For the past few months, we've been saying, "It's coming. It's coming. It's coming!".
What's coming? Well, we were referring to Urban Pari's official and new, logo and typography. The reason why this was such a prolonged affair was because something such as this needs time. We had to be sure that we can bear to look at it everyday and continue to love it as much as we love Urban Pari. Also, we were a little bit lazy! But, it's here now. It's a done deal!
Nervously, we share these images and our thoughts with you. We want you to like it and not be disappointed or worse, repelled by it. So, here goes.
THE TYPOGRAPHY
It took many meetings and emails back-and-forth to understand what we, individually and collectively, thought about Urban Pari and then express the same to the brand designer, Deepa Shah (Design Souk). As you can guess from the name, "Urban Pari", there's an inherent duality about this brand, the women behind it and the women who wear it. The women of this generation, you and us, are challenged to do many things. We are conflicted between the things that await us and the things that hold us back. We dream and do much more. Yet, there are memories from our past, from our upbringing and of great women we know well. While it holds us back, it makes us a better person. Despite everything, we're moving forward. We're stronger. This typography (font), with its mix of upper-case and lower-case letters, explains these notions of us, the Urban Pari.
THE FACE OF URBAN PARI
This logo was a little difficult to arrive at. It's not that we wanted to have a face on the logo. We chose this because the brand is about you and us, and not about a product or type of product. It may look very simple to you and even, common-place. But, we believe that the logo is identifiable rather than simple and common-place. We all had our own ideas of what she would look like. Dreamy. Strong. Powerful. Mysterious. Urban. Arriving at this version of her took a few iterations. Every piece of this logo was added carefully. We'll leave you to imagine (and share with us) what each piece of this logo means to you. Feel free to write to us at team@urbanpari.com and tell us what you think.
THE SYMBOL OF URBAN PARI
This symbol was an easier decision to make (perhaps, not so much for the designer). While the 'face' may touch your heart, this logo is intended to attract your eyes. We love visuals and our eyes love illusions. It was very interesting to see how one can make a letter or a few into many unique and striking symbols. It's an art that only someone like Deepa can excel at.
After all this work, can you guess what the best part of the branding exercise is? Well, it's the crisp, brand-new stationery on our desk! Do you remember practising your signature when you were a kid? Pretending to be someone important and signing important papers? :) Well, our team can do that now on the nice, new stationery that's waiting to be written (scribbled) on. Ofcourse, we're going to do our bit to save paper, cut costs and do things digitally wherever possible. So, do insist on a digital invoice, if you don't mind.
If you have any comments about the logo, symbol and typography, please do share with us at team@urbanpari.com. This is your logo and we want to hear what you have to say.
