Going behind the scenes with FutureBrand on Air India’s rebranding

Here is how the London-based design agency helped Air India take off in a new avatar.

Last month, Tata-owned Air India unveiled its new logo and livery. The new logo, called ‘The Vista’, made circles around the internet with its bold red palette accented with golden and purple hues.

FutureBrand, the London-based agency behind the rebranding, joined hands with Tata Group back in December last year. The partnership brought to flyers a reimagined Air India, that embraces modern India while retaining much of its legacy of yore.

The rebranding came after a tumultuous couple of decades where the brand caught itself in the middle of debt, losses, and some unwarranted passenger mishaps. But take nothing away from the longstanding legacy of the pioneering Indian aviation brand.

Consequently, the legacy brand under the aegis of Tata, had been mulling a complete identity overhaul for a while now, brought to fruition by FutureBrand. But, redesigning an almost century-old brand isn’t devoid of challenges.

Shraddha Ganwani, vice president of strategy, FutureBrand India tells afaqs! that the approach to helping the ‘Maharajah’-clad aeroplane take off was one of delicate artistry and much deliberation.

She says, “The approach was to focus on the future while leveraging the heritage of the brand. The FutureBrand team working on this project is an even mix of strategists and creatives from London and India.”

With how Tata is positioning Air India, the approach of the brand is to manufacture a formidable homegrown airline that could take on international aviation competitors. In this regard, the designers concentrated their efforts on concocting a global appeal for the brand.

Ganwani elaborates, “The effort is to elevate the brand perception and present Air India as a truly global world-class Indian Airline. Everything from the new product vision, and service experience to the brand look and feel, is aligned to this objective.”

With the new identity, there has been some speculation on the fate of Air India’s vintage Maharajah mascot. But the brand has hinted at its retention, albeit in a modern avatar. As per Ganwani, the association between Maharajah and Air India is a result of years worth of work, with the potential to be leveraged in the brand’s future.

She says, “Earlier, in the vacuum of a brand narrative the Maharajah was used across brand touch points and didn’t have a clearly defined role in the brand, but now with the new brand vision in place, the Maharajah has been given a focused role. In terms of Design – the Maharajah has evolved and has been modernised but the essence of the mascot is still retained. We will also have a very classy golden silhouette of the Maharajah appear at signature brand touchpoints.”

The idea is to create a cohesive brand where Maharajah acts as a support to the new brand narrative, as per Ganwani.

On the creative side of things, the rebranding exercise for the brand came with a set of challenges of its own. Tasneem Ali, chief creative officer, FutureBrand India, reveals that the biggest challenge for the agency was to imbibe Air India’s legacy into its new-found identity.

She says, “Finding the balance between being reverent and compelling was the biggest challenge. Air India is a brand that people have an emotional connection with- one that evokes nostalgia, pride and a sense of cultural identity for Indians all over the world.”

The use of colours and the new logotype have a story of their own. Ali reveals, “The introduction of new colours and patterns is because the vision for the brand warrants an expanded colour palette and a library of ownable elements.”

The luxe purple and the gold add premium cues to the now richer, refreshed red. The pattern has been created using the chakra, which has also been part of Indian history. As for the distinct characteristics in the logotype, they have been crafted to reflect the graphic of window form which is at the heart of the design idea, as per Ali.

“We have a custom font that has subtle but unmissable features inspired from Indic scripts. All this has been crafted to create a bold new identity that has global appeal and is unmistakably Indian.”

The art of logo design is subject to changing times and shifting consumer preferences. How does a design agency ensure that a logo remains timeless in the face of changing design trends?

Ali answers, “The tendency in the last few years has been to default to the generic (designs) because brands are wary of looking dated quickly as trends evolve as fast as they do now. And because of how the nature of applications has changed especially in digital, where it is optimised for small sizes.”

But that doesn’t mean everything has to be so characterless. Ali believes, “If the inspiration for a logo comes from an enduring idea that is true to the brand, and if it is designed with care and consideration, it will stand the test of time.”