Rushil Bhatnagar

Brand Identity and Design for Né Nepal [ 1 / 3 ] Three years into the making and I am finally excited to share pieces of a project that is close to my heart! Né Nepal is a cultural design studio, rooted in Nepali culture championing the rich traditional handicrafts and skills of Nepali artisans existing since years. In 2018, Ishu & Tulja set out on a journey to put the craftsmanship from Nepal at the forefront while focusing on the environmental impact of each product. Since then, the brand has partnered with 140 artisans to create handcrafted pieces and transport a piece of Nepal, all over the world. In 2021, Ishu & Tulja were looking for a rebrand that would align with celebrating the beauty of Himalayan traditions and would serve as an insight into the culture of Nepal. This involved a refreshed approach towards brand design, photography, and communication. It led me on a journey to discover more about a country that is commonly known for peace retreats, treks and mountains. As a global brand, the aim was to focus back on our values and represent our identity. The kind nature of people, the richness in tradition, and more importantly, the abundance of craft from multiple regions. The research with Shweta indicated motifs and symbols present from ancient times which required a refresh in interpretation. A similar philosophy that is seen across jewellery, tableware, and a wide range of wellness products. Extremely grateful for the patience, @ishusd and @tuljakedia have had during this project and the belief in the revamp of the brand. Without their support, this was incomplete!Everyday is an insight into Nepal, and a must read too if you aren’t familiar with the place. Very excited to share this project here! Credits : Studio : @naughtynaughty.world Brand Identity & Design : Rushil Bhatnagar Illustration : Shweta Mulekar ( @shwetamulekar ) Brand Principal Story : Kimberly Anthony ( @kimberlyjaneanthoney ) #rebranding #logo #graphicdesign #identitydesign #brandidentity #nenepal #jewellery #tableware #wellness #photography #relaunch #logomark #monogram

A Forbidden Cocktail Menu for @passcodeonly Pass Code Only has been evolving their craft and love for cocktails for more than a decade. Ranked at 228 amongst the @top500bars in the world, PCO aims to channelise the alluring nature of the speakeasy culture with a celebratory menu titled “ The Forbidden “ that introduces 12 cocktails crafted with unconventional ingredients banned in different parts around the world such as apple, coconut, bubble gum and the highly debated MSG! In India, paintings have been the most powerful medium to tell kids about mythology and adults about wisdom. During our research, it led us to discover the importance of Indian Miniature Paintings from 999 AD! We found that war, laughter, community gatherings and physical intimacy are the most common themes explored. They pull you close and bring you into a world that is simply notorious and hypnotic. We knew that a Forbidden Royal Mela ( Forbidden Village Fair ) would be the best way to celebrate the craft at PCO. A village fair carries excitement at each spotting. Each guest in the painting is on a quest to discover a new ingredient. On the left, there’s our tribute to the iconic scene in DDLJ set in a poppy field. There’s an Indian version of popeye in a traditional attire, consuming chyawanprash and a boomar bubble gum hot air balloon! A village fair is made up of chaotic stories, yet you leave the fair with a souvenir and a happy face. We feel bars are the same. This is incomplete without the collaborative support and vision of @sheet.dila and @ananditaseth who sat with patience to hear our wild ideas. And to the most naughty team @shwetamulekar @deeptikapadia , who were the constant pillars at each step! Credits Studio : @naughtynaughty.world Creative Direction & Design : Rushil Bhatnagar Illustrator : Shweta Mulekar ( @shwetamulekar ) Additional Design & Guidance : Deepti Kapadia ( @deepti.kapadiaa ) Concept : @passcodeonly #pco #passcodeonly #menudesign #mixology #illustration #AIGADesign #graphicdesign #characters #indianpaintings #adobe #eyeondesign #delhi #barsindelhi #adobephotoshop

Packaging Design for Burma Burma Restaurant ( @burmaburmaindia ) : Artisanal Ice Creams Burma Burma Restaurant, India now embarks on a journey with a new range of Artisanal Ice Creams! With people’s favorite flavours, the experimentation goes beyond the kitchen to innovate that is infused with nostalgia. In our early brainstorming sessions, we knew that the problem to solve, was the perception of how Artisanal Ice creams are supposed to look in the aisle. Our vision for the packaging was to evoke the feeling of Vintage Parlors, Ice Cream trucks, bringing back the joy of eating from a tub. I’ve been fortunate enough to witness the dedication that Burma Burma team has towards everything they put their heart to. This would’ve been impossible without the team that made these ice creams possible and their support at every step towards building such a fun product. Swipe through images of how these Ice Creams come to life at restaurant! Shot so incredibly by @assadajd @soma_dot And if you haven’t had a chance to check them out, order them for post dinner! Burma Burma’s Artisanal Ice Cream is now available at all outlets across in India. More to follow! Packaging & Design : Naughty Naughty Photographer : Assad Dadan ( @assadajd ) Set, Concept, Product & Food Styling : Ishita Patel ( @soma_dot ) Photographer Assistant : Shrey Arora Retouching : Bassant ( @bassant_a__ ) All stars team : @chef_ansab @ishusd @ankit_v_gupta @ssahilmohan @kaajjuuu #packagingdesign #packaging #icecreampackaging #burmaburma #burmesecuisine #packagingideas #bestofpackaging #branding #dieline #worldbranddesign #packagingoftheworld

