Branding / Kochi Metro

Mascot design for Kochi Metro: a flying baby elephant as KMRL's brand character

Industry

Government · Public Transport

Geography

Kochi, Kerala, India

Services

Mascot Design · 2D Animation

Don't stand in the way of closing doors. The selfie is going well until the elephant steps in, a second before the doors do.

1character across every film

4public films starring it

0lines of dialogue

2languages on screen: English and Malayalam

Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) runs Kochi's metro. In 2017 it wanted a series of short films to teach passengers the rules of the system: stay behind the yellow line, keep clear of closing doors, no eating, drinking or smoking on board, no graffiti.

The films needed a lead character. Someone who could show the rule, set a passenger right and stay likeable while doing it, for an audience that might be watching with the sound off.

We designed that character, then produced the films it stars in.

Client: Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL)
Industry: Government, public transport (metro rail)
Geography: Kochi, Kerala, India
Audience: Kochi Metro passengers
Services: Mascot and brand character design, 2D animated films
Deliverables: Character exploration and sketches, the final mascot, a character manual, and passenger-awareness films starring it
Language: No dialogue; on-screen messages in English and Malayalam
Year: 2017

The brief

Rules stick when someone people like is the one teaching them

Every film had a story to tell, and every story needed a protagonist. A mascot was the strongest choice: one character who turns up in each film and carries KMRL's message without making it feel too formal.

Here a passenger starts drawing on the carriage wall. The elephant does not lecture him. It points at the CCTV camera and lets him work out the rest.

The character

Why a baby elephant beat every other idea

We started wide, with animals, shapes and even everyday objects. None of them fitted Kerala like an elephant, and quick user research said the same.

Elephants are a core part of ritual worship and celebrations in Kerala, so the audience already knows and loves the animal. A baby elephant went further: by far the cutest, friendliest face we drew, and one nobody could say no to.

Four pencil sketches of the Kochi Metro elephant mascot: standing, flying with wings, and two rounder early versions.

Designed to act without words

Wings to arrive anywhere, a wand to fix things, a caparison to belong

The films had to work without dialogue, so the character had to say everything with its face and body. We drew it to be highly expressive.

Then we gave it a little magic: angel-like wings, so it can appear anywhere in a station or a carriage, and a magic wand, so it can put things right with one flick. Here it sends a bottle, tobacco and food back into a passenger's bag.

On its forehead sits a caparison, the ornament Kerala's elephants wear at festivals. It makes the mascot one of Kochi's own.

The final character, from our character study.

The same character on duty in the CCTV film.

Platform safety: one gust from the trunk moves a distracted commuter back from the edge.

Etiquette: the rules appear in the air as signs, one by one.

What it means for you

What a brand character can do for a public service

The Kochi Metro elephant mascot perched on a passenger's shoulder in a crowded carriage.

Correct without scolding

A character people like can set someone right on screen, and the audience laughs instead of bristling.

The Kochi Metro elephant mascot hovering over the platform as a train pulls in, a commuter watching from behind the yellow line.

Work with the sound off

Designed for no dialogue, the films carry their message in pictures, with the rule in English and Malayalam at the end.

The Kochi Metro elephant mascot flying behind a commuter on a station platform.

Belong to the place

We design the brief before we design the deliverable. Here that meant an animal, and an ornament, that Kerala already loves.

Why would a public transport system need a mascot?

Rules on a sign get read once. A character people like gets watched, and it can correct someone on screen without it feeling like a telling-off. For Kochi Metro the aim was to teach passengers the rules without making it too formal, and a friendly lead character did that.

What does a mascot design project include?

For KMRL: exploration across animals, shapes and objects; sketches of the chosen animal; the final character with its signature details (wings, a magic wand and a caparison); a character manual; and the character animated in the passenger films.

Can you animate the mascot once it's designed?

Yes. We designed the Kochi Metro mascot and produced the 2D films it stars in, so the character was drawn with animation in mind from the first sketch. See our 2D animated video service.

Do you design characters for government and public-sector clients in Kerala?

Yes. Kochi Metro Rail Limited is a public-sector client, and we are based in Kochi. Our branding services cover mascots and brand characters alongside full identities.

For the record

Kochi Metro mascot design: the facts

WowMakers designed the mascot for Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL), the public-sector company that runs the metro in Kochi, Kerala, India, in 2017. The brand character is a flying baby elephant with angel-like wings, a magic wand and a caparison, chosen because elephants are central to Kerala's festivals and worship. It was designed to carry KMRL's passenger-awareness messages without dialogue. WowMakers also produced the 2D animated films it stars in, covering platform safety, closing doors, CCTV and vandalism, and on-board etiquette, with the rules shown in English and Malayalam. Four of the films are public on the WowMakers YouTube channel. WowMakers has been designing since 2011.

Work with us