For some time I have been pondering on the idea of talking to you about the people who I believe have made a mark on today’s booming food industry. People who have created food brands. I know them, as I have worked with them over all the 15 years of my career as a Food Stylist and Photographer. These include Ad film directors, Cinematographers, Photographers, Creative directors, Design cells & Food entrepreneurs. Here is the first of the series of interviews I have conducted with them. I am sure you will find them to be inspiring .
Ashwini Deshpande – Co-founder Elephant Strategy + Design, India’s largest independent design consultancy.
As a trained Graphic Designer from NID, Ashwini embarked upon the unexplored sector of design entrepreneurship in 1989. As India's largest independent design consultancy, Elephant Design has played a pivotal role in establishing the business of design for over 21 years.
Elephant work has been recognized with several international awards including ReBrand International, Asiastar Packaging Excellence, International Spark, Global Green Gadgets etc.
Ashwini divides her time between teaching, pro bono work and professional consultancy to help products & services become relevant in the emerging markets; later being her priority at the moment.
Ashwini has lectured around the world in over 20 countries, Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Summit, Copenhagen Co-creation Summit & ICOGRADA Vancouver Design Week being some of the significant ones.
Saba: Tell us a bit about yourself. Where did you start? Your schooling? Your experiences?
Ashwini: I grew up in Aurangabad, a small town with limited exposure to global professions & trends. Always into creative expressions like art, model making, collages, I had built up an appetite for doing something creative in my growing up years, though I was not aware of the profession of design. My parents were extremely supportive of my search for that unconventional creative pursuit. I was fortunate that I got to know of National Institute of Design just in time for seeking admission. It was a happy combination of luck and sincere will that got me a seat in batch of just 24 at National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad in 1983 after few nationwide rounds of entrance exams, group activities & personal interview. Design education is very different from conventional academics. There were no text books or examinations. Your learning entirely depends upon your ability to explore, discover & grasp. Design is “learning by doing”. It took me a while to unlearn the system I had grown up into and start enjoying the self-learning pattern.
Saba: In year 1989 Elephant Design was a 2 member team. Today there is a large team working? And how big is the creative department?
Ashwini: Well... we were actually 6 friends that started Elephant in 1989. We are a strong independent team of 60+ today with multi-disciplinary design expertise & experience. Anywhere in the world, that is considered a big design office. However, it really does not matter how many people we gather. To us what matters the most is quality of our solutions. Creativity in design is always purposeful. A professional designer, by training knows his/ her responsibility towards society, economy and the environment. Today the team is richer with inclusion of design strategists, managers & researchers.
Saba: Where do you get your design inspiration from?
Ashwini:I get my inspiration from people that we design for. In India, the foremost concern for design is still the fact that design cannot add to the cost of a product or service. Design must add delight, comfort, excitement, give distinct experiences and satisfy different concerns for each of the stake holders. All this is possible only of you understand the user, consumer, buyer of whatever it is that we design. Observing real people & their environments is the true inspiration.
Saba: What goes into the packaging decisions on a food product?
Ashwini: Recently, I was interacting with brand managers of one India’s most loved foods company. When I asked them what their dream was, here is what an interesting answer was; “A shop has run out of my brand & someone who came looking for it went empty handed!”. Now... that is what a cult brand is. A brand that cannot be replaced by any other. I believe packaging a one of the biggest moments of truth in a brand experience. And for a food brand, the largest driver is how you show the food. At Elephant, we call it the “drool shot”. No matter what the pack contains, when it sits on shelf, it must entice the shopper and have him/ her drool over the contents. Apart from colour, shape & branding, food styling is the prime decision that talks to the intended audience.
Saba: You did a full-service design job for Venky's recently you worked on their branding and then developed that into a full design for their packaging and their stores. How did the project come about?
Ashwini: Venky’s was an interesting project as it gave us the opportunity to renew branding and the entire eco-system of brand including identity, brand essence, positioning, portfolio architecture of all business verticals, packaging and stores.
Saba: What was the brief and how did you approach it?
Ashwini: To keep its brand relevant and aspirational, Venky’s brand needed to rejuvenate and transform to appeal and gain patronage of the new consumers and their changed aspirations. The company partnered with Elephant to achieve this objective through a Corporate Identity change. The challenge was to create a differentiated Identity and define a clear and effective Brand Architecture, that would be relevant to current consumers and differentiate Venky’s from competitors, while also integrating and highlighting the group’s values and legacy of being a pioneer of the poultry industry in India. To know more about this case study, visit http://elephantdesign.com.
Saba: What's your design philosophy?
Ashwini:To make a positive difference by design!
Saba: Do you have a dream project?
Ashwini: Sure. I want Elephant team to design the Olympics Games identity & livery. With our experience in creating a benchmark at the Commonwealth Youth Games 2008, a global event with participation by 71 countries, this really would be the logical progression for us. For the Commonwealth Youth Games, our team created the identity, a green baton that went around the country spreading environmental awareness and over 2000 multi-sensorial applications related to the Games event.
Saba: What kinds of trends have you seen in food packaging over the time of your business?
Ashwini: Days of tins, wax paper or butter paper are gone. I see much more use of plastics. Printing techniques are much more evolved over the years & you can now get some amazing effects that make food look even better than it actually is! Messaging has changed largely and now there is emphasis on information like “zero transfat” “no added sugar” etc. In terms of the contents or ingredients of the food product, there is a healthy regulatory watch that empowers consumers. Veg/ non-veg logo were are mandatory now & a consumer can clearly understand what the pack contains before buying or consuming. In terms of design, we have started using much more colour to be able to shout out of shelf, but I believe we will go a full circle & start creating some “quieter” packaging to stand out in the riot.
Saba: What has been the most rewarding project that you've worked on?
Ashwini: After 21 years of design practice, it is impossible to look back & pick one. And I am still very excited by whatever is at hand (otherwise we wouldn't take it up!) So I always hope it is the one I am working on right now that will be our most rewarding project.
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