Flight to Everest

Identity Design | 2022

Problem

Nepal is widely recognized for its majestic landscapes, warm hospitality, and rich cuisine, yet Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) lacks a distinctive identity that reflects the country’s cultural and traditional values. Visitors rarely remember their experience at the airport, missing an opportunity for a strong first and last impression of Nepal.

Solution

I developed a dynamic identity for TIA that seamlessly blends Nepal’s historical richness with modern aesthetics. Centered around the IATA station code “TIA,” the design is adaptable and responsive across various applications, ensuring a cohesive and recognizable visual presence. This new identity captures the essence of Nepal while providing a contemporary and functional branding solution for its international gateway.

Ideation

This collage served as an initial step in gathering my thoughts and creating a visual inventory of what makes Nepal stand out. Given that Nepal's culture plays a significant role in shaping its identity, I focused my list on cultural elements.

This initial iteration of the TIA logo mark was created by drawing visual cues from the collage. By piecing these elements together, I aimed to develop a logo that in a way resembled Nepal.

Although I appreciated this cleaner and more refined version of the initial iteration as a logo, I realized it lacked flexibility for various applications and appeared somewhat confusing and complicated from a distance.

This is the final logo I chose. It is clean, simple, and modern, yet distinctly representative of Nepal.

FINAL LOGO

This logo captures Nepal's unique dichotomies: a country that follows both Hinduism and Buddhism, a land of towering mountains and lowlands, and so forth.

The design visually resembles Buddha's eyes and the "chandra bindu" from "OM." Additionally, the circle in the center represents the sun and the moon from the country's flag, symbolizing hope, prosperity, and Nepal's longevity.

These symbols are associated with Hindu and Buddhist deities, reflecting Nepal's religious diversity. With its adaptability to different conditions, this logo is not only recognizable but also flexible and dynamic.

Color Palette

I borrowed this color palette from Nepal's flag, which carries deep cultural and historical significance.

- Crimson symbolizes bravery, courage, and the spirit of sacrifice. In Nepalese traditions, red represents power, vitality, and auspiciousness, and it is also the color of the national flower, the rhododendron.

- White represents the snow-covered mountains.

- Blue symbolizes peace and harmony, reflecting the serene nature of the Nepalese people and their cultural associations with protection and tranquility.

Together, these colors signify the unity and harmony among Nepal's diverse communities and cultures.

Wayfinding Illustrations

Entrance Archway