Building Purpose-Driven Brands with Insight and Passion!

In a world where branding is key to a company's success, Thought Over Design (ToD) has made its mark by creating purpose-driven brands that connect deeply with their audiences. Founded by Anushka Sani in 2013, the studio was born from a desire to blend insightful research with creative storytelling. ToD’s unique approach has resulted in successful collaborations with major brands, including Nykaa and Ugaoo, positioning them as leaders in the branding and design industry. Anushka shares insights into their journey, their methodology, and offers advice for aspiring designers looking to make their mark.

The core idea behind Thought Over Design is that design, when done with intention and the right insight fueling it, can be quite powerful. I was always inspired by designers who were problem solvers and wanted to approach any project I got with that lens. I didn't start operating as Thought Over Design until a few years later after I gained some industry experience, but to date, I feel quite connected to the initial idea and ethos behind it.

The brands that have worked with us see immense value in the process we follow to make critical decisions that shape the brand, including tone of voice, persona, and design language. Our goal is to be different from what's out there and to give the brand an edge that can't be easily copied. If you look at our portfolio, you'll see that while clarity of thought is a common guiding thread, all our brands look different. We don't want to pigeonhole ourselves into a style and aim to do what's best for the brand, the business, the category, the product, and the consumer.

1. They intended to start creating their own products such as nail care and makeup. At the time, Nykaa had none of its own products on their platform because they didn't exist.

2. The brand needed to continue being a platform that would sell other brands as well, similar to Sephora. This concept did not exist in India at that time. Therefore, we aimed to create something that was neutral yet had its own personality. At the time, I had a small team and also involved some friends from my design network to brainstorm ideas and experiment with different approaches. Rebranding is a sensitive and challenging decision for any business, so there were several rounds of discussions and considerations before the team agreed on the final identity that you see today.

The idea was simple: Nykaa is a platform for every kind of woman in India. Nykaa doesn't differentiate and will always provide access to everyone. Falguni's dream was to empower women with products and tools all under one platform. The wordmark comes from the idea of Nykaa itself. It's a word derived from the Hindi word "Nayaka," meaning heroine. So we imagined, "What if a strong, confident woman signed off her name as Nykaa?" That's where the logo idea came from.

I don't believe that amazing results always come from chaos and pressure. Sometimes they do, but in my experience, they are just occasional spikes. With a solid process, accountable team members, and a great working culture, we can achieve consistent outcomes and enjoy the journey. I'm not saying we don't work hard - we definitely do, but we do so with mindful structure and processes to ensure everyone can be efficient.

2. When working with clients, we invest a lot of time and effort in selecting those who are open to collaborating. One of the main reasons I established my own studio is because I wanted to have agency over the projects, businesses and people I chose to work with. We truly value client involvement in the process because we are not simply a vendor providing a service and moving on.

We work together with people to build something they are proud of as they have to run that brand/business after we've helped them build some key foundational pieces. We also want to build brands that last the test of time and the clients' buy-in must be there from the get-go if they are going to build on top of it. This is why we also insist on working with businesses at a stage when there is leadership/founder involvement in the process as many of the decisions being made need to be in sync with their vision and goals. I tell most of my clients that they are the secret sauce in a project because we really listen in to what they want to do and their point of view as well...and that's where some of the magic lies!

For me, the testament is if the brand is doing well, if the founders/leaders are happy with the transformation and if consumers are loving it too. I believe our partnership with The Whole Truth, founded by Shashank Mehta, is also a marker for a successful relationship. For me, it's not just about the outcome of the work but also the quality of the relationship/partnership that one establishes with people.

Recently, we collaborated with an ice cream brand called Hocco, founded by Ankit Chona, and they achieved three times the sales they had anticipated in the first quarter of the brand's launch. With a 100 crore annual recurring revenue (ARR), it has become one of India's fastest-growing consumer brands!

I cannot attribute this success solely to the work we did, but I do believe we played a role. We worked with an exceptional team on our end and their end, and everyone put in their best efforts to ensure that the brand was launched as we had intended together.

We did rebranding work for Ugaoo.com, which was founded by Siddhanth Bhalinge. This allowed us to create a launch campaign as well. It was really heartwarming to see the positive response it got from its consumers. What's also interesting to me is that we have never really done any outbound or active business development. Instead, our clients tell others about the work we've done together, which has always brought us new projects. We are very grateful for this and it keeps us on our toes!

Many of the founders we meet are working alone or with small teams. They have a great understanding of the products they want to create but need help in figuring out what would truly excite consumers. For example, they may know that a certain solution is needed to fill a gap in a particular category, but they might not be aware that consumers are thinking in a different way or may have concerns that brands haven't addressed yet. This is where our research and strategy approach comes in. We conduct in-depth research on consumers, culture, and categories to uncover insights that will help brands make a fresh impact in the market and stay relevant to the way contemporary culture is evolving.

We like to ask fresh questions and not just replicate research as well. For every strategic direction, there is an origin question that changes the data you look for, the insight you unearth, and the unique opportunity you can articulate. For example, if you are building a new brand of workout equipment, you don’t just have to ask what people need from their exercise equipment, you have to ask - how are people feeling in the gym? How are people reflecting on their bodies and health? If you are building a new ride-share, city travel app, you have to understand how a commute is affecting people. That’s how relevant brands are built.

Our yearly offsite has become a ritual of sorts, and I enjoy putting it together with the help of the team. Everyone connects and bonds in a special way during that weekend. Some of the team also really enjoy watching films and arrange movie nights on certain days of the month. We don't do this as often as I'd like, and this is a good reminder to revive that ritual!