Reading the Delhi Rebranding Initiative as a Designer & Citizen

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A few days ago, I came across the news that the Delhi Government, specifically Delhi Tourism & Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) is planning a rebranding initiative for the capital. As a designer, my first reaction was:

“Okay… this is something cool about the city.”

Because city branding projects are not just about logos or taglines anymore. They shape perception, tourism, investment, culture, and even how citizens emotionally connect with their own city.

And honestly, this is not just a huge opportunity for branding agencies, strategists, and creative studios — it’s also a huge responsibility for the authorities and government to evaluate the vision carefully and choose an identity that truly represents the soul of Delhi.

Here I’m sharing my personal thoughts on this rebranding. this article is not about the criticism. These are simply my personal observations, opinions, and small suggestions for the teams and authorities working on Delhi’s rebranding.

1. Delhi Is Basically India’s “Group Project”

One thing I’ve always loved about Delhi:

Nobody asks where you came from. People arrive from Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Bengal, Northeast India, South India — and within two weeks they start saying:

“Yaar Delhi mein na…”

As if they were born here 😄 And somehow… the city accepts it. That openness, in my opinion, is one of Delhi’s strongest identities.

Not heritage. Not monuments. Not politics. Just Delhi hites.

Delhi constantly absorbs new personalities, new accents, new food habits, new chaos. It’s basically India’s biggest crossover episode.

2. Delhi Does Not Have One Identity (And That’s Okay)

This is my personal opinion, but I genuinely feel Delhi should never be represented as one fixed personality. Because Delhi itself behaves like multiple cities stitched together with traffic and opinions.

One side is old Mughal history. Another side is startup culture. One café sounds like a LinkedIn webinar. One street sounds like a Haryanvi rap battle. And somehow… all of it coexists. Delhi’s real language is not just Hindi. It’s remix.

Haryanvi mixed with Bhojpuri. Pahadi mixed with Hinglish. South Delhi English mixed with “bhai side de.”

And every week a new slang update gets installed automatically 😭 So if branding teams simplify Delhi too much, I feel they might accidentally remove its personality. Because

Delhi is not minimal.Delhi is maximum.

3. Delhi Is Basically India’s Operating System

Functionally, Delhi runs a lot more than people realize.

Politics. Education. Healthcare. Media. Technology. Business.

Everything somehow connects back here. Delhi is like that one overworked laptop with 72 tabs open… but still functioning. 😄

And maybe that overload itself is part of the city’s energy.

4. The Delhi Metro Deserves Its Own OTT Documentary

Honestly, one of the greatest design and infrastructure achievements in Delhi is the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation with 300+ stations and 400+ km railway length.

Millions of people. Massive scale. Extreme efficiency. (Remember Rajiv Chowk metro station at 7pm :P)

And still somehow more organised than most group chats. But culturally, the Metro is even more interesting. It’s the only place where:

• people become fitness trainers near the gate (“andar badho bhai”)
• escalator discipline becomes a national issue
• and silent judgment is a communication method 😭
• PDA in every alternate coaches :P

For me, the Metro represents modern Delhi better than many advertisements do.

Please Don’t Rebrand Delhi Into a “Perfect City”

A lot of modern city branding tries to make cities look ultra-clean, polished, premium, and globally aesthetic. And yes, Delhi absolutely deserves global positioning. But personally, I don’t think Delhi’s strength is perfection. Its strength is emotional realism.

The chaos. The humour. The ambition. The survival instinct. The confidence. The unpredictability.

Delhi feels human because it’s slightly unfinished. And honestly? That’s why people connect with it.

So if Delhi is truly being rebranded, I just hope the process goes beyond logos, campaigns, and presentation decks. I hope it captures the lived experience of the city.

Not just how Delhi wants to look — but how Delhi actually feels. Because cities are not brands first. They are emotions first. And Delhi… is probably one of India’s loudest emotions 😄

References

• Delhi Tourism & Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) — Rebranding RFP https://delhitourism.gov.in/dttdc/pdf/RFP_for_Selection_of%20Agency_for_Rebranding.pdf