Natale: Bringing the christmas cheer to
young urban Indians with an event brand strategy

CLASSROOM PROJECT – SEQUENTIAL NARRATIVES • 2020

ROLE
Conceptualization, Branding,
Motion graphics, Illustration,
Copywriting

SCHOOL
National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad

DURATION
8 weeks

Growing up in a Catholic household, Christmas season is a personal favorite. Unlike the commercialized Christmas in the West, Christmas in India is about the simple joys, a confluence of diverse cultures that set foot on this land from 1st Century Apostle Thomas to European Missionaries in colonial times - a unique past molded over centuries

The idea behind the project is to find the balance between tradition and inclusivity for Christmas – to make Christmas a meaningful celebration designed to engage a wider audience in the Indian context, a means to bring people tether across all communities setting aside our differences, not focussing on what divides us and making it a celebration for all.

Target Audience: Urban youth of India, primarily college goers.

This project was done under the guidance of Dr. Tridha Gajjar and Tarun Deep Girdher during Semester 5 – Design Project 2.

01 UNDERSTANDING THE AUDIENCE

Research Methodology

Primary Research

130

Survey responses
from 15-30 year old participants from approx. 50 cities, pan India.

01

Long Interview
with alumni from St. Joseph's College of Commerce, Bangalore about annual student festivities.

Secondary Research

Photojournals
Google photos collected from December and social media posts of TG.

Literature Review
Learning the origin behind popular Christmas customs and traditions.

Main Inquiries – Primary Research

What does your typical 25th December look like?
Who do you spend your Christmas with?
Your fondest Christmas memory, if any.
How do you hope to spend your future Christmases?

Research Compilation

Insights

01

Most celebrated Christmas when they were children but it ceased as they grew up.

02

Majority would like to experience
Christmas abroad, somewhere famous for its holiday spirits.

03

85% of them would like to attend a
Christmas event if they get an opportunity, to experience what it's like.

04

Today, some go to their Christian friends' place to spend Christmas day.

02 CRAFTING THE BRAND STRATEGY

Event Concept

After thorough research to understand the target group's perception and aspirations about Christmas, and studying the origin behind popular Christmas stories, I decided to imbibe the crux of the stories like that of St. Nicholas & nativity as more universal ideas such as hope and kindness, and translate that into a contemporary narrative in the form of brand storytelling so that it resonates with young Indians from different backgrounds and beliefs, while maintaining the true spirit of the festival.

Since Christmas is an annual event, and people invest in it only during the month of December, I chose an event brand strategy as the apt solution. This led to the the concept of 'Natale', a fundraiser Christmas event for a children's trust held during December- which conveys the idea of Christmas as the season to be festive, and kind ie clubbing these to communicate "have fun & do a good deed."

Logo Design

According to the survey, since the majority associates Christmas with Decor - Lights, Star, etc, the logotype is customized with decorative swashes and
stars as an element to represent the same - star also symbolize light as hope and festivity (Reference to Christ as 'Light of the world).

The name 'Natale was chosen as it specifically means 'Birth of Christ' and
the same is used to refer to Christmas in local dialects as 'Natal in many parts of the country.

Typography
& Color Palette

These visual identity elements were iterated and chosen to align
with the brand personality: Merry, fun, optimistic, festive.

03 BRAND TOUCHPOINTS