Product Design
Classmate Hook
Where Function meets Fun
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Bringing Joy to Everyday Writing
There is a quiet crisis in the Indian classroom: the pen has become invisible. In a world of screens and notifications, the humble writing instrument is something students carry out of habit, not desire. Studio ABD was asked to change that — to design a product that makes a Gen Z student actually want to pick it up, use it, and carry it with them as a statement. The Classmate Hook is the result: a product design challenge that began not with a brief, but with an observation about boredom, identity, and the ritual of writing.
Designed for Gen Z
The Hook's signature feature, a dual clip-and-hook mechanism, lets users attach it to a backpack strap, a spiral notebook ring, or a belt loop in under a second. This single functional detail transforms the pen from a loose object into a wearable accessory, something a student customises and keeps track of the way they keep track of their earbuds. Designed as an industrial design project for ITC Ltd's Classmate range, the Hook's bold split-body form and vibrant colour options were engineered for the Indian market's most demanding audience: teenagers who notice everything and forgive nothing. The result is a product design that earns attention through originality, and not only advertising.
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A ₹10 Object That Redefined What Design Can Do
What makes the Classmate Hook remarkable is what it is not: it is not expensive, not complex, and not made for an audience with disposable income. At Rs.10, the design had to earn every gram of its form through pure thinking, no premium material to carry the perception, no elaborate mechanism to justify the cost. It is perhaps the clearest expression of Studio ABD's product design philosophy: that human-centred design rooted in genuine cultural insight can transform the most ordinary object into something people reach for with intention.The Classmate Hook found its place in a highly competitive market, quietly demonstrating that thoughtful design isn’t defined by price.
