• core brand platforms for all communication & outreach
• an experience blueprint at different phases of the product life-cycle stretching over 3 years (seeding, soft-launch, consolidation, expansion)
• user personas and scenarios establishing the desired user experience at different points of consumption
• key brand lock-ups and manifests thereof
• relevant advertising for key consumer groups
• visualisations of key activation concepts (activity, flow of events, visual guidelines, supporting merchandise & key facilitators)

The product launch is due in a few months from now till which we are committed to a non-disclosure agreement. But keep watching this space for an update.

• at one level to increase brand visibility and
• at another to provide augmented experiences to visitors which are facilitated by Coca-Cola’s presence within the park

Published below are some excerpts from the process document. Click on the thumbnails for an enhanced view.

Spandana has continued to successfully manage growth. Its gross loan portfolio stands at close to Rs. 300 crores, and has a client base that represents more than 800,000 households. This is estimated at constituting almost 1.5% of the BPL population of India.

The strength of Spandana has been in managing growth and profitability in a sector that has largely been under-serviced. As a result, the domains of intervention for Spandana are not limited to financial services. With ambitions of being the foremost service provider for its clients, Spandana was faced with a challenge to

• leverage its core strengths from the micro finance experience and become an enabler of services that were so far unavailable to this segment
• within the financial services sector, transform from an NBFC (non banking financial corporation) to a mainstream Bank with more robust & diverse service capabilities
• invite equity participation from foreign investors to give momentum to the above two goals

Quicksand was approached with the challenge of re-visioning the Spandana brand and articulating the new identity of the organisation to all interested stakeholders.

It involved, foremost, for the design team to understand the brand and all interfaces that it had with its customers. The attempt was also to uncover stories that would be inspirational and become the guiding beacon for designing the new face of the organisation.

Quicksand embarked on a design research exercise that involved:

• visioning workshops with the top management & CEO of Spandana, Mrs.Padmaja Reddy
• contextual research with Spandana’s customers, experiencing the micro-lending process first hand
• extensive film & photographic documentation of the people, processes and places touched by Spandana

The ensuing design exercise resulted in a new identity, a film and a manifesto for the brand that was unveiled at the largest MFI summit held annually in Canada. Spandana was subsequently also co-invested in by Lok Capital (a micro finance focussed equity fund) & JM Financial.

Click on images below to preview the film & manifesto designed. You may also download the manifesto by clicking here.

The manifesto was printed on recycled paper symbolic of an inspirational story of the founder of Spandana selling discarded newspapers to raise the first corpus of fund for lending. The film was shot at different centers of Spandana while living with the customers & documenting their lives as narrated by them.

1. Rahul Dravid Signature Collection

Dravid’s Signature Collection was launched by Reebok to celebrate the tenth anniversary of having him as a brand ambassador. The concept developed showed a more explosive and aggressive personality of Dravid unlike his reserved and somewhat tempered batting style. Quicksand developed the brand language, Illustrations, silhouette styling and print specifications for the entire signature line

2. World Cup Line

In the run up to Cricket World Cup 2007 in West Indies, Reebok wanted to launch official gear for the Indian cricket fans. Quicksand developed a theme-board around cricket, the West Indies and the euphoria & patriotism that surrounds such an event and translated that into silhouette styles for both men & women.

3. Indian Team Signature Line

Along with the World Cup fan gear, Quicksand was also commissioned to develop a line around Indian cricket team players who were brand ambassadors with Reebok.

4. Concepts + Directions

As part of an ongoing relationship with Reebok apparel, Quicksand developed brand concepts for different line presentations. The concepts once approved would be developed into a definite silhouette and graphic style. Published below are some interim concepts presented to the brand team.

Quicksand designed and prototyped the visual strategy and all launch collaterals thereof including a premium packaging inspired from cigar boxes.

Click image to download case study (1.5 mb, 5 pages)

Preliminary packaging concept

The brand manifests in the initial launch phase spanned:

• Flagship retail stores
• Small format retail kiosks
• Vending machines

Quicksand designed the visual identity and its applications across all these manifests. We also did conceptual renders of some of these manifests. Media Mart is now a recognized retail brand in Delhi with plans to expand its outreach to other cities.

Pepsico approached Quicksand with the mandate of designing the overall program structure, content, brand identity & framework and the communication plan needed to kick-start the program. What followed was a collaborative process between the following project partners:

• corporate patron (Pepsico)
• domain experts (nutritionists, educationists & health experts as part of Swashrit)
• design team (Quicksand)

Get Active program is now in its third year since its launch and has expanded to 200 plus schools and impacted 70000 plus children. The program is a global benchmark for Pepsico internally on how successful CSR initiatives need to be designed and managed.

The following films were produced to support some of the communication collaterals above.

Reebok commissioned Quicksand to conceptualize and design an inspirational space in their flagship RBK Arena store. The brief required the space to accommodate Reebok’s line of fitness equipment, a biometric analysis space, a timeline of Reebok’s brand history focusing on their athletes, and a shoe customization space that would let customers create and order their own designs for shoes.

In line with the nature of the space requirements, Quicksand proposed a space concept that weaved in all the requirements into an aesthetic that mutates ideas of the future and those of creation. Quicksand also undertook the design of the software and interaction of the RBK KREATE system – in partnership with CoDesign – a studio space that customers can use to create, store, browse and order designs for shoes.

The software design effort included understanding the back end supply chain for the delivery of the shoes right up to the customer’s doorstep. The interaction design also included the preparation of a film that acts as an introduction and screen saver. Images from the store concept, and from the software are provided below. Also preview an in-store film Quicksand made for the brand.

Here’s a flash demo of the interactive software made for the store.

RBK MERCHANDISE

Quicksand was commissioned by Reebok to design merchandise for their 50 Cent shoe line, inspired by hip-hop culture, Manhattan and the 50 Cent artist imagery. The proposed design includes the use of innovative materials such as used music vinyls for surfaces and a modular system in moulded acrylic.

Quicksand designed a table top swim wear merchandise system for Reebok, taking a cue from the aesthetics of water and the lightness of the swimsuits.

Quicksand designed an exhibition space for the Reebok retailers meet that included a chronicle of Reebok’s brand history, highlighted new footwear technologies and displayed various new garments for that season.