excerpt
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amar khamar is Bengali for my farm. It is a grocery store specialising in folk rice varieties, spices, pulses, honey, etc. I was approached by them five months into the corona pandemic and the ensuing lockdown which had severely curtailed their in-store sales. Even before, they had felt the need for a more robust e-commerce website as well as expanding their existing customer base of upper-middle-class Bengali households. The pandemic had made it just more immediate.

The organisation believes that the revival of indigenous rice varieties is only possibles when more people start consuming such grains daily. They also aim to connect consumers directly to the farmer and her produce. Yes, her! It so happens that the conventional image of the Indian farmer as a doughty male is just that, a convention. I realised that before an e-commerce website, a shift in the brand personality was necessary to attract younger and pan-India customers. A strategic brand design was required.

stylescape / brandscape

/ website mock up imac / Website mockup iphone / ldp packets / swiss pack / postcard front  + Back / tote bag / typographic poster

After some market research and brainstorming, we decided to re-orient the branding from its existing do-it-yourself-Bengali-cooperative aesthetics to a more handcrafted, premium, and artisanal one—highlighting the brand's core values of sustainability, biodiversity, local produce, and fair trade practices. I also conceptualised a visual identity system that would be unique, yet cost-effective, and implementable by the employees themselves without requiring the frequent intervention of a professional designer.

mission / vision
brand personality

typography
logo
imagery usage
website
packaging

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colour story
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typography
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symbol . wordmark . logo
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imagery usage
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II.

art direction

mobile phone photography
ads