Vernacular Branding

Reading Identity through Design and Visibility


Contributors:
A Collective Effort

The Vernacular Branding project grew through many voices, images, and perspectives.

In September 2025, we opened an Open Call for Contributions, inviting artists, designers, and photographers to share works that reflect India’s visual and cultural identity.

Over twenty days, we received submissions from across the country — from homes, studios, and streets — each offering a fragment of how design lives in everyday life.

This book is built on those fragments.
To every contributor — thank you for helping us see India anew.

Contributions Featured in the Book

Rock-cut Art and Sculptures of Tripura
Dr. Biswadip Nandi — Agartala

Paintings Depicting Rural Maharashtra
Dattatraya Padekar — Nagpur

Streetscape Photographs
Dr. Abida Choudhury — Pune

Façade and Storefront Photographs
Vinay Shekhar — Bangalore

Mandala Lippan Art
Riddhi Jamwal — Punjab

Lippan Art
Samishka Jawale — Dubai

Black & White Drawings
The Ravi Paranjpe Studio — Pune

Saree and Jewellery Compositions
Vedanti Rakhade — Dubai

Poppins Devanagari Branding
Tanmayee Sachin Ingale & Atul Dawkhar

Visual Identity of एra Architects
Identity Redesign: OPE Innovation Lab — Mumbai
Chapter Text: Ankit Savla — Mumbai

Façade Design Renderings
एra Architects — Vadodara

Map of India, Shaheen Bagh
Ita Mehrotra — Mumbai

Wet Blue Tarpaulin (Diploma Film)
Direction: Anunay Barbhuiya — Mumbai
Poster Design: Kriti Shukla — Viana do Castelo, Portugal
Handwritten Film Title: J. K. Barbhuiya — Silchar

RaniPink Studio Blouse Designs
Indrani Royan — Bangalore

Painting with Dalit Iconography
Savindra (Savi) Sawarkar — Delhi
Featuring an excerpt by Parul Dave Mukherji (from Eyes Re-Cast, 2008)

Indo-French Conversations (Workshop Archive)
Ranjan Joshi & students of the Empire Institute of Learning (E.I.O.L.) — Mumbai

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To everyone who shared their work, lent their personal stories, or offered vital encouragement along the way—thank you.
Your contributions have shaped the foundation of Vernacular Branding and remain integral to its continuing journey.

Joining the Collective Directory

This digital directory acts as a living canvas, reflecting a project that continues to grow with every street documentation, field snapshot, and collaborative dialogue. We want to ensure that every voice, practitioner, and researcher who actively expands this discourse is beautifully recognized.

Are You Part of the Network?

If your design research, local documentation, or creative work interfaces with the Vernacular Branding project—
Or, if you would like to officially submit your profile for indexing alongside our ongoing field research, we invite you to connect with us.
Let’s ensure your contribution is accurately represented on our shared digital map, “The Collective Canvas.”

Living Directory 05 / Association Map

The Collective Canvas

A collective directory of authors, contributors, buyers, and peers who have interacted with this archive.

Place yourself in the collective canvas