Bhaane brought on Nimish Shah as their creative director in 2019. With Nimish Shah at its helm, the brand, previously known for its basics, aimed to become more premium and distinct. The shift in direction reflected in the brand’s communications; the brand opted for a clean aesthetic, highlighting its previous community brand-pillar through creative collaborations.
Our first collaboration with Bhaane was for their Halloween invite in 2019. Since then, we’ve created numerous communication interventions for the brand, including videos, sound, illustrations and gamified web experiences. All the communications are inspired (and inform) the brand’s collections.
Republic Day Animation 2020
Bhaane means the rising sun in Gurmukhi. The rising sun theme has become emblematic of Nimish’s collections for Bhaane. It is a brand staple positioned to become a collector’s piece. Nimish’s first collection featured the rising son in different avatars, including a graphic one of India gate set against sun rays. The kitsch graphic is patriotic and pays homage to the city of Bhaane’s origin: New Delhi.
We animated the India gate rising sun graphic for Republic Day in 2020 amidst India’s controversial and charged CAA ruling. The symbolic background score borrows clips from Indian High Commissioner Krishna Menon’s 26th January 1950 reading of the proclamation at Indian House in London that asserts India’s secular stance and freedom to democratically challenge political decisions. The clip also features the Indian Cukoo bird (Koyal), a nostalgic and distinctly Indian sound.
Halloween Web Experience 2020 View the website
Bhaane cancelled its annual Halloween party because of the COVID pandemic. Instead, they decided to keep their tradition alive by creating a gamified web experience. We themed the website around spam graphics and invited users to play a game of trick or treat. The winners would receive a screen full of candy and a gift from Bhaane. Losers would get a screen full of humorous spam pop-ups, such as ones that read “Premium matchmaking for the affluent and privileged” and “hot singles in your area.” The gamified experience encouraged social sharing and redirected people to the website.
“Losers would get a screen full of humorous spam pop-ups, such as ones that read “Premium matchmaking for the affluent and privileged” and “hot singles in your area.””