PORTFOLIO
Hi!
I am Shalvi. I was introduced to art 24 years ago when I received my ďŹ rst paint and brush set as a birthday gift. That love only grew with me and has now led me to here.
1 6
RESEARCH
FINAL PRODUCT
2 AUDIENCE
MY DESIGN PROCESS
5 PROTOTYPE
3 4 IDEATION
IMMERSION
1
ninjaKi
TM
From the Japanese folklore, comes a balancing game of 7 ninjas and their lords.
2
Kutch ji chaap
Inspired by the Great Rann of Kutch, a jewellery collection designed for the young women of India.
3
Snap! “Snap� go the players when their cards match with each other. The number of cards in hand determine the winner.
4
Do you Vespa? Retro-futurism inspires the design of this Vespa retail store in India.
1ninjaKi
TM
To design a fun-ďŹ lled wooden toy for Shumee that teaches the skill of balance to a six (or above) year old. The design takes into account open-endedness in play and engages an entire family. Toy Design | Interaction | Child Psychology
SHUMEE: THE BRAND
Shumee is an Indian wooden toy brand founded in 2014 for sustainable, eco-friendly and educational toys. Each toy has been designed after much research on how to engage, stimulate and entertain children of three age-groups namely, babies, toddlers and preschoolers. The brand’s portfolio consists of 120+ toys. Shumee caters to parents across the globe but majority of the customers are in India. Link to the website- www.shumee.in. Prioritizing child-safety, every Shumee toy adheres to strict quality control standards. These timeless, sturdy wooden toys withstand wear and tear and can be handed down as heirlooms, making them a great value for money.
My role To create a toy that engages children as well as adults; keeping in mind the design language of the brand and the scale of the setup. The values to keep in mind are ‘Made in India’, eco-friendly and sustainable materials, safe for children.
1. RESEARCH
Keeping in mind- design langugage of the brand, market demands and consumer needs, my research was on the skill of balance.
Primary
Secondary
As a part of primary research, I talked to a few parents to understand their thoughts on child-play and a parent’s involvement in it. I also visited some local toy stores to guage the availability of balance games.
For secondary research, I went deeper into motor skills and found that trunk control is an important aspect of child development while balance helps to maintain controlled body positions. Some international toy brands that are making balance toys are Mellisa & Doug, Hape and Haba.
2. AUDIENCE
The audience for this toy is 6+ years. While deďŹ ning the audience I took into account the consumers that will most enjoy it (mainstreams) and the consumers that will least enjoy it (extremes).
3. IMMERSION
I visited a few play areas in private homes to photograph and gather information on toys that lead to maximum engagement. For a comparative analysis, I studied the toy collection of a 4, 6 and 8 year old. This also gave me insights into popular trends among children.
6+
4 a. IDEATION
This stage enabled me to brainstorm around important keywords, drawing out ideas and ideating on themes around which the toy could be conceptualized. The following questions were answered in this step: What does Shumee want the children to learn from this? Main idea behind it? Animals? Nature? Fantasy?
4b . INSPIRATION
After much thought, I selected Ninjas as the central theme. It offered opportunity for 3D exploration in shape and form. Japanese folklore added to the exciting plot to weave a story around the toy giving new information on Japanese history.
4c. SKETCHING
Insight Statements: • Ninjas inherently give scope to explore different orientations and forms. • Ninjas offer interesting gamification. • The difficulty level has to be balanced for players of different age groups. • The perception of a Ninja differs with age and gender of the player. • Open-ended play. • Bright colors to dress Ninjas.
5 a. PROTOTYPING I
I developed prototypes using 2” thick thermocol and checked for balance points (in reference to physical laws). This step eliminated the forms which could not be used for the set because of fewer possibilities in orientation.
5 b. PROTOTYPING II
To finalize the material of the toy, I tried different types of wood like beech, rubberwood and acacia. The breakability was high in wooden samples so I tried making it in medium density fibre. An 8 mm thick MDF seemed to be a stronger variant and ideal for this toy. Each piece measures 13 cm by 13 cm in legth and width (approximately extreme ends).
