A roaming craft marketplace and workshop platform
Celebrating Living heritage and Exploring ways to discover underrated Indian artists and connecting them with audiences to strengthen culture and creative economy.
Contribution
Research, Branding, UI/UX Design
Duration
2025 | 4 weeks
Industry
Cultural Commerce
Understanding The Problem
Artisans produce work of extraordinary quality but have no trusted digital channel.
Buyers who discover craft online frequently describe wanting to watch the making process, not just own the product. This unmet desire pointed toward a hybrid model, an online platform paired with a physical presence that travels to where buyers already are.
Research & Discovery
Research & discovery
Buyer research centered on people who had previously purchased handmade goods at craft fairs.
Online-only craft purchases felt riskier by comparison. Artisan interviews surfaced a different set of concerns. They didn't want to manage a shop. They cared about two things: being represented with dignity, and a fair cut without platform middlemen taking the bulk of the margin.
Research & Discovery
Service Blueprint
Design decisions
The visual identity centres on warmth and texture. The hero image, a potter shaping clay on a wheel does more work than any headline, it communicates materiality, skill, and time in a single frame. The palette pulls from earth tones that echo the materials artisans work with, creating visual continuity between the interface and the products displayed within it.
Brand Identity
Web Screens
Low Literacy Mobile Screens
Kalaghar Van
Low Literacy Kiosk
Outcome & reflection
Kalaghar built a coherent bridge between craft discovery online and craft experience in person. The van location schedule created an event-driven reason for repeat visits, while the shop and filter system made product browsing purposeful rather than overwhelming.
"Kalaghar's home page invests heavily in narrative before it offers a transaction and that sequencing reflects how buyers actually build confidence in craft purchases."
Key design learning
A future iteration would embed artisan video profiles directly into product listings — letting buyers see the maker at work before they buy, closing the gap between discovery and experience without requiring a van visit.