Artwork Design for @kamakshikhannamusic @thedirtyjays ( insanely talented duo of @thejjsticks @studirt ) latest track - Rooh 🪩 When I first heard the track it took me back to the bumpy disco grooves in 80’s and 90’s. If you close your eyes, listen to this and forget the groove, the lyrics take you on a journey on finding your soul. We all are in that pursuit every now and then! The long conversations about dreams and ambitions slowly become small talk, and suddenly you don’t recognise yourself in any of it. For the artwork, I turned to vinyl covers, cassettes of all disco tracks, how they’d have side information about the track and the type would also feel super bouncy! Swipe to see some fun explorations ❤️ Credits Produced, Composed & Performed by @thedirtyjays and @kamakshikhannamusic Lyrics by @kamakshikhannamusic and @rajanbatra13 Shot by @starvingartistfilms Design by @naughtynaughty.world Top Leader @natashamahtani @originmgmt.in #artwork #spotify #applemusic #branding #musicartwork

Branding, Strategy and Packaging for @drinkmetercoffee ☕️ Filter coffee is nothing short of a tradition. You get to wear a badge of honour if the cup holds true to its flavour! When the coffee is being prepared, the brew is taken far from the cup to a davara, a shallow bowl which allows you to sip it easily. The ritual involves pouring the coffee from the cup to this bowl back and forth, almost a meter away, for this gorgeous froth. With Meter Coffee, we wanted the brand to address how we look at filter coffee and not keep it just reduced to Udupi’s. We collaborated on strategy, positioning and writing with the talented @rinisinghi who brought her experience on food, beverage and culture to solve this. Her research and market analysis helped us land on the insight that filter coffee hasn’t been played around with much intensity and intent. It either became a sort of compensation on menus or was a tradition that no one wanted to mess with. Meter Coffee looks to bringing out the inherent characteristics of the coffee itself. A perspective that allows you to enjoy cinnamon, malt, hazelnut and so much more. Coffee that is for everyone in the household. We looked into honoring the process through organic and hand-drawn identity and illustration language, which led our designer @tia.cbey to use a permanent marker, marker ink and a stack of printer paper to bring it to life. She wanted to explore analog mediums with mixed-media rather than a geometric approach which brought more warmth and familiarity. For the design language, our strategy gave way to a series of Illustrations that leaned into moments, objects and experiences we have either grown up with or are experienced everyday. We wanted them to be easy to remember and bring more joy to coffee. For that we definitely had a filter “ Not to keep coffee boring “ As simple as the story of a crow drinking water from a cup. The team of @nishtha__p and @shravanisalvii came at different stages of the brand building process and helped extend the universe of meter coffee on so many fun mediums that are highlighted here! ❤️ #branding #coffee #illustrations #coffeepackaging #brandstrategy

Packaging Design for @drinkmetercoffee : South Indian Filter Coffee that packs a punch ☕️ This goes back to 2024 when @sahanasomewhere had a full circle moment in her life. Growing up around coffee ( courtesy of her native place ), packing coffees for her neighbours ( courtesy of her sweet mom ) to eventually learning the madness behind a cup, she had it all. Meter Coffee is homecoming for Sahana to cherish our tradition of drinking filter coffee with a new perspective. As a long lasting tradition across India, filter coffee hasn’t been played with much and Meter Coffee looks toward flavours to challenge that through ingredients that surrounds us, be it cinnamon, malt, hazelnut and many more to come. Designed for everyday brewing and made possible with farms in the regions of Karnataka and Kerala ❤️ Our packaging stands on a centre illustration that feels like a moment you’d spot while drinking your own coffee. Paired with patterns and colors inspired spotted across Chennai, Sahana’s hometown. A system design is seen at bottom for easy to read information with a simple goal of de-cluttering the jargon that can come with coffee! Coffee is simple and even better when looked at with a lens that feels close to home. That was the belief all of us had with Sahana and I’m proud to share that now you can order yours! More on this soon! Credits : Studio : @naughtynaughty.world Brand Strategist & Writer : @rinisinghi Brand Identity and Illustration : @tia.cbey Packaging Design : @rushilbhatnagar @tia.cbey Project Manager : @v1dhisharma @gehna_sud Photography & Styling : @mithilakatiyar 🙌 [ branding, packaging, packaging design, coffee packaging, coffee, filter coffee, Indian coffee ]

