Brands
Weekend Unwind with: Madchatter Brand Solutions founder Rachna Baruah
Mumbai: With another weekend upon us, it is time to unwind with the latest Q&A edition of Indiantelevision.com’s Weekend Unwind—a series of informal chats that peek into the minds of business executives through a fun lens in an attempt to get to know the person behind the title a little better.
In this week’s session, we have Madchatter Brand Solutions founder Rachna Baruah.
Baruah is a seasoned PR specialist with close to a decade of
experience in the field of communications. She has earned a reputation for her remarkable success in brand building and media sustainability. Baruah’s journey in the world of entrepreneurship began at the young age of 23, and
she has been dedicated to shaping her company, Madchatter Brand Solutions, into one of India’s most reliable integrated communication agencies.
An alumna of Christ University, Bangalore, Rachna’s educational background has provided a solid foundation for her career in public relations and communications.
Under her leadership, Madchatter Brand Solutions has rapidly gained prominence in the industry, thanks to her strategic insights and innovative approach to Public Relations. Her company is on a mission to become the go-to partner for emerging businesses across sectors. Rachna is known for her commitment to breaking down barriers and biases, particularly for women in the workplace, and providing a platform where women can thrive and feel empowered in their careers.
Beyond her professional life, Baruah is a passionate traveler who strongly advocates for individual responsibility in environmental conservation.
So, without further ado, here it goes…
1. Your mantra for life
As cliched as it can get, I believe in living and letting the world live. I don’t like unnecessary hang ups and prefer to live simply with no frills.
2. A book you are currently reading or plan to read
I’m currently actively reading “What you cannot know by Marcus Du Sautoy” while just about finishing up “Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology” by Chris Miller as prep work for one of our clients. The former book is an exploration of what we know while continuously pushing and contradicting the notions that we know to believe in. It’s a mind bender that I would recommend to others. Chip War on the other hand is an unputdownable roadmap of how semiconductors have shaped our world and how a minute yet ubiquotous item will hold the reins of power in the future.
3. Your fitness mantra, especially during the pandemic
In all honesty, fitness took a backseat during the pandemic for me, but I’m steadily getting back into the zone. My go-to is typically functional training and mobility exercises for a holistic impact on my body and mind. I have seen marked link in myself between physical activity and subsequent mental health and it’s something I swear by to anybody who’s feeling a bout of anxiety, stress and dullness.
4. Your comfort food
Being an Assamese, my go-to meal is a Aloo Pitika, Kaaji Nemu with Dal-Chawal after long periods of travel or being outdoors.
5. A quote or philosophy that keeps you going when the chips are down –
I think it’s pertinent to understand that life’s journey isn’t linear. Time is, but our journeys aren’t. One cannot always have consistent positive or negative developments, rather experiences work in a very convoluted manner. It’s important to hold your centre strong and let yourself chart a course that works most conducively for you.
6. Your guilty pleasure
To watch mindless reality shows like Selling Sunset every once in a while to switch off your brain cells.
7. The last time you tried something new
I tried Oyster for the first time a few days ago and “interesting” might be an understatement.
8. A life lesson you learned the hard way
Between honesty and sycophancy, the latter comes first.
9. What gets you excited about life?
The prospect of doing bigger and better things, making meaningful relationships on the way and travelling to see the world.
10. What’s on top of your bucket list?
I’d like my Weekend Unwind to extend to several weekend unwinds in a nondescript town in Italy.
12. If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?
That good things take time, so stay on the course and don’t doubt your potential.
13. One thing you would most like to change about the world
To infuse more kindness among people so that’s the first lens people see the world with.
14. An activity that keeps you motivated and charged during tough times
It’s good to take a pause and introspect when tough times happen; a lot of times these are the moments of clarity which bring the next wave of success. I tend to take some downtime and be by myself during tough times to rebuild and align myself.
15. What lifts your spirits when life gets you down?
An unassuming getaway from the city to change the scenery and introspect.
16. Your go-to stress buster —
My dogs Guntoo and Chumbak
Brands
Godrej clarifies ‘GI’ identifier after logo similarity debate
Says GI is not a logo, will not replace Godrej signature across products.
MUMBAI: In a branding storm where shapes did the talking, Godrej is now spelling things out. Godrej Industries Group (GIG) has issued a clarification on its newly introduced ‘GI’ identifier, addressing questions around its purpose and design following a wave of online criticism. At the centre of the debate were two concerns: whether the new mark replaces the long-standing Godrej logo, and whether its geometric design mirrors other corporate identities.
The company has drawn a clear line. The Godrej signature logo, it said, remains unchanged and continues to be the sole logo across all consumer-facing products and services. The ‘GI’ mark, by contrast, is not a logo but a corporate group identifier intended for use alongside the Godrej signature or company name, and aimed at stakeholders such as investors, media and talent rather than consumers.
The need for such a distinction stems from the 2024 restructuring of the broader Godrej Group into two separate business entities. With both continuing to operate under the same Godrej name and signature, the identifier is positioned as a way to differentiate the Godrej Industries Group at a corporate level.
The rollout, however, triggered a broader conversation on design originality. Critics pointed to similarities between the GI mark’s geometric composition and logos used by companies globally, raising questions about distinctiveness.
Responding to this, GIG said its intellectual property and legal review found that such overlaps are common in minimalist, geometry-led design systems. Basic forms such as circles and rectangles appear across dozens of brand identities worldwide, the company noted.
It added that the identifier emerged from an extensive design process and was chosen for its simplicity, allowing it to sit alongside the Godrej signature without competing visually. While acknowledging that elemental shapes may appear less distinctive in isolation, the group emphasised that the mark is part of a broader identity system that includes a custom typeface, sonic branding and other proprietary elements.
Following legal and ethical assessments, the company said it found no impediment to using the identifier, reiterating that the GI mark is a corporate tool not a consumer-facing symbol.
In short, the logo isn’t changing but the conversation around it certainly has.
