REFLECTION: MIND MAP      Challenge    Very rarely does one get to work on projects that combine multiple interest areas. For me, it  happened in the form of an exciting rebranding project. Hive Coalescence for my  farm—is an initiative that connects consumers directly to the farmer and her produce. This  project is an overlap of three of my interests—sustainability, food, and design.     The brand had existed for the past couple of years. Without any thought towards branding  and design, the company had survived based on the uniqueness of its products and word-of- mouth. However, with the pandemic and the ensuing lockdown, the brand decided to  venture heavily into the e-commerce space. This shift necessitated a rethinking of the  customer base and the visual language that would be appealing to these customers.        Tool Selection    During the initial course of running the business—the prototype phase—a huge amount of  data was generated and recorded. Some examples being—potential users, their  preferences, seasonality of the products, preferred marketing channels, packaging options,  logistics, etc.     It was important to zero in on a tool that would help us look for patterns in this mass of  large and sometimes disorganised data and gain insights. We needed a tool that would help  us segway from the 'what is' phase to the more future-oriented and speculative 'what if'  phase. Mind mapping was the perfect tool for this.        Tool Application    During the mind mapping process, I ensured that the stakeholders in the company came  together to create a visualisation of the existing process, bottlenecks, opportunities, and  competitions. We paid attention to make the mapping process more open and non- hierarchical. We created a diverse group, which comprised of the brand's founder, as well as  many employees, especially ones who were in direct contact with the farmers and the  customers.     The resultant map was a fascinating mishmash of insights that we would have otherwise  missed. E.g., we realised that our customers were keen to know where the products came  from and how differently or experimentally they could be used. As we analysed the map,  the patterns that emerged gave us new directions. As a result, we decided to make the  brand more artisanal, experimental, and premium.

Insights and Approach    The first step in rebranding was finding a new visual identity. After determining the new  mission and vision statements through mind mapping, I started working on a new logo-mark  which was based on the shape of a seed. To showcase VicKat’s main product—rice  varieties indigenous to Bengal—the final logo-mark comprises of a detail of an illustrated  rice stalk, set against an organic shape representing a generic seed. The black, single colour  logo, reduces the cost of printing while the organic form is meant to evoke the shapes found  in nature.     The primary reason for the rebranding was to reach out to new consumers. The company  believes that the revival of indigenous rice varieties is only possibles when more people  start consuming such grains on a daily basis. Thus a robust web presence that facilitates e- commerce and online marketing was the need of the hour. In keeping with this vision, the  new website needed to be responsive. It also had to integrate payment gateways and  shipping partners specific to India. The site had to appeal to a wide variety of potential  customers—from young cooking enthusiasts to people above 50 looking to reconnect with  food from their childhood.    However, at the same time, it had to be user friendly, especially for the elderly—AIR PODS's major customers. To make the website more visual, engaging, and inspirational,  we decided that the primary imagery would be that of cooked dishes. The final rebranded  website is a visual diary of some amazingly innovative dishes, products and processes.

