My ProcessEvery 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.

Zamin Dharsibrand planning & innovation

Hello, my name is Zamin Dharsi.

I’m a brand anthropologist concerned with

human factors and social-sustainability who

believes in innovation.

I’m deeply interested in how the design world is

reacting to modern cultural advances and

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,

several years freelancing as a brand-strategist

and designer, and the last year as the social-

media administrator for MCAD.

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

have an intense curiousity for humanbeings.

Here is a small sample of work I’ve done, and

the well-conceived research behind it.

creative analytical

1 design

because of my background in design, I’ve found

that this is the place I always start, just to get all

my thoughts out.

2 research

next comes the most expansive portion of the

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

blogs for a more in-depth analysis. I then move to

conducting a market assesment, which presents

itself in the form of quantitative and qualitative

interviews with the ideal demographic. 3 concepting options

i’m a big fan of post-it notes, which I filter through

key-words of the company’s mission statement to

determine which concepts makes the cut.

4 testing

i enjoy doing 2 rounds one testing:

one with creatives/designers and

another with my target audience.

5 design

final design round, to get it ready

for finalizing and pre-production.

6 testing

finally, I work to get feedback

while collecting archiving data to

cross-analyze in the future.

Contents

the brasustainable product design

and biomimicry research

design research

1

2

3

tru2uethical clothing businessmodel & product design

brand planning

kfaiintegrated marketing campaign

strategy & direct targeting

project management

The Brasustainable product designand biomimicry research

project components

design research

sustainability

market planning

product design

Primary

• Women

• Ages 18-32

• Western Market

Secondary

• Women

• Breast Cancer

• Obese

women who wear bra’s 24/7

women who never wear bra’s

cancer cancer-free

75%

.5%

Health

heart disease

What about size?

breast cancer

1 in every 3 women dies

of heart disease every

34 seconds.

Black

75% of men surveyed said the sexiest part of a bra is

how easily it comes off, and favored a front-clasp.

White Nude Colors

2 of the deadliest causes of women’s deaths in America are heart disease and breast cancer,

both of which have been shown to be contributed by blocking blood flow due to wearing bra’s

which are too tight.

Comfort

Demographics

Oprah once said that “Freedom should be synonomous with bra’s, and not the other way

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.

VisualFinally, It’s important to not forget that the main reason why women wear bra’s is for visual

appeal, in order to look and feel confident as well as sexy. A qualitative study of 12 women

and men, which I conducted, yielded these results.

80%

45% 10% 30% 15%

wrong-size

what is sexy?

80% of women

worldwide are wearing the

wrong size. This means that 2.5

million women, which is equal to

the entire population of Jamaica.

75%

The BraThe Problem

The brassiere is a female undergarment that is

used by 3.3 billion women in the world. Gaining

popularity in the Qing Dynasty of the 1600s, the

Bra has not been redesigned since the early

1900s, and although many health factors

correlate with the garment-nobody has made

significant stride in changing the paradigm

of how women dress.

This is a biomimicry study on the brassiere,

resulting in a new product I designed simply

called, “The Bra.”

My design was selected to be featured at the

Science Museum of Minnesota in an exhibition

called “Visualizing the Future.”

health

minimize risks of cancer

by reducing over-heating

comfort

ability to fluctuate in size

and eliminate underwire

visual

keep women feeling

confident and sexy

problem-solving

the ideal solution would have to address

3 components to be truly holistic.

1

2

3

1

2

3

project components

sustainability

product design

market research

campaign development

The BraThe Solution

spider silk• Lightweight• Flexible• Body-Contouring

counter-balance pockets• Non-Adhesive Epoxy gel• Liquid goes to solid• Ratio of 1x 3 inches = 1 lbs

• Customization: 0 lbs - 6 lbs

front-clasp• Easy-on• Easy-off

hollow-underwire frame+ mesoglea liquid mold• Sea Anemone• Liquid that hardens• Malleable• Flexible• Biodegradable

interior coating of ‘urea’compund• natural cooling agent• erythromelagia• Catalyst with Moisture (Oxygen+Hydrogen)• Activated when sweating using air

adjustable hooks• Enhance Cleavage when needed• “At-Rest” convertible phase

3”

1”

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.

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-

lems, and we’ve got the first health-promoting, sustainable bra.

health• Reduces risk of cancer

• Increases lymph flow

• Easy excretion of toxins

• Lowers body-temperature

• Decrease sweat

comfort• Eliminate metal underwire

• Stretchable fabric

• Breathable padding

• Front-clasp

• Body-Contouring wire

• Personalized/Right size

• Counter-Balance

• Black and Nude

• Opaque Lace

• Strap-less converter

• Cleavage enhancer

• Slight push-up/padding

visual

Tru2uethical clothing business model and product design

project components

brand planning

ethical clothing

market research

product design

The PriceIn researching the demographic as to their underwear purchasing habits, we found one of two

important factors that take place in decision making:

1) Price-point at the point-of-purchase

2) Brand-loyalty

The LookIn order to set the brand apart from other retail brands

(and our external competitors), the design of the

underwear would match that of Gap Intimates, Pact and

H&M. These companies would essentially be our

internal competitors. We would then go a step further,

to not provide replica’s of last season’s design, but bold

patterns, guest designers and artist collaborations.

Demographics

Tru2u + HaitiThe Problem

In the spring of 2010, a new company named

“TRU2U” challenged us to redesign the

underwear to be ethically and socially

conscious, in order to promote empowerment

for factory workers who make that underwear.

Simultaniously, earthquakes in Haiti broke out

leaving over 1.5 million people homeless.

We saw an opportunity.

We proposed an underwear, visually

competing with Gap Intimates, but at the

price-point of Hanes and Fruit of the Loom.

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 working

conditions in factories around the world.

I was selected to travel to New York City to

present the design and campaign to board

members of Verité and Green Team.

The underwear will be in stores Spring 2011.

comfort

ability to fluctuate in size

and eliminate underwire

the price

keep the price close to

retail brands for more sales

problem-solving

We decided the line would not be

made of organic fabric, giving up

ecological sustainability for social

using this 3 pronged approach.

1the look

designed like Gap, to set us

apart from retail brands2

the cause

10% of profit of every sale

goes to factory worker3

1

The Cause10% 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

working conditions in factories around the world.

3

2

project components

sustainability

product design

market research

campaign development

$24

$12.50

$10

$6

$3

PACT

GAP

HANES

TRU2U

FOL*

*fruit of the loom price shown as retail avg per pair

In order to make the most

impact, the decision was

made to price the product

closer to retail brands such as

Hanes and Fruit of the Loom,

so as to increase sales.

TRU2U

=

Hanes

Gap

external competitor

(price-point)

internal competitor

(fashion design)

Primary

• Women and Men

• Ages 18-24

• Shop Retail

Secondary

• College-Aged

• BOBO Culture

• Awakening Consumer

10%

Tru2u + HaitiThe 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.

Zamin Dharsi +763 234 6653zamindharsi@gmail.comwww.krop.com/dharsitwitter: @dharsi

brand planning & innovation