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Marketing is a misinterpreted term; when someone hears it, they believe it’s referring to  sales. But is marketing sales? The answer is no. The digital marketing realm in India is undergoing drastic change driven by technological advancements, consumer behaviour, societal needs, business needs, and evolving market dynamics. As the 21st century is nearing its bloom, marketers and businesses need to stay ahead of the curve to remain competitive by understanding, utilizing, and knowing the latest marketing trends in India and across the world. 

Intelligent marketing design is the Latest Marketing Trend 

It is the age of intelligent marketing design, the newest fad of marketing that is altering the way brands are relating to one another. Intelligent marketing design that comes in the form of AI-driven marketing design or AI-powered personalization at its deepest level, is the ability to empathize with your customers and to curate smart, smooth, and personal marketing experiences using technology, in particular, artificial intelligence and data analytics.

The modern consumer looks not only to acquire experience, but to make his life more simple. Marketers must become more than just attention magnets in an environment that is increasingly competitive. That is what intelligent marketing design does in that it enables brands to get insights of customer behaviour, likes, dislikes and even emotions. This data assists firms to come up with everything to include highly individualized suggestions on products and also unique tailored advertisements aimed straight at what each individual desires.

This is not the end of it all however. Smart design is redefining websites and apps as well as physical shops. Consider AI-enabled chatbots, which will provide timely answers to your customer needs or online stores that will automatically move around depending on how you browse. With the help of these tools, designers are able to eliminate irritating roadblocks to the online shopping experience and to make it all quicker, easier, and even a little bit tech-magical.

AI-driven marketing design is a necessity for marketers. In order to remain competitive, you must combine creative thinking with receiving the latest technologies. Already, the trend is assisting firms to drive customer traffic, improve conversion rates and develop groups of repeat customers. Whether it is the process of production of content, the introduction of a new product, or the strategy of a digital campaign, using AI-powered personalization as the core element of this process can become the game-changer you have been looking for.

It’s worth noting that there are only a few brands who get it right in this trend and they are not only able to stay current, but they’ll set the pace for everyone else and some of their experiences are so fluid and customized that customers are likely to be back to them again and again.  

Latest Marketing Trends to Know

1. AI-based Personalization: Using AI is transforming marketing by allowing businesses to offer the experience of personalization at mass levels. AI assists marketers in executing tailored marketing campaigns that encourage people to engage and convert by using customer data.

How to use AI for marketing? 

• Analysis of Customer Data: With the help of AI tools, it is possible to analyze extensive customer data (such as browsing history, purchases, and preferences) to derive a pattern and forecast behaviors to be able to target them better.
• Individualised Content and Recommendations: Such platforms as Amazon, Netflix, or Spotify rely on AI to suggest buying particular goods or consuming specific content according to the needs of separate users and raise engagement and sales.
• Automated Mailing: AI offers email personalization when it conveys different contents of the email and timings according to the user and helps with open up and conversion rates. According to Statista (2024), AI-personalized emails generate a click-through rate of up to 41% better than any other e-mailing.
• Chatbots; Virtual Assistants: Chatbots powered by AI also deliver immediate and personal assistance as well as nudging users towards the appropriate products at any time of day or night.
• Programmatic Advertising: AI has robots that purchase and optimize digital advertisements in real-time, directing the appropriate audiences with the most suited message. 

1. Video Marketing reign: Video marketing has taken over the digital media with the popularity of short videos and live broadcasts. Video marketing can help marketers to demonstrate their products, communicate their brand, and reach out to customers.

How to Use Video Marketing? 

• Set goals on what you are aiming to accomplish; these can be brand awareness, leads or sales.
• Learn the nature of your viewers and the things they enjoy.
• Prepare a list of topics or kinds of video (product demo, customer story, how-to and so on).
• Have a good camera/smartphone, good audio and good lighting. Make short and interesting videos.
• Use catchy names, descriptions and keywords which relate to your video so that people can find your video easily.
• Post your video on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and your site.
• Send the link of the video via emails, WhatsApp and through social media posts.
• View number of times, likes, shares, and comments to determine what is doing well and do better in succeeding videos.

Tip: post the videos frequently so that they can achieve the best results! 

1. Voice Search Optimization: The use of smart speakers and voice-enabled devices is on the rise making voice search essential. Marketers should ensure to optimize their content according to the voice search to get a share of the increasing Indian voice search traffic.

