Design Mindset steps into episode 16 with a clear purpose: to understand how industrial designers are navigating a world where tools, platforms, and expectations keep shifting under their feet. Yanko Design’s weekly podcast, Design Mindset, powered by KeyShot, is less about design celebrity and more about design thinking, unpacking how decisions get made, how stories are built around products, and how technology is reshaping the craft from the inside out. Each week, a new episode premieres with designers who are actively pushing workflows, visuals, and experiences into new territory.

This episode features Benny Lee, Senior Design Manager of Technology and Strategic Partnerships at The Coca-Cola Company, and a practitioner who moves comfortably between mass production, digital ecosystems, and even film props. Trained as an industrial designer, Benny started at Coke in a traditional ID role while also leading visualization, bringing advanced 3D rendering into a company that was still heavily reliant on Photoshop and 2D assets. He now sits at the intersection of heritage and innovation, helping a 140 year old brand adopt real time visualization, AI, and new storytelling platforms without losing what makes Coca-Cola recognizable everywhere.

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Storytelling as the real job of industrial design

Benny treats industrial design as a storytelling discipline first and a styling discipline second. His training spans sketching, 3D modeling, rendering, and prototyping, but he frames each of these as a narrative tool rather than a technical checkpoint. Sketches, CAD, and renders exist to show what a product does, how it behaves, and how it should feel to use, not just how it looks on a white background.

Inside a large organization, that narrative focus becomes practical very quickly. He puts it plainly in the conversation: “Storytelling as an ID, you know, is important because it’s all about bringing this visual alignment of the actual product when you’re trying to get a buy in to sell in.” The job is to reach a point where the design communicates its intent on its own, without the designer in the room. Call to action areas, material breaks, and even lighting choices in a render become part of that silent story, aligning stakeholders around what the product is supposed to be.

When rendering becomes a thinking tool, not just a final output

When Benny joined Coca-Cola, much of the visualization work sat in a 2D world. Concepts were often built through Photoshop and static compositions, heavily intertwined with graphic design. He talks about the shift he helped drive quite directly: “I find it really quite an honor and a pleasure that I was able to bring 3D renderings into the practice here.” That move to 3D was not just about realism, it was about adding depth to how ideas are explored and communicated.

The key change is that rendering is no longer treated as the last step before a presentation. Tools like KeyShot become part of the exploration loop. Benny uses quick CAD setups and fast render passes to test light, material, and even simple motion, and to storyboard how a product opens, glows, or reacts in context. He describes this as a way to “fail fast, iterate faster,” and he underlines that “we don’t always just use renderings to create pretty visuals and a lot of times we’re using it to build new experience.” Visualization turns into a thinking environment, especially valuable when physical labs and prototypes are slow or limited.

Respecting a 140 year old brand while pushing it into new arenas

Designing at Coca-Cola means working around a product that barely changes. The formula in the bottle remains constant, so innovation happens in the ecosystem that surrounds it. Packaging systems, retail touchpoints, digital layers, and immersive experiences become the canvas where design can move, while the core product stays familiar.

Benny describes his role with a custodian mindset. He imagines the brand as a skyscraper built over generations, and his work as adding “layers of bricks” rather than ripping out foundations. That perspective shows up in how Coca-Cola experiments with new platforms. The company explores metaverse activations, NFTs, experiential installations, and AI driven storytelling, not as disconnected stunts but as new ways to retell the same product story for new audiences. The strategy, as he frames it, is to adapt the ecosystem and technology “to retell the product’s story” while staying true to the brand’s core character.

Mass production versus one off film props

Benny’s portfolio stretches across lifestyle accessories, consumer electronics, and concept work for films like the Avengers. On the surface, the process for these domains begins similarly, with sketching, modeling, and rendering. The divergence appears when the work hits reality. In consumer products, industrial design is tied to mass production, with all the constraints of tooling, factory collaboration, golden samples, logistics, and long term durability.

Film work operates under a different set of pressures. Concept art might start in tools like ZBrush with exaggerated, dramatic forms that look incredible on screen but are not remotely manufacturable in a traditional sense. Benny’s responsibility in those situations is to respect the creative vision while making it buildable. Props do not have to scale to millions of units. They have to survive a shoot and read correctly on camera. If one breaks, it can be rebuilt. That freedom shifts what is possible in form and material, but the throughline is still storytelling, captured in a few seconds of screen time instead of years of daily use.

Adapting to an ever expanding toolset without losing your core

Throughout the episode, Benny returns to the pace of change in design tools. Skills that were once specialized are now table stakes. Students are graduating with exposure to UI and UX, electronics integration, and AI enhanced workflows. He notes that “you have to wear so many hats,” and points out that traditional industrial design is becoming a “rare breed” precisely because the field has branched into web, mobile, service, and emerging tech work.

His response is not to chase mastery of every new tool, but to understand what each category can do and to build teams around that understanding. He emphasizes hiring people who are better than you at specific domains and managing the mix of skills rather than guarding personal expertise. In parallel, he argues that adaptation is now the most important traditional trait. The designers who thrive will be the ones who stay resilient, keep a story first mindset, and move fluidly between CAD, KeyShot, AI, and whatever comes next, while still grounding their decisions in how things work in the real world.

