IndiGo

India’s aviation industry is, pun intended, soaring to unprecedented heights. While it dealt a huge blow during COVID, domestic carriers ferried ~165.7mn passengers in FY 2024-25, surpassing pre-pandemic numbers by almost 17% at a comfortable YoY growth of 7.8%.

And IndiGo finds itself at the center of this revolution, commanding over 63% of the domestic aviation market through a fleet of 320 aircraft across 110 destinations. IndiGo had already established itself as the chosen air travel partner for millions of Indians, and now, it wanted to go a step further. IndiGo wanted to penetrate deeper and simplify the process of making pre-travel itineraries for millions of travellers by strengthening their on-ground booking ecosystem.

They were on the lookout for a partner who understood the pillars on which their brand stood and could transform their touchpoints into experiential spaces. Leveraging our expertise in brand strategy and retail identity, IndiGo partnered with D’Art Design.

The Journey To Build A Unified Brand Presence

Before building a better retail experience, we wanted to set a foundation by understanding where the brand stood at the time. We conducted an extensive audit of independent ticketing partners and offline booking outlets, and uncovered a highly fragmented retail presence affecting IndiGo’s on-ground visibility.

Where the aviation sector was evolving rapidly through mergers, acquisitions, and experience-first service, IndiGo’s presence was inconsistent and visually incoherent. Thus, a need to develop a unified brand presence surfaced, and D’Art was responsible for developing branded booking centers pan-India, which kept experience as a driver to increase sales and brand recall.

A Three-pillared Approach

As IndiGo wanted to portray a unified ‘IndiGo experience’, it was important to engage with on-ground partners to understand the aviation-specific customer journey, as well as train them on new approaches and practices for relationship building.

Post that, D’Art Design developed a retail transformation playbook that unified IndiGo’s presence across 3 fronts.

1) Brand Integration

D’Art reimagine every single in-store element as a brand-first touchpoint to enhance trust quotient.

We took something as menial as ‘travel planning’ and turned it into an engaging experience by developing branded merchandise and in-store experience zones.

2) Spatial Optimization

Independent ticketing partners, offline booking outlets, and agent offices were redesigned as exclusive IndiGo centers, all while inculcating principles of space flow and customer navigation. 

We designed new facade and navigation systems as a ploy to declutter the entrance and encourage organic walk-ins. Once in-store, we created dedicated wings for consultation, booking, and travel planning as well.

3) Network Unification

We unified all partners by developing and executing IndiGo’s brand identity guidelines.

To do that, we conceptualized everything - from fonts to material - as a branded touchpoint that reflected IndiGo’s values across their entire partner network.

The Impact

IndiGo’s retail transformation playbook redefined how pre-flight brand experiences should be, thereby strengthening its pan-India presence and brand recall in measurable terms.

New fascias and an organized store approach led to an increased footfall and enquiries, and in-store dwell time increased as customers were engaged meaningfully, and as per their needs, through dedicated consultation and experience zones.

And to top it off, IndiGo finally had a unified pan-India presence across hundreds of their partners-outlets, which led to deeper agent-customer relationships that manifested in the form of repeated walk-ins.