The IPR Cell under IIC at JIMS, Sector 5, Rohini, organised BrandForge: IPR Branding Challenge on 27 February 2026, a one-of-a-kind competition that placed students at the intersection of creativity, brand strategy, and intellectual property awareness. The event was built around a simple yet powerful premise: give students a product, set the clock, and let their imagination do the rest.
At the heart of the competition was an element of surprise. The product concept was revealed to all twenty-one participants simultaneously at the start of the event, ensuring a level playing field from the very first moment. From that point, each student had exactly one hour to design a complete brand identity using Canva in A4 poster format. The submission had to include a creative brand name, a catchy tagline, an original logo, and a clear brand description articulating the product’s Unique Selling Proposition. In just sixty minutes, participants were expected to think, create, and deliver — the way real-world brand professionals do.
What set BrandForge apart from a typical design contest was its unwavering commitment to originality. The use of artificial intelligence tools or AI-generated content was strictly prohibited throughout the competition. Every idea, every visual, every word on each submission had to come entirely from the participant. In doing so, the event challenged students not just to be creative, but to be authentically so, reminding them that in the world of branding, originality is not optional — it is everything.
The response from the students was both enthusiastic and impressive. All twenty-one participants engaged with the challenge wholeheartedly, producing a diverse range of brand identities that were as unique as the individuals behind them. The variety of concepts, visual styles, and brand narratives on display was a vivid reflection of the creativity and potential that exists within the department. The judging panel, comprising Ms. Silky Madan and Mr. Harsh, evaluated all submissions on the basis of creativity, originality, visual appeal, and clarity of brand positioning. The panel commended the quality of entries and the evident effort that each participant had invested in their work.