We use the ‘Renaissance Mind framework’, that blends Futures Thinking, Design Thinking and Brand Thinking to uncover bold insights, solve complex problems, and discover new paradigms for growth in the business, social and governance contexts.
Since our early days, we have embedded ourselves in Megatrends intelligence to identify future-facing business insights. These insights empower brands and organisations to reassess what they know today, meet the consumer, and forecast the contexts of tomorrow.
Our agile and interdisciplinary practice impacts the creation of compelling products, services and capabilities, reimagining business models in the face of rapidly changing realities.
We work with major global brands and
high-growth startups across industries and geographies, enabled by a strong global network of associates. We also help organisations create a culture of innovation through cross-functional training programs, design sprints and Megatrend-led business innovation workshops.
We offer the following services:
Future Studies & Foresight Studies
User Research and UX Design
Customer Experience & Innovation Strategy
Innovation Capability Building
8
YEARS
7
COUNTRIES
700+
PROJECTS
15+
INDUSTRY/
SECTORS IMPACTED
8000+
CONSUMER/EXPERT INTERACTIONS
1500+
BUSINESS LEADERS TRAINED IN DESIGN THINKING
We thrive on the diversity of our team.
Our Vision
Our name, Turian, derived from ‘Turiya’ (from the Sanskrit term ‘Chaturya’), means the ‘fourth state of consciousness’ mentioned in Indian philosophy.
The first three states of consciousness are waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep. The fourth state is where the duality of the observer and the observed vanishes. It is also called the very substratum of the other three states. The higher aim of human life is to achieve the supreme consciousness of this fourth state.
Turian Labs believes that the world needs holistic thinking and 'unity of consciousness' to look beyond the obvious.
Knowledge
has no boundaries. Knowledge itself is a goal, as extolled since the ancient times in India. True knowledge lends itself to applications beyond conventional boundaries, across the entire spectrum of human activities.
Innovation
is meditation. Every act of creation is meditation and prayer. Innovation is no miracle. It is the result of perseverance of an individual or group to dream of a solution and live, eat and sleep on it. Innovation is about emerging new meanings. It is about making our short stay on this planet enjoyable and sustainable for all.
Structure
is the missing link in the game of creativity and innovation. The world is full of ‘big-data’, where we are struggling to make sense of things. There is no dearth of ideas in this world; however the skill to put these ideas into a tangible, practical, and scalable structure is a scarce commodity.
Why Turian Labs
Thought-Leadership
Turian Labs is built on the cross-industry, cross-border innovation project experience of a thought-leader in Design, own co-founder and leader Manoj Kothari. Do check out the wealth of articles/videos authored by him online.
Bespoke Methodologies
Every project is different, and we always build a bespoke program contextual to the needs, preferences, and capabilities of each stakeholder. Conducting design research for formidable and innovative client projects means that we deploy state-of-the-art tools that deliver tangible results, based on tested and proven methodologies from academia and industry.
Lean Teams
A project’s overall efficacy is largely dependant on the team’s level of engagement. Through years of practice, we have seen that a smaller team of generalists is able to establish a deeper connection with both the client and all stakeholders involved in a project. With small teams, we shorten feedback loops, reduce dependencies, and stay agile.
Bias for the long view
Futurology is at the heart of the interdisciplinary design practice at Turian Labs: this helps future-proof our work by leveraging a systematic approach to predict future developments through an intensive study of historical and current trends, using several methodologies, many of our own making.
Lead with Design
Design already touches many parts of a business: human–machine interactions, AI, behavioural economics, and engineering psychology, not to mention innovation and the development of new business models. The interdisciplinary team at Turian Labs, which works across functions while retaining their depth of design savvy, bring a broad range of experiences and perspectives, the impact of which is seen meaningfully and tangibly throughout our work.
Our Clients
Our Team
Manoj Kothari
Manoj is one of India’s leading Design Thinking practitioners and a futurist today. Prior to founding Turian Labs, he co-founded and led another product innovation & design company – Onio Design Pvt. Ltd. and a digital branding company ITERNIA.
In a career spanning more than two decades, Manoj led innovation engagements with several global brands and organisations. He is an expert trainer for CXOs/policy-makers on Design Thinking and Megatrends-based future envisioning.
He is a visiting faculty at several leading institutions like ISB, NID, IITs, and mentors startups in various capacities.
He is a mechanical engineering graduate from IIT (Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, batch of 1992), and has a post-graduate degree in Industrial Design from NID (National Institute of Design), Ahmedabad.
Sonali Kothari
Sonali is co-founder of Turian Labs. She manages operations and client delivery at Turian Labs. She has nearly two decades of diverse experience in the advertising, education, e-publishing and branding industries. Apart from her work at Turian, she also manages her boutique social enterprise start-up INNISHARI. She is an ardent yoga practitioner and holds a master’s degree in Zoology from Calcutta University.
