Royal Enfield, the formidable motorcycle brand, has been championing the love for riding in the high plains in India for over a quarter of a century — since Royal Enfield Bullet Club motorcycles climbed to Khardung La, Ladakh, the world’s highest motorable pass in 1997. Acquired by The Eicher Group in 1994, Royal Enfield Motors Limited (previously, Enfield India Limited) has always called out the Himalayas as its ‘Spiritual Home’. The Eicher Group Foundation, as part of Royal Enfield’s CSR mandate, has been working in the Himalayan region for a few years. Their work is aimed at enabling the protection of the fragile ecosystems in the iconic Himalayan landscape, and engage with communities to build resilience and adapt to the climatic and socio-economic changes that are taking place.

Journeying Across the Himalayas is a week-long annual festival (currently in its second year) organised by the Royal Enfield Social Mission (RESM) bringing together travellers and communities offering immersive ways to engage with the Himalayas; it opens a window into the many voices, experiences, and cultures that shape the region.

We were approached by the RESM team to document the very first edition of the festival in print. The mandate was to bring the thrill and excitement of the festival to life while being true to the ‘Himalayan’ spirit. Our editorial design approach was to embrace colours, lights and sounds of the festival. We achieved that with animated typography, colourful spreads, creative layouts and fastidious photo-editing that ensured respectful and accurate representation of festival and the region. Our print strategy was partial to an immersive tactile experience — we used two different paper stocks that allow one to experience stories in new ways as they turn pages. While the cover was minimal, the subtle addition of foiling on the text of the cover pages added vibrancy.

The Paper Planes Agency Team: Nupur Joshi Thanks (Art Direction), Menty Jamir (Photo Editing), Sanjana Menta (Design), Avanti Poyekar (Design).