Exclusive | Pushing the limits in design sol: Lokusdesign's Badve

India’s leading brand and packaging design consultancy, Lokusdesign recently completed a decade of existence. The journey began from a small 300 sq ft office in 2002 and today Lokusdesign is one of the sought after consultancy boasting of a strong portfolio of brands including Nestle, Park Avenue, Raymond, Titan, Dabur, LG, Videocon, Smirnoff, Marico, Havells and Mahindra to name a few. Over the years it has worked with top brands such as ITC, HUL, VIP, Bombay Dyeing, Bilcare, and Jindal Steel on product, brand, and packaging design mandates. As a testament to providing innovative design solutions, the company currently has more than 40 product and design patents in process.

Speaking to Adgully on the eve of the 10th anniversary, Chandrashekhar Badve, Founder Director (Strategy &Marketing), Lokusdesign said, “the journey over the last decade has been a satisfying one. It was a great experience to see how the organization has evolved over the years. The evolution happened in the form of establishing distinct systems and process to deliver great design ideas and solutions. In fact, it has been a great achievement for us to be one of the only ISO 9001:2008 certified design companies.”

Lokusdesign was started with an aim to create a difference in the design industry. Says Badve, “ When we started, we felt there was a gap in terms of what brands needed and what the industry could deliver. We started Lokusdesign in an effort to fill this gap and deliver world-class design solutions to Indian brands.”

The design scene 10 years ago was very different from what it is today. The design industry in India was at a nascent stage. Even from a brands perspective, there was a lack of awareness as to the extent of impact brand and packaging design could create. “Today, organizations have started to understand the importance of design, and the distinction a great design solution can create for their brand,” adds Badve.

The company has done some outstanding work during the years. Recalling one such assignment, Badve says, “When working with an international pharmaceutical brand, we were able to deliver a design solution that allowed the brand to get a US FDA approval for child resistant packaging. In fact, it is only the third organization around the world to receive this accreditation.” Another instance is the type of solution the company delivered to a leading alcohol brand. Avers Badve, “after studying the brand, we were able to identify smell as a differentiating characteristic. On this mandate, we were able to go beyond the brief to suggest the brand a spray tester to promote the brand through smell. In fact, this project was even more satisfying as the brand was able to see clear business impact due to this solution.”

An organization’s proof of excellent service lies in the percentage of clients it is able to retain in the long run as also the growing number of repeat clients. Lokusdesign has been able to achieve that on both the parameters. Mentions Badve, “our brand partners have stayed with us due to the way we work. They appreciate that we do have a strong process, and in that sense, a method to the madness. Our client partners know that our process allows us to go beyond the brief to innovate and create opportunities of impact for the brand. We strive to keep pushing the limits to provide innovative and impactful design solutions, and this keep our brand partners coming back to work with us.”

As for plans going ahead, in terms of expansion or collaboration, Badve maintains, “As we want to focus on our core domain of brand and packaging design, we would look to form alliances and collaborate with companies to provide a greater array of communication solutions to our brand partners in the future.”  At the same time on a steady basis he wants to continue to fortify teams, systems and keep evolving the structure to provide the best design solutions to brand partners.

Beyond its traditional business, Lokusdesign has identified digital as its growth area as there has been a tremendous growth over the last 5-6 years. Says Badve, “we have set up a company called Monsoonfish. Although the company is focused on providing digital solutions to its clients, design is the driving factor at its core.”

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