VEDANT SHARMA
This website is currently under construction. Some projects may have incomplete visuals as updates continue.

I’m a Senior Product Designer based in Bengaluru, working across interaction design, typography, and vehicle HMI. I design rider-facing systems for electric two-wheelers, focusing on clarity under motion, legibility at speed, and behaviour that feels intuitive in real-world riding conditions.

With a background in typeface and graphic design, I approach interface problems through hierarchy, precision, and visual decisions that scale across vehicles and product lines.

Outside of work, I spend time on solo motorcycle rides, strength training, photography, and watching films that linger emotionally.


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vedant@vdnt.me

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VEHICLE BRANDING - APEX, RIZTA
Ather 450 APEX
Ather Rizta

Role
Visual Designer

Scope
Vehicle logotype · Typographic direction · Surface application · Identity hierarchy

Collaborators
CMF Designer · Vehicle Design Lead · Brand · Marketing

One Brand. Two Personalities.



Ather was launching two vehicles at opposite ends of its portfolio:

  • 450 Apex: The flagship performance vehicle, built to celebrate 10 years of Ather.

  • Rizta: A family-first, everyday mobility scooter. The identity needed to signal stability at scale. Rizta ultimately went on to become Ather’s highest-selling product, playing a key role in the company going public.


The challenge wasn’t designing two logos. It was defining hierarchy within the same brand system.




A Flagship Needs Its Own Language

The 450 Apex celebrated 10 years of Ather, and was based on the 450 platform that started the company. It was positioned as Ather’s highest-performance vehicle yet.

  • Sharper and more expressive CMF, exposing the aluminium chassis. 
  • Noticeably higher power output from the outgoing version.
  • A novel approach to active regenerative braking (a separate project I led).


It couldn’t look like a variant of the 450 line. It needed a distinct identity. Something elevated and deliberate, celebrating the milestone. 

I was responsible for defining the Apex logotype end-to-end.


Toyota Supra - Photo credit: Toyota Motor Corporation
SR-71B Blackbird - Photo credit: Judson Brohmer / U.S. Air Force / NASA

Before sketching, I studied how top-tier performance products express hierarchy, from the BMW M-Series to Toyota Supra.

One reference stood out: the SR-71 Blackbird.

Its defining quality wasn’t aggression, it was uninterrupted flow—form dictated by function. No sudden breaks or decorative gestures.

That principle shaped the Apex letterforms. The logotype was designed around continuity, sharp but controlled, expressive without noise.


The identity’s use case was not just on a flat surface.

It needed to live:
  • On body panels
  • On curved surfaces
  • On the wheel rim
  • Inside the dashboard UI
  • On supplementary products
  • And across marketing campaigns

This required custom curvature adaptations and distortion control. The typography was tuned for physical application, not just digital composition.




The Apex logotype was developed through focused sketching, digital iterations and surface print trials. It established a clear performance tier within the lineup — integrated across surfaces, yet distinctly elevated within the portfolio.












A Family Kind of Performance

If Apex was about precision and speed, Rizta was about reassurance and stability.

Rizta was positioned as Ather’s family vehicle — approachable, practical, and dependable. The identity could not feel aggressive. It needed to feel inviting, without losing the core Ather DNA. 

The challenge was not differentiation from competitors. It was tonal shift within the same brand.


I collaborated closely with a Graphic Designer on this project, to ensure this shift translated perfectly.


Balancing Form and Perception

The vehicle form was more laid-back and visually bulkier than the 450 series. The logotype needed to counterbalance that weight.

I looked at how certain motorcycles, like the first-generation Suzuki Katana, used static typography in contrast with aggressive physical form. The graphic and the machine created tension together.

With Rizta, the equation reversed. The form was calm and substantial. The typography needed to introduce subtle dynamism.


Constructing the Logotype



Explorations focused on:

  • Controlled curvature
  • Strong horizontal stability

The final Rizta logotype emerged as bold and grounded. Not exaggerated for effect, but defined through proportion and weight.


Subtle details were embedded intentionally:

  • A bolt-like negative form between the Z and T
  • Terminal cues referencing battery polarity

These elements were restrained. Discoverable, not decorative.



When applied as a raised physical badge, the balance between positive and negative space became more critical. The form needed to hold physically and not collapse into softness. The optical corrections required for these 3D applications were ultimately integrated into the 2D master version as well.  

The identity needed to signal stability at scale. Rizta went on to become Ather’s highest-selling product, playing a key role in the company going public.