Client summary

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is located around 22 km from Hyderabad city. This airport is the second public-private partnership venture in India, first being Cochin International Airport. During 2010-11, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport was declared as the sixth busiest airport in India when it comes to reckoning overall passenger traffic and it has been named among the world’s top five in the annual Airport Service Quality (ASQ) passenger survey.

Basic vision

Branding has been an element that has strongly supported the vision of the airports in India. The culture, the city and architecture came together to inspire each of the brands. Iconic airport architectures have been representative of the city’s pride while the graphics and the brand language have told softer emotional stories. The chronicle on how Ray+Keshavan has branded Rajiv Gandhi International Airport would go as in the following.

Brand identity

Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is the gateway to southern India. While the structure clearly speaks the visions, graphics, modern-day signage and design significantly elevate the airport experience. The brand identity and environmental graphics were designed to showcase the rich heritage and splendour of this region, while staying true to GMR’s broader visual language. The result was a visual feast of colour and form that blends into the airport’s cutting edge architecture to create a unique experience that has been widely acclaimed.

Sujata Keshavan, the chairperson of Ray+Keshavan remarked, “We are very proud to have worked with GMR and GVK. We have been able to significantly improve the passenger experience. Airports have used new generation signage lighting and graphics system making it truly international in every aspect.” From conception to implementation, it has been an exciting journey for Ray+Keshavan while executing the airport projects.

Visual language

Some of the highlights of the visual language which Ray+Keshavan has implemented at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport include: life-size silhouettes of passengers, interspersed with travel quotes to engage interest and add a sense of fun to the Domestic Departures Lounge. Large prints of richly coloured Thol Bommalata puppets of Andhra Pradesh that form a dramatic backdrop at the International Arrival zone.

Rows of graceful south Indian classical dancers greet international passengers on arrival at the Immigration Hall. A graphic of distinctive landmarks from across the region that come together depicts a unique south Indian skyline at the International Departures Lounge. An infographic panel at the Domestic Departures Lounge shows distances between Hyderabad and other Indian and international cities to engage the interest of passengers.

Next move

At Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport (Mumbai), which Ray+Keshavan will soon chronicle a Case Study in Sign & Graphics, the vibrancy of city and India have both been captured. After the wave of world-class airport designs hit India in 2006, Indian airports have transitioned from being mere infrastructure to becoming iconic, societal assets and brands. Despite the fact that India has only one airport in each city, privatisation has significantly invested in building iconic brands. Be it the ‘coffee trails’ concept in Bangalore International Airport Ltd, the peacock feather of Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport or the Suryanamaskar sculpture at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi - each airport in the country has interwoven in its brand, the nuances of Indian culture and heritage. Sign & Graphics will bring out Ray+keshavan’s case study on Indira Gandhi International Airport soon.

About Ray+Keshavan Over the last 20 years, Ray+Keshavan has built the most successful brands in India. The Economic Times declared this Bengaluru-headquartered global brand agency as Number 1 in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, based on a pan-India survey of clients, experts and peers. WPP acquired majority stake in Ray+Keshavan in 2006 and now aligned with The Brand Union. This means that company’s clients benefit from the best of both worlds: a global network and knowledge pool combined with deep experience and understanding of the Indian context. Global presence of Ray+Keshavan is in the world’s leading cities viz. Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Cairo, Dubai, Dublin, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Johannesburg, London, Madrid, Miami, Leaders at Ray+Keshavan: Sujata Keshavan, Meeta Malhotra and Arvind Hegde New York, Paris, San Francisco, Shanghai, Singapore, Stockholm and Tokyo. A team of 30 passionate, talented and committed professionals with outstanding qualifications and extensive experience forms the backbone of Ray+Keshavan. Leaders in the pack are Sujata Keshavan, MD & executive creative director; Meeta Malhotra, director; and Arvind Hegde, consulting director..