Beyond ‘Incredible India’: Devesh Waghela on Rethinking India’s Global Visual Identity
In 2002, when the Incredible India campaign was launched by the Ministry of Tourism, it changed the way the world looked at India. The bold typography, the confident exclamation mark, and the vivid portrayal of culture and heritage gave the country a unified voice in global tourism.
For years, it worked beautifully.
But more than two decades later, India is no longer just a destination. It is a digital economy, a startup ecosystem, a geopolitical voice, and a design-driven society.
According to Devesh Waghela, communication designer, design educator, and PhD researcher in Nation Branding, it may be time to ask a crucial question: Is “Incredible India” enough to represent the India we are becoming?
“Campaigns are powerful,” Waghela says, “but nations evolve. And when nations evolve, their visual identity must evolve with them.”
More Than Tourism
Waghela believes that one of the biggest misunderstandings is treating tourism branding and nation branding as the same thing.
Tourism branding attracts visitors. Nation branding builds long-term perception.
“When India hosts global platforms like the G20, the world isn’t just evaluating our monuments,” he explains. “They’re evaluating our systems, our organisation, our confidence, our clarity.”
In his view, India’s identity cannot rely solely on images of palaces, festivals, and spirituality — however important they may be. Modern India is also about innovation, infrastructure, entrepreneurship, research, and design.
“Our heritage is strong,” Waghela says. “But our ambition is equally strong. Both need to be visible.”
The First Impression Is Spatial
According to Waghela, a nation’s brand is often formed before a single speech is delivered. It begins the moment someone lands at the airport. It continues through metro systems, museums, university campuses, government portals, and public events.
“These experiences speak quietly,” he says. “But they speak loudly enough to shape perception.”
He points out that while India has immense cultural depth, the visual language across institutions often feels disconnected. One ministry communicates differently from another. Event identities are created for a moment and then disappear. There is brilliance in parts — but rarely a consistent framework that ties everything together.
“India does not lack identity,” Waghela reflects. “We have an abundance of it. What we need is alignment.”
Beyond Decoration
For Waghela, design is often misunderstood within public systems. It is treated as a finishing layer — something added after infrastructure is built. But in reality, design shapes how infrastructure is experienced.
Environmental graphics, signage, spatial storytelling, and digital interfaces influence how intuitive, welcoming, and confident a country appears.
“Soft power is no longer just about cinema or diplomacy,” Waghela explains. “It is about lived experience. How easy is it to navigate our systems? How cohesive do our events feel? How thoughtfully are our stories told in public spaces?”
These details may seem subtle, but collectively they build memory. And memory builds reputation.
When international students study in India, their campus experience becomes part of India’s story abroad. When delegates attend a summit, the coherence of design reflects organisational maturity. When investors interact with public platforms, clarity communicates credibility.
“Design communicates before policy does,” Waghela says.
Representing the India of Today
One of Waghela’s central concerns is that India’s global imagery has remained heavily rooted in heritage. While that heritage is a powerful asset, it represents only one dimension of the country.
“Today’s India is launching space missions, building digital public infrastructure, nurturing startups, and exporting design talent,” he notes. “If our visual narrative does not reflect this, we are telling an incomplete story.”
He advocates for a visual language that balances tradition and technology — craft and code — memory and modernity.
“The world should see our civilisation,” he says, “but it should also see our future.”
Not Replacement — Evolution
Importantly, Waghela does not argue for discarding “Incredible India.” Instead, he calls for evolution.
“It was a strong beginning,” he says. “It unified tourism messaging and created visibility. Now the next step is integration.”
He believes India needs a broader, more cohesive national design approach — one that connects ministries, global events, public infrastructure, and digital systems under a shared visual philosophy. Not uniformity, but intentional coherence.
In an era where perception influences trade, diplomacy, education, and talent mobility, visual identity is not cosmetic. It is strategic.
“Countries today compete through experience,” Waghela explains. “And experience is shaped by design.”
Designing the India We Are Becoming
India is in a moment of transformation — economically, culturally, and geopolitically. According to Devesh Waghela, this transformation deserves thoughtful visual articulation.
“Incredible described a chapter of India,” he reflects. “The question now is: how do we visually represent the India that is emerging?”
For Waghela, the answer lies not in a new slogan alone, but in a conscious design ecosystem — one that ensures our airports, campuses, summits, museums, and digital platforms speak in harmony.
Because in the 21st century, influence is not only negotiated in meeting rooms. It is experienced in spaces.
And the India that designs its spaces with clarity and confidence will design its global perception with equal strength.
