How does one brand a city of over 250,000 people, one that houses centuries of history, fine arts and culture?
The flower or the chariot: these were our two pitches to the head members of the Lalitpur municipality office to an initiative that was completely our own.
The marigold flower (Sayapatri) with its many petals, bright color, and value in cultural events and rituals was common representation that could signify the city and its residents.
The other was the towering chariot of Rato Machindranath, the central figure of a 1600 year old tradition that takes place every year to mark the beginning of the monsoons. We simplified the structure of the chariot and settled on an abstract version that was easy to recognize while being contemporary at the same time.
During the process of designing the symbol, it was crucial to understand the branding and design of other cities around the world in order to go about creating a figure that successfully encompassed the vitality of our own.
The municipality decided to go with our version of the Rato Machindranath chariot as a brand image for the city, the first ever that Lalitpur was branded.
