Unbox Karnataka
Our Collaborations:
This project was done as a final thesis project at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology. We worked with Karnataka Tourism(A state in India) to develop products and/or services that will incentives people in tier 1 cities to visit various other tourist destinations in the state.
Our Brief:
Re-Brand Karnataka Tourism and create outcomes that help the growth of the Karnataka government in the tourism sector. Create products/services to incentivize the young adults in the Tier 1 cities like Bangalore to visit other cities in their own state other than traveling to the nearby states for tourism purposes.
Unbox Karnataka:
Unbox Karnataka is a souvenir kit that helps tourists create their own souvenirs so that years later, they can cherish their travel memories. There is a different box for various tourist destinations in Karnataka. Each box will contain elements that are place-specific.urney. It aids in navigating the people on probation in order to comprehend their needs and the actions/steps they must take.
Karnataka as a Brand
We looked at the state from a branding perspective, understood the core values it represents, its value proposition, emotional benefit, and brand essence. Along with that, understanding the current/past campaigns. This was followed by quantitative and qualitative research to understand the type of tourists that travelled so as to gain a perspective of the target audience. An online survey was carried out to understand the common souvenirs that tourists collected.
Research -
6 days 6 places
In 6 days we visited 6 places of North Karnataka to get an essence of what Karnataka is for a traveler? Not only were they beautiful, but as well had a huge history behind them. Most of the places in North Karnataka are monuments that were built during Mughal period, and hence you would find building of Islamic and Mughal architecture. The trip started from visiting the Chitradurga Fort, which was immense and had around 30 temples within the fort to Bidar. From forts, to places of worship to visiting craftsmen with unique skills like the Bidri Art. These cities had a lot of history and stories within them that people were unaware off.
Souvenirs as a Motivation
The souvenir is an integral part of the travel experience; most tourists return home with souvenirs to preserve and commemorate such experiences. Souvenirs take the form of T-shirts, authentic handcrafted items, antiques, key chains, miniature replicas of landmarks, collected objects, gifts, photographs etc. According to Swanson and Timothy (2012), producing, selling, and buying souvenirs are routine activities of tourist destinations that generate billions of dollars each year. Shopping is seldom mentioned as the primary reason for travel, it is perhaps the most universal of tourist activities, and has important financial impacts on local tourist. Tourists tend to collect material objects as souvenirs to make their memories tangible. After the journey, these souvenirs serve as symbols of the travel experience and evoke memories.
Primary Research - Survey
As per the survey conducted between 70 participants, 50% mentioned they collect souvenirs while traveling while 40.9% people collect sometimes, only if they find something interesting to invest their money in. 74% people believe that collecting souvenirs will help you recollect memories in the future. People mostly collect souvenirs to gift other people, this means that when a person comes back from travel he/she mentions about their trip through word of mouth to a lot of people, and when they buy or collect something different they even like talking about it which makes the person listening also wanting to have it. Souvenirs became an important element of tourism.
Branding - Unbox Karnataka
An open box in the logo depicts the unlimited fun tourists have when they travel to different parts in Karnataka. Aa well as, an open box is also a direct representation of the brand name i.e. unbox. Red and Yellow are Karnataka state colours, hence the main colour scheme. The colour of the logo is also kept flexible as per the design language of each state.
How does it work?
Unbox Karnataka is a souvenir kit that will help tourists to create their own souvenirs so that years later they can cherish their travel memories. There would be a different box for various tourist destinations in Karnataka and each box will contain elements that are place specific. The elements in the box are made in such a way that the tourists will interact with them when they reach the place.
Karnataka is divided into three different topographic divisions; Coastal, Western Ghats and the plateau region. Taking one place from each division, Unbox Karnataka has a Kit for Gokarna, Coorg and Bidar respectively. Each place is extraordinary and has its own specialities, Unbox Karnataka focuses on those and gives tourist the opportunity to explore the place and create souvenirs simultaneously.
Every tourist has a different reason to visit a place and hence Unbox Karnataka focuses on three different kind of tourists for three different places. Gokarna’s box contains souvenirs for beach lovers and tourists who visit for relaxation and rejuvenation. Coorg being famous for its coffee and food, the kit is for Foodies. Bidar is famous for its Bidriware, hence the box has souvenirs specially made for art and craft lovers. Every box contains 3 elements within it and 1 info graph about the things to do in that place. There would be different stalls at various transit public spaces like Airports, Metro, Bus-stops and Train station that would sell these for marketing and building it a trend within young adults. This is where people can get to know about the box and can buy the box. There would also be an online platform through which people can buy the box.
Packaging - Creating the Patterns
The motive was to keep the essence of the state from its first look. I conducted deep research into the cities for the which the box were being created and looked at the various art forms and built patterns around them. This way the feel of every box was different and unique to its place.
Gokarna - Yakshagana is one of the most popular folk theatre forms of Karnataka. It is noted for its music, colourful costumes, vigorous dance movements, subtle expressions and extempore dialogues.
Coorg - Chittara art form, practiced in western parts of Karnataka. It is a dying art form which is now only practised in very few parts of the state. Chittara drawings are intricate symbols that represent the auspicious ceremony and rituals of life. It’s symbolised in geometric patterns and shapes.
Bidar - Bidriware is an art form known from Bidar. It famous for its silver inlay on black clay which can only be produced in that region. The designs are very representative of the people and their culture since traditions. It can sometimes take weeks to make on single piece of handicraft.
Box Contents
The box is made up of light weight tin which is easy to carry even in a small bag when you travel and all products in the box are easy to produce at a scale.
Each box also contains an inforgraphic, with information about top 5 things to do in the city.
Gokarna
Bag - A bag to carry along with you when you go to the beach to collect shells, leaves, stones or any other objects that catch your attention. A bag is also always handy when you go to the beach.
Book for Imprinting - This book is to build a collection of imprints of different object and people that you find or meet in Gokarna.
Sand Bottles - Gokarna is known for the number of beaches that it has and also for the trek that joins these beaches together. The sand box contains of 4 glass bottles with a label on it for the tourist to fill sand as a milestone through the trek to complete the collection.
Coorg
Coasters - A set of 6, these contain information about various spices and coffees that you get in Coorg. The place is known for these and is always in a must buy list for tourists.
Envelope - While visiting plantations during their tour, they give you a sample of various different thing as a momentum and usually tourists carry them in their hands and loose it along the way. These tiny envelops are for those times. To collect all the samples from different plantations and store them safely.
Food - Coorg is famous for its food, in a form of menu, it gives you information about different dishes that are a must try at Coorg and where you can find the most local places that serve it automatically.
Bidar
DIY Kit - Through this kit, you can create, wall hangings, magnets and keychains form your own bidri patterns from the pattern bank provided within the kit.
Wall Hanging - This wall hanging is designed multi directional format, the front side contains the process of Bidriware whereas the back has beautiful Bidri patterns on it. User has an option to hang it either ways.
Playing Cards - These deck of cards are inspired by the patterns of Bidriware. In India, Cards are a game that people usually carry along with them while they travel to a place.
