MANAM, a nascent space for the teaching, practice and discussion of Bharathanatyam. This space existed as an idea, a vision for the founder, Kaavya, who wanted to arrive at a visual realisation of the ideals behind MANAM.
To create a visual identity system, that embodies MANAM’s mission, communicates an indiscriminate welcoming space for Bharathanatyam, without conforming to any one cultural/ traditional box.
To create a visual identity system, that embodies MANAM’s mission, communicates an indiscriminate welcoming space for Bharathanatyam, without conforming to any one cultural/ traditional box.
Kolams are drawn by pinching some rice flour between the forefinger and thumb, and slowly laying it down as a line. This creates a line that looks similar to a calligraphy line. I tried some sketches based on this. For another set of sketches, I played with the word MANAM in Tamil script.
However, during the exploratory sketching phase, it became clear that the visual identity should not have any direct visual comparison to Kolams, as it immediately creates a religio-traditional association in the viewer’s mind.
I kept aside the Kolam inspiration and started sketching from scratch, with a blank slate and only the mission statement in mind.
The key question then, was “How do I visualise a space as identity?”.
Exploratory sketches
MANAM is being envisioned as a space for dancers of all levels of expertise, from beginners just approaching the field, to seasoned artists who are having socio-culturo-political discourse. MANAM aims to be open and inclusive to all.
This became the key basis for the final logo icon design. The final icon is an incomplete circle of diminishing thickness, with three dots surrounding it, one outside, one on the circle itself and one within. These three represent the curious beginner, the practicing learner and the seasoned artist, with the insinuation of there being space for everyone in-between.
This became the key basis for the final logo icon design. The final icon is an incomplete circle of diminishing thickness, with three dots surrounding it, one outside, one on the circle itself and one within. These three represent the curious beginner, the practicing learner and the seasoned artist, with the insinuation of there being space for everyone in-between.
Manam final logo variations, with English and Tamil text-