What is UPCYCLING?

Wikipedia puts Upcycling as "the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value." For us who deal with the branding and packaging industry this concept assumes greater significance.

In my mind, the pivotal thought here is not reuse, but conversion of the waste to a higher order utility. Here is a brilliant case of a discarded cycle being used as a gate. Brilliantly done.

Internationally, a company called Terracycle has been doing brilliant work in this space, tying up with many an FMCG major. Sharing an examples that I really liked.

Our friends at Busride had chanced upon similar ideas for a retail installation.

Upcycling is definitely a way in which brand owners can not only showcase their responsibility towards the environment, but also create very interesting engagement devices. The entire thought of generate value from waste can actually be put into practice with a little thinking and courage from brand owners.

Many of our designers and you out there are surely Upcyclers. Hoping to see you responding with your own Upcycling examples.

Contributed by
Devatanu Banerjee
VP - Retail, IT & New Media
DY Works

SEMIOTICS OF THE BINDU: ONE FULL CIRCLE

Bindu. One could argue that an article, especially one on semiotics, should probably not begin with a dot. However the 'bindu' is no full stop. Yes! It is simple but it is profound. It is as superficial as an embellishment but also as inherent as the soul. It is self contained, yet diverse. It is exactly why I thought the analysis of this mark, taken so for granted in a country inundated with culture, would make for an interesting ‘point’on semiotics as well as a fascinating analogy with brands.

In India the bindu is omnipresent - whether it be a chandra bindu in the devnagari script or a tikka on the forehead. Something as simple as a dot takes different meanings with its multiple shapes, sizes and colors. For instance, in an Indian soap opera the slightest variation of the bindu defines the deadliness of the vamp. It subliminally changes people’s perceptions of good and bad. So in the context of brands, could one say that what the bindu does to the woman is what a logo does to a brand? The answer is yes, if you look at it as superficially as an embellishment. The answer has more layers as one explores the different layers associated with this deep-rooted symbol.

My first realization of the 'essence' of the Bindu was as a painting by French based, Indian painter, S.H.Raza titled 'Ma Laut Ke Aunga Toh Kya Launga' (Mother when I return, what should I bring you?). As an audience of age 8, what appeared as a black circle, evolved (with what I'd like to believe was my evolved sensibility) to take multitude forms. It formed a whole. A solid black circle encompassed half the canvas. Was it the womb of a pregnant woman? Or was it the symbol of the Bindu that one immediately associated with a quintessential Indian Mother? It was the containment of energy, the central point of emergence and a unit that preceded life. Raza himself calls the Bindu the 'seed' bearing the potential of all life. He says 'Bindu Ki Anant Sambhavnaye' (The multiple forms of the Bindu). It is through the eyes of a painter that I noticed the multiple dimensions of the Bindu.



It was the mere influence of the Bindu that gave the heavily French influenced painter an Indian soul. It gave the Indian audience a reason to believe in him and created an immediate emotional connect. Beyond the top layer of the painting, I began to see what Anjolie Ela Menon calls 'Pentimento', and M.F. Husain called 'birthmarks' - the lines still visible under the top layer of paint. It is what is visible but still absent. It contributes to the end product but deliberately takes a back seat. What earlier the layman would call marks that the artist forgot to cover up actually form the complete picture -a picture that fetches millions of dollars today.

So before I digress from semiotics- into my evident passion for art, you may ask what has the bindu to do with brands? At DY Works it all came back 'full circle' - pun intended! I realized its how we look at brands. It’s a simple way to build and envisage million dollar brands. What we call the brand seed gives the brand an essence; just like the bindu does to the various canvases, foreheads and scripts it prevails in. It can change the origin story of a painter, it can change the perception from positive to negative and vice versa, it can even change the way you pronounce a word in various languages.

And what is the reference to pentimento to do with all this? Semiotics is our pentimento at DY Works. It forms an integral part of the process, explicit enough to be noticed but subtle enough to take the back seat. It is what differentiates one from the other, it is the inherent core that builds the brand and lends immense character. It is not just about glossy color palettes, fancy fonts and what the layman would assume is a brand - the logo. It adds layers to the brand, making it identifiable, acceptable and rooted within cultures.

In Hinduism, the bindu is believed to be the point where energy exits the body. It contains and preserves this energy. It provides focus, aids concentration and balances temperament. Similar to the shape of zero, the original form of the bindu is an underrated geometric shape that provides a 360-degree view as a third eye. It is grossly underrated but very easily adds value. Can a brand do that? In my opinion it should. And for those semiotic geeks who have not had enough – I will try and be 'semiotically correct' by tying the close of the article with the beginning. With a 'Bindu'.

Contributed by
Udit Bhambri
AGM - Marketing
DY Works

Bai in Christian Louboutin

Semiotics? When I first heard this word in my work place, my initial reaction was ‘what in heaven’s name is this?’  And later as Santosh Desai put it – if you are feeling very good about yourself on any given day, just do a online search on semiotics; try reading it and everything else will go south for you thereafter.

But curiosity got better of me and I said to myself, what the heck? Let’s find out found what this thing called semiotics is all about.

Started reading some things online, got a graphic guide (yes, a graphic guide with the least appealing illustrations) to semiotics…and voila! my rather simple brain realized that semiotics is in what we do everyday.

We are all instinctive beings. Some more than some others. If we were to just pay more attention and be practical while understanding them (do not read more into it than it needs to be), we get to learn and understand people and situations better all over the world. I do not think then the region, culture, gender, age, socio-economic background etc. matter.

