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8 March , 2019When an article is about women who are an inspiration, it’s almost mandatory for it to start with the mother, the wife and maybe even the daughter. But not this one. This is about the women in branding who have inspired me and in many ways set the foundation stone for ABND.
Before I get to the women who have inspired me, let me tell you something about myself. I love working with brands, nothing excites me more than the idea of creating new brands right from scratch, or solving challenging brand related problems. But before I arrived to branding, I’ve pretty much explored everything under the “creative” sun – product design, packaging, manufacturing design, signage and way-finding, retail design and so on. Hence, years back when I co-founded ABND, it was because of my love for branding which streams because of the following three women.
Paula’s 1.5-million-dollar logo-on-a-napkin story is something that I can never stop talking about, it’s the coolest move by any brand designer ever. Yes, 1.5 million dollars for a logo may seem like a lot of money, but for an organization the size of Citi, the value of the logo justifies the cost. Like all branding projects, this one too started with a discussion between the Pentagram team and Citibank. While they were giving the project brief and discussing their expectations, Paula was busy doodling on a napkin.
Somewhere during the discussion, she said “This is your logo” and showed the sketch. That was it. That sketch is what eventually became the Citibank identity. This was the starting point of a massive branding exercise that followed. All in less than 5 minutes for $1.5m!
Her years of experience, immense talent and most importantly her confidence is what translated as that napkin sketch, a doodle that helped solve a problem. This is what I love about Paula Scher, her attitude towards branding and design. Everything about Paula is inspiring - whether it is her impressive body of works (The Public Theatre, Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Opera, Microsoft are the few that come to me on top of my head), or her saying no to projects that don’t fit with her ethos or her attitude towards working for free as being a powerful thing or her eccentric yet stunning hand-painted “maximalist” maps. Paula is one of the greatest liberal designers of our times and she is the reason I fell in love with design in the first place.
Thank you, Paula Scher for making me love visual identities.
Every brand and design consultancy in India including us need to thank Sujata Keshavan for literally creating us as a business category! Sujata Keshavan should be credited for developing the brand design industry in India. Almost thirty years ago, she founded Ray+Keshavan, India’s first and most influential branding company which was acquired by WPP in 2006.
Back in 1989 when Sujata Keshavan along with Ram Ray started Ray+Keshavan Design Consultancy – it was a category which did not exist in India. Up until then, agencies and brands did not bother about design, their focus was ads. In a time like that, selling design was an uphill task. But she did it.
She is responsible for creating so many brands across every sector thinkable. At one point of time in the early 2000’s, she was the one every bank wanted to run to for rebranding. Some of these brands include Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Kotak Mahindra, Trident, The Titan Company, ACC, Vistara, international airports (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad) Ceat and Shoppers Stop.
Sujata strongly believes that design holds a level of power and advocates it in any way she can, either in the boardroom or through her practice. Design according to Sujata can impact business and alter their fortunes.
Thank you, Sujata Keshavan for showing me the business in branding.
Shanoo has years of experience in strategic design thinking and design management. She is the Chairperson, National Design Committee of ASSOCHAM and President of the Mumbai Chapter of the Association of Designers of India. Shanoo along with Harkaran Singh Grewal co-owns Eumo, a leading design company in Mumbai. Shanoo’s approach towards design is different. She looks at design as an experience, she can take a brand from a two-dimensional space to an experience in three-dimension more effectively than anyone else I know.
Her ability of visualising the brand across all possible mediums is what makes her amazing. And she has been doing this way before “experience” became a buzzword in the industry.
I can write the most about her because I’ve worked with her. Back in 2008, when I was clueless and exploring everything under the creative sun, Shanoo was the one who gave me the opportunity to work at Eumo (Eureka Moment then). I had no title, neither was my job profile defined and there was a good reason for it – she gave me the freedom to explore, learn and grow. The few years that I worked at Eumo, I did everything – design, strategy, business development and project management. I don’t think I could have done that anywhere else, that’s the kind of freedom I had and I loved every moment of it. At Eumo I had the fortune of working with Shanoo and Gary on several prestigious projects for clients such as TATA Capital, J&K Bank, Reliance Retail, IL&FS, etc. There were no formulas, each brief was born with its own destiny and every brand / space was designed keeping into consideration the overall experience. Even if the project was as simple as creating a visual identity, Shanoo’s design directive was to ensure that every brand touchpoint and end-user engagement was kept into consideration. Working with her cemented my passion for branding.
