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January 2020 - March 2020

Character Design of 'Beyond Buddy'

This case study explores the creation of a mascot from defining personality traits to crafting expressive visuals. Each design decision was guided by user insights and brand intent for a character that's both meaningful and memorable.

Marketing

Marketing

Archetype​

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The Beyond archetype: Regular guy + The Hero.

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Supporting it's traits of being simple, personal yet elite and confident.

Regular Guy Traits: Down to earth, supportive, faithful, folksy, person next door, connects with others

The Hero Traits: Courageous, bold, honourable, strong, confident, inspirational

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Brand Personality Survey

Brand Personality​

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Brand personality of the product was carefully identified with the help of the in-depth analysis of the suitable personality as well as the take of stakeholders/ Decision-makers.

Eg, If our beyond’s personality falls on the number 1 that is purely elite and the celebrity chosen falls on the same number then they are marked a full score ‘1’ but if it falls on a number right beside it which is 2 then the celebrity is scored ‘1/2‘ and if it is farther i.e. 3 or 4 then scored ‘0‘

Brand Personality survey results 

​Beyond's personality's primary traits came out to be 

Elite  •  Simple  •  Witty  •  Timeless  •  Authoritative  •  Flexible  •  Precise

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whereas the secondary traits were expected to be

Masculine yet Feminine  •  Confident yet emotional  •  Mature yet young  •  Energetic yet calm  •  Personal yet Professional

•  Realistic yet Imaginative  •  Playful yet Serious  •  Curious yet Professorial

Sushmita Sen

Sushmita Sen is an Indian Actress known for her wit and knowledge. She is a strong independent woman, who is confident enough to take major decisions of life, and would never choose to rely upon others for the same. She is very energetic sort of person , but still prefer to be calm at certain instances. She has been confident and ambitious for whatever she has done in life and an Influential personality. Sushmita was Miss universe at the young age of 18.

Survey

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Now our product required a human persona to be associated with. Several potential personas of influential personalities were listed down and then scored on the basis of a self created marking system.

Eg, If our beyond’s personality falls on the number 1 that is purely elite and the celebrity chosen falls on the same number then they are marked a full score ‘1’ but if it falls on a number right beside it which is 2 then the celebrity is scored ‘1/2‘ and if it is father i.e. 3 or 4 then scored ‘0‘.

In the same way we found where wonder woman was quite close to our character being timeless and confident, she was more of mass appeal than elite. APJ Abdul Kalam turned out to be too poetic was us, Amir khan too feminine and Harsha Bhogle too stubborn even after possessing the right wit. By the end, we were stuck with two personalities which were very close to being the the right persona for beyond ‘Akshay Kumar‘ and ‘Sushmita sen‘.

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Akshay Kumar : 13/15

Sushmita Sen : 13.5/15

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Clearly we had a winner, Sushmita Sen

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Considered:-

Wonder woman

Akshay Kumar

APJ Abdul Kalam

Amir Khan

Harsha Bhogle

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Character Development

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After finalising on the personality traits of the brand, the next step was identifying the needs for a character of the brand which would be the mascot. Important aspect of the study was to understand the need of traits as well as the different emphasis category of each trait in the character development of the mascot.

MoSCoW Map

The Design process of Moscow mapping was done to get a clearer understanding of the need of the traits in the mascot.

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Design Process: MoSCoW Mapping

M - Must have

S - Should have

C - Could have

W - Would have

Segregation and priority chart for the traits of the mascot

The personality traits were further segregated and prioritised on the basis of 4 categories for emphasis:-

• Physical appearance

• Tone of voice

• Outfits/props

• Aura

Category & Criteria

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Choosing the type of Character to finalise is another important step in the character development. 6 categories were identified namely, Humans, Plants, Animals, Artificial intelligence elements, Cartoons/animated characters, Objects. In another survey done among the design team and the stakeholders all the categories were rated on the basis of the

following criteria:-

• Relatability: The quality of being easily understood or appreciated.

• Reliability: The quality of being trustworthy or of performing consistently well.

• Scalability: Acceptable across religions and cultures.

• Longevity: Ease with which a product can be maintained in order to: correct defects or their cause, repair or replace.

Interlinked with self-sustainance.

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The survey was conducted after briefing the stakeholders about the brand personality and the project. The categories which got rated the most were AI and human with their reasonings. So we finalised on having a Humanoid a mix of AI and human.

Survey Forms with the results

Inspiration​

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Hritik Roshan as Arjun From Ye Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara has been taken as the inpiration for the mascot of the product. Arjun has possessed all the required appropriate personality traits that we require in our mascot. Throughout the movie he can be seen flexible and yet very focused. He has been a character with charm to captivate the audience’s attention and a workaholic, witty and yet kind human.

Hritik Roshan as Arjun From 'Ye Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara'

Beyond Buddy is a 32 yrs male humanoid who is a workaholic and is very particular about giving best results. He is direct and witty at the same time and can be quite friendly and helpful without making the other person feel intimidated. He looks approachable and still maintains his professional, elite and timeless outlook.

Character Illustration (MVP Phase)​

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A faster Development of a mascot was done for the beta version of the product “Beyond“ following the MVP model with the most basic and only the important functionality prospects in the product. The illustration was manipulated according to the existing style and iconography of the company.

100% Control

Broad Visibility

One Click Management

Character: Beyond Buddy

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Beyond Buddy is a 32 yrs male humanoid who is of Indian ethnicity of 9 feet height and lean built body.

The character has been worked upon by creating multiple iterations, exploring different gestures and emphasising on the props and their relatability towards the brand’s products.

Basic 9-heads stick figure sketches of the various gestures for the mascot. 

Sketches of the the various gestures to suit different roles of the education and the transportation industry. 

Morphing of the character from the basic 9-heads stick figure sketches to a more solid form.

Morphing of the character from the body form to a clothed mascot.

Basic 9-heads figure sketches in outfits for different roles in the education and the transportation industry.

Medium fidelity sketches in outfits for different roles in the education and the transportation industry.

Final illlustrations in different roles and various outfits, Color scheme and style of the brand.

Final illustrations in different roles and various gestures. Color scheme and style of the brand.

Facial Expressions​

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25 Facial expressions for the mascot ‘Beyond Buddy‘.

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25 Facial expressions for the mascot ‘Beyond Buddy‘.

Mood Board​

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The Color scheme chosen is based on the existing branding of Unthinkable.

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Monochromatic color scheme – tones and shades

Keywords: Professional, Growth, young, minimal , safety,

freshness, healing, authority , trust finance/profit

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Thank You for giving Beyond your time! 

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