Graphic designer Rushil Bhatnagar discovered website design in the twelfth grade. Thoroughly fascinated by how things could be moved around and the purpose that came with website design, Rushil decided he wanted to excel in the field and eventually go to design school. Then, in the first year of design school, he finally learnt about different tools used in design and it felt like a wonderland altogether to him. Currently based out of Mumbai, the designer is focused on building his independent practice with Branding, Packaging, Art Direction and Motion. We’re in conversation with him about his practice, his recent collaboration with Burma Burma Pantry and more.
What is it that your practice stands for?
For me, the practice is about telling a story and adding your own magic to it. I feel everyone has a story to tell at any point of the day. It is what binds all of us together. It can happen via any creative outlet. It can be a still image, a moving image, packaging or even a music video, and that’s what is so amazing about practising and pursuing design for me.
What inspires your work in the present moment?
My personal work/exploration revolves a lot around nature. Currently, I am really enjoying playing around with flora and fauna and going back to doodling and writing. All of it really inspires me in a way while working on commissioned projects and helps me to look at things in multiple ways.
My personal work/exploration revolves a lot around nature. Currently, I am really enjoying playing around with flora and fauna and going back to doodling and writing. All of it really inspires me in a way while working on commissioned projects and helps me to look at things in multiple ways.
What has been one of your most challenging projects till date? Take us through your creative process.
It has to be the music video for Prateek Kuhad that I worked on with one of my favourite directors, Reema Sengupta! All of us had conversations everyday during the duration of the project that involved how we could depict romance, intimacy and every emotion behind the lyrics, through movement. We started building a dreamworld with just a team of two VFX artists that included Sourya Sen.
Since the visual treatment was based on collage photo treatment, the initial stages saw all of the highlighting and building the story through various landscapes, while understanding the meaning of the lyrics. Then, Reema’s amazing team took those frames as references to be shot in real life. From selecting the right camera lens that could accommodate each hand movement on the screen, and finally all of it coming together in the music video, it was nothing like a usual music video project for any of us.
How did the collaboration with Burma Burma come about?
It started in early February of 2021 where I had conversations with Ishu from Burma Burma on how the team had been working on a range of condiments and spices for about a few years. I loved the story behind how the restaurant came to be. It was so interesting to see the recipes from Burma being open to everyone across India in the form of these nine condiments and spices, and I wanted to contribute to it immediately.
Ankit and Ishu, both entrusted me with the conceptualisation and design of the Burma Burma Pantry and were super helpful during every stage of the design process. This led us to open conversations with chefs too about what we really want to say and achieve through this design exercise. After the Packaging Design, we wanted to capture the essence of the story via images. Swaraj Sriwastav and Ishita Rajesh have been my favourite collaborators! They were kind enough to jump on the project and capture all the products through different stills.
What was the starting point for the Burma Burma packaging?
It started with a lot of research into the history of Burma and what the restaurant has been upto since the start. From understanding and learning about a different culture, food and the traditions behind it, to hearing stories of Burma via Ankit and his team, I went over the architecture styles, street foods, what inspired people, especially the patterns that were spotted on different dresses as well as ornamentation at temples.
Take us through your inspiration for this particular project?
Through our conversations, we wanted to showcase the spirit of Burma and also represent it while making these products accessible for everyone in India. More than just a spice box, this could become a collectible and further a collectible range of nine spices and condiments. Each label could give an ode and a future forward approach to the most interesting art form from Burma called Lacquerware. Lacquerware are different daily objects decoratively covered with different decorative techniques. These decorative techniques are used to achieve symbols, motifs and depict stories, while offering a piece of heritage from Bagan. Rooted in culture, they could now sit at everyone’s shelves with fresh offerings from Burma Burma Restaurant.
Finally, what's coming up in the new year?
I am very excited about this year! I have been working on projects that range from Branding for an artisanal luxury brand to Food Packaging for a restaurant. There are a few collaborations with musicians that I am looking forward to towards mid year too. On the personal front, I am eager to debut my first fashion collection around the end of this year, hopefully!
Text Unnati Saini
Date 09-02-2022