How renaming Allahabad helped designer come up with a wholesome logo for Prayagraj smart city

When Allahabad was shortlisted by the Centre to be developed as a smart city, the state authorities invited prospective logos from the people that would represent the city's rich history in literature, its vibrant energy and also what over the centuries has become an integral part of its identity -- the Kumbh Mela.

But as people went to the drawing board, the state government notified the renaming of Allahabad as Prayagraj.

"Initially, a logo was created with the letter 'A' (for Allahabad) showing a confluence of two rivers -- the Ganga and the Yamuna. The logo was in final phase awaiting approval when the news of the city getting a name-change appeared, and I had to start afresh," said Abhinav Basak, an IIT Kanpur PhD scholar researching Visual Ergonomics of Graphical User Interface, who had also submitted his entry.

Basak said initial invitation for a logo was sought in February 2018. "My entry was sent in March and I was told to proceed. The name change was conveyed in August."
Basak explained the logo. "The two curves in the logo symbolise the 'Sangam' the confluence the Ganga and the Yamuna. It also forms the Devanagari letter 'Pra' which is the initial letter of 'Prayagraj'."
"The letter 'Pra' is formed using a negative space which breaks the image into three individual sections. This is the 'smart' element in the logo. Interestingly, the letter 'Pra' in reality is not present in the logo but needs to be visually discovered. This requires the viewers involvement thus making the logo engaging."