Volvo Ocean Race Farewell from Kochi

The India Stoppover of Volvo Ocean Race concluded today here and the racing teams left Kochi for Singapore starting the third leg of the race. The see off ceremony was a remarkable event with thousands of people gathered to see the yachts take off. Sailors seemed enjoying the cheers from crowd and many responded saying thank you in Malayalam. One team was dressed up in typical Mallu dotis. The family members of the sailors were also there to bid farewell. The stunts performed by an international paraglider was another attraction at the event.

Volvo Ocean Race India Stopover, Kochi

Today evening, I visited the race village which is getting ready at Kochi in association with the Volvo Ocean Race India Stopover. Ericsson 4, the team which is leading now has already arrived here and some stalls were also getting ready. The festivities are supposed to start from 3rd December and will last till 13 December. Volvo had set up a big showroom there displaying many vehicles ranging from bigger trucks to compact concept cars.

 

  

 

Thrippoonithura Temple Festival

Spent the whole night at the Thrippoonithura Temple Festival and got some interesting photos including the backstage of Kadhakali performance.

 

  

  

 

Kochi Naval Fest

Visited Naval Fest at the Naval Command in Kochi. It is a festival Indian Navy organizes every year to showcase their skills and equipments to public. Many war ships for open for public and the stalls from different departments explained their activities in detail.

 

  

  

 

Branding case study - Unopix

Brand building is an interesting exercise I have always enjoyed. Even though I have not yet started any companies/brands of my own yet, I had worked on many ideas before. Recent examples are CoolMallu (http://coolmallu.com) and Zosma (http://zosma.biz). Being a software guy, my initiatives start on the web and usually ends there before hitting the ground. The new idea I have in mind now is to setup a photo studio at my hometown Manjeri. This time I have started from the ground (by booking a building room at Manjeri) and is now planning to use web just as another medium to take it forward.

Even though I am going to start something very small, I like to think big… I mean, think very very big… at an international level!  There is nothing wrong in dreaming big; and dreams are the easiest affordable things you can find pleasure from :).  So the idea do not start from setting up a small town studio room. It starts from being a successful brand having branches/representations all over the world and doing all kinds of business (not just photography work). Naturally, you wouldn’t appreciate a name board like ‘Sameer Studio’ representing a software firm on Times Square in New York! ;)

The first part of brand building is naming. My idea of a great brand name includes following (based on many articles and expert opinions on branding):
-    Very very unique… No one would ever say I have seen another brand exactly like this.
-    Easy to pronounce… should rollout from tongue easily
-    No spelling ambiguity… you say the name over phone, and the buddy at the other end can write it right.
-    Not very long… less than say 10 letters.
-    Availability of .com domain. (It’s required to go international.)
-    Does not directly represent the business you are starting with… name should be still suitable if you get into a different domain of business.

After considering many names like Pixeloma, Ajania, Imagio, etc and receiving feedback from my well wishers, I have now finalized the name Unopix.

The next step is to make a logo. A logo may include the name, acronym, the font typeface, the colors used, the style of writing, a graphical symbol and tagline. For example, McDonald’s logo includes the yellow ‘M’ graphical symbol, “I’m lovin’ it” tag line and the red, yellow, white color combinations. But look at Microsoft logo… It’s just the name of the company written in Helvetica italic typeface, with a slash between the o and s.  It’s simple yet easily recognizable and powerful. I love this kind of simplicity and the cost advantage that comes along while printing/reproducing the logo on different surfaces.

My colleague and friend Hariprashanth spent some hard late night hours with me yesterday to come up with the logo for Unopix. He is an excellent creative designer. Thanks a million, Hari for this work and I am expecting more such helps from you :). In the logo, there is no separate graphical symbol (it adds more cost while implementing the branding) and no tagline (you always ends up in realizing that the tag line is not that relevant for your new venture). It’s just the company name written in a typeface that is simple and clear. There is just one twist… a single pixel (uno pix) standing out from the last letter.

Now comes the hard part. Choosing the right set of colors. The colors need to look interesting, pleasing, and cost effective on all mediums like web site, paper prints, sign boards, etc. I also plan to use these colors for everything related to Unopix, be it walls and work desks inside studio, visiting cards, web site, sign boards, and album covers.

1.

  

  

2. 

  

 

  

3.

  

4.

  

5.

  

6.

 

So help me choose the colors… Please let me know which logo you liked by telling me its number (1 to 6 from top to bottom). Also let me know if you liked the name, and the logo.