Pratt BFA Communications Design Thesis

Tithi Shah Advertising Art Direction

Under The Banyan Tree

Advertising
Branding
Campaign
Culture
Digital Product Design
Exhibition Design
Experience
Identity Design
NGO
Packaging
Photography
Preservation
Social Media
Type Design

Vadodara is my hometown. It is small but beautiful city. Much of its beauty comes from its culture, which seems to be fading. I want to save that. After being back home for the past year due to COVID, I’ve started appreciating the city and it started breathing life into me. When I had the chance to explore it, and listen to stories about the city from my grandparents, I realized there was a lot I didn’t know about.

Through my research I observed rich culture and cosmopolitan community coexisted in perfect harmony. This city is a history and deep seeded traditions that often go unacknowledged. There is an urgent need for Vadodara’s residents, specially the younger generation, to connect with their hometown, their roots.

My conclusions: Lack of digital footprints, older generations have tales that need to be preserved, there is room for creating a community to facilitate exchange of ideas, the youth is attracted to the town’s cafe-culture.

I identified that we needed to create and brand an NGO, called Under The Banyan Tree that would resolve this problem. This would be run by a diverse committee, whose goal will be to preserve the cultural history of our town and foster a sense of community for the long run. This will be achieved by organizing events and distributing publications that raise awareness regarding the city’s culture, history and people through 3 strategies:

  1. Communicate through tools like NGO’s branding campaign, coffee cups, postcards and social media.
  2. Connect the people with coffee table zines and events like cross-generational story telling.
  3. Celebration with Annual Baazar event, that serves as a platform to support and highlight the contributions of local businesses, small and big alike.

tithishah.com

instagram.com/themangoroute