5 c. USER TESTING
Tested with 50+ consumers. While testing with them, the breakability in wood was re-confirmed, hence, MDF became the natural choice for material. • User testing with an 8 year old: The child could not relate with the Ninjas without colour. His perception of Ninjas was- black belt, black clothes, wearing eye-bands and carrying weapons. Building the tower took some time for him but once the trick was known, it happened quickly. • User testing with a 23 year old: The adult user enjoyed as much as the child because of the difficulty it offered. The balancing of pieces posed an exciting challenge. Analysing the number of pieces each consumer could balance, I took an average and decided on keeping 7 pieces in a set.
6. FINAL PRODUCT
RULER A 15 cm tall tower saves the Tenno (or the king)
The toy inculcates the skill of balance, sensory and fine-motor in children. To add characteristics and features to the toy, I conceptualised a story inspired by Japanese history. A toy becomes more memorable if it can be played in multiple ways. So I designed a ruler and a few playing cards to add to the difficulty level. In the cards, each Ninja can be named by the player and possesses some superpowers.
A 10 cm tall tower saves the Josei Tenno (or the queen)
The seven brave Ninjas are trying to build the tallest tower by climbing onto each other. They need to save their Tenno (king), the Josei Tenno (queen) and the Daimyo (master).
Help them balance it out to protect their masters and score points! Use playing cards to make it difficult for your opponent and measure your tower using the ruler. There can be any number of orientations to balance it.
A 5 cm tall tower saves the Daimyo (or the master)
PLAYING CARDS
2-6
MANY WAYS TO PLAY
players An exciting game for all ages made from precision-crafted, specially finished wood blocks. To set up the game, use all included accessories including ruler. You can play individually or in groups.
6. Assign points to each part-
1. To play individually, try to stack all the seven Ninjas on one another as tall as you can. You can raise the level of difficulty by adding another set of Ninjas. (7+7)
Try to balance the Ninjas along the head, hands or legs. If you balance it along the head and a hand, you get the head point (always the highest). If you balance it along a hand and a leg, you get the hand point, as the case may be. If playing with friends, build it individually and tally the points.
2. Play on either axis. Balance all of them along the x-axis or the y-axis. Playing across the axis would lose you the game. 3. Use the ruler given in the set to measure the height of the balanced Ninjas. The higher they rise, the more points you accumulate. 4. Play it single handed. Challenge yourself by using only one hand (left or right) to balance them. 5. Be the fastest player. Balance the 7 as fast as possible. (This can be played with several friends and the fastest player wins)
Head = 20 points, Hands = 10 points, Legs = 5 points
7. Use the Ninja cards in the box to distribute 3 Ninjas each (incase of 2 players). After distributing 6 pieces between two players, the 7th becomes the starting point. Try to build it together or build one by one for points. Make a difficult configuration so that the opponent is not able to balance it. The player, whose Ninja topples the structure, is out. 8. No Ninja at any given point should touch the ground (except at the beginning of the game). Touching the ground at an advanced stage will get you a penalty. (A deduction of 50% of the total points or “miss a turn” if playing with friends)
LEARNING
The set of 7 Ninjas offer immense play value to both children and adults. The game helps in skills like sensory, balance, ďŹ ne motor and problem-solving. The primary and secondary research with respect to child psychology for the age group 6+ years was informative for me. As the design lead of the company, it gives me great pleasure to receive encouraging feedback from our customer base. The ninjaKi sales helped drive the revenue for Shumee up by 5% in 3 months since it’s launch. The product is available athttps://bit.ly/2M9Gajn
2Kutch ji chaap To design a product collection inspired by a word, emotion, phrase or region in my country. The number of products and it’s category are free to be explored. Ethnography | Lifestyle Accessory | Interaction
INITIAL EXERCISE
To help me start with the exercise, I brainstormed for 1 minute and listed the first 10 keywords that came to my mind when I thought about ‘product collection’. It can be anything from emotion to physical object to a place. The 10 words were- Toda tribe - Daman and Diu - Puducherry - Hills - Joy - Rann of Kutch - Earth after rain - Winds - Toys - Elements of nature I analyzed the list and thought that “Rann of Kutch” offered me maximum possibilities in terms of form and material manipulation. Rann of Kutch is a salt marsh located in the Thar Desert in Kutch District of Gujarat, India. It is reputed to be one of the largest salt deserts in the world. The area has been inhabited by the Kutchi people who are rich in culture and heritage.
