Decoding Design

We are now witnessing an ‘entrepreneurial economy’ characterized by DICE – Design, Innovation and Creativity-led Entrepreneurship. Our chosen few companies’ primary focus has been to deal with products which are extremely high in design and innovation. The ensuing pages will take you across three sets of people. The most creative people like Dilip Chhabria, Anita Dongre and Raseel Gujral, who were probably born to be designers. The other set is people who drive design and innovation as part of a family business. Here, we capture the stories of brands like Park Hotels, Cremica, Da Milano, Amrut Distilleries. Our third set includes the creators, who have built a name for themselves, including our very own Chota Bheem, Good Earth, Massive Restaurants and the upcoming start-up Naapa Dori. One thing common among all these brands is they have managed to retain Indianness still finding a global fit, owing to which they belong everywhere. 

- Punita Sabharwal

Here are three Brand building mantras from our very own Despreneurs.

1. Desiness with a global appeal: They all have been able to serve a global market with products that carried an Indian appeal and made sense to even international markets.

2. Reach out, shout out: No brand is built just by keeping quiet. You have to take it out and reach maximum people.

3. Remaining relevant in ever changing markets: Each of them with their fresh thinking have constantly stayed ahead of their game.

Pune houses the headquarters of DC Design, the abode to Dilip Chhabria, fondly known as DC, the king of customized cars. As you enter Sanghavi Compound, DC’s workshop, you see work in progress with designers and engineers attending buses and cars. You are awed by the design, detailing and professionalism. But, that’s not all. DC bowled us with his most marveled creation, Avanti, India’s first sports car.

The moment I entered Dilip Chhabria’s cabin, he asks “Why me? There are others doing great work in design.” To me he is an entrepreneur in every sense of the word, as he saw an opportunity, where none existed where art meets entrepreneurship. After re-designing the most popular cars under the sun, DC decided to do something different. He went on to manufacture India’s first sports car, Avanti. Chahbria’s office space is messy, with papers and tools not exactly in its place, sketches and prototypes pinned up on the wall; but, there is creativity in that chaos. The space gives an impression of someone living, eating and drinking design. His door is always open to designers, where they come to show their work. Among all this paraphernalia, Chhabria sits with a focused mind to work on his new project, customizing bikes.