Designing the Tengri brand

Winnie Lee, Director of Brand and Art, explains the story and process behind designing the Tengri brand identity

Self-portraiture by Winnie Lee using dingbats

Being friends with Nancy, we discussed her aspirations and vision for Tengri to be more than just a fashion label. I liked the idea of helping to shape Tengri's identity as a fashion brand while helping to improve the lives of nomadic people. We wanted to create a simple, contemporary-looking logo that conveyed the boldness and strength of Mongolian people, the yak and represent knitting and our noble yarns.

The design process began with researching everything Mongolian (inspirational national hero Genghis Khan, Mongolian warriors, bold fabric patterns, herder families tending yak in the harsh landscape and climate).

A selection of photographs by A Yin, a Mongolian anthropologist-photographer

There followed many sketched iterations of the logo incorporating the letter ‘T’ (from the name Tengri) and alluding to the shape of a yak’s head. The continuous line reflects a single strand of yarn and its composition is inspired by the Mongolian ‘ulzii’ pattern, a symbol of longevity and happiness. This final design ticks all the boxes, uniting multiple elements with bold clarity.

Below are some initial sketches made during the design process.

Nancy and I sat down and reviewed the selection of sketches. She selected one that she that she felt encompassed and distilled all the elements of the brand values, to become the Tengri brand identity.

Within a few weeks of finalising the design for the Tengri brand logo, we came across an international competition organized by UnderConsideration. The international Brand New Awards is an annual judged competition that celebrates the best identity work produced around the world each year and we decided to submit it for consideration and see what would happen.

Being such a young company and up against over 400 new brands, we didn't anticipate that the Tengri logo would win! We are super chuff to receive recognition like this from some of the best people in the field of branding at the very start of our journey.

At Tengri, we continue to be inspired by people, remote landscapes and animals. Design inspiration is everywhere. What fuels your passion and inspires you? We'd love to hear your thoughts.