Client: Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC)
Location: Bengaluru city,
Works: Branding, identity and communication designs



Dig Design Studio worked closely with the team that planned and implemented the direction-based routing system as vision next for BMTC. The system was worked out holistically and introduced many new routes and amenities for commuters. The Big10 buses serve Bengaluru’s radial routes as a result of the direction-based approach for this fast expanding metropolitan. These routes can be compared to spokes in a wheel with the city centre at the hub. The service prevents congesting the city centre by terminating at various points around the central business district. Commuting gets efficient due to the shorter and quicker routes as opposed to the existing meandering routes that came into place to cater to a larger number of people and cover wider areas.

Basic design brief

The branding approach of Dig Design Studio began with a simple question: Does public transport have to look vanilla? Today’s urban folk are seeing more opulence and growing aspirations. Public transport needs to appeal to this side of people and reflect their aspirations. So, BMTC needed an urgent elevation in public perception as it was perceived as a ‘typical government organisation with dusty dirty buses.’ The design brief was therefore redefined and challenges identified for the branding exercise were to i) reflect the city’s new dynamism, ii) encourage citizen responsibility by making public transport more acceptable and iii) get fast traction and adoption for the new system. Dig’s plan was to use bold branding to change the public image, thereby encouraging the transition by folks to leave their vehicles behind and use the upgraded public bus fleet.


The bold branding of the bus reflected the revamped dynamism of the BMTC.

Design concepts

Ideation and exploration for branding and identity. Kannada and English letterforms combined to form the logo. Tilted towards right, the logo reads in English and the other way round in Kannada.

Constraints and opportunities were noted by getting into the shoes of all stakeholders. Dig team visited bus depots and stops where they interviewed transport officials, conductors, commuters, etc. This provided the clarity on the boundaries within which a successful design solution could be achieved. Going back to the drawing board and brainstorming ideas on various aspects, the team gleamed from the observations of how the commuters saw the routes and discussed the buses and what the transport officials needed to implement the new system such as tickets, bus stop signage and communication material. The design concepts were evaluated on the basis of how easily explainable it was in conversations among friends and family: “Oh, that green bus with stripes”, “The one with all the arrows”...

Design elements

Implementing the system design, from bus stop information panels to tickets

The green colour for the Big10 service was chosen to position it differently from the erstwhile BMTC buses. Extending this approach, differentiators were created at specific areas of the bus body that made it distinguishable from any angle, over traffic and at a distance. This was implemented by providing stripes in the space above the window panels all around the bus. The final design consisted of two colours, simple gradients, stripes at 45-degree angle with logo achievable either by stickers or stencils. This simplicity also ensured easy execution.

For a new service to stick, commuters would have to be the brand ambassadors. The team ideated on ways of how to get them out of their way and speak about the buses. The Big10 logo became the catalyst that made more people talk about the fleet. How? Because it reads in both Kannada and English! One of those things which ‘you don’t see until you see it’ and once you do, there’s the pleasant wow! factor. Folks just loved to show off explaining to someone who did not know about it.

The Big10 logo was driven by the idea of inclusion. Bengaluru is cosmopolitan, welcoming folks from around India and the world. And this DNA of inclusiveness was carried to the logo. The bilingual logo fulfilled the need to show the name in the local language and also catered to the non-Kannada crowd in a smart way.

Brand visibility

Big10, Kendra Saarige and Big circle on Bengaluru roads, indentifiable from any angle, distance and over the traffic.

The Big10 buses ply on the central circular route, which connects to central business district covered by the Kendra Saarige (ring road) service. Kendra Saarige routes were served by the Big Circle service. These fleets were also branded by Dig. The Kendra Saarige buses looked flamboyant and colourful, apt for the metro cities like Bengaluru. They connected the core of inner shopping and business areas. Kendra Saarige had both clockwise and anti-clockwise circular routes and these were distinguished as the Blue Bus and the Orange Bus, helping people associate this colour to the direction of the route the buses would ply.

The Big Circle service covers the outskirts or suburbs of Bengaluru in four big overlapping semi-circles along the ring road. These off-white buses with colourful arrows are visible from very large distances on the road. The success of the new services was due to quick commuter adoption. To ensure maximum impact right after the new route introduction, Dig’s branding was carried across to many other contact points with the commuters. Leaflets containing the route maps were designed and handed to commuters inside the buses to make the new routes clear.

Visual impact

At the bus stops, special standies were put up with all route information. All over the city, hoardings announced the Big10 route and its new services. Similar to the logo, all collaterals were bilingual and the bold branding of their new bus fleets became the BMTC’s tool to counter public inertia. People perceived these buses as well as staff service to be better. Couple with the bus routes being more convenient, a tangible change has been noticed: many people switched over from the winding bus routes they hitherto took while others were encouraged to use the public service more often and leave their personal vehicles behind.

The Big10 buses received full media attention and also involved with active discussions at public forums regarding the future roadmap for the fleet. Dig Design Studio’s branding has catapulted the BMTC’s image and truly reflected the growing confidence of Bengaluru city. Today, Big10 buses have become iconic on the streets of Bengaluru with public adoption of over 200 buses on the fleet.

About Dig Design Studio Incepted by the alumni of IDC (Industrial Design Centre), IIT Bombay in the year 2003, Dig Design Studio operates under the objective of ‘Better Experiences by Better Design’. This studio designs the experiences of products, interaction, artefacts, behaviours and environments. It also offers comprehensive design services in the field of interaction and communication designs. Encouraging a culture of ideation and collaboration, what it sets Dig apart is the rigorous design reviews by multidisciplinary teams and a high onus on a prototype-driven validation of ideas that form the core of design process. For more info, visit: www.digdesignstudio.com