Re-Branding of ‘Heritage Walk of Ahmedabad’

GUIDE: Tarun Deep Girdher

BACKGROUND
The 'Heritage Walk of Ahmedabad' is a guided walk of two and a half hours, conducted daily by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation along with NGO, the CRUTA Foundation having a long history and strong architectural and urban character. As a part of its cherished project ‘Getting the City to the People’ and ‘World Heritage Week’, AMC has been conducting this Heritage Walk since 19th Nov 1997.

Beginning from the spectacular Swaminarayan Mandir in Kalupur, passing through the narrow busy streets, teeming with life, covering in between the numerous pols, havelis, ornamental facades, workplaces of artisans and a number of magnificent Hindu and Jain temples, and ending in the most glorious architectural legacies the Jumma Masjid, the Heritage walk is one reviving experience.

Prior to the walk, the visitors have a half hour special slide show running through pages of the city's history unfolding back its birth from a 10th century AD ancient site known as Ashaval to the present walled city re-founded during the period of Ahmedshah and onwards. This helps them understand better and relate things to the past during the walk.

INTRODUCTION
The city bustling with life, vitality, wealth, power and vibrant with rich culture, which is a result of centuries of growth, is now beginning to loose it's rich heritage in the process of urban growth. The local residents along with the visitors need to be exhorted to take pride in their neighborhood and culture, with the objective of promoting wider awareness about the importance of the place and contributing to the growth of a local ethic of ownership and responsibility.

Through this project I shall Re-Brand the entire heritage walk, so that the concept is well communicated to the people. Though a considerable amount of work has been done, it is not enough, as the whole vibe of the city is still missing. There is a need of developing a better visual language for the various communication material involved, so that the local amdavadis as well as the visitors experiencing the walk are made more culturally conscious. And further get inspired to take such initiatives in their in their own cities, which are on the verge of decline.

OBJECTIVE

• To design a new visual identity for the ‘Heritage walk of Ahmedabad’.
• To develop a unique visual language that will run through all the communication material, in a very economical way.

KEYWORDS: Re-Branding, Promotion, Visual Language, Economical, Inspiring, System level.

CHALLENGES

• To represent visually the pattern of the city and the various moods experienced during the walk.
• To present just the right amount of information and visuals, so that the rest is left to the observation and imagination of the people.
• To develop communication material that will inspire people after the walk.

STUDY INVOLVES

• Understanding the personality and the character of the city and its various aspects like, intricately carved wooden havellies and temples, the numerous well planned poles, the symbolical motifs and brackets and the natural way of life of the people residing in these areas.
• Understanding the functioning of the system as a whole, beginning right from the registration, till the final word of the final destination.
• To study the existing identity of Heritage walk.
• Studying the effects of branding and re-branding.
• Recognizing and understanding my definite target group.
• Finding the various economical ways for printing.

PROCESS

Stage 1: RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS (1 week)

• Information collection, understanding the background and the details of the entire system.
• To study other such heritage projects being executed in and around the world.
• Identify my exact target group.

Deliverables: An in-depth understanding of the entire system, to help me redefine the project brief by identifying the problems, definite focus areas and target audience.

Stage 2: CONCEPTUALIZATION (2 weeks)

• Based on the analysis made, generate various concepts for the Identity design and the other communication material involved.

Deliverables: Alternate conceptual approaches and possibilities.

Stage 3: EXPLORATIONS (3 weeks)

• Exploring basic elements of colour and typography to bring into existence the concepts developed.
• Trying out various styles and techniques for the execution of communication material.

Deliverables: Alternate approaches for establishing the brand.

Stage 4: REFINEMENT AND EXECUTION (2 weeks)

• Validation of different approaches and selection of one final concept.
• Refinement of the selected concept and it’s final execution.
• Production and post-production ( includes final printing and production of prototypes).

Stage 5: DOCUMENTATION (1 week)
Documenting the entire design process.