Rhea Kapoor X Zouk:
Crafting a Premium Unboxing Experience
PACKAGING DESIGN
LOGO DESIGN
VISUAL IDENTITY
TYPOGRAPHY
RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
Packaging design and visual identity application for a premium collaboration, focused on elevating the unboxing experience from concept to production.
Company
Team
Links
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BRIEF & CONTEXT
This capstone graduation project focused on leveraging Interaction Design principles to elevate a core brand touchpoint: the unboxing experience.
The mandate was to design premium, production-ready packaging for the Rhea Kapoor x Zouk collaboration, moving product delivery from mere logistics into a crucial consumer ritual. The project required a complete process—from research and design to final production specifications—ensuring the final package reflected the collection's high-fashion identity and justified its elevated price point.
The project's complexity lay in designing for the seamless synergy between two distinct forces: Zouk, an ethical, 100% PETA-approved vegan brand rooted in Indian artistry, and Rhea Kapoor, a fashion maverick known for her bold, authentic, and unconventional style.
The limited-edition collection, inspired by Mumbai and Impressionist art, required an unboxing experience that embodied both Zouk's craftsmanship and Kapoor's sophisticated, statement-making aesthetic.
Our primary objective was to translate this strategic duality into a tactile, layered, and visually compelling unboxing experience.
The design work, anchored to a Women's Day 2025 launch, involved intensive study into packaging anatomy and consumer psychology. This was crucial for demonstrating how structural and visual design can directly impact a brand's narrative and perceived value, resulting in a cohesive, premium system ready for a 10,000-unit production run.
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DESIGN METHODOLOGY
RESEARCH
Define Zouk.
Who is Rhea Kapoor?
Anatomy of Packaging.
Competitive Audit.
Colour Strategy.
Unboxing Psychology.
BRAINSTORMING
Moodboards.
Sketching.
Different Design Approaches.
Thumbnail Designs.
DESIGNING
Visual Identity.
Logotype.
Iterations & Feedback.
Scalability.
Drawstring Bag Design.
PROTOTYPING
Mockups.
Meeting with Vendors.
Key Line Drawings.
Packaging Prototype.
Back to Designing.
FINAL PRODUCTION
Finalize Packaging Specifications.
Material & Finish Selection.
Packaging Assembling.
Photoshoot.
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RESEARCH BOARD
For the Rhea Kapoor x Zouk collection, our first step was a comprehensive dive into the project's foundation.
This involved an intensive study into the anatomy, psychology, and standards of the packaging, alongside a granular understanding of Rhea Kapoor's aesthetic, Zouk's DNA, and their combined collaborative identity. This was crucial to shift the packaging function from mere logistics to a key premium touchpoint.
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CREATION OF THE PACKAGING
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FINAL PACKAGING
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REFLECTION
This capstone project marked my first deep dive into translating a complex brand collab concept into a tangible, production-ready product.
My core contribution involved exploring the aesthetics and psychology of premium packaging—understanding how elements like typography, texture, and structural design inherently communicate brand value. Additionally, I was specifically responsible for the crucial typographic and logo application across the system, collaborating closely with Aishwarya Kachalia on refining the overall visual design and ensuring cohesive execution.
The project provided invaluable experience in translating complex brand values into a viable physical product, from initial ideation to navigating production realities and adjustments.
This process was crucial for demonstrating that packaging is a critical brand touchpoint—the campaign’s first physical handshake with the customer. Ultimately, this experience substantially honed my skills in design thinking, problem-solving, collaborative execution, and adapting design to stringent manufacturing constraints within a professional, real-world brand environment.