Uttarakhand Tourism Branding

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The Brief

Uttarakhand is a place of heavenly scenic beauty and tranquility. It's a place for the soul far away from the noises and cacophony of urban life. People can come here to rejuvenate and refresh themselves and find peace. While some people seek solace in the mountain breeze, the gentle river splashes, others find their breath and soul in the yoga ahsrams and temples, yet another breed of tourists revel in adventure sports and become one with nature.

It is famous for Char Dham Yatra, which literally meaning 'journey to four centres'. These four religious centres in Uttarakhand are represented by Badrinath (dedicated to Lord Vishnu), Kedarnath(dedicated to Lord Shiva), Gangotri (the holy origin of river Ganga)and Yamunotri (the holy origin of river Yamuna).

The objective of the re-branding project for this unique travel destination is to bring out the best that Uttarakhand has to offer and encourage more national and international tourists to come and explore Uttarakhand for its spiritual richness, scenic beauty and adventurous activities.

Inspiration

a U shaped, yellow coloured tilak applied using sandalwood paste, which further extends towards nose represents the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu. Wet kumkum is used to form a line in the center which represents devotion and presence of Lakshmi. Followers of Lord Vishnu apply this tilak which is not only a religious symbol, but also the paste of sandalwood is known for its cooling effect and curing headaches. Kumkum tilak is a pure form of natural resources which destroys excess heat in system, the red colour balances energy by omitting negative frequencies and helps one to have a calm and relaxed persona. Depending on the type of Gods they worship, there are variety of tilak (Hindi) or tilak (Sanskrit) in Hindu culture.

The idea to use the form of the "U" shaped tilak to represent the state of Uttarakhand as part of the "Incredible India" campaign, came out as being the first initial letter of the state, along with its strong symbolic impact of being the religious center of the country.

Design Implementation

Using the symbolic 'Tilak' to create the letter 'U' with chandan and red kumkum tilak in the circular form clearly represents the holiness of this divine land. The red in the symbol has been used as a round to denote the form of the sun, that stands for the natural beauty of this spiritual land.

Iconography

We played around with the letter U to form the essential elements of the place, to be symbolised in the form of icons, like the Linga of Lord Shiva, as an inverted U, the Bell that is symbolic of the Hindu Temples etc. The letter was playfully and creatively tweaked to form the 'U' of Uttarakhand in each instance.