1. RESEARCH
During my research I found out that the Kutch district is well known for it’s traditional and cultural values. Kutchi culture is famous for it’s creative art and craft. There are nomadic and semi-nomadic communities living in the area which constitute the heritage of the state. Some craft skills practised by the Kutchi people are pottery, block-printing, copper bell making, leather craft, woodwork and jewellery making.
2. AUDIENCE 28-35 years
The young urban professionals living in a city are populary called ‘Yuppies’. A yuppie typically takes the idea of competing for social status extremely seriously- just out of college, and who has a high-paying job and an affluent lifestyle. The Indian Yuppies are born between 1980s and 1990s and this culture has been seeing a resurgence in the 2000s. The audience for my product collection is Indian women falling in the age category of 28-35 years. These women are expected to shop at pop-up stores and boutiques seeking something unique for themselves. Recently, there has been an increased demand for craft items in the market and the Indian women are ready to consume unique experiences.
THE INDIAN YUPPIES
3 a. INSPIRATION
Reading about the rich culture of the state and the crafts practised there, I selected ‘silver jewellery ’ as my inspiration. The jewellery is hand-made by the village women and is passed onto the next generation by their ancestors. Both men and women adorn traditional jewellery pieces and the type varies with the community each belongs to. Coins, semi-precious stones, shells, soft metal, lead, tassles and ivory are some materials used to make these items. Generally, a Kutchi woman is seen covered in jewellery from head to toe. This is because the people do not have a safe place to store all their jewellery and are constantly on the move to depend on any one place.
3b . PRODUCT COLLECTION
“Kutch Ji Chaap” A collection of adornments inspired by the salt desert of Kutch; it is for the modern day woman who wishes to add colours to her wardrobe. The accessories dress you from top to waist in indigo and red which are considered pious shades in the Kutchi community.
Choker (a close fitting necklace) | Hair Pins | Waist Belt | Finger Ring
“Kutch Ji Chaap” is Gujarati for “essence of Kutch”. The collection has the indigenousness of the region. It promotes and celebrates the virtues of Kutchi people.
4 a. IDEATION
Since Kutch is very rich in art and craft, it was very difďŹ cult for me to narrow down my inspiration to only 3 crafts to work with. With great difďŹ culty, I decided to develop a jewellery collection combining the silver work, leather craft and thread embroidery. The idea of the collection is to give the wearer a feel of nomadic crafts.
4 b. SKETCHING
I developed sketches for a necklace, hair pins, a finger ring and a waist belt keeping in mind the silver, embroidery and leather that had to be combined. Hair pins and waist belts are popular Kutchi accessories and the women of different tribes are often seen wearing it. I selected Ajrakh as my fabric base for hand-embroidery. Ajrakh is a unique form of blockprinted shawls and tiles found in Sindh, Pakistan. Since Kutch is next to the Sindh region geographically, it’s influence can be seen on Kutchi lifestyle.
5. PROTOTYPING
A. I used metal-fusing to make the pendant, coins and other silver jewellery parts. I then cut a leather pattern for the belt and the choker.
D. I made owers out of fabric swatches and did a hem stitch on leather edges. These are then stitched to the main product to complete them.
B. I marked the placement lines on leather to later embroider on it using thread and foil.
C. Ajrakh print cloth is used to add details to the jewellery. I embroidered it with chain stitch (a stitch popular in Kutchi textiles).
6. FINAL PRODUCT
CHOKER
HAIR PINS
WAIST BELT
LEARNING
I thoroughly enjoyed working on this jewellery cum craft project. It was my ďŹ rst time developing jewellery and the insigts offered during the process were very informative. I am now conscious about the characteristics of Kutch and it’s people. Besides jewellery, I also got to experience other craft skills like embroidery and leather work. It is during this project that I understood the struggle and hardwork that goes into making craft items.