PCO’s The Forbidden Menu has been featured by the team at The World’s 50 Best in their round-up of 8 Outstanding Cocktail Menus From Around the World…and yes, we’re still blushing. From contraband ingredients to canvas-paper storytelling, this menu was built to be decoded, questioned, and sipped slowly! DM us for the code. And come sip on The Forbidden.

I’ve realised I talk with my hands a lot and @futuresfriends hosted by @secondthought.fyi brought that out live in Bandra, Mumbai! This format made me think and dive into what’s happening in the world and I presented three trends that I absolutely am hooked onto ❤️ But beyond presenting this to an early morning, highly caffeinated audience, I also met the remaining speakers who are so passionate and creative that it made me think more and more about how everyone is navigating this overstimulated world. A big thank you to the most supportive friends @komalmirani_ and Gayatri Sapru who are bringing different worlds together 🪩

We are on @creativeboom again!! and this time it’s for our second cocktail menu! In 2025, we collaborated with @burmaburmaindia team to develop a zero proof ( spirit free ) cocktail menu with eight cocktails paired with some lovely bar bites. The menu launched at palladium mall is now live across all Burma Burma outlets! I had the chance to answer questions with @abbey_bamford_ which brought back memories of how we even conceptualised the design! Our goal has always been how to share design and experience done in India on a global scale. This keeps us motivated and on our toes to always do better ❤️ Grateful for the trust by @ankit_v_gupta @ishusd @ssahilmohan @kaajjuuu throughout the years and for taking risks always. And a big cheer for the real stars our team without whom none of this is ever possible - @tia.cbey @nishtha__p @gehna_sud Swipe through a deep dive and unfiltered answers 🍸 ✍️ beautifully by @abbey_bamford_ #cocktailmenu #creativeboom #graphicdesign #cocktailbook #zine

I just said to Matt, losing would suck and winning would be really scary. It’s really, really scary. We’re just really two young guys who were fortunate enough to be involved with a lot of great people whom it’s incumbent upon us, there’s no way we’re doing this in less than twenty seconds, upon whom it’s incumbent of us to thank. Gus Van Sant, for brilliant direction. Robin Williams, who delivered such great lines.

VFX for Nirvana by Boat ft. @ranveersingh  [3/3] Film 3 of 3: Battery Life 
I had the chance to work on a really fun set of ad films for @boat.nirvana , created by @catnipculture & @talentedagency . This film depicts the long-lasting battery life of the TWS earbuds that allows days to turn into nights but the music never stops.

The entire film was shot against a blue screen, so it was a big challenge to make every single environment in post, and blend everything together with some stylised compositing. I used CGI elements and a lot of 2D assets to make this come to life. It was also really fun to take design elements from @rushilbhatnagar , my partner in crime from my college days, and develop them further for the final outcome! It was a really fast paced and fun project, and I absolutely loved the people I worked with, and I think that befriending them was my true gain out of this project! The best post producers @agastya_bhatia , @shreyantito , and the coolest director @reemsen ! Director - @reemsen Director Of Photography - @harshviro Post Producer: @shreyantito Post supervisor: @agastya_bhatia Offline Editor: @mehran.mxf Grading Artist: @aviavinashshukla Original Track: Hai Rama Original Composition: @arrahman Remix: @achintstagram Music Supervisor: Night Song Records Sound design: Jeremy Fonseca Design: @rushilbhatnagar VFX & Motion Graphics: @jishnuchatterjee / @stray.motion Roto: Arun (Picture Post) #ranveersingh #vfx #boat #commercial #motiongraphics #motiondesign #straymotion

I asked @rushilbhatnagar who he thinks is really pushing culture forward right now. ☎️🫷 His list was wild in the best way—from @gabrielomoses to @thebigfatminimalist ; a set of references that somehow perfectly add up to the notorious joy you see in his work (and @naughtynaughty.world ’s universe at large). 🌐🎱 It’s a mix that feels instinctive, clever, and just a little unhinged in all the right ways. 🪡💥 🔗 Full conversation on Substack (link in bio). [new media, culture, Substack, design, Dior, mixed media]