How to make content voice search optimized? 

• Use Casual Language: Write like you speak – straight and simple.
• Target Questions: Incorporate frequently asked questions and answers (FAQ).
• Opt For Longer Phrases: Main keywords users would utter out.
• Local info: State city, address or “near me” when relevant.
• Be Mature: Answer straight and concisely in short sentences.
• Mobile Friendly: Get your site to load quickly on phones. 

1. Sustainability and Social Responsibility Marketing: There is a growing concern among people to be more sustainable in their lifestyle choices and coolness, as well as social responsibility in terms of the brand that they select. Marketers also have an opportunity to create loyalty and trust by drawing attention to their sustainable business solutions and social responsibility programs.

How to use sustainability and social responsibility in marketing? 

• Promote sustainability through your product or service.
• Reflect the socially responsible approach through direct and indirect means. 
• Let your audience know how much you care about nature and the environment.
• Talk about how the brand values the social responsibilities. 
•  Engage customers into sustainability campaigns (recycling, donation projects) and update.
• Do not hide your processes, challenges, and development.
• Enlist the assistance of influencers who care about social responsibility to do a sincere promotion of it.
• What’s important to keep in mind though is that honesty and consistency play significant roles here, be real and do not lie.  

1. Engaging experiences and Interactive content: immersive experiences such as polls, quizzes, and augmented reality experiences are captivating users and increasing brand loyalty. These formats can help the marketers develop memorable brand experiences.

How to make engaging content?

• Talk to the audience through your content
• Make it feel improvised, not scripted. 
• Let the audience feel connected, not forced.
• Make the most with quiz-like content 
• Focus more on comment-marketing (marketing through comment sections indirectly) 

Other Marketing Trends To Know

1. Influencer Marketing Evolution: Micro and nano influencers are becoming popular because of such high engagement as well as the narrow and specific audience. Marketers can collaborate with influencers in a bid to attain certain target audiences.
2. Omnichannel Marketing Integration: It is important to have a smooth customer experience on all the points. Marketers should adopt an approach that will make customers go through one consistent path offered by its marketing strategies.
3. Social Commerce Growth: Social network sites are rapidly adopting e-commerce capabilities, allowing people to make purchases on their apps. Through social commerce, marketers can be able to increase sales and participate.

Why These Trends are Important? 

These trends show a dynamic nature of digital marketing in India and the necessity of businesses to keep up with the changes in order to stay competitive. Through adaptation to these trends, marketers are able to:

• Improve the experience of customers and build loyalty
• stimulate conversions and interactions
• Create brand awareness and confidence
• keep out of reach of the consolidators

Marketers must keep track of the current trends and technologies to emerge successfully in the digital marketing environment that is constantly changing. Learning and adapting consistently are the ways businesses can ensure that they will be successful in 2025 and the future.

An old video shot in Murshidabad, West Bengal, had captured the imagination of the internet in which a man is seen riding a bed-car. This 27-year-old man named Nawab Sheikh sold his wife jewellery and built a bed-car but was caught by traffic police for ‘creating nuisance.’ 

This design is literally a bed on wheels with steering, brakes, and mirrors which has become an Internet celebrity as soon as it appeared online. Netizens were longing to have such a design, so when it finally became a reality, the internet broke into laughter and amazement making the photos and video viral in the month of April, 2025. However, due to traffic concerns and traffic rules  the bed vehicle was confiscated by the police and Nawab lost his invention as well as the ornaments of his wife. This sarcastic case is like a textbook example of how design is more than just a viral possibility and creativity.

Difference between Good Design or Bad Design

Design is not all about being different or standing out. It involves problem solving, safety and legal and ethical standards.

A design is a good design when it: 

1. Meets a real need: Good design will not only make your timeline better, but you will also tend to lead a better life.
2. Functions and is safe: A product should be effective in fulfilling its intended objective without any danger to users and others.
3. Adhere to rules: Public spaces do not allow breaking the law.
4. Weighs innovation and accountability: Creativity can never be used at the expense of those in society.

