Alok Nanda & Company creates a brand identity for IDFC Bank

The contemporary wordmark and identity reflects simplicity and diversity and is created to appeal to both rural and urban consumers

Alok Nanda & Company (ANC), one of India’s leading brand and communications agency, created the new logo, and visual identity for IDFC Bank, which was unveiled today.

"It's a rare privilege to work with an institution like IDFC, one of only two new entrants to the banking sector after a decade. We worked closely with the core management team to evolve the positioning for the brand and the identity” said Alok Nanda.

The identity had to address three challenges, First: How do you make an institutional brand relatable? The design solution had to work for urban and rural India without compromising its appeal to either. The identity ANC created works supremely well as a vibrant, approachable signage in rural India and looks equally cool on the backlit screen of a smartphone.

Second, how do you differentiate IDFC Bank from the crowd of banks that already exist? The new IDFC Bank logo does not have a separate symbol rather the logo is the symbol. The palette is bright, warm and un-bank-like, with violet, yellow, pink and orange that symbolises transformation, energy, youth and optimism – the qualities of modern India

And finally the identity had to be future proof. It had to work for not just how banking is today but how it will be tomorrow. The new identity is designed to appeal to a new generation of consumers who are growing up online.

Dr Rajiv Lall, Executive Vice Charman and Managing Director, IDFC Bank said, “A brand isn’t just advertising or a message that we promote. It has to be a philosophy we believe in every day to ensure our customers experience it, in what we say and do. We were keen on a logo that captures the vibrant colours of our nation. Our new logo reflects this diversity and is symbolic of the upcoming colours of change in banking to meet the rapidly changing expectations of consumers."

Alok Nanda added, “The brand identity is unconventional, in keeping with IDFC's approach to banking.”