Inside a Child’s Mind With Kukuyo Camlin.
Brand Strategy, Brand Identity and Communication Collaterals
PROJECT COLLABORATORS +
Kokuyo Camlin is a legacy brand that has defined what stationery means to generations of Indians. Everyone has some memory or association with it. So when Kokuyo Camlin’s CMO, Rishi Kakar, reached out to discuss a potential project, we assumed it would be about a new category or product launch.
But the conversation wasn’t about design at all — it was about research and understanding the psychology behind a child’s mind. Sounds deep, right? This time, the brief was a single question, but the answer was far from simple.
The project demanded extensive consumer study to understand why a child chooses a particular product and what truly drives that decision. Almost a year later, this insight-led journey resulted in a completely refreshed packaging range for the entire Kids’ portfolio of Camel & Camlin.
Understanding The Market Landscape:
The Indian stationery and crayon market — worth over ₹4000+ crore — is dominated by 4 major brands.
Among them, DOMS, which entered only in 2005, rose rapidly despite competing with legacy players. They got four things absolutely right: product innovation, a distinct brand, exciting packaging, and powerful distribution. Naturally, DOMS quickly became the preferred choice.
Shopkeepers, too, preferred displaying DOMS because of higher profit margins and its growing popularity among children. But this raised an important question: What truly excites kids? How do they perceive what’s “distinct/different”?
Sample Size: 40 Kids, 44 Parents & 28 Shopkeepers in 4 Cities (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata)
By observing multiple purchase behaviours, we realised that the decision isn’t made by the child alone — it is influenced by a three-way ecosystem: the child, the parent/guardian, and the shopkeeper.
The child makes final choice, but is heavily influenced by the other two, along with external triggers like friends or spotting something new at school or tuition. So, to understand the influence – the ‘WHY’ of the decision, it is important to understand the purchase behaviour.
We interviewed 40 Kids, 44 Parents and 28 Shopkeepers in four Cities (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata)
Before finalising the project, we took our new packaging into the real world to understand how kids, parents, and shopkeepers responded.
We interviewed and observed 40+ participants, using their feedback to make necessary refinements before the final market launch.
We Collaborated with 10 Indian Artists
All of whom grew up using Camel products themselves. We wanted today’s kids to have real-life creative role models, so each artist created artwork that was magical, bright, and full of imagination.
Artisit: Priya Kurian
Artisit: Uttara Garg
Artisit: Nirupama Vishwanath
Artisit: Uttara Garg
a little behind the scene during our camlin project
Working with different Indian Artists
Seeing our design in print for the 1st time
Visiting the camlin office (we were screaming inside)
CC Reunion in Bombay
Spotting our work in stationery shops all around India
FROM THE CLIENT
Rishi Kakar, Chief Marketing & Strategy at Kokuyo Camlin Ltd.Sejal is very focused on keeping the consumer at the center of her design process. She shows curiosity and a penchant for learning about her client’s categories.
The openness with which she approaches her work, her desire to learn and customer focus provide a strong foundation on which she builds her creative approach. She was very responsive with respect to our needs and it was a great experience working with her.