How do you design a sneaker brand that celebrates India's street culture?
2022 | F&B
GULLY LABS
THE LOCAL MOTIVE
India has given the world countless cultural icons, yet no home-grown sneaker brand had truly represented the country’s creative identity on the global stage. Gully Labs set out to change that. Together, we imagined a contemporary Indian sneaker brand that celebrated craftsmanship, culture and design—without relying on clichés. Our role was to build a brand universe capable of standing confidently alongside the world’s leading lifestyle labels.
RESEARCH AND STRATEGY :
Brand Positioning, Cultural Research, Consumer Insights, Competitive Audit, Naming Validation, Brand Architecture and Visual Territory Development.
DESIGN:
Multilingual Logo, Identity System, Typography, Graphic Language, Iconography, Packaging, Sneaker Design Details, Unboxing Experience, Photography Art Direction, Visual Language, Brand Guidelines
NOTE
This case study showcases the original brand identity and design system created by LOCAL as part of the initial engagement. The brand has since continued to evolve independently.
IMPACT
Helped lay the foundation for a brand that has since grown into one of India’s most talked-about premium sneaker labels.
Established a visual and cultural identity that continues to support the brand’s expansion across products, retail and international markets.
The brand has since expanded internationally and attracted institutional investment while continuing to build its cultural positioning.
Some visualisations on this page are conceptual renders created to illustrate potential applications of the brand identity and may not represent final client-produced assets.
Some visualisations on this page are conceptual renders created to illustrate potential applications of the brand identity and may not represent final client-produced assets.
DESIGN PROBLEM
India has long been a consumer of global sneaker culture but had never produced a premium sneaker brand capable of shaping it. The opportunity was not simply to create another footwear label, but to define what an Indian sneaker brand could represent. Through extensive cultural research, strategy and design, we sought to build a brand that expressed the energy of contemporary India—confident, creative and unapologetically local—without falling back on clichés or nostalgia. The result was a flexible brand system designed to resonate with India’s emerging sneaker community while standing confidently alongside the world’s leading lifestyle brands.
BORN FROM THE GULLIES FOR THE WORLD
The streets of India (and the world) became our design studio. We explored neighbourhoods, documented overlooked visual details and studied the culture that shapes everyday life—from local typography and street graphics to conversations, movement and rituals. Rather than romanticising tradition, we translated the energy, optimism and contradictions of contemporary India into a brand that feels lived in, confident and globally relevant.
The Anatomy of a street flyer
The brand’s layouts, graphic language and colour palette were all informed by the visual ecology of Indian street flyers. We drew from their bold typographic hierarchy, layered compositions, torn-paper textures and vibrant yet weathered colour combinations, refining these observations into a contemporary identity system that feels rooted in the streets without losing the sophistication expected of a global brand.
A CUSTOM MULTILINGUAL IDENTITY
India doesn’t speak in one language, so neither should its first global sneaker brand. We created a multilingual logo system that could adapt across India’s diverse scripts, reflecting the country’s rich linguistic landscape while making the brand feel familiar and accessible to people across regions. This became the cornerstone of a broader identity inspired by the streets of India—where typography, colour, texture and everyday culture informed every touchpoint, from product detailing and packaging to photography and digital experiences.
COLOUR PALETTE
The colour palette is inspired by flyers, screen prints and saturated inks of street posters and graphics.
GRAPHIC DETAILS ON THE SHOE
To ensure the identity extended beyond communication, we designed a library of product graphics and detailing elements—including patterns, labels, trims and branded markings—that could be applied across the sneaker range.
PACKAGING
BREAKDOWN
We developed a packaging system that carried the brand’s visual language beyond the product. Inspired by India’s multilingual and layered visual culture, every detail was designed to create a memorable and premium unboxing experience.
