Dishoom
From Bombay with love
What we did
SAINT was asked by Dishoom to help layer new creative into their story for the opening of their Carnaby Street site. We were already fans of theirs so the decision was easy.
Referencing vintage record sleeves from the founders’ own family collections, we created a suite of collateral for the restaurant and bar, turning the backstories of speciality drinks into enticing creative with a tongue in cheek sense of type play.
The concept extends into a full naming system for fictional record sleeves – including Debonair, Chai Phaanch, The Commander and East India Gimlet – applied across menus, sleeves and print collateral.
The result
A full suite of art direction, print and signage that extended Dishoom’s Carnaby Street storytelling into two standout physical objects – a members’ keyring and a gift coin – each with its own piece of invented lore.
What we did
Art Direction
Illustration
Print Design
Product Design
Packaging
Signage
The Dishoom Carnaby Matka
“Sixer Dalo, Free Khao!”, loosely translated as “roll a six, your meal’s on us.” Matka (मटका, pronounced mutka) is a word with many meanings in Hindi. It means pot, and it also refers to the illegal underground lottery that sprang up in Bombay in 1962. We designed a pewter plectrum keyring linked to the game. Members receive one on joining, and showing it to your server earns you a roll of the dice.
The Dishoom gift coin
Minted with the consent of His Majesty’s Treasury (kind of), each gift coin is worth ten pounds sterling to spend at any Dishoom restaurant.
Referencing traditional Indian design heritage to create the crest that adorns each coin, paired with sculpted numerical forms taken from old Bombay advertisements.
