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Hercules

BRAND STRATEGY + IDENTITY 

Refueling an iconic bicycle brand.

We designed a forward-thinking identity system for Hercules Cycles, substantially differentiating the brand from all other cycle manufacturers in India. The new identity gives Hercules a strong place as a contemporary brand, connecting with the current technology-savvy target audience, and distinguishing Hercules as the number one producer of quality bicycles and accessories.

Why did an iconic cycle brand need a makeover?

TI Cycles has several sub-brands and wanted a rebrand for their iconic Hercules bicycles to resonate with a modern and young audience. The main challenge of this rebranding project was to place teenagers in focus and build a brand positioning that would fit the typical day of a teenager, activities, and aspirations.

How did we create a contemporary Hercules?

We started with in-depth research into the demographic through sampling, telephonic interviews with children and parents, visual ethnography, and material culture mapping. We then created a diurnal map that showed where and how a cycle would fit into a teenager’s everyday activities.

Our team explored thousands of sketches inspired by the myth of Hercules, starting from the majestic lion to various abstract forms. Of these, the ‘H’ mark was finalized with an intricate design that represented the mythical features of Hercules -— strength, power, and stability. The Herculean character was brought into the present context with a futuristic expression through color and typography. Likewise, the secondary logo was inspired by Hercules’ heroic traits  - bold, daring, adventurous, strength, and power.

We kept the positioning strong and direct by inserting a hyphen to break up the word ‘Powerful’ drawing attention to the concept of ‘Power-fuel’. Our series of pre-launch online and offline communications were led by the statement ‘Something Powerful is Coming’, accompanied by zoomed-in versions of the identity. 

For outdoor usage, we explored different variations of the logo and the tagline ‘Be Powerful’, finding placements on hoardings and truck graphics that give better visibility and impact.

A Power-fuel Identity

Our clean and bold brand identity design makes the Hercules branding stand apart from the rest of the Indian bicycle brands that lean towards busy layouts with a mixture of imagery, text, and graphic elements. Our efforts to build a strong and powerful identity for Hercules inspired by mythology resulted in a sharply-articulated contemporary logo that resonates with a modern tech-savvy teenage consumer. 

Team

Ajay Sharma
Agnishesh Srinivas
Manav Dhiman
Mohan Godwal
Ruma Dhingra
Ankita Singh
Anthony Lopez

Support

Lalit Kumar

 

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