A design is a Bad Design when it:

1. Doesn't consider context and consequences. Sometimes just because one has the power to turn something on, it does not mean one should. Considering the content and the consequences of a design is highly important. 
2. Ignore safety and legality: In the event that the police impound your creation, then it is time to relook your strategy.
3. Focus on gimmicks rather than substance: Substance is what has the enduring effect as opposed to momentary internet popularity.

The story of Nawab is a lesson to all future designers. His creativity is top-notch, but the absence of any formal training meant that he did not pay much attention to such crucial factors as safety, legality, and social responsibility. That is exactly why it is necessary to become a student of a distinguished design college. Such institutions do not only teach creativity, but also the principles and structures on which successful, responsible design is based.

What can design aspirants learn? 

Design aspirants who have the creativity, skills, and potential to design something good, and something demanding, still can’t be great designers. Here is what they must consider: 

1. Study from the right institute: A systematised education will allow you to make your creativity aim at the realisation of practical and sustainable solutions.
2. learn the rules before breaking them: Know the basic principles of design and safety regulations on the road and only then go to break the rules.
3. Act to have a significant difference: Do not aim at pursuing temporary attention on the Internet, but for designs to last and be useful to society.

This bed car viral video case is an example of how a design can be a solution or a disaster since in the world of design the line between innovation and irresponsibility may be as slim as the mattress on the infamous bed-car that Nawab used. So, learn about the difference between a good and a bad design, get the right qualification from a top design institute and build something efficient, functional, and appreciated. 

Mattel, the maker of the famous world-renowned Barbie, has introduced the first-ever Barbie doll with Type 1 diabetes (T1D). This new toy, a doll that was included in the line of 2025 Barbie Fashionistas is a sign of inclusion, awareness and representation at the real world level of children all over the world in general, and in India, in particular.

Uniqueness of Diabetes Barbie 

1. Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF), a worldwide innovator in research and advocacy on Type 1 diabetes, has assisted in the creation of the new Barbie. She brings:
2. I have a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) worn on her arm, secured with a heart-shaped medical tape that is Barbie-pink.
3. A clip-on insulin pump, exactly as the real ones worn by those with T1D.
4. A blue pastel purse, ideal for carrying snacks or diabetes items.
5. One of the items includes a toy phone that receives a CGM app with real-life blood sugar readings indicating daily highs and lows in living with diabetes.

Her dress is based on worldwide diabetes awareness symbols: top with blue polka dots and a circle design, and a skirt with a circle pattern, which is the worldwide diabetes symbol. Every element, from the medical devices to the phone screen, was carefully chosen to reflect the real experiences of people living with Type 1 diabetes.

What Is The Significance Of This?

This Barbie is a powerful message in countries like India, where diabetes is finding its way into society, particularly in children. It makes children with T1D feel like they are represented in their toys and educates others about the truth of living with a chronic illness. Medical experts say that desensitising medical devices in toys can alleviate stigma and facilitate empathy in children. 

Senior Vice President of Barbie and Global Head of Dolls at Mattel, Krista Berger, said, “Introducing a Barbie doll with type 1 diabetes marks an important step in our commitment to inclusivity and representation. Barbie helps shape children’s early perceptions of the world, and by reflecting medical conditions like T1D, we ensure more kids can see themselves in the stories they imagine and the dolls they love.”

How was This Barbie Designed?

The doll was designed in collaboration with Breakthrough T1D so as to make it as precise and authentic as possible. The designers also gave extra care to the devices, the fashion as well as the blood sugar reading numbers indicated on the phone attached to Barbie. A designer, who herself has T1D, revealed that the readings on the phone are based on her personal experience, making the doll’s story even more relatable.

The company ( Mattel ) is not new to breaking the barrier with Barbie. Mattel has gone over the years to launch dolls of various skin colors, shapes, and talents, something that includes those dolls with hearing aids, prosthetic legs, vitiligo, and down syndrome. The new T1D Barbie is part of ensuring that every child can get a doll that he or she identifies with or someone they are acquainted with.

What Does it Mean for Indian Barbie Fans and Design Aspirants?

This doll is a lesson to the Indian kids and to all the fans of Barbie that each of us has a story. It will be able to give some hope to the children having diabetes and make them feel proud and confident, as well as allow their friends and classmates to learn about the condition in a non-judgmental, non-biased  manner.