FINGER RING
3Snap! To design snap card games for children themed around animals and monsters. The classiďŹ cation and illustration style is open to be explored but is keeping to the client’s brand language. Game Design | Interaction | Brand Study
SHUMEE: THE BRAND
Shumee is an Indian wooden toy brand founded in 2014 for sustainable, eco-friendly and educational toys. Each toy has been designed after much research on how to engage, stimulate and entertain children of three age-groups namely, babies, toddlers and preschoolers. The brand’s portfolio consists of 120+ toys. It has a worldwide reach with the majority of audience located in India. Prioritizing child-safety, every Shumee toy adheres to strict quality control standards. These timeless, sturdy wooden toys withstand wear and tear and can be handed down as heirlooms, making them a great value for money. Link to the website- www.shumee.in.
My role To design snap card games for children. What is a Snap game? Snap is a matching card game to match colors or characters. The players continue to turn over the top cards of their respective decks until someone turns over a card that matches the card on the top of the common pool, in the middle of the table. The first person to shout “Snap!” gets all the cards of the pool. Shumee’s visual style is ‘fluid lines, soft material, playful and happy characters, bold and popping colors.’ I tried to imbibe this style during exploration of different themes.
1. RESEARCH
Primary
Secondary
For my primary research, I visited the toy stores of my city to get some data on popular buys in card games. I also interviewed a few adults aged 20+ years about their recollection of childhood card games.
Shumee wants to compete with international brands with respect to graphic design and quality. Therefore, I looked at Janod, Mudpuppy and Petitcollage to understand the new ideas being developed by these brands.
2. AUDIENCE
The cards are for children aged 3 and above years. The snap game helps the children with cognitive and fine motor skills. There is color and object recognition in the game and immediate reflexs that help children build physical skills too. Shumee has a worldwide audience with the biggest market in India. Shumee tries to make toys that can have multiple ways of playing; these cards can also serve as flash cards and the parents can use it for 2-4 player games.
3+ years
3. INSPIRATION
I developed 3 set of card games. From my primary and secondary research I found out that animals are popular with the Indian parents and their children. Since the buying power is with the parents, it is important to appease them and be able to show them some value in these games. Animation studios like Pixar has made monsters appear friendly and that was another theme children were excited about. So, I decided to explore farm and wild animals along with some monster characters.
4 a. IDEATION
I love sketching out ideas and ďŹ nd the skill useful in brainstorming. To reach a deďŹ nite illustration style, I drew forms in varying length, thickness and intensity, trying out variations with shapes and expressions. It was important to select a style which was orignial while complementing the brand language. I always wanted to use bright, pop colors that would attract the children.
4b.DIGITAL EXPLORATION MONSTERS Insight Statements: • Ninjas inherently give scope to explore different orientations and forms. • Ninjas offer interesting gamification. • The difficulty level has to be balanced for players of different age groups. • The perception of a Ninja differs with age and gender of the player. • Open-ended play.
After sketching some animals and monsters on paper, I started translating them into digital illustrations. In order to form an association with the characters, I wanted them to have names. This also helps in building a story around the game. I came up with names like Teleman, Olga, Bubble Blue, Swirlo (for the characters on this page) etc. and displayed them on the cards.
4 c.DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION WILD ANIMALS
RI
O G N
O E L
4 d. DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION FARM ANIMALS
QU
K C A
U Q S
L A E
5. PROTOTYPE
A set of 52 cards; each set has 13 characters. It is made of 300 gsm, card stock paper and printed with vegetable inks in size 13 cm by 9 cm. A fun game for 2-4 players inculcating ďŹ ne motor, problem-solving and selfexpression skills.
6. FINAL PRODUCT WIL D SNAP
2-4
players
I also designed the packaging boxes for the 3 cards games. It is made of 300 gsm paper, dye-cut and folded. It has the print of all the characters repeating in a tile form.
FARM SNAP
MONSTER SNAP
LEARNING
I personally love drawing, sketching and illustrating. I think it is a very powerful tool to communicate ideas. So I was eager to take on this project and explore my personal illustration style and push myself to the limit. Combining it with game design was an icing on the cake. I always look forward to studying childrens’ interaction with physical objects and this project gave me the freedom to do that. These card games are live on the website. Here is a linkhttps://bit.ly/2D5YOpI
4Do you Vespa? To design a retail store for Vespa in India. Space design is an important aspect of visual merchandising and I explored it thoroughly in this project with the help of a site model. Visual Merchandising | Interface Design | Brand Study
VESPA: THE BRAND 1986 “Not just a scooter, a way of life.” Vespa is an Italian brand of scooter manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in Italy to a full line of scooters and one of seven companies today owned by Piaggio. The launch of the Vespa scooter created and influenced the rise of consumer culture, youth culture, women emancipation and the identity of teenagers, in the aftermath of a post war/ fascist Italy. It was an emergence of new and affordable means of transport in the 1940s.