Design Mindset, powered by KeyShot, returns every week with conversations like this, tracing the connection between how designers think, the tools they use, and the work they put into the world. Episode 6 with Reid Schlegel leaves you with a simple, practical challenge: see your ideas sooner, in more ways, and with less fear of being imperfect.

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The post How Coca Cola’s Benny Lee Is Redefining Industrial Design as Storytelling, Not Just “Making Products” first appeared on Yanko Design.

Every Tuesday, Yanko Design’s new podcast “Design Mindset” goes beyond the portfolios and project showcases, diving deep into the philosophies, failures, and future-facing strategies of the world’s most influential creative leaders. Hosted by Radhika Seth, “Design Mindset” brings candid conversations that reveal not just how great design is made, but why it matters, especially when the stakes are high, and the choices aren’t easy. Whether you’re a young designer, a founder, or simply a creative at heart, the show aims to inspire and equip you to build businesses and products that serve both profit and purpose.

Our premiere episode features Ashwini Deshpande, co-founder of Elephant Design, India’s largest independent multidisciplinary design consultancy. With a career spanning 36 years, Ashwini represents a generation that transformed Indian design from an afterthought to a vital force in business and society. The conversation traces Elephant’s origins in 1989’s scarcity-driven India, reveals the philosophy that design is “not a luxury, but a democracy,” and explores how commercial success and social impact can, and should, align.

Why Choosing Between Profit and Purpose is a False Dilemma

Ashwini wastes no time confronting the age-old debate between doing good and doing well. “You don’t have to choose between profit and purpose. You can integrate both. It can come together,” she asserts with the confidence of someone who has spent 36 years proving this theory. This isn’t wishful thinking or corporate speak. It’s a business philosophy forged in the fires of India’s economic transformation, when design consultancy was virtually unknown and every project was an opportunity to prove that good design could create social change.

The foundation of this belief traces back to Elephant’s radical vision, shaped at NID (National Institute of Design), which saw design as a tool for everyone, not a luxury for the few. “Design isn’t a luxury, it’s not a tool, it’s a democracy,” Ashwini says. But democracy requires participation, and participation requires survival. “You can do good only if you survive to do that. It was important to get financial stability and have a business model that could grow, that could employ more designers, and in turn spread the impact of design.” For Ashwini, design is part of nation-building, and fair compensation is not just deserved, but essential for sustaining impact.

Building a Design Empire in an Economy That Didn’t Know Design Existed

Picture India in the late 1980s: just two car models, scooters bought on installment with years-long waiting lists, no malls, no branded clothes, and computers just beginning to enter workplaces. This was the landscape where Elephant Design was born, and every single project was revolutionary simply by existing. “Anyone who is willing to invest in design to improve anything, be it their products or communication, was going to make a positive impact on the Indian economy,” Ashwini recalls.

Starting a design consultancy in this environment wasn’t just ambitious, it was necessary. “We didn’t have really many other choices. It wasn’t like placement coordinators queuing up outside NID. Nobody was employing designers. So this seemed like the right thing to do.” Every project became an opportunity to create social change and prove that good design could transform how Indians consumed products and experiences. But this wasn’t idealism for its own sake. “It was never a blind sort of charitable enterprise because then we wouldn’t have survived and we wouldn’t have got the good people that we have working with us if we were not financially stable.”

The Brutal Reality of Selling Something Nobody Knew They Needed

Almost no one in India’s early business landscape understood the value of paying for design. Branding and communication needs were served by advertising agencies who threw those services in for free against media budgets. Product design needs were fulfilled by what was called “R&D,” which Ashwini translates with a wry smile: “refer and duplicate.” This was the market Elephant entered, armed with nothing but conviction and necessity.

“We had no choice. Nobody knew that they had to pay design fees to get design consulting advice,” Ashwini explains. “So we had to begin by making them realize that you can make profits if you employ good design. Whether you work with us or you work with whoever else, but design is going to help you make profits.” The team became evangelists by necessity, constantly proving that design wasn’t a marketing expense but a capital investment that would yield returns. “Evangelizing alone isn’t enough; you have to prove it. Eventually, you have to prove that good design actually made good profits.” This pragmatic advocacy laid the groundwork for the next generation of Indian design studios.

User Advocacy: The North Star That Never Changes

As Elephant grew to over 70 people, maintaining the core philosophy became both more crucial and more challenging. The answer, Ashwini discovered, wasn’t in rigid rules but in a singular focus: “We are the users’ advocates. As long as we are able to solve for them, everything else will fall in place.” This approach allows for diversity in methods while maintaining consistency in outcomes. A Gen Z designer might approach a problem differently than a millennial, but if both solve for the user, both approaches have merit.

The focus on user advocacy also shapes how Elephant evaluates potential team members. “Some people don’t ride an elephant,” Ashwini says with characteristic directness. “If the philosophies don’t match, it’s not for you to ride the elephant. But as long as you are able to solve for the user, things fall in place.” This isn’t about cultural fit in the superficial sense, it’s about shared commitment to putting user needs at the center of every decision. “As long as your differentiation is based on user insights, and you’re solving pain points, either for the users or for the businesses, you’re doing good by default.”

