1. Zamin Dharsi
brand planning & innovation
Hello, my name is Zamin Dharsi. Contents
I’m a brand anthropologist concerned with
human factors and social-sustainability who
believes in innovation. the bra
I’m deeply interested in how the design world is
1 sustainable product design
and biomimicry research
reacting to modern cultural advances and
design research
globalism. I build systems that translate brands
to audiences.
Logistically, I have a background in Graphic
Design and a degree in Branding, Marketing
and Public Relations. I have spent a year
working at an advertising agency in Dubai, tru2u
several years freelancing as a brand-strategist
and designer, and the last year as the social-
2 ethical clothing business
model & product design
media administrator for MCAD.
brand planning
What do these all have in common?
People.
Whether I’m collecting stories to engage an
interactive audience, or doing quantitative
studies to pick a color-scheme for underwear, I
kfai
have an intense curiousity for humanbeings.
3 integrated marketing campaign
strategy & direct targeting
Here is a small sample of work I’ve done, and
the well-conceived research behind it. project management
My Process
Every creative person has their own process. Some begin with sketching, other dive into online research,
while few hit bound books to get a sense of how to approach their project. I believe every individual
persons process says a lot about who they are, and how they solve problems.
creative analytical
6 testingI work to get feedback
finally, 1 design of my background in design, I’ve found
because
while collecting archiving data to
that this is the place I always start, just to get all
cross-analyze in the future.
my thoughts out.
5 design round, to get it ready
final design
for finalizing and pre-production.
2 research the most expansive portion of the
next comes
project: research. Depending on the timeline, this
can last from minutes to weeks. I usually begin
with analytics and what the social-media world is
saying about my subject matter, then moving into
4 testingdoing 2 rounds one testing:
i enjoy
blogs for a more in-depth analysis. I then move to
conducting a market assesment, which presents
one with creatives/designers and itself in the form of quantitative and qualitative
another with my target audience.
3 concepting options notes, which I filter through
i’m a big fan of post-it
interviews with the ideal demographic.
key-words of the company’s mission statement to
determine which concepts makes the cut.
2. The Bra
sustainable product design
and biomimicry research
project components
design research
sustainability
market planning
product design
3. The Bra
The Problem
The brassiere is a female undergarment that is
1 Health
used by 3.3 billion women in the world. Gaining
popularity in the Qing Dynasty of the 1600s, the 2 of the deadliest causes of women’s deaths in America are heart disease and breast cancer,
Bra has not been redesigned since the early both of which have been shown to be contributed by blocking blood flow due to wearing bra’s
1900s, and although many health factors which are too tight.
correlate with the garment-nobody has made
significant stride in changing the paradigm
heart disease breast cancer
of how women dress.
75%
This is a biomimicry study on the brassiere,
resulting in a new product I designed simply women who wear bra’s 24/7
called, “The Bra.”
cancer cancer-free
1 in every 3 women dies
My design was selected to be featured at the of heart disease every
Science Museum of Minnesota in an exhibition 34 seconds.
.5%
called “Visualizing the Future.”
women who never wear bra’s
project components
sustainability 2 Comfort
product design
market research Oprah once said that “Freedom should be synonomous with bra’s, and not the other way
campaign development around.” The problem relies mainly in underwire, which doesn’t support the natural fluctuation
of a woman’s biology and hinders full-growth and development.
Demographics What about size?
Primary
• Women
• Ages 18-32
• Western Market
80%
Secondary 80% of women
• Women worldwide are wearing the
• Breast Cancer wrong-size wrong size. This means that 2.5
• Obese million women, which is equal to
the entire population of Jamaica.
problem-solving
Visual
the ideal solution would have to address 3
3 components to be truly holistic.
Finally, It’s important to not forget that the main reason why women wear bra’s is for visual
health appeal, in order to look and feel confident as well as sexy. A qualitative study of 12 women
1 minimize risks of cancer and men, which I conducted, yielded these results.
by reducing over-heating
what is sexy?
comfort
2 ability to fluctuate in size
and eliminate underwire
45% 10% 30% 15%
Black White Nude Colors
visual
3 keep women feeling
75%
confident and sexy
75% of men surveyed said the sexiest part of a bra is
how easily it comes off, and favored a front-clasp.
