In 2014, my business partner, Sujata Keshavan and I were close to concluding our payouts at Ray+Keshavan. R+K as it was fondly known, was a branding and design consultancy that was co-founded by Sujata and the late Ram Ray in the 90s and acquired by WPP in 2006. 

R+K had a dream run, building some of the country’s biggest brands – from Airtel to Kotak. However, we had never branded an airline. So when the RFP came in for a joint venture between the Tatas and Singapore Airlines (SIA), there was much excitement. Given the fact that we had no airline branding experience, Sujata flew to London to pull together a senior team from WPP to bid for the project. In what would turn out to be a fortuitous turn of events, that did not meet with any success and we ended up bidding for the project alone. 

The scope of our bid included naming, positioning and identity design, across all brand experience touchpoints. Conscious that we were up against global firms with several airlines in their branding portfolio, we submitted a unique point of view that ultimately went on to win us the project. 

Not Just Another Airline

In 2014 the market was dominated by Jet and Indigo. Given the competition, we said, there was a white space for an airline that focused on experience, versus functional parameters like efficiency and being on time. We recommended that the airline be branded from a hospitality lens – with all details, from the livery to cabin interiors and even the choice of music, selected to create a premium ‘hotel’ experience for the corporate traveller.

In 2014, the design language of airlines was dominated by visual cues of flight. We broke away from this completely, recommending instead that all interfaces speak the language of premium hospitality. Given the SIA and Tata lineage, we knew this was a powerful and credible brand idea.

Sujata Keshavan, Founder & ECD, Ray+Keshavan
Two glasses of red wine next to Vistara in flight menu
The Vistara brand experience drew on cues from premium hospitality

A Boundless World

Naming an airline is a difficult task, given that the name must work across cultures, be phonetically appropriate and available for legal registration in multiple countries. 

Vistara is based on the Sanskrit word ‘Vistaar,’ meaning boundless expanse. This was a diametrically opposite construct to the prevailing sentiment in the airline industry, which was about imposing constraints, be it cutting corners or layering on extra charges.

As part of its premium hospitality positioning, this new airline would deliver a full-service experience, with all the bells and whistles. Instead of imposing constraints, it would lift them – and hence the name Vistara. (The extra ‘a’ at the end was added for phonetic ease.)

Using a Sanskrit name also fitted into our hospitality-based strategy, since it was a nod to the warm Eastern hospitality that both Singapore and India are known for. Vistara was a lyrical, easily pronounced word. The name also evoked the endless blue horizon that passengers see from their windows during a smooth, enjoyable flight.

Mac with Vistara website home page that says fly the new feeling
The name Vistara is based on the Sanskrit word Vistaar, meaning ‘boundless expanse’

A Fluid Octagram

The idea of Vistara’s boundless world was captured visually through an octagram or an eight-pointed star, known through history as a symbol of balance, excellence and good fortune. The continuous, overlapping lines in the logo have an inherent sense of movement, as if the space within them is dynamic and not still.

Vistara gold logo on a purple background
The Vistara logo is an eight-pointed star, with each point forming a ‘V.’ The custom-drawn wordmark combines upper and lowercase hand drawn letters, making the logotype quite unique.

The form of the logo was crafted to lend itself to several different crops, which were used to brand interfaces as diverse as aircraft tail and water glasses, without creating visual fatigue. The logo was also used as a tessellation to create patterns for frequent flyer cards and uniforms.

Images of Vistara brand collateralshowing use of logo on standee, seat covers, blankets and frequent flyer cards
The logo was crafted so it could be used in different ways – from crops to tessellations – to avoid visual fatigue and create an interesting interplay of different interfaces.

Colour Me Purple

There was much discussion around the primary colour for the brand. It was clear that overused red and blue palettes were out. I remember Sujata saying at a brainstorming session, “Imagine the Vistara crew walking through an airport – we want them to stand out, to be easily recognisable.What colour should they be wearing?”

In the end, the team chose the deep aubergine and gold palette that is identified with the Vistara brand today – not just because it was distinctive, but also because it aligned with the overall ‘luxury hospitality’ experience we were aiming to create.

Page from Vistara brand guidelines showing brand colour palette
The Vistara colour palette has sufficient depth and breadth to address different branding requirements

Branding Three Classes

Vistara was the first airline to introduce a Premium Economy cabin on domestic flights. At the time, this was considered a risky move. Would passengers pay more to sit in a cabin that wasn’t Business Class? Our strategy was to add ‘prestige’ to Premium Economy, making the experience as distinct as possible. We used a deep blue to brand Premium Economy, so it clearly stood apart from the base Economy purple. 

Vistara boarding cards and baggage tags for economy, premium economy and business in three different colours
The Premium Economy class was a first for the domestic aviation industry and the strategy was to pull it strongly apart from Economy, instead of being tentative.

Goodbye Vistara?

From its first flight in 2015, the Vistara experience has been true to what we imagined. The implementation of the brand identity was flawless and it was always a pleasure to ‘fly the new feeling,’ (a launch slogan created by Ogilvy). 

With the recent announcement that the Tatas will merge all airlines under Air India, it seems that Vistara brand will be sunset soon. Given Air India’s tremendous equity and identification as a national carrier, this is clearly the right decision. As I discussed this latest event with Sujata, she agreed that even though she couldn’t help feeling a tinge of regret, it is fitting that the Tatas restore Air India to glory. 

We hear that Futurebrand has been commissioned to carry out the Air India rebranding and we look forward to seeing the new brand and of course, carrying the case study in THC.

The Vistara Team at Ray+Keshavan | The Brand Union
Executive Creative Director: Sujata Keshavan, Director Strategy : Meeta Malhotra
Design Team: Sulekha Rajkumar, Pooja Jagadeesh, Dan Ellis, Anoopa John, Jeevan Nair, Surabhi Rathi
Client Management: Neethi Isaac, Disha Amin

16 COMMENTS

  1. I enjoyed reading about Vistaraa’s brand journey. The brand definitely stood out. The name, logo, colours, experience—all were addressed to the point beautifully.

  2. Hi,
    Writing this just after the launch of the new Air India logo and livery. This design process felt so natural and Vistara’s branding was one of my favourite! Would love to understand your personal opinion on the new Air India identity , either as a a new blog/article or in private.

  3. Reading is a nice experience The hard thought and team work behind a wonderful creation that captured the vast sky

  4. Thanks for the info. With Tata at helm of Air India , they will ensure its glory is back and give flyer a good time

  5. Vistara is certain to be the airline of choice for both domestic and international travelers…a truly 5 star travel experience
    Ernest Quintal

  6. My trip on board of vistara was a compet aircraft for the first time from Bombay Muscat. The crew team was responsed I enjoyed the flight

  7. Enjoyed reading this. Being a frequent user of Vistara ,felt emotional now that there will be a sunset to this name. Thanks for sharing.

  8. Also curious to know, since I do not belong to this industry, how do RFPs come in for such branding initiatives? Or do you also go looking out for the same?

  9. Being an avid student of branding and communication, let me add two more connotations which can be derived from the brand name Vistara:
    Vista – A beautiful view
    Sitara – ‘Star’ quality hospitality

  10. Good to know who the people were behind one of the recent brands that I truly enjoy. Thoroughly enjoyed the process. Thanks for sharing!

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