The Focus
Creating a brand identity for India House that could be implemented in its hospitality pavilion at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Echo both local and global facets of what India’s presence at the Olympics signifies
Create an experience that brings the idea of India to life for those familiar and unfamiliar with it – away from India
The Design
Focused on identifying key Indian virtues and cultural principles that represent ‘Indianness’
In the spirit of traditional Indian hospitality, Elephant chose to highlight everything that was welcoming, celebratory and graceful
Supplemented this narrative by blending in elements of Indian iconography like the regal Peacock and the lotus flower with a tasteful color palette and Devanagari font
The Story
India House is an extraordinary celebration of India’s presence at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It rallies together participants like athletes, officials and fans under the banner of global sportsmanship so that they can experience the essence of warm Indian hospitality away from home.
Several countries have been engaged with the tradition of building hospitality pavilions for their own contingents during the Olympics. However, for the first time, India will have its very own hospitality destination thanks to the collaborative vision of the Indian Olympics Committee and JSW.
“One of these core tenets of Indian Culture is that of Hospitality. We articulated the values of this experience to revolve around Welcoming, Celebratory and Graceful overtones.”
The Elephant team has been well versed with the nuances of large impact sports branding. We previously worked on the branding and livery of the Commonwealth Youth Games that boasted an impressive roster of 71 countries. In addition, we have created the visual identity & livery for Champions League T20, ATP Chennai Open, Indian Super League and Ultimate Table Tennis League.
This rich and varied experience made us a fitting choice for bringing the India House experience to life. JSW asked Elephant to help them imagine the brand India House and the experience within. The challenge was to create an over-arching brand identity that could bring the entire experience to life on a global scale. Naturally, this was going to be an exciting and stimulating project for us.
Invoking Indianness
Elephant began by identifying certain values and principles that are absolutely integral to Indian culture. One of these core tenets is that of Hospitality. We articulated the values of this experience to revolve around Welcoming, Celebratory and Graceful overtones.
Each one of these values was then matched with prolific Indian symbols like the magnificent arches from heritage architecture, a dancing peacock in its full glory and the beauty and the grace of the lotus flower. We also utilised colours from the Indian flag and Devanagari script to add to our visual inspirations and form a complete palette.
Royal Flair
The outcome is a rich visual identity where a colourful peacock perched atop an arch complimented by Devnagari inspired typography represents the celebratory yet regal Indian ethos.
We also created a visual language system that could be used in the creation of both, the online as well as the offline experience. This would serve to generate excitement for the Games before the event was launched.
Come August 2020, India House will host myriad of activities, performances, food festivals and game celebrations that resonate with the vibrancy of the Games. It will be a platform that unites celebrities and fans alike for a unique interaction that facilitates the Indian experience away from India. It will also be a showcase of all things Indian, from the sports, art, crafts and of course, food for the global audience present at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.