Anacare
Animal NGO in Mumbai
Branding, Graphic Design & Social Media
The Brief:
The objective of this project was to identify a critical global challenge through the lens of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and develop a design-led intervention.
The process involved partnering with a specific organisation to diagnose operational or communication-based frictions. By bridging the gap between high-level social objectives and ground-level execution, the project aimed to deliver a functional design solution that enhances the partner organisation's ability to create measurable community impact.
The Problem:
Mumbai is home to an estimated 95,000 street animals living alongside a population of over 20 million people, most of whom don't know how to help when an animal is injured or in danger. The problem isn't a lack of care.
It's a lack of communication. People see a suffering animal and don't know who to call. They approach a frightened dog the wrong way and get bitten.
They assume street animals are diseased and keep their distance. Organisations like Anacare exist and are fully operational; they just aren't reaching the people who could help them. This project builds the communication layer that connects a functioning NGO to the community it serves.
The Process:
The existing Anacare brand's website, colours, and logo were already finalised before we came in. We couldn't redesign the identity; we had to reverse-engineer a coherent visual system from what already existed. This meant studying what the brand was doing well, identifying what needed formalisation, and building everything new within those constraints. This is closer to how most real-world design work actually operates, and it pushed the team to be precise and systematic rather than expressive.
Research involved visiting the clinic, understanding how the space was used, studying the team's actual workflow, and identifying which communication gaps were causing the most friction for the clinic visitors, for potential adopters, for the social media audience, and for the Anacare team themselves.
Phase 1 involves creating six to eight A4 posters for the Anacare clinic, each addressing specific knowledge gaps related to street animals, such as myths, proper approaches to dogs and cats, Anacare's role, and the adoption process. These posters are designed for quick readability and have high impact as they engage the audience passively.
Phase 2 consists of social media templates created with Canva for various content types that Anacare needs for growth, including rescue stories and awareness posts. These templates enable the team to maintain a consistent communication strategy without demanding extensive storytelling efforts, complemented by a workshop for effective social media use while ensuring sustainability beyond team involvement.
Key Takeaways:
That sometimes, good design means understanding constraints, not just aspirations, and building systems that will last even after our work as designers is done.
