Headline

I Design from the Inside Out | Brand Strategy & Visual Identity Rooted in Culture, Craft & Conviction | Founder – Studio ANANYA | 27 Years & Counting...

About

I named my studio after a word I found in Sri Aurobindo's commentary on one of the Upanishads. ANANYA — in Sanskrit, it means infinite. In Bengali, that which is not the other. Unique. Both meanings have shaped every brief I have taken on in past 27 years. No two pieces of work that have left this studio are the same. Every project is researched, nuanced, and brought into existence entirely on its own terms — as per the client's vision, the cultural context, and the problem that actually needs solving. That is not a process. It is a discipline — and a quiet vow I made to myself when I founded this practice. My education spans Life Sciences, Applied Arts, and three post-graduate diplomas in Indian Aesthetics, Mysticism and Comparative Mythology. I am currently studying Zoroastrian Art and Culture at TISS. This is not incidental to my design practice. It is the practice. The depth of research I bring to a brief — whether for a first-generation founder or a government institution — is what makes the difference between a brand that looks good and one that means something. My work takes many forms — brand nomenclature, identity design and positioning, heritage branding and experiential exhibit design, editorial and curatorial projects, FMCG packaging, signage systems and environmental graphics — each discipline in the service of a single idea. But before any of that work begins, there is always one question. It is one I first discovered through Tony Spaeth, a respected American identity designer. Ever since, I have asked it at the start of every strategic engagement — Beyond the economics, why is this work worth doing? The answer to that question determines everything that follows. If you are ready to go beyond the ordinary — and build something that is truly, definitively yours — I would love for us to have that conversation. 📩 asavari@studioananya.com

Location

Mumbai

AI stack

antigravity

codex

Work experience

Founding Partner at NAICIKI UNIVERSE Pvt. Ltd., Nov 2024 - Present · 1 yr 10 mos, Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Naiciki Universe Pvt. Ltd. is an ideas and experiences company that tells great stories. We work closely with clients to preserve and bring alive mythology, tradition, culture and brand journeys. We call our art, STATE STATE = StoryTelling + Architecture + Technology + Experience Our aim is to use STATE to create Immersive Destination Design for State Tourism Boards in India and abroad. The combined skills of NUPL's founding partners lie in diverse fields of Branding, Advertising, Mythological and Anthropological Research, Museum and Game Design, which we use to create aesthetic experiences that serve to entertain global travelers seeking new adventures.

Design Principal at Studio Ananya, Jan 2000 - Present · 26 yrs 8 mos, Mumbai Metropolitan Region, At Studio ANANYA, no two projects have ever been approached the same way. Every brief is researched, nuanced and brought into existence entirely on its own terms — as per the client's vision, the cultural context, and the problem that actually needs solving. A significant body of this work has been shaped through a long collaboration with Abha Narain Lambah, India's foremost conservation architect — leading to some of India's most precious cultural commissions, from royal courts and heritage palaces across India to UNESCO World Heritage nomination dossiers. Across a rich and varied body of work, my most cherished assignment has been the Framji Dadabhoy Alpaiwalla Museum — India's first Zoroastrian museum, for the Bombay Parsi Panchayat. Working directly with Dr. Pheroza Godrej and Mrs. Firoza Punthakey Mistry, two of the most distinguished custodians of Parsi heritage in India, was both an honour and a milestone. The museum has been embraced by the community with tremendous pride. Other clients have included Godrej & Boyce, Times of India, Condé Nast India, Mahindra & Mahindra, JSW, JP Morgan, Future Group, HRPL — holding company for McDonald's South & West India, NCPA, MMRDA, ASI, Nehru Museum at Anand Bhawan Prayagraj, and CSMVS — for which Studio ANANYA received the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award of Excellence, among many others. The work speaks. If it speaks to you — let's talk.

Consulting Partner at UNITING THE DOTS™, Aug 2021 - Mar 2022 · 8 mos, New Delhi, Delhi, India, Uniting The Dots is a bespoke consulting & implementation agency. UTD helps Consumer-focused Businesses with accelerating their growth. An immersive approach is taken to understand any business and custom strategic inputs along with a range of modular services and turnkey execution are provided as required by the clients. Assistance is also given in initiating new greenfield and brownfield projects. My engagement with UTD is as a consulting partner and mentor to the start ups and SME's that UTD engages with. This will be a role that I would play as a Brand Consultant in addition to heading both Studio ANANYA and HCG.

design executive at DMA, 1999 - 2000 · 1 yr, Handled packaging and branding, as a Design Executive. Worked on Branding for Lakme Salon, Reliance Petrochemical Township in Jamnagar, HLL Credit Cards and packaging of Nihar Oil, Close-up and Pepsodent.

Visualiser at Repro India Ltd., May 1997 - Sep 1999 · 2 yrs 5 mos, Graphic designer in the inhouse design studio for a mainstay printing press. Hands on experience of complicated design processes and all kinds of printing processes. Designed corporate collaterals for clients like, Telco, Onward Technologies, Gulf Oil, IDBI, ICICI, Templeton etc.

Education

PG Diploma, Comparative Mythology, University of Mumbai

Post Graduate Diploma, Mysticism, University of Mumbai