Designing an App that Celebrates India's Cultural Diversity
When Tata Neu approached LiquidInk Design for the redesign of their app, they were not only looking for a new visual design but also a digital experience that would seamlessly combine modern design with India’s rich heritage. During the project, LiquidInk Design faced various challenges, gained insights, and made creative breakthroughs to create a unique app interface that would appeal to a global audience while proudly showcasing India’s cultural diversity.
Client: Tata Neu
Requirements: Product Design, Visual Language, Icons and Illustrations
What was the primary target audience for Tata Neu's app?
The target audience for Tata's products was diverse, spanning across various sectors and age groups. Our main focus was to cater to the needs of the modern Indian demographic, who are tech-savvy and familiar with Tata as a trusted brand.
What did Tata Neu's team have in mind when they came to LiquidInk Design? What were their specific goals and objectives for the designing their app?
Tata Neu and Liquidink Design worked together to create a unique app that combines modern design with Indian heritage to appeal to a global audience. The goal was to develop an interface that is easy to use for everyone while still incorporating traditional Indian culture. The end result is an app that proudly showcases India's rich heritage on a global platform.
How did you consider the diversity of India's population when developing the new app?
We took inspiration from the 9 Rasas, which are the essential elements of any work of visual, literary, or performing art that can only be suggested but not described. As we wanted to create an app that showcases Indian culture, we thought a concept rooted in Indian arts would be the best fit. It would enable us to connect with a diverse population who would use the product with pride.
How did you ensure your design solution remained aligned with Tata Neu's vision?
During the initial stages of the design process, we aim to identify the 4 to 5 brand values or keywords that will define the UI principles. These principles are based on the values that the brand stands for, such as being authentically Indian, simple and easy, and creating delightful moments. We always strive to create a story around the product to define a clear vision for the products we work on. For Tata Neu, the story was about building a product that is rooted in Indian culture yet modern. Based on the UI principles, we trace our designs back to the vision that we set in the first stage of designing and keep refining to simplify as much as possible.
What were the insights you gained from your research and inspiration? And how did you translate those insights into actionable design decisions?
Tata Neu is a unique product that falls under the category of Super apps, and there are only a few products like this available in the market. The primary objective is to give the app a distinct identity and create a sense of wonder for users. To achieve this, we have used the concept of 'Adbhuta Rasa' to represent the soul of the product. Adbhuta Rasa is a language that surprises users with a sense of wonderment through captivating visuals, dynamic motion graphics, and engaging interactions. We have designed the app in such a way that users can navigate through various categories in interesting ways, departing from conventional UX design approaches.
How did you differentiate typography across different categories and functionalities within the app?
We created a consistent and uniform type-scale for our app, supplemented by illustrative Indian script letters to represent specific categories. This adds a unique touch to the user experience while maintaining consistency. The main typeface for the app is Proxima Nova, used for body text, titles, and subtitles. For the category titles, we used Bely Display primarily for visual impact.
Describe the overall colour palette you created for Tata Neu. What emotions or associations did you visualise to evoke?
We chose the colours for our design from the Tata Neu logo's gradient, which symbolises the wide range of products they provide. Usually, UI/UX designers avoid using too many colours, but we saw the spectrum of colours as an opportunity. Together, these colours represent the entire brand, while individually, they correspond to specific categories that showcase the variety of brands offered within the Tata Neu universe.
How did the grid help you achieve consistency, alignment, and visual hierarchy across different design elements?
We have designed a unique grid for each category on the Neu experience to provide an engaging interactive experience. During the testing of product visibility and discoverability across various categories, we observed that fashion encourages exploration, which is why it has a larger 4-column grid and a more exploratory experience that allows users to pinch in and out of products. However, when it comes to the grocery category, users are generally looking for specific products and are less likely to explore other products as much as they would in fashion or travel. Therefore, we opted for a 2-column grid that can be navigated in only one direction, which enables quicker access to products.
How did you utilise illustrations and icons to enhance brand identity, communicate information, and create a sense of engagement?
We incorporated the concept of 'Adbhuta' into our visual design language. We made certain that even though the style is contemporary and modern, we didn't neglect the distinct Indian touch that distinguishes Tata Neu. With this concept in mind, we made the style geometric and sharp-edged, but added Indian patterns and motifs to anchor it.
What were the biggest challenges involved in creating and integrating illustrations and icons for different categories?
Finding the right balance between incorporating Indian elements and patterns while keeping it modern was a fascinating challenge for us. We enjoyed the process of representing numerous categories in this style because every new section presented us with multiple new forms to explore. Whenever possible, we even contextualised the object's content in an Indian context. For instance, the 'hotel' icon is not a conventional building, but rather a Haveli, or an Indian palace.
How did you approach motion design and animation within the app?
Interacting with an app, regardless of its size, should bring about a sense of surprise and joy. The process of discovering new features should be intuitive and unique, engaging the user and providing a consistently delightful experience with every visit. Our interaction system is based on a movable tile grid that moves freely in any direction, unlike the horizontal or vertical scrolls. With our system, users can drag to explore, pinch to zoom in, and swipe to dismiss.
What tools and software did you use for design and development?
We utilised Figma for wireframing, designing the user interface and visuals, After Effects for animations, Principle for creating interactive prototypes and Blender for crafting 3D elements to break the monotony.
Is there anything important or unique details for Tata Neu App that you would like to share, and that we might have missed in our questions?
"Tata Neu" was a product where we decided to deviate from conventional practices for developing an app experience. Rather than creating a core information architecture and user experience, we chose to focus on specific parts of the product that could be entirely reimagined and interacted with in innovative ways. This project taught us the importance of occasionally breaking away from the norm to create something truly unique and imaginative.
