Client summary

SVAASÁ Group is owned by the famous and aristocratic Mehras of Amritsar who belong to the illustrious lineage of Rai Bahadur Kalyan Singh, the ‘sarvarah’ of the Golden Temple from 1880 to 1895 and Rai Bahadur Lala Ratan Chand Mehra after whom streets, crossings and charitable trusts are named and run the good cause for the city till date. Identified as the face of the group, Ranjit’s SVAASÁ, Heritage Boutique Spa Haveli is housed within an odd 200 years old haveli owned and managed by the Mehra family. They have won numerous awards from around the world like the Luxury Boutique Hotel-India at the prestigious World Luxury Hotel Awards 2010 and earned their place as one of the top 10 spas in the country well known for their traditional hospitality, rich treatments and services.

Concept development

During the course of moving ahead with the times, they felt the existing brand logo, identity and online presence was not doing justice to their brand and image in the global market. They decided to redesign the entire brand to highlight the core values on which it was built. They were clear of not wanting to look and feel like another boutique hotel as the branding had to symbolise with their heritage and convey the meaning of the group as a whole.

Keeping in mind the future growth, Artisticodopeo Designz along with Vishal Chand Mehra, head of Branding and Promotions for Ranjit’s SVAASÁ, worked together to create a well defined brand for SVAASÁ, starting with the branding of SVAASÁ Group. Using that as a benchmark, the other brands of the family, namely Ranjit’s SVAASÁ, would be designed to maintain continuity and familiarity.

Theme and colour scheme

The word ‘SVAASÁ’ comes from the Sanskrit term Svaasá meaning ‘breath’–a powerful word that perfectly symbolises how the group came into existence. The haveli was converted from the family’s ancestral Nanak Shahi Haveli to Ranjit’s SVAASÁ by matriarch Rama Ranjit Mehra in memory of her husband, the Late Ranjit Mehra.

The SVAASÁ Group logo design uses this as its inspiration by moulding the letter ‘S’ twice to symbolise ‘breath’ or ‘movement of air’. The tag line – Breath of Life, which inspires the name svaasá, breathes in life; perfect for those seeking exclusiveness spiced by the signature SVAASÁ touch.

Visual and display component

Next was the important aspect of selecting the right colours. Artisticodopeo Designz mutually agreed to settle on the balancing colours of turquoise and brown. Turquoise symbolises emotional balance, stability and has a calming effect helping to recharge ones’ energies, while Brown represents wholesomeness and earthiness both of which is a perfect symbolisation of the SVAASÁ brand.

Once the tone was set for the main SVAASÁ Group, Artisticodopeo Designz moved on to creating the logo for Ranjit’s SVAASÁ, Heritage Boutique Spa Haveli. The logo would be carried across all brand materials and products within the haveli. Since the haveli was well known for the Red Hibiscus flowers growing within the estate as well as its therapeutic uses within the spa, Artisticodopeo Designz decided to incorporate it in the logo, with the intention of personalising the logo with the property and carrying the theme forward by using the flower of the region where they open the next SVAASÁ boutique hotel.

Design and concept

Designing the flowers to grow out from the middle of the logo by parting the two ‘S’ further enhanced the meaning of the brand, SVAASÁ – Breath of Life. It was a simple yet subtle reflection of the idea from which the haveli was born, the memory of the Late Ranjit Mehra. The final logo for Ranjit’s SVAASÁ, while symbolic in nature, maintained familiarity with the main group logo, and therefore, strongly reflected the brand image the Mehras wanted to portray.

The branding concept was similarly carried forward while creating the SVAASÁ Wellness Lounge, this time using the Lotus as the flower of choice as well as the whole identity set for the group, including the creation of a whole new experience of the haveli.

Merger of different tastes

From having the content and photography handled by the versatile Vishal Mehra himself and design and execution by Artisticodopeo Designz, it was a perfect merger of tastes to create a truly unique look for the brand. The SVAASÁ music was composed by music producer extraordinaire, Prashant Pillai of ‘Shaitan’ fame especially for the brand. It evokes the right feeling we wanted to convey to the viewer as though he was already at the haveli. Giving life to such a unique brand, steeped in history was truly an experience, one cherishes for a lifetime.

About Artisticodopeo Designz Rajesh Thyagarajan Artisticodopeo Designz is an international award winning design house set up in India by graphic designer Rajesh Thyagarajan. This firm strives to create original works of art that display originality, creativity, thinking outside the box for its esteemed and selective clientele around the world. Rajesh’s artworks have been recognised and published in global best seller designer books like Logo Lounge, etc. Multitalented as an artist, designer, art director, copywriter in the fields of fashion and corporate worlds, his designs have been recognised and consistently awarded internationally by reputed designer organisations like American Design Awards, New Web Pick designer, among others. For more info, log on to: www.artisticodopeo.com