Jio Devices

CMF Design

Scaling Sustainable Material Strategy for India's Connected Device Ecosystem

The Challenge

Reliance Jio faced a monumental task: migrating 250 million users from 2G to 4G/5G internet connectivity. To achieve this, they needed to rapidly expand their consumer electronics portfolio without losing brand coherence. The challenge was to define a unified visual language across 12+ diverse products (from routers to wearables) while embedding sustainability into a highly cost-sensitive mass market ecosystem.

Systematizing Sustainability

We moved beyond aesthetics to build a scalable manufacturing framework. I led the development of a centralized CMF Knowledge System, a library of materials and Quality Control (QC) protocols that streamlined decision-making across cross-functional teams. A key innovation was the strategic integration of Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) plastics, introducing a "speckled" aesthetic that visually communicated sustainability while managing strict cost margins and supplier capabilities.

Impact at Scale

This strategy didn't just look good; it performed. The cohesive design language supported the rollout of over 135 million devices, facilitating digital inclusion for rural India. By standardising materials and embedding sustainability frameworks into the R&D phase, we successfully proved that eco-conscious design is viable even at the scale of one of the world's largest telecommunications networks.