Thank you, Shanoo Bhatia, for making me see branding as a 360-degree experience.
While these three amazing women made me love branding and inspired me to start ABND, one never really stops learning or getting inspired. There is also another set of women who continue to inspire me every day – the women I work with, the women at ABND. Priyanka Shahra, Ekta Banodkar, Nikita Mathur, Poornima Badwe, Maghan Varkey, Pradnya Ghag, Keren Benjamin, Florie Dsouza and Sveta Vora are the wonderful women from the ABND team. Their ideas, enthusiasm, innovation, hard work and courage is what makes ABND what it is today. These are the women who are always up for a challenge, who bring their best to the table and most importantly work like entrepreneurs.
Lastly, to close this post about women on women’s day, I will not make the mistake of saying Happy Women’s Day because I believe most of the women I’ve mentioned here do not doubt gender equality and they definitely do not need a Women's Day.
Partner
With 15+ years of spatial design experience, Sveta leads the team that helps extend brands to three-dimensional spaces. She has the ability to visualise intangible attributes such as brand positioning and translate them to materials, finishes and furniture in every space. Her belief is simple – ‘every detail in retail design has to reflect the brand.’ Over the years she has worked with some of the biggest brands in the hospitality and retail industry. At ABND, she is pivotal in projects that require branded interior design, retail design, way-finding and signage systems. Sveta is as defined and disciplined in dance as she is in her work!
March 1, 2018
The pioneer of liberal education in India, Pune based FLAME University is creating waves in liberating young minds. Over the years, the institution has built a reputation for itself that is significant enough to reckon with. Built on the methodology of psychologist Howard Gardner’s ‘multiple intelligence,’ there is a renewed focus on interdisciplinary learning. A vast array of options lies for students as there are over 250 unique major-minor combinations to choose from here. While you can major in subjects like Economics, Psychology, International Studies, Environmental Studies and Journalism, you can also graduate in Dance, Music, Theatre and Design. At FLAME, you could also do a BSc in Applied Mathematics and BBA degrees in Finance, Marketing, Communications Management, HRM, Operations and Entrepreneurship.
At a time when private players are still not trusted in the field of higher education, FLAME University is still a clear preference for young minds, owing to its unique approach. The string of collaborations it has made makes it an institution of excellence which stands out. Renowned foreign universities including Nuffield College, York University of Canada, and Wellesley College, Babson Collaborative and other institutes of repute have tied up with FLAME University.
At ABND, FLAME University was given a rejuvenated identity. Several competing institutions offered Liberal Education as part of the curriculum as well. In an attempt to set themselves apart from the clutter, FLAME University needed to rebrand themselves by giving Liberal Education a new way of expression we proposed for them – ‘Diversity of the Mind.’ To know more on how this reputed institute was envisioned anew and given a dynamic visual identity. To know more Click Here
Founder-Partner
Kunal says, “I’ve no specific talent, I’m merely inquisitive.” While his past experiences include product design, retail branding, packaging and design for manufacturing his true passion lies in branding and strategy. He’s the go-to person whenever the crafting needs finesse or the creation needs a fresh perspective. A certain sixth sense guides him in business and branding, honing the skill through experience. Kunal is also a guest lecturer and visiting faculty at a college in Mumbai, teaching branding to young bright minds.
February 27, 2018
Coming into view, the emerging logistics company, Grab, have recently received heavy government investment backing from Small Industries Development Bank of India’s wholly owned subsidiary, SIDBI Venture Capital Limited. Pratish Sanghvi, the co-founder of Grab, said that this funding of $1.5million is detrimental to their growth as the company is currently working on a crowdsourcing distribution model. SIDBI has joined a list of their big investors including Aramex, Zomato, Sixth Sense Ventures and Oliphans Capital. In spite of the hyperlocal delivery space being overcrowded, Grab was a prominent player for SIDBI to consider because of its sector-agnostic approach and its high chances of being EBITDA positive.
