies, rampant corruption, and welcoming arms. But the truth is, Malaysia is not equipped to handle it. Though legal and illegal recycling plants are popping up everyday, mountains of unmanageable waste has lead to to the deteriorating health of nearby citizens, through poisoned water and food via micro-plastics, and unbreathable air from mass incineration.
Audience
1. General Malaysian Audience: Malaysians are aware of the dangers of plastic, but not the harms that are going on in their own backyard. 2. Export countries: World Leaders, Influential investigative journalists and eco-activists. People who can make noise about this issue, have the world take notice, and take action.
Tension
Out of sight = out of mind. Consumers from developed nations ‘believe’ their plastic waste will be recycled, but the fact is that recycling is a myth. Recycling plants in SEA can’t cope with the influx, and many illegal plants simply bury/burn them. The corporations know this, but they don’t care. They use the plastics, they collect the plastics, and they ship it over here - to them, out of sight = out of mind.
Proposition
Stop the cycle. We believe to stop waste, we need stronger law enforcement. But the government will only prioritise public health over profit, if people take notice, learn, band together, and fight against the mismanagement of plastic waste in Malaysia.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
The issue was triggered when china notifies the world trade organization in july 2017 and made the decision to ban the imports of most plastic waste from 1 jnanuary 2018 in line with their “National Sword Policy” to reduce pollution levels. China banned 24 types of plastic waste imports and only allowed plastic with purity rate of 99.5% or higher.
Why is Malaysia importing so much plastic? The Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association (MPMA) said a total ban on plastic imports could disrupt the overall supply chain in the circular economy. “The local plastic industry is worth about RM30bil a year and about 80% of items made from recycled plastics are exported,” said MPMA vice-president C.C. Cheah adding that the industry supports other sectors such as electric and electronics, automotive, and manufacturing. “Since most of the waste have been transferred here, both legal and illegal waste recycling factories have started mushrooming all across Malaysia, making it extremely hard for government officials to regulate each one of them based on both international and
national standards. Due to the large volumes of plastic scrap getting shipped to Malaysia, the plastic recycling industry has become extremely profitable, earning up to billions in a year.”
The recycling industry is extremely lucrative. [Plastic illegal recycling environment, (n.d) https://asklegal.my/p/waste-dumping-malaysia-canada-pollution-plastic-illegal-recycling-environment]
116
Where is all the excess plastic going?
Dumped or Burnt?
Research done by Greenpeace Malaysia revealed that most of the recycling facilities in Malaysia contain extremely high amounts of imported plastic waste that will eventually be burned openly or dumped at poorly regulated sites. For instance, in the Pulau Indah industrial zone, the illegal factories have been said to openly burn waste that cannot be recycled, causing the residents nearby to complain about the health complications that they have had to face. Whereas in Kuala Langat, over 40 factories were found to be operating illegally and 30 of them were shut down after residents living nearby complained about the open burning that caused health problems. PROBLEM 1. Poor law enforcement Illegal companies are taking advantage on lax enforcement although the government did revoke and stop scrap plastic import permits. 2. Plastic recycling industry is lucrative and worth RM30b a year (which is why there's the increase of illegal imports and companies). 3. Plastic straw is only 0.03% of the total plastic waste. 4. Malaysians are aware on Recycling (this is what everyone are doing, create awareness about it) but they don't know how to Reduce and Reuse.
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
The Day all hearts stopped Problem: People fail to acknowledge the gravity of the situation even after being aware of it. Insight: People sympathize better than they empathize. Solution: To make them empathize to the gravity of the disruption the malaysian residents are facing by causing a mild disruption in their daily life activities. That disruption will make them more attentive to our cause.