The T1D Barbie is an inclusive design lesson to design students and aspirants. It depicts an example of how careful details such as medical equipment, fashion referencing awareness logos, and lifelike add-ons can turn toys into more serious and accessible things. It further emphasises on the need to work with live communities to bring authenticity.

Barbie with Type 1 diabetes belongs to a Barbie Fashionistas 2025 line and can be bought worldwide at around 10.99 dollars (approximately 900 Indian rupees). It is soon supposed to be sold in big toy stores as well as in online stores amongst Indian fans.

It’s evident that toys are not only playing materials; they determine the way children perceive themselves and the surrounding world. Within the premises of medical reality, barbie with Type 1 diabetes is contributing to breaking stereotypes and creating a more inclusive world, in which all children will be able to live happily and feel accepted. 

To sum up, Mattel’s new Barbie with Type 1 diabetes is one of the inclusive toys that reflect diversity. It is a tool for education and a beacon of hope for children with chronic health conditions in India and around the world. This small step that might seem insignificant to many adults is sure to shape a better mindset of children.

INSD has been recognized with awards such as the Times of India's Excellence in Design Education Award, AICTE honors.

The International School of Design (INSD), an emerging network of design education in India, is committed to increasing access to quality creative education in Tier-2, Tier-3, and rural India. With 75+ centers spread across 21 states, the institution is on a mission to grow its network to 2,000 study centers and cater to one million students by 2030.

Speaking on The Success Playbook Podcast by Expertrons and Shine, INSD Group CEO Pranav Raaj Aggarwall said, “Our goal is to ensure that wherever design education is thought of in India—people consider INSD. We’re focused on scale while maintaining quality.”

INSD was started in Delhi and has a partner-led structure where local entrepreneurs start centers, with faculty hiring, curriculum design, and training taking place centrally."We saw that there was design talent outside metro cities, but the infrastructure was not as developed. We set up INSD to fill that gap," said Aggarwall.

The institute uses a 70:30 practice-to-theory training system and conducts an annual national-level Talent Show in Delhi. It also provides global exposure to students in the form of learning tours to design capitals such as Paris, UK, and Dubai. "We want students to begin believing they are designers even when they are not graduating," he further added.

To ensure there is uniformity in all the locations, INSD standardizes assignments, modules, examinations, and even faculty assessments. "Quality at the last mile is non-negotiable," Aggarwall said. He mentioned success stories such as a Mumbai partner who grew from one to three campuses in a very competitive market.

The franchise model is made turnkey, with end-to-end support from infrastructure planning to marketing provided by INSD. "It's a plug-and-play setup. New partners get our experience and brand equity from day one," Aggarwall added.

Jatin Solanki, podcast host and Co-founder of Expertrons, spoke about the  INSD model. "The design talent was always there in the small towns. INSD has brought education in design to the masses where it can make a difference," stated Solanki, an alumnus of IIT Bombay, and the founder of  Eduisfun (backed by Amitabh Bachchan) with 15+ years of experience in the education industry.

INSD has been awarded recognition such as the Times of India's Excellence in Design Education Award, AICTE honors, and Uttar Pradesh's 2023 award from the Education Minister for being a rapidly-growing design school chain in India.

"We want INSD to be a name to reckon with when design education is thought of in India," Aggarwall said.

If you are a design aspirant with a passion for bikes, cars, and stylish transportation, you might  be someone destined to be a transportation designer. You might have heard a lot about transportation design by now. However, is it really a career to hype in India? 

With the 2026 digital future approaching, it is now easily identifiable that the field of transportation design is becoming one of the most engaging, gratifying, and future-proof careers with a creative mind. Here is why this field will out-perform many others, and why you need to consider it seriously as your design career in India.

Demand and Faster Growth 

The market of transportation design is growing. The global transportation design market was originally measured at USD 20.3 billion in 2024 and is expected to swell to USD 35.7 billion by 2033 with a strong compound annual growth rate of 7.6%. The aforementioned growth finds reflection in India where the automotive, public transport, and urban mobility industries are rapidly growing. In fact, employment rates in the Indian transport sector alone have increased by 10 percent in 2023 and this is likely to keep rising as the cities grow and mobility demands increase.