The Rockefeller Revelation: Three Pledges That Changed Everything

In 2008, the Rockefeller Foundation invited 12 designers from around the world to explore how design could address social impact projects. For Ashwini, this wasn’t just a workshop, it was “transformative” in providing “some kind of conduit to what one was always wanting to do.” The key insight wasn’t about abandoning commercial work for social good, it was about integration. “All of us want to do good, but many of us have no idea where or how to begin because the world is full of wicked problems.”

Ashwini returned with three pledges that would reshape Elephant’s approach. First, start with backyard problems because “no problem is too small to solve.” Their first project was garbage segregation awareness in the communities around their Pune studio. Second, work through your own competency. “If mine is visual communication, then that’s what I should do to solve that problem. As long as you identify your core competency and use that for a social impact cause, it’s going to see the most effect.” Third, ride on commercial projects to introduce social impact. “No business wants to do bad, and if you just pop up an opportunity for them to do good, they are very receptive.”

Purpose-Washing vs. Purpose-Doing: How to Spot the Difference

The design world is drowning in purpose-washing, and Ashwini doesn’t mince words about it. “If you just take a look at the winners of many of the global design competitions, you will be drowned in purpose-washing, unfortunately.” But beneath the shiny, award-winning facades, there are quieter movements making real differences, one idea at a time. These projects might not sparkle or win awards, but they create positive change for users and businesses alike.

The test for authenticity is brutal but simple: “Did you move the needle as much as the project’s potential was?” This isn’t about intention or effort, it’s about results. “That shine and glory of purpose-washing will only take you that far. But it will leave you dissatisfied because you wouldn’t have actually made the difference that you have the potential to do.” Young designers, Ashwini believes, understand this instinctively and won’t be satisfied with hollow trophies that represent missed opportunities for real impact.

Cultural Preservation Through Smart Business: The Paper Boat Success Story

When asked to name a project that perfectly balances commercial success and social impact, Ashwini points to Elephant’s 12-year collaboration with Paper Boat, a beverage brand that revives traditional Indian drinks. “It talks about drinks from memories. Ethnic drinks that were sort of getting extinct have been brought back in a very contemporary format.” This isn’t social impact in the conventional sense of poverty alleviation or education, but something equally important: cultural preservation.

“I believe preserving culture is in itself a social impact. I think we’ve managed to do that really well with that company, literally preserving culture one package at a time.” The project demonstrates how social impact doesn’t always have to be about addressing society’s most pressing problems. Sometimes it’s about maintaining connections to heritage and identity in a rapidly modernizing world. The commercial success of Paper Boat proves that consumers will pay premium prices for products that connect them to their roots, making cultural preservation not just socially valuable but economically viable.

When Purpose and Profit Collide: Making the Hard Choice

In a rapid-fire challenge, Ashwini is asked what wins when purpose and profit seem to conflict. Her answer comes without hesitation: “Purpose. Because you can do well by doing good. I believe profit follows.” This isn’t naive idealism, it’s hard-earned wisdom from someone who has built a thriving business while staying true to her values. “Success can come to you if you’ve done good. Whether it is money, fame, satisfaction, it’ll all come if you’ve done good.”

This philosophy was tested in a hypothetical scenario about a lucrative rebranding project for a company with questionable labor practices. Rather than walking away or compromising values, Ashwini’s approach demonstrates sophisticated thinking: use the branding process to surface and align core values, making the labor issues impossible to ignore. “Corporate branding is actually an inside-out exercise. Whatever is your core, we will only help you articulate it. The moment you start doing that kind of digging inside and you look at some practices that clearly lead to wrong set of values, no business is going to want to adopt those wrong set of values.”

The Joy Factor: What Sustainable Success Really Feels Like

Asked to describe sustainable business success in one word, Ashwini’s response is immediate: “Joyous.” This isn’t about happiness as a nice-to-have perk, it’s about joy as a fundamental requirement. “Joy at work, if there is no joy, there is no point.” This perspective reframes the entire conversation about work-life balance and sustainable business practices. Joy isn’t the reward for success, it’s the foundation that makes success meaningful and sustainable.

For someone starting a purpose-driven business today, Ashwini’s advice is characteristically direct: “Just start. Don’t wait.” There’s no perfect moment, no ideal conditions, no complete roadmap. The key is beginning with authentic intention and the willingness to learn and adapt. “Don’t just build a business, build a movement,” she concludes, encapsulating a philosophy that has guided Elephant Design for over three decades and continues to inspire the next generation of purpose-driven entrepreneurs.

Design Mindset is now live, with new episodes dropping every Tuesday. Whether you’re a working designer, a tech junkie, or simply someone who loves beautiful things, Yanko Design’s new podcast promises fresh insights and lively conversation on what it really means to shape the visual and functional world around us. Visit Yanko Design’s YouTube page for more!

The post “Joy at Work” is the Only Success Metric That Matters: Building India’s largest Design Movement first appeared on Yanko Design.