Working as the Lead Brand Partner with Kanakia, one of India’s most respected names in property — we’ve developed a radical new strategic vision for Mumbai’s residential future.
Challenging the norm requires great courage and absolute conviction. Kanakia encourages a more radical approach when it comes to creating new spaces for people to enjoy.
Today the brand is recognised as one of India’s premium developers and featured amongst the leading real estate development brands in the world.
Established in 1986, Kanakia has developed and successfully delivered 14 million sq. ft. of commercial, residential, entertainment, education and industrial spaces.
Codename Future by Kanakia Group is a new pivotal development of culture, technology and environment, spread over 9 acres.
The prestigious elevated location sits right in the heart of Mumbai’s most sought-after residential district, Powai.
With enviable views across the open expanses of Powai Lake, the location and property offer something in very, very short supply in Mumbai… space to think.
‘Kanakia are taking a significantly different approach here. Previously famous for taking big themes across properties — with developments based on international design themes like the architecture of Paris, the design found in Miami or the ethos of Wall Street. ‘CodeName: Future’ sees a new departure. We’re creating a radical vision of better living from a future facing and global perspective. Gone are the referential design themes, replacing them is a people-centric, digitally-native focus that merges with nature to create new ideas in Mumbai’s residential thinking — ideas that should resonate across the planet.’
Working with the project architects, landscape designers and Kanakia’s founders, the work surrounding the new endeavour is — for the moment — named ‘Codename: Future’
This is no small task — the site is an elevated one, and is the largest remaining single area of land in the whole of Mumbai.
For a project of such scale, SomeOne has been tasked with working on every part of the development. And in keeping with the progressive nature of the idea, an equally unusual approach has been taken with the first release of it’s communications.
Setting aside traditional notions of branding, SomeOne has created not one identity — but a portfolio of connected strategic options to work in many channels alongside the multi-staged launch programme.
We’re building a brand for people to live with in Powai, and in doing so wanted to consider all aspects of their experience. A single repetitive mono-branded application would only serve to bore audiences used to the multi-sensory overload of Mumbai. So here, we have front loaded a new design system to give the teams space to choose what’s right for right now… and tomorrow, things can (and will) look very different.
Powai is an upmarket residential neighbourhood located in the north-east Mumbai. It is situated on the banks of Powai Lake, and is bound by the hills of Vikhroli Parksite to the south-east, Chandivali to the south-west, the L.B.S. Marg (old Mumbai-Agra road) to the north-east and the Sanjay Gandhi National Park to the north beyond the lake.
The area is brilliantly connected. The Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road, one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares linking the western and eastern suburbs, passes through Powai. The place also hosts thousands of devotees every year during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival for the visarjan processions.
Powai is served by Mumbai’s only airport, located 5 km away; and by the Vikhroli and Kanjur Marg railway stations on the Central line. The Sakinaka Metro station is 2.5 km away.
Originally a central village, Powai has significantly grown in recent years to become one of Mumbai’s most upmarket commercial and residential hubs.
Many global brands, such as Sanofi, Amazon, Credit Suisse, Prudential plc, JP Morgan, Deloitte & Bayer have HQs in Powai. There’s even a Pizza Express for Londoners!
Powai is seen as Mumbai’s start-up neighbourhood, with many young tech brands choosing the area to launch their brands. The area is often referred to as ‘Powai Valley.’ As a result of the exciting mix of communities, the suburb has one of Mumbai’s most cosmopolitan and modernised cultures.
Powai has a vibrant night-life, and shoots for several Bollywood as well as Hollywood movies, such as Kalyug, Ghajini, Slumdog Millionaire, Mardaani, and Haseena Maan Jaayegi have taken place there.
The images you see here are part of the pre-launch campaign that is now running across Mumbai to introduce people to the work that is being undertaken in Powai.
The current visual brand work is made from a series of generative systems that develop a living visual identity. The new visual and verbal identity is being deployed across digital, print & events.