4. The Bra
The Solution
interior coating of ‘urea’compund
• natural cooling agent
• erythromelagia
• Catalyst with Moisture (Oxygen+Hydrogen)
• Activated when sweating using air
hollow-underwire frame
+ mesoglea liquid mold
• Sea Anemone
• Liquid that hardens
• Malleable
• Flexible
• Biodegradable
3”
front-clasp 1”
• Easy-on
• Easy-off
spider silk counter-balance pockets
• Lightweight adjustable hooks • Non-Adhesive Epoxy gel
• Flexible • Enhance Cleavage when needed • Liquid goes to solid
• Body-Contouring • “At-Rest” convertible phase • Ratio of 1x 3 inches = 1 lbs
• Customization: 0 lbs - 6 lbs
comfort health
• Eliminate metal underwire • Reduces risk of cancer
• Stretchable fabric • Increases lymph flow
• Breathable padding • Easy excretion of toxins
• Front-clasp • Lowers body-temperature
• Body-Contouring wire • Decrease sweat
• Personalized/Right size
• Counter-Balance
visual
• Black and Nude
• Opaque Lace
• Strap-less converter
• Cleavage enhancer
• Slight push-up/padding
the system and the objectives came together by understanding that
most health risks are caused by 3 things:
• biological breast size fluctuation
• consistent sweating/obstruction
• underwire chaffing
By utilizing spider silk for the garment material, the fabric would fluctuate
with the body. Using misoglea, an element excreted by animones which
begins liquid and bolds into a moldable solid gel with exposure to heat,
archaic underwire could be eliminated.
Finally, counter-weight balance hooks in the back to eliminate back prob-
We heard that 80% of women are wearing the wrong bra-size. So we had one of two options: teach 3 billion
women around the world how to correctly measure themselves, or reinvent a bra that does that automatically.
We took the easy way out.
a new way to look at comfort.
Introducing The Bra with smart technology made with all-natural flexible fibers that contour the shape of your breasts and customize themselves to fit you perfectly.
lems, and we’ve got the first health-promoting, sustainable bra.
6. Tru2u + Haiti
The Problem
1 The Price
In the spring of 2010, a new company named
“TRU2U” challenged us to redesign the In researching the demographic as to their underwear purchasing habits, we found one of two
underwear to be ethically and socially important factors that take place in decision making:
conscious, in order to promote empowerment 1) Price-point at the point-of-purchase
for factory workers who make that underwear. 2) Brand-loyalty
Simultaniously, earthquakes in Haiti broke out
leaving over 1.5 million people homeless.
We saw an opportunity.
PACT
$24
We proposed an underwear, visually
GAP
$12.50
competing with Gap Intimates, but at the
price-point of Hanes and Fruit of the Loom. TRU2U $10 In order to make the most
impact, the decision was
10% of the profits of each piece would go
directly to the factory worker in Haiti who
HANES
$6 made to price the product
closer to retail brands such as
made the garment through a partnership with
Hanes and Fruit of the Loom,
“Verité,” who work to ensure postive working
conditions in factories around the world.
FOL*
$3 so as to increase sales.
I was selected to travel to New York City to *fruit of the loom price shown as retail avg per pair
present the design and campaign to board
members of Verité and Green Team.
The underwear will be in stores Spring 2011.
2 The Look
In order to set the brand apart from other retail brands
project components Hanes
(and our external competitors), the design of the
underwear would match that of Gap Intimates, Pact and
sustainability
H&M. These companies would essentially be our
product design
internal competitors. We would then go a step further, TRU2U
market research
to not provide replica’s of last season’s design, but bold
campaign development
patterns, guest designers and artist collaborations.
Gap
Demographics external competitor internal competitor
(price-point) (fashion design)
Primary
• Women and Men 3 The Cause
• Ages 18-24
• Shop Retail 10% of the profits of each piece would go directly to the factory worker in Haiti who
made the garment through a partnership with “Verité,” who work to ensure postive
Secondary working conditions in factories around the world.
• College-Aged
• BOBO Culture
• Awakening Consumer
comfort 10% =
ability to fluctuate in size
and eliminate underwire
problem-solving
We decided the line would not be the price the look the cause
made of organic fabric, giving up 1 keep the price close to
2 designed like Gap, to set us
3 10% of profit of every sale
ecological sustainability for social retail brands for more sales apart from retail brands goes to factory worker
using this 3 pronged approach.
7. Tru2u + Haiti
The Solution
In our market research we found that most retail brands
keep their underwear line clean and basic: white, black
and the occasional gray. Big brands however splash the
garment with an ever-changing seasonal design, however,
the design only changes on the outside.
So our solution was to have a basic solid on the outside,
and an ever-changing design on the inside. Something
that no other brand does.
Why?
Because its true to you, and not to anybody else.
To further promote our message, we recommended that
the print be designed as a comissioned piece by local
Haitian artists. The artists would design their pieces
inspired by Haitian proverbs, to help bring a community
together and share their cultural pride during troubled
times.
For a better tomorrow.