Snapdeal, the Indian e-commerce marketplace headquartered in New Delhi, introduced its current visual identity in September 2016 as part of a major brand overhaul. The redesign replaced the company’s long-standing red and blue typographic logo with a vermello (red) box motif and the tagline “Unbox Zindagi” (Unbox Life).[1][2]
Design and History
Snapdeal was founded in February 2010 by Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal as a coupons site before pivoting to an online marketplace in late 2011.[3] The 2016 rebranding marked the company’s first large-scale identity revision since that pivot.[3]
The new logo consists of two arrows forming a box, which the company said conveys Snapdeal’s journey as partners and enablers, indicating progress, onwards and upwards.[4] Co-founder Rohit Bansal explained that the logo was visualized from the perspective of the happiest moment for an online buyer, when she receives her box, with every delivery representing a new opportunity or aspiration.[5]
The brand identity was developed by London-based agency DesignStudio, which had previously worked on Airbnb’s 2014 redesign, alongside McCann Worldgroup and Famous Innovations.[6][7] DesignStudio CEO Paul Stafford led the brand design personally.[8] The “Unbox Zindagi” tagline was coined by Prasoon Joshi, chairman of McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific.[9]
The rebranding effort reportedly cost over Rs 200 crore and included a 360-degree marketing campaign ahead of the festive season.[4] The new identity was rolled out across the website, mobile app, brand communication, and even delivery boxes, which were remodelled in the new vermello colour.[2]
Meaning and Symbolism
The box motif is central to Snapdeal’s brand meaning. DesignStudio built the identity around the idea that shopping products “unpacks opportunities,” with the red box serving as a physical representation of the brand.[10] The company’s leadership team traveled across India to meet existing and prospective users, and the new positioning was based on insights from those interactions.[3]
The brand colour, vermello, is a shade of red that replaced the previous red and blue combination.[5] Snapdeal’s delivery boxes were changed to this red shade, with delivery personnel wearing red shirts as part of the new identity.[3]
Typography and Design
DesignStudio created a custom typeface for the new identity in collaboration with the studio Atipo, based on a customized version of the Bariol typeface.[10] The typeface was built specifically for the digital world, including the company’s website and app, and was based on Snapdeal’s original rounded typography.[10]
The box logo was designed to be used independently when space constraints dictate, such as on social media profile pictures, without carrying a Snapdeal identifier.[11]
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