The Oval design was achieved by following the six criteria that form the backbone for innovation by design process. The criteria are elaborated below as:

• The Cause - Identifying the Need:
The mother of all Indian oil companies, ONGC, under the leadership of its director, Mr. Subir Raha, decided to enter the retail business. Hence they wanted to launch a unique fuel dispenser that will depict their leadership image in the market, provide highest degree of consumer satisfaction and visibility to ONGC. The dispenser should also depict the image that the consumer is getting the best quality fuel. Thus, a strong multi-disciplinary collaborative team comprising of ONGC, NID, MIDCO and IDC, IIT Bombay was formed.

• The Context - Understanding the User and Scenario through Research:
Mr. Subir Raha had accomplished a branding activity and had established that an oval shape would be the most suited for ONGC. Thus the oval shape was to be used in all aspects of the fuel station design – graphics, logo, dispenser etc. Also, Mr. Subir Raha wanted to sell only one kind of petrol and diesel that were the best in quality at the lowest price. He also insisted that the fuel flow should be clearly visible to the consumers and the display should come to the consumer.

• The Comprehension - Drawing insights from the Data Collected:
From a detailed study of the context, following insights were drawn:
- All components of the dispenser needs to be fitted in an oval shape
- The formal language of the dispenser should convey the premium nature of the fuel being    dispensed.
- A hand held display terminal was required.

• The Check - Evaluating Designer insights against Client's brief:
The project was initiated with the following brief:
- A product, which will deliver premium quality product to the consumers and establish the    brand ONGC in the retail fuel market as the leader.

The insights drawn from the contextual exploration further added the following dimensions to the brief:
Design for
- Ease of manufacturing
- Ease of assembly
- Service
- New materials
- Modularity
- Identity
- User convenience

• The Conception - Creating Ideas:
The idea generation was initiated by a team of designers from NID through sketches and CAD renderings under the guidance of Prof. Pradyumna Vyas. From all these inputs, a full-scale paper layout of the internal components was done. Then how this can be fitted into an oval shape was figured out and a CAD model was developed. The client wanted a very fast paced work and hence CAD provided the best answer. A full-scale mock up was made using foam board and sticking images on them. This helped in creating a near real perception of the product resulting in very good feedback from all stakeholders.

• The Creation - Converting Ideas into Product:
Equipped with the feedback obtained from all stakeholders, test rigs were built up and tested. The display panels and handheld terminal was prototyped through vacuum forming. The sight flow indicators were prototyped too and the fuel was tinted to make the fuel flow distinctly visible. The chassis was fabricated with high end CO2 welding to achieve clean surface details.

Oval Pump Downloads:
• Oval Pump Case Study - pdf