No Chicken Tikka
This is a brand identity for a contemporary Indian restaurant based in New Jersey that I worked on remotely from India as a freelancer. I worked directly with founder Sidharth Gowda to conceive a nostalgic, humorous, and unique visual language across packaging, social media, and web presence.
Web design inspired by irreverent old Bollywood.
Main logo.
Illustrated stickers that would be a proud addition to any laptop, fridge, or face.
Main brand.
A trendy tote with the Devanagari version of the logo.
The NCT menu.
Found Sid Gowda putting up flyers locally.
A food reviewer talks about his experience with NCT.
Indian truck drivers take immense pride in their vehicles, and the subculture of beautifully expressive trucks inspired our color palette and typography.
I looked to vintage Bollywood posters for illustration style referencing— trying to draw on feelings of seduction, raunchiness, rebellion.
Rekha on the cover of Stardust Magazine.
Early attempt at illustrating NCT's Butter Garlic Shrimp. Trying to capture the messy movement of a kitchen in demand.
A close-to-final illustration of the shrimp, prioritizing recognizability and an inviting "delicious" feeling over a feeling of movement.
Early typography ideas: thinking vintage Bollywood.
Indian gesture for something being "first-class" or simply perfect.
Illustrations in use on stickers; "Mast ekdum" is used to say "Totally cool".
In this page from our final brand guide, this simple yet bold type style sheet matches Sid's rebellious vision.