Mugdha Damle
Mugdha is a program manager at Turian Labs for UX research. Coming from an academic background in Industrial Product Design, Mugdha shows great acumen for research-based analysis and design. Her curiosity to learn about the world, human behaviour, and what lies beneath the surface all led her into the field of design research. Before joining the team at Turian Labs, Mugdha worked as a design research consultant for a multinational company. She firmly believes that the broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design one creates.
Deepali Modi
Deepali is a program manager at Turian Labs and orchestrates key research engagements. With more than two decades of experience across advertising, marketing and web-development, Deepali has a keen eye to observe and understand the intersection of technology, business and human behaviour. Before joining Turian Labs, she had a long stint with an IT multinational corporation. She is an avid bike rider and participated in several car-safaris across the country.
Girin George
Girin is the Operations Manager at Turian Labs. He orchestrates the network of several team members and vendors to ensure the quality of respondents for our research remains tightly controlled. He has a profound passion for people and is intrigued by human behaviour. A part-time musician and great singer, he believes his art helps him empathise with people and gives him an edge in establishing rapport during research. He pursued his bachelors in Computer Application (BCA) from Pune University.
Adarsh Sahgal
Adarsh is a product designer by training and works as senior UX researcher at Turian Labs. His role involves leading end-to-end research projects, brand strategy projects and workshops. His previous experience working with hardware startups for product innovation and entrepreneurial experience of running a brand strategy studio adds uniquely to his research toolkit .
Dhanashree Pandit
Dhanashree is a post-graduate in Counselling Psychology from Modern College, Pune. She finds her expression in user-interaction facilitation, empathic communication and connecting the dots from scattered data. With a strong foundation in Indian classical dance 'Bharatanatyam', she is also a fresh seeker of ancient Indian wisdom and its relevance to the current world. Before joining Turian Labs, Dhanashree has worked as a counselling psychologist across multiple schools in Pune.
Chandana Kumar
Chandana is a Communication Design student at D J Academy of Design, Coimbatore. She has a deep-rooted interest in subjects belonging to the education and finance/banking sector. A keen observer, she is constantly looking to experiment with different forms of media and communication. She is keen on exploring and using sound/listening as a key tool in research and finding empathy for others.
Poorvi Sethi
Poorvi is a graduate from the National Institute of Design with a specialisation in Communication Design. Currently, she works as a UX researcher with Turian labs. Beyond her professional pursuits, Poorvi is a passionate artist, exploring photography, experimental filmmaking, and painting. These creative outlets not only enrich her personal life but also contribute to her well-rounded approach to design.
Shranya Aeri
Shranya is an Architect by profession. She has curated systems that influence lives. She previously worked with an architecture practice on design, development and execution of a 100 acre medical campus. She is intrigued towards exploring the potential of design-oriented problem solving to enhance everyday experiences.
Observation and patience are the traits she values the most.
Shweta Malvadkar
Shweta is a Commerce graduate with a stint in the tourism industry. She is a go-getter who likes to take up new challenges with zest, and has channelised her enthusiasm and skills of empathetic communication towards managing operations at Turian Labs. She loves exploring new places and beaches are her favourite.
Deepti Patil
Deepti manages the HR and admin functions at Turian Labs. She is an experienced professional and holds a masters degree in Human Resource Management. Her amiable personality makes her a go-to person for the team, beyond her formal role.
Our Advisors
DR. TIM HOLMES (UK)
A BBC Radio show described Tim as a “neuroscientist gone rogue” because he now applies his knowledge as a vision scientist to behaviour change. Tim has a doctorate in visual neuroscience, decision making and aesthetic perception from Royal Holloway, University of London, and a graduate degree in mathematics from Sheffield University, UK. In 2011 he co-founded Acuity Intelligence Ltd, which specialised in real-world applications of eye-tracking, biometrics and cognitive neuroscience. He worked on vision science projects with companies as diverse as P&G, Coca-Cola, Unilever, GSK, BAE Systems, Ralph Lauren, Jaguar Land Rover, The Guardian and the Walt Disney Company to evaluate and optimise product, package design, digital media, mobile apps, visual interfaces and marketing strategy. In 2018, Acuity was acquired by the world’s leading eye-tracking manufacturer Tobii AB.
DR. CHIPS CHIPALKATTI (USA)
Dr. Makarand “Chips” Chipalkatti is a founder and board member of the Global Innovation Management Institute, USA. Chips received a Ph.D. in Polymer Science & Eng. from Univ. of Massachusetts and a B.Tech Chem. Eng. from IIT Bombay. Since 2005, Dr. Chips led the Strategic Innovation Management function for OSRAM SYLVANIA and continued to serve as a key member of OSRAM’s global innovation leadership. Dr. Chips has also played a pioneering role in the Lighting industry as an industry leader in various trade bodies and has also worked with public agencies. Dr. Chips now works through his executive consulting practice focusing on industry transformation, innovation and entrepreneurship, with special emphasis on the commercialization of innovation.