Design Difference

We had been planning to design and develop Tourism Souvenirs for Kerala for a long time, but for the want of a suitable business partner. In 2000, Pai&Co, Ernakulam offered to co-produce and market them.
Christened Maaya: Souvenirs of Kerala, the range has paper stationery products leveraging on Paico's printing facilities, Ceramic cups, plates and tiles as well as T-shirts and caps as an initial offering. The booming tourism industry lapped it up making it a quick success. We added more products over the years making the product range a well-rounded one.

Woodhouse had a variety of indigenous and imported wood veneers in hand and they wanted to develop veneer door panels as a value added product.
we developed a wide variety of designs for them mixing and matching several species of wood in geometric patterns and using wood marquetry strips for embellishment.
they were categorised into three categories based on their price and complexity.

Our foray into T-shirt design for Maaya made us realise the immense potential of T-shirt graphics in the region. We found an appreciative partner in Master Apparels for whom we developed the brand ReO.
Aimed at the casual educated youngsters, the range had thought-provoking or naughty messages or just attractive graphics to suit various moods.
The brand is being extended for ladies and kids with a few accessories as well thrown in.

Souvenirs designed for Kerala tourism made Coirfed, the apex body of coir cooperatives in Kerala think on similar lines-to develop contemporary products to exploit the eco-friendliness of the fibre and tap the tourism market.
We designed many new products with coir, processed coir and their byproducts using them along with wood, metal, leather, rexine and plastic to create products of lasting value.
Framed coir paintings, shopping bags made out of rubberised coir sheets with rexine, wall clocks made of coir being just a few of them.

The success of Maaya made the Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala realise the future of souvenir industry in Kerala, which has been stagnating in a few handicraft units churning out one disproportionate rosewood elephant or boat after another.
Along with Great India Tourism Consultancy Services, Thiruvananthapuram, we designed 100+ concepts for the Tourism Department over a period of one year. Many a heirloom, tradition and nostalgic memory was turned into a cherishable and marketable tourism souvenir, giving production specifications and identifying potentional manufacturers.
While a few products have already been produced, many other products are in various stages of development and production.