MAM
27 Blue Elephants and 2 Black Elephants awarded at Kyoorius Design Awards
MUMBAI: Kyoorius in association with D&AD, announced the winners of the 2014 Kyoorius Design Awards at the awards night at the Grand Hyatt in Goa.
A total of 680 entries were submitted across nine categories – Branding and Identity, Communication Design, Book Design, Editorial Design, Design for Space, Design for Packaging, Writing for Design, Design Craft and Design for Good. The 72 In-book winners were also nominees for Blue Elephants, and the jury awarded a total of 27 Blue Elephants and 2 Black Elephants.
Alok Nanda & Company, Umbrella Design, Redlion, Curry Nation, Chlorophyll Brand and Communications Consultancy, Kulture Shop, Bombay Duck Designs, Locopopo, Trapeze, Lotus, as well as agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather, Publicis India and Grey Worldwide were among the in-book winners at the 2014 Kyoorius Design Awards.
The 27 Blue Elephant winners included work by Alok Nanda & Company, Trapeze, Redlion, Kulture Shop, Umbrella Design, Bombay Duck Designs, Locopopo, Eleven:43, The Architects Office, NH1 Design, Please See, Out of the Box, Lotus, Famous Innovations and Grey Worldwide, Publicis India, Creativeland Asia, TBWA India.
Two Black Elephants were awarded to outstanding work that cut across categories, both in terms of concept and execution, which the judges deemed to be exceptional across all the work entered.
Bombay Duck Designs was awarded a Black Elephant for BLUED Book (Category: Design for Books), a self-published and designed book by Sameer Kulavoor. Inspired by the ubiquitous blue tarpaulin seen in urban and rural India, the book aims to bring out the socio-cultural relevance and the subtle humour of this unique material.
Ogilvy & Mather was awarded a Black Elephant for :{to:) CleftToSmile, created for Operation Smile India (Category: Branding & Identity). This social media campaign transformed a simple combination of keyboard characters into a memorable identity and highly successful Twitter campaign for Operation Smile India’s Cleft to Smile initiative.
Kyoorius founder CEO Rajesh Kejriwal commented: “The Kyoorius Design Awards brings the best of Indian Design into focus, and is a reminder of the level of craft, skill and design acumen that exists in this country. Looking back on last year’s winners, who’ve gone on to achieve even more recognition and exposure following their success at the Kyoorius Design Awards, we can proudly say Kyoorius Awards are on their way to set the benchmark for creativity in India.”
“Thanks to our partnership with D&AD, we have created a completely neutral and robust programme. Kyoorius Awards have been clear from the beginning that every piece of work that surpasses our high standards criteria, must be rewarded. We have no gold, silver and bronze — just the coveted Blue Elephant and for the best of the best — the Black Elephant. Winning an elephant at the Kyoorius Awards represents the pinnacle of creative achievement in India.”
D&AD CEO Tim Lindsay added, “D&AD is delighted to see the Kyoorius Awards, and our partnership with Kyoorius, continue to grow in its second year, both in numbers and in the diversity and quality of work. Writing has been a very strong category this year, along with illustration. It is especially encouraging to see self-initiated projects being recognised and more work entered by independent designers and small studios from all over the country. Along with Kyoorius, we are committed to nurturing and stimulating the creative community, and using surpluses from the awards show to develop initiatives that will benefit emerging talent throughout the year. D&AD looks forward to watching the Indian creative community evolve with each year.”
In the signature Kyoorius way of never doing the expected, instead of a traditional awards ceremony the audience was treated to a 70’s theme party. Held on the final evening of Kyoorius Designyatra, the event saw over 1000 creative professionals, students and clients from across India in attendance, which included the conference delegates as well as speakers along with awards nominees.
Brands
Hyundai and TVS Motor partner to develop electric three wheelers
Joint development pact targets last mile mobility with localisation push
MUMBAI: Three wheels, one big ambition and a charge towards the future. Hyundai Motor Company and TVS Motor Company have signed a joint development agreement to co-create electric three-wheelers (E3Ws), aiming to crack India’s complex last-mile mobility puzzle. The collaboration moves beyond concept talk into execution mode, building on the E3W prototype first showcased at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025. The goal now is clear, design, develop and commercialise a purpose-built vehicle tailored to Indian roads, riders and realities.
Under the agreement, Hyundai will lead design and co-development, bringing its global R&D muscle and human-centric engineering approach to the table. TVS Motor, meanwhile, will anchor the product on its electric platform, leveraging deep three-wheeler expertise and local market insight. It will also handle manufacturing and sales in India, with an eye on exports down the line.
The timing is strategic. India remains the world’s largest three-wheeler market, where affordability, durability and adaptability often outweigh sheer innovation. The upcoming E3W aims to strike that balance combining advanced technology with practical features such as adaptive ground clearance for monsoon-hit roads, improved thermal management for tropical climates, and flexible interiors suited for passengers, cargo or emergency use.
A key pillar of the partnership is localisation. Major components will be sourced and manufactured within India, a move expected to strengthen the domestic supply chain, create jobs, lower costs and improve after-sales support.
The shift from prototype to production will involve rigorous testing, certification and refinement to meet regulatory standards and consumer expectations. Dedicated cross-functional teams from both companies are already in place to accelerate timelines.
At a broader level, the tie-up reflects a growing trend in mobility, global players partnering with local specialists to navigate emerging markets. For Hyundai and TVS, the bet is that combining scale with street-level insight could unlock a new chapter in sustainable urban transport, one that runs not just on electricity, but on relevance.
