4 min readPuneFeb 1, 2024 04:08 PM IST
First published on: Jan 30, 2024 at 01:00 PM IST
What does an innovative design company do in India’s nascent market? It explains to clients, who are still catching up on changes in design, about the strategies to adopt to push their product in the market.
Pune-based Unbind Studios has carved a niche for itself in giving creative solutions for entrepreneurs who are struggling to promote their products in the market.
“Many people assume that we go to the office to do some sketches and, tomorrow, come back with designs. They tend to think it is that simple, but there is a huge process that goes behind understanding the product, the best creative solution for it and what would work in terms of aesthetics and user experience,” says Karan Savant, who founded Pune-based Unbind Studios with Malhar Shete in 2016.
Karan Savant. (Express Photo)
As the age of industrial design, i.e. the aesthetics of consumer products, started in Germany and blossomed across Europe in the 20th century, India stayed a few steps behind. The National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, and the Industrial Design Centre at the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, came into being only in the 1960s.
The country is trying to make up for the lost time, and one of the companies participating in its industrial design evolution is the Unbind Studios.
The work that Unbind Studios, a bootstrapped enterprise, does is to turn an idea into an engaging reality. One could go to the studio with the concept of a company and their designers will fill in the blanks with fitting names for the brand and product, its logo and branding.
“Then, we help you develop your actual product, whether it’s a physical product, like a toothbrush, or a digital product. As the next step, we develop the website or front-facing media that is a point of contact with the customer. We can do this because we have verticals for graphic design, User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX), and industrial design under our studio,” says Savant. Their products range from a tongue cleaner to a carbon recovery machine.
Like a lot of traditional design companies, Unbind Studios also provides one or a few of the services separately. The result is that it has been drawing international clients and major Indian companies.
Malhar Shete. (Express photo)
Unbind Studios’ approach is aligned with the India Design Report by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which states that “The role played by industrial design companies will move from executing strategy to shaping of strategy, thereby paving a path for disruptive innovation.” The report says that the sector is worth $40 million (not including outsourced engineering design services), and is growing at 10 per cent annually.
2024 will see Unbind Studios increase its footprints in its core sectors of robotics, software and medical products globally.
“As the world looks inward or towards India, there is a greater demand for higher-quality design and this is what we are excited to provide,” says Savant.
Unbind’s signature is the simplicity of its designs, with their strengths being evolving software and prototyping skills, User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX).
“As a consultancy, we adhere to the design language of our clients but, for the last two years, we have been experimenting with and creating a catalogue of in-house products that are not necessarily for the market but to define our design language and knowledge in product domains,” says Savant. This year, they are also exploring this range of their products in domains such as furniture design and consumer electronics.
Savant adds that, as the world looks inward or towards India, there’s a higher demand for higher quality design. “This is what we are able to provide and are really excited about,” he says.
Pune-based Unbind Studios has carved a niche for itself in giving creative solutions for entrepreneurs who are struggling to promote their products in the market. (Express Photo) 
Karan Savant. (Express Photo)
Malhar Shete. (Express photo)
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