1996
To mark the 70th anniversary of the iconic Vespa scooter in 2016, Piaggio made a special commemorative series of models, including the nippy Vespa Primavera, the sporty GTS and the timeless PX.
2006
2016
1. RESEARCH
Vespa in India: Vespa re-entered the Indian market in 2012 after it’s license failed to renew in 1971. Rather than a product catering to the needs of multiple customer segments, Vespa is introduced in India as a premium lifestyle product targeting a specific segment-the affluent urban youth. Piaggio has adopted a premium pricing strategy where prices are kept artificially high in order to create a luxury perception among the customers. In other terms, when you buy a Vespa, you are paying for the physical product as well as the intangible ‘image' of ‘Vespa' brand. The Vespas in India are priced between Rs. 73,000-Rs. 1 lac.
2. AUDIENCE
The audience for this ‘premium’ scooter is ‘Indian Urban Youth’ aged between 18-30 years. Vespa is priced at a 40-45 per cent premium vis-à-vis the average scooter brand in India and is style over mileage for Indians. The style conscious and evolved consumers are extremely interested in this up-market scooter. Vespa markets to the 'aspirational Indian' - a fashion conscious scooter buyer, well-educated, well-off and possibly already owns a scooter and a car, and is looking to buy a two-wheeler to make a statement. Geographically, the brand is focused on all the large metros and is doing well in metropolitan cities.
18-30 years
3. INSPIRATION
To define the mood, interiors and accessories inside the store, I picked Retro-Futurism as my theme. The design of the original scooter was always futuristic for it’s times and had an influence of the coming modern age. The term ‘retrofuturism’ also means something similar. This theme takes into account a nostalgic feel of the bygone era while considering the advancements of the anticipated modern age.
4a . IDEATION
The color scheme for the store is pastel green, neutral white, grey and dark brown/black to add details. Some key features that must be incorporated in the design to enhance the buying experience of the customer are• Style of architecture- interior and exterior complementing the brand language. This includes building material, lighting, furniture and the overall display. • Dimensions of the building and length of the walkways accessible from the entrance and exit. • Design of the physical entrance and exterior window displays. • Easy movement of the visitors and the store staff. • Focus on the product (dividing it into primary and secondary focus). • Important spaces like office of the manager, water cooler area, salespeople only zone, customer lounge etc. • Geographic location of the retail store..
4 b. SKETCHING
I sketched ideas and drew out forms, space layouts and other prime features that should be present in the store. This was going to be a site model of scale 1:500 and will give a glimpse of the original design. Besides my inspiration, I considered the brand langugae and it’s visual style to come up with a layout that best pleases the customer. The store is divided into two floors. The ground floor has the entrance, a help desk, display area of the scooters, a helmet installation on the wall and Vespa merchandise. The first floor has an area reserved for customization. It also has the manager’s office, a water-cooler/kitchen area and a washroom. There is one window display on the exterior facade. The store’s outside walls are textured grey to match the theme of retro-futurism.
5. PROTOTYPING
The medium density fibre board (MDF) in varying thickness, is the primary raw material for this project. I used laser cutting to make all the small details. Plastic paints are spray painted onto the small objects to give a good finish. The model is of the size 30” by 24” by 26” (L*B*H).
6. FINAL PRODUCT
Customization area Kitchen and water-cooler area Manager’s office Washroom
Air conditioning vents
Merchandise section
Stairs leading to the first floor
Display area
Billing/ Help desk Ground floor
LEARNING
It was an intriguing consumer interface design project. I learnt to a great extent about combining user study, brand visual style, material handling, technical drawing and space design, all in one combination. Working with laser was new to me and it was an insightful learning experience to manipulate wood using technology. I am now well-versed with some interior design tools and will be happy to execute space design again.