● ● ● Deeptha Babu

SENA App

Founder • Brand Strategy • Marketing • Community Building
2022 - Present (India NYC)

While SENA’s product evolved through systems design, information architecture, and user research, the brand evolved through public engagement. Before a product existed, I used branding, marketing, community outreach, and awareness campaigns to understand how people recognized, interpreted, and responded to conversations around gender-based violence.

Over four years, the project evolved from an undergraduate thesis called Safe & Secure (SAS) into SENA, an incorporated startup operating across the United States. This page documents the evolution of the brand, the communication strategy behind it, and how marketing became a tool for research, validation, and community building.

Marketing as Research

Most startups use marketing to acquire users. I used marketing to better understand them.

Public campaigns became a way to test messaging, identify misconceptions, and observe how people responded to conversations around gender-based violence.

Over the course of the project, I conducted:

180+ user interviews
75+ street interviews
Waitlist surveys
Community outreach conversations
Public awareness testing

These activities directly influenced:

Product positioning
Brand messaging
Information architecture
Feature prioritization
User journey design

The findings consistently reinforced a core insight:
The problem was not resource availability.
The problem was navigation.

Creating a Brand Around the Insight

From Safe & Secure (SAS) to SENA

The project originally launched under the name Safe & Secure (SAS).

At the time, the goal was straightforward: create a platform that helped women access verified support resources. As research expanded, the project began to represent something larger than a directory of services.

The name eventually evolved into SENA, a word meaning army in Sanskrit. The shift reflected a broader vision. Rather than simply providing information, the platform sought to represent collective support, solidarity, and the idea that no one should have to navigate violence or recovery alone.

Building the Brand Identity

Designing a Symbol of Support

The visual identity evolved alongside the research.

Early explorations investigated:

Safety
Protection
Guidance
Community
Human connection

Over dozens of iterations, the identity moved away from shields, locks, and conventional security imagery.

The final symbol emerged as an abstract human form that could simultaneously represent:

An individual
A support system
A community
A network of care

Evolution of the Visual Language

Phase 1: Resource Access

When the platform functioned primarily as a resource directory, the visual system emphasized trust and accessibility.

The identity used:

Soft pastel palettes
Healthcare-inspired colors
Institutional references
Resource-focused messaging

The goal was to help users discover support resources.

Phase 2: Awareness & Education

As interviews expanded, another pattern emerged.
Many people were not searching for legal aid, NGOs, or support services.
They were searching for answers.

Questions such as:

Am I being harassed?
Is this abuse?
What should I do?
Do I have rights?

began shaping the communication strategy.

The brand shifted from explaining resources to helping people recognize situations.

Phase 3: Navigation & Empowerment

Rebranding

As SENA evolved from a resource directory into a navigation platform, the visual language evolved alongside it.

Typography became bolder.
Messaging became more direct.
The color system became more confident.
The objective was no longer awareness alone.

The objective was to help people move from confusion to clarity.

Testing the Message in Public

Guerrilla Marketing Across New York City

To understand how people responded to different forms of messaging, I launched a series of grassroots campaigns throughout New York City.

Posters were distributed across:

Community spaces
Small businesses
Local bulletin boards
Transit-adjacent locations
Neighborhood gathering places

Campaigns focused on immediate recognition through prompts such as:

Harassed?

Gaslit?

Abused?

Rather than advertising the product, the campaigns were designed to test message clarity, awareness, and engagement.

Educational Content & Community Building

Social Media & Awareness Campaigns
Social media became an extension of the research process.

Content focused on translating complex systems into accessible information.

Topics included:

Legal rights
Medical support
Domestic violence
Cyber safety
Reporting pathways
Survivor support

The goal was not simply awareness.

It was helping people understand systems that are often difficult to navigate during moments of stress.

Videos were produced with editing support from Sanjana Raj.

Building an Early Community

Before launching the product, the project focused on building trust.

Through outreach, public engagement, educational content, partnerships, and awareness campaigns, SENA was able to:

Build an early waitlist of 120+ users
Establish relationships with community organizations
Generate ongoing user feedback
Validate product positioning
Create awareness before launch

All growth was achieved organically without paid advertising.