Disrupt Them Engage Them Inform them Aim: Push people to empathize with the disruption caused by the plastic pollution to the residents of Malaysia and how if they get together, they can create internal pressure on their respective leaders to take an action on it. Concept: Instagram culture is something that is widespread around the whole world. It has become a part of our daily lives. The endless swiping and tapping has become an almost involuntary function for us. Instagram revenue and
usage statistics report (2020) says 67% of people aged 18-24 use instagram multiple times a day. The function of ‘Like’ being the most commonly used function. A double tap on a picture shows a heart on the screen to show that one liked the picture. For this campaign, we set up a silent collaboration with instagram. The campaign will be two fold and will run for two days. Day 1: Instagram takes away the function of double tap hearts for a whole of 24 hours without any notice. This will disrupt the almost involuntary function people have with the heart coming with double taps and make them notice. We let this change make noise all around the world and have the world take notice. Day 2: After we stir up quite the noise due to this action, instagram puts out a press release that talks about how such a small change can disrupt us and that the move was taken just to make the public understand that. And if they wanted to bring the heart back, they needed to sign a petition to their leader of the country urging to take a step against this. The instagram likes return only when they recieve a set number of signs for petition. We encourage them to show no more plastic hearts and show some real support to a cause. #no moreplastichearts-Bringheartback
118
#Nomoreplastichearts #bringheartback
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
The Toddler President Problem: Out of sight/ Out of mind :The leaders of the countries responsible for the trash pollution don’t take any action on Insight: Toddlers have a phase where they have less object permanance. They cannot know about the existence of object when it cannot be seen, heard, touched, smelled or sensed in any way i.e. if they see a toy on one side and then turn around to look in another direction, they will not realize the toy still exists in the back. Solution: To show citizens of the countries contributing majorly to malysia’s plastic pollution about the lack of object permanence their leaders have. And urge them to not do the same through this satirical campaign. Aim: To make citizens realize how careless their leaders have been through this satirical campaign and urge them to show solidarity against this. Concept: In collaboration with Malaysia Tourism, we release 3D Augmented reality exhibit through an Instagram filter. The filter will be a satirical take on the leaders’ lack of initiative on the matter. It will talk about how they have no sense of object permanance like a toddler. They have a very out of sight/ out of mind attitude towards the issue.
How does it work? The Malaysia Tourism will put out an ad about a new AR experience they’ve created for people to experience glimpses of malaysia through their homes as well. It will talk about how those people willexperience the ‘True Malaysia’ They can access the filter through instagram where they can navigate through the AR created by us. When they actually see the AR they will notice heaps of trash in the backdrop of toddler world leaders going about their own lives not paying attention to what’s in their back because they have no tendency to understand object permanence. This experience will make them realize how indifferent their leaders are to such a dark situation they’ve created. This filter will have a link attached in the end that when clicked will take them to the greenpeace website which informs them about the gravity of the situation and sign a petition against this cruelty.
120
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention
Shachi Parikh • B.Des Communication Design • GRADUATION PROJECT 2020
References Websites: https://medium.com/disruptive-design/quick-guide-to-the-disruptive-design-method-25a7b2b56e5f https://tbwa.com/ https://medium.com/@kbsurrey/kards-4-kids-a-product-design-study-b3e69cb93154 https://unsplash.com/s/photos/street https://www.kindpng.com/imgv/hwhTJxR_transparent-trash-pile-transparent-background-trash-p ng-png/#gal_transparent-trash-pile-transparen t-background-trash-png-png-download_hwhTJ xR_4938211.png https://www.pngguru.com/free-transparent-background-png-clipart-bkfgo https://medium.com/the-sentient-files/10-principles-of-life-centered-design-3c5f543414f3
122
Conclusion A good brand always has an underlying great vision. It felt quite fruitful to work with such progressive brands. I learned about the gravity of collaborating with people for projects. About the importance of bouncing of one’s ideas off one another. The summarized growth in these 18 weeks was almost equivalent to my growth in the last 2 years. Working with people from different teams helped me pick up a few, very helpful extra skills. Working in an open office helped me understand the backstage or behind the scenes of advertising. I had really come to enjoy the environment that I was working in and I was satisfied that I had put in efforts that were well recieved.
Conventions in Visual Design: A Disruptive Intervention