Titan

Background

Titan – part of India’s multinational group, Tata – has been developing and launching brands for Indian consumers since the mid 80’s, growing into one of India’s most trusted lifestyle brands.

Titan approached DesignStudio with an exciting proposition, to help them build the brand for a new and emerging brand within the Titan family: luxury bags.

With ambitions to lead the market within five years, Titan needed a strategic brand, including name and experience across retail, packaging and digital, to set the course for this huge ambition.

Immersion

In close collaboration with the Titan team, we dug into the market sizing, consumer behaviours and the opportunity. Historically, bags had fallen into two camps: small local brands which sacrificed quality for accessibility and functionality, or European luxury imports whose cultural story felt unrelatable to the new rising Indian middle class.

Brand Strategy

Against this competitive set of uninspiring functionality or unrelatable luxury, the IRTH brand is built around a simple brand idea: Made To Delight. A promise to focus on the small moments and distinct design choices to delight and inspire.

Its unique proposition balances the worlds of fashion and function with products that fit the multifaceted nature of people’s daily lives. Bags for parent and baby which don’t sacrifice aesthetics for multiple compartments, or totes which look just as good in the workplace as they do in the gym.

Naming

The name IRTH is a reflection of the softer, calmer aspects of the product design. Created to be harmonious with the lives and lifestyles of their users.

Brand Expression

The brand follows the same belief in the joy of small moments. It makes its few elements work hard. From the icon - a blend of the IRTH letters - to the art direction and typographic choices which are clean and sophisticated. The use of a warm yellow at the core of the brand, helps it stand out in a cluttered market stretched between stark black and white European brands and domestic brands leaning into cliches of the Indian aesthetic.

Impact

By building the brand in partnership with Titan as they build the business and product line, we were able to craft each aspect of the experience, from the store designs and packaging to the product-on-body and digital experience.
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Our partnership with IRTH led up to the launch event at Titan House in Mumbai, where the brand and products were revealed to national fashion press, industry experts and influencers.

IRTH is now listed in over 60 stores across India, is beating industry sales volume standards and is set for international expansion with retail stores in London and beyond.