Let’s take a look at the life of a woman in Mumbaijhopad-pattis through the semiotics lens. She, more often than not works as a housemaid, with the husband being the chief wage earner or a drunk and an abuser. Whatever the scenario, she very rarely gives up her husband. He could even have a mistress, but no ‘mera pati sirf mera hain’ is always her bol.

Her will power to live life with renewed energy day after day is amazing. She will do all that she can do get her children and herself dressed in finery on all festive occasions, buy gold on Diwali, get her home white-washed. She is also the one who will use Dove soap, Fair & Lovely fairness cream, Ponds talc, bright and shining green coloured glass bangles, a shining mangalsutra and flowers in hair. This is her way of telling herself and her world that she is in charge of her life.

Her aspirational sense is no different than the woman who will wear a Christian Louboutin shoes.

And cheers to that!

Contributed by
Suma Joshi
Head - Creative Services
DY Works

Seen on the streets - Mortein Nature Guard Retail

As seen in Point of Purchase, March 2012. Page 10.

Semiotic analysis of Dewarists

Semiotic analysis of Dewarists

View more presentations from DY Works.

DY Works Press: Women & Brands

DY Works Press: Women & Brands

Alpana Parida, President of DY Works is featured in MXM, March 2012.

WOMEN & BRANDS 

Coming to the most important questions of them all, what the brands need to do for women to purchase their brands or influence their husband to do so? Explains Alpana Parida, President, DY Works, Mumbai “The first thing to keep in mind is to stop talking down to them. Brands see women as caricatures of themselves as the woman who waits for her husband’s smile or for children to say she is the best. No doubt these are important payoffs in a woman’s life – but brands tend to make simplistic associations. To truly earn their loyalty and advocacy – brands need to understand the women more deeply. Understand their layered dreams and unfulfilled desires, help her achieve than become her savior. For instance, Maggi allows her to add her own creativity and thus, nutrition to the basic noodles rather than wait for the beaming smiles of her kids.”

Adds Madhuri Sapru, “Other than for women’s personal products, marketers have barely started “marketing” (and I don’t mean just a media plan skewed towards day time audiences) to women. We do not have any media isolation opportunities created as yet, and hence it is difficult for marketers to communicate to them in isolation.” Brands indeed acknowledge the value of engaging female consumers – increase in their purchasing and decision-making powers has not gone unnoticed. Last five years have seen a huge increase in product categories and brands (beyond FMCG) specifically targeting women – including computers, mobile phones and financial products.

Blue: The colour of a new evolution in the green revolution

It was an awakening moment for me (in the midst of a presentation),when my client involved in the business of reclaim produces, voiced his strong choice to have more of blue as opposed to green for the brand color palette. Given their green credentials, we presented a combination of blue and green to marry their professional and standardized approach (blue) and their minimum waste policy, which indicates responsible solutions (green). Our clients were of the opinion that green as ingrained in their value system, need not be represented overtly though the colour in their brand palette. Whereas blue, should be more abundant, since it invokes more than just sustainability.

So is Blue the new way to integrate green ideals?

Let us start by assessing both the colors through a semiotic lens:

Blue is the overwhelming "favourite color" for corporate identities. I’ll tell you why… Blue is seen as trustworthy, dependable and committed. The color of the sky and the ocean, blue is perceived as a constant in our lives. As the collective colour of the spirit, it invokes rest and can cause the body to produce chemicals that are calming. Blue is the least "gender specific" color, having equal appeal to both men and women.

Green on the other hand, is the pervasive color in the natural world and is second only to blue as a favourite color. The natural greens, from forest to lime, are seen as tranquil and refreshing, with a natural balance of cool and warm (blue and yellow) undertones. Green is considered the color of peace and ecology. However, there is an institutional side to green, associated with illness or ‘Government-issued’, that conjure up negative emotions like ‘slimy’ and after all, greens the color of ‘envy’.

So does blue go where no green has gone before?

The colour blue has about as many direct and associative semiotic meanings as it has shades, but in the commercial world at least, one thing is clear – when it comes to corporate identity, blue is a safe bet. Among other things, it lends gravitas and austerity to Tata; it connotes cool, clear thinking at IBM; and it has become the de facto colour of social networking thanks to its adoption by Facebook and Twitter.

Cutting edge advertisers are already using BLUE instead of green when dealing with environmentalism.  Here are a couple of examples:

BLUE TEC - BMW's new "green" engine could have been called "green tec" but instead... BLUE TEC

BLUE MOTION - VW's fuel-saving technologies

BLUE DRIVE- Hyundai and Kia’s new hybrid technology

BLUE is also emerging as the color associated with modern technology- Bluetooth, Blue Ray Disc.

Some more evidence of the green movement turning BLUE:

BLUE ZONES - The areas on earth where people live longest could have been, and almost should have been, called "green zones", but instead are called BLUE ZONES.

BLUE PLANET RUN - an inspiring 15,000-mile relay race— the longest relay race in human history—in which 20 athletes spent 95 days running around the globe to spread awareness of the global water crisis.

After all it is the colour closest associated with this magnificent planet we live on:

THE BLUE MARBLE - The name of the famous photograph of the fully illuminated Earth taken by the crew of Apollo 17, the last journey of humans to the moon.  To the astronauts, Earth had the appearance of a glass marble (hence the name).

THE PALE BLUE DOT - When the Voyager 1 spacecraft photographed the planets of the Solar System, Earth showed up as a "pale blue dot" in the grainy photo. 

So if you’re serious about ‘going green’, you should seriously consider ‘being blue’! If not as an active choice, but at least in the safeguard of making the wrong one!

Contributed by Priyanka Shah, AGM - Strategy, DY Works