Various Career Routes in the fields

The days are gone when transportation design used to imply only sketching cars. In India, transportation designers today are bringing solutions to the table regarding electric vehicles, autonomous systems, the solution to public transportation, infrastructure, and urban mobility. Design Careers you can pursue as an aspiring transportation designer:

• Car, bike, EV design
• Metro/buses design, public transportation 
• Urban Mobility and Urban Infrastructure Design 
• CMF (Color, Material, Finish) Design, Prototyping and 3D Modeling
• Future roadway design and Mobility Systems

Some of the major companies such as Mercedes Benz, Tata Motors, Ola Electric, Mahindra & Mahindra, as well as tech-savvy organizations like Bosch and NXP Semiconductors, are the top recruiters. This variety translates into you being able to choose your career according to your passion; be it luxury cars, green transportation systems or smart city solutions. 

Good Salaries and fast Career Advancement

The entry-level wages in India for transportation designers start between INR 3-8 lakhs per annum based on one's competency and the firm. After a couple of years of practice, the salaries range between INR 7 lakh 20 lakh, and top designers can make more than INR 30 lakh annually- at least to a well-known company such as Ola Electric or Bajaj Auto. The need of talented designers is on the high side and the pay is also increasing gradually thus becoming one of the most rewarding design careers in India.

State-Of-The-Art Technology and Innovation

Transportation design is on the lead of technological revolutions. The emergence of self-driving cars, electromobility, and an AI-based design are turning the industry upside down. As an example, the world now has 16.5 million electric cars, which is a 54 percent increase compared to the previous year, and the situation in India is not so different. However, the designers use the latest CAD programs, 3D modeling, and environment friendly materials and this opens up opportunities to work on matters that would shape the future of mobility in terms of innovation and creativity.

Effective, Future-Proof profession with social purpose

With India going through a progression of urbanization, where the percentage of people living in urban settings in the world is likely to be 68 by 2050, efficient, sustainable, as well as user-friendly transportation systems are more than ever in demand. Designing transport is not designers trying to make a car or vehicle, it is making transport solve a real-life problem such as traffic jams, pollution, and accessibility. This is the purpose that gives your work and this is ensuring that your competencies do not get outdated as society and technology change.

How to be a transportation designer in India?

To become a transportation designer, you need to pursue a Transportation design course. India has the best institutes such as NID Ahmedabad, IDC IIT Bombay, MIT ID Pune, and The Design Village Noida, which have specialized courses in transport design and mobility design. There are private colleges as well that are offering this course through AIDAT. The courses focus on industry cooperation, sustainability, and practical education providing you with a step ahead when entering the labor market.

All in all, transportation design is a design career that allows you to combine creativity and purpose with technology, and is one of the many fields guaranteed to give design a personal touch, and allow you to use your passion to change the world and the society. Due to its quick development, variety of opportunities and solid financial value, it will become one of the most satisfying occupations in 2026 and beyond. Take the design aptitude test (AIDAT) and secure your seat at the top .design university in India. 

Mansi Jain, the East Delhi student with the NIFT 2025 All India Rank 1, stands at a critical juncture. Topping India's biggest fashion entrance test would be the icing on the cake for most, but Mansi remains undecided — owing to another superlative achievement: ranking AIR 10 in CEED 2025, which has paved the way for a Master's in Design from IIT Bombay.

Talking to ET.com, the Bachelor of Fine Arts graduate revealed her preparation process, academic course, and the special place she is in today.

"For most, design isn't the initial career aspiration," Mansi said. "But for me, it was a natural course of things. I'm from a fine arts background and I always knew I wanted to do design seriously." She shared that she spent 2–3 hours a day on sketching practice, employed resources such as ChatGPT for design aptitude, and learnt intensely on creative problem-solving versus contemporary issues.

Though she had a definite interest in design, Mansi is still not sure which college to choose. "I will go for the counselling in NIFT first. Then i will check out which branch i am getting then i will decide"

Mansi's strategy was to use her strengths. "I did not give too much time to GK. I worked more on developing my creative thinking through my blog and observing other art works," she replied.

When asked what sustained her during the gruelling preparation period, she gave credit to her fine arts studies. "Fine art studies meant I was always drawing. It never seemed like an added load," she said.

Her message to prospective contenders is uncomplicated but compelling: "Stay assured and don't lose your potential. Your attitude is as important as your preparation."

With 19 schools and top-of-the-line campuses such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, NIFT offers a tempting opportunity. But so does IIT Bombay, generally considered India's best design school.