Providing hyperlocal and intracity logistics services to businesses including restaurants, food tech platforms, pharmacies and banks, Grab was once only doing food deliveries, being known as Grab-A- Grub. ABND had worked on the brand’s identity when they wanted to expand from being a food delivery startup to an all-encompassing hyperlocal logistics company. Changing from Grab-A- Grub to Grab, their rebranding made for a more sharper and agile brand. To know more Click Here
February 22, 2018
Thursdays at ABND just got chocolaty! Each of us brought our favourite chocolate to office. There was a huge goblet brimming over with chocolates of all kinds, apart from our favourite ones too. In a game of passing the parcel, the rubik’s cube filling in for the parcel in the last moment, the chocolates were exchanged amongst the chocoholics! What you got to pick in the lottery became your chocolate.The twist in the story came with the fact that the last person to pick her own chocolate in the lottery, got a chance to win the entire Goblet of Chocolates! Poornima won the Goblet. Following that we quirked it up by trading some of our chocolates with the Goblet Queen. It was a fun trade off. There were some toothaches after, but it was a happy sugar rush.
February 19, 2018
After back to back workshops and presentations through the weeks, the team felt like taking a break under the sun. Around the coffee table, there were some games and some lively chatter. While we had started the day all pumped up with a presentation for brand identity that went down well with the client, we ended the day on a light note at a coffee shop. From acting out the weirdest of movie names like ‘Matru ki Bijli ka Mandola’ and ‘Chameli ki shaadi’, we had great fun breaking down apparently simple ones too, when playing dumb charade. All of us had a crazy good time guessing interesting symbols and rhyming words when dissecting and decoding the films. We, at ABND, love our breaks as much as we enjoy the action!
Associate-Strategy
An experimenter at heart, Nikita’s experiences in interior design, sculpture design, advertising and branding has made her flexible to new ideas and new spaces. Nikita is a certified scuba diver. She has her own website, showcasing beautiful illustrations and paintings. Her art speaks of her love for animals and her admiration for the creatures of the sea. She loves to travel around the world and brainstorm on challenges.
Associate-Strategy
Stringing up the world with words, Sumanjari is driven by creativity, but with a purpose. Munching at her table always, she can (over)think but not on an empty stomach. She loves her coffee bittersweet and her strategies well researched. Academically inclined, she has written research papers on a wide range of topics from religion and music to branding to euthanasia. Sumanjari values spending time with her students, lecturing at a college by the weekends apart from her engagement at ABND.
Head-Creative
With a strong influence in the Applied Arts, our happy-go-lucky green haired creative lead has been a constant in team ABND right from its founding years. She is always humming a tune or two and livening up the pulse of the workspace. Ekta’s optimism and openness to new ideas fuels her creative best. Quirking it up in her attire, food and art, Ekta’s innovative at heart. She has a childish impulse of surprising others. Her love for bikes and nature deserves a special mention!
Founder-Partner
Priyanka Sachdev Shahra is a design thinker and serial entrepreneur. Her passions lie in bringing meaningful projects to life. Priyanka’s experience with entrepreneurship begun in 2010, when she cofounded ABND with Kunal Vora. Always having strongly felt for what’s environmentally and socially sustainable, she set up One With Earth in 2014 as a vehicle to support such projects. She has also been involved in an interesting venture which is a first of its kind in Singapore, an online swapping platform called Swapaholic. Priyanka manages the Singapore office of ABND.
Associate-Creative
A woman of less words and more action, this designer on the dot likes to keep it short and sweet. Having mastered in design in college, Poornima is driven by discipline and style. Zumba is a favourite pastime and she is also passionate for the cause of saving stray animals. Simplicity is what defines her spirit, whether she is designing or talking.
Associate-Creative
Debugging and resolving errors, Hitesh is the techie in the house responsible for digital and web strategies. A smooth operator, he is persistent in problem-solving. He is very passionate about solving the Rubik’s cube and we can see him at it often. We can tell that at school he must have been immersed in his science projects, which led him further to study information technology. In sports too it’s always the technique which fascinates him. The music in his ears is always loud enough for the entire office to hear!
Associate-Creative
With several years of experience in Interior Design, Deepu is the go to guy for detailing each space to the T. He lives Mies Van Der Rohe’s quote “god is in the detail”. His experience helps the team visualize design concepts from a detailed point of view, mapping it on to real spaces. A quiet and simple soul, we can always see Deepu working at his desk with complete concentration. A workaholic at heart, he is also a cricket buff and a harmonium player. He likes sticking to a rule book but won’t mind swinging to a catchy rhythm when he’s off work.
Administrator
Organized and to the point, our administrator likes keeping the house in order. Florie also has varied talents in cooking, sewing and embroidering. Diligence drives us as a team and so does it drive the person who holds the pack together. Florie is fond of country music and likes reading murder mysteries.
