Beyond the
Spoken and Written.

Bhavya Desai Illustrations studio, with over 11 years of experience, has been working with leading brands to celebrate the unique culture of India through illustrations.

Our work is inspired by the vibrant landscapes, the quaint details, and the everyday beauty of Indian life.

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150+

clients

12782

drawing hours

2039

cups of coffee

Why illustrations?

Don't Just Tell Your Story, Illustrate It!

Stand out with illustrations that infuse Indianness and humor, turning your brand's story into a visual experience.

Services

Services Offered

Product Packaging

Packaging that speaks volumes without saying a word. Quite literally!

How a Feature Wall can change the look of your office by Bhavya Desai Illustrations

Feature Walls & Signage

Custom-designed visuals that spark conversations and uplift your environment.

Personalized Illustration

Celebrate life's milestones with personalized art that captures the essence of your event.

Marketing

Illustrations that capture your brand's story, engage your audience, and drive action.

Merchandise

Unique lifestyle products that spark joy and express your individuality.

Children's Book & Graphic Novel

Original illustrations that breathe life into your narratives, resonating with a broad audience and setting your book apart.

From individuals to enterprises, we bring your stories to life with quirky, character-rich illustrations.

See work

Trusted by Industry Leaders

Be a part of the community that believes in and has experienced the power of our creative solutions.

Amar chita katha by Bhavya Desai Illustrations

Feature wall illustration for DHL Chennai

Lamborghini Customer Gratification campaign

Festive Campaign for Caratlane by Bhavya Desai Illustrations

Illustrator for Harper Collins Publication

Design Illustrated Information content for Children - Client proejct Velammal International School

Chirpy Clients and Journalists

“His artworks are a reflection of Chennai's people. From working on relatable series to finding color inspiration in the spice boxes, to showcasing the chaotic train journey, to showcasing old heritage eateries, we love how this Chennai artist is illustrating and finding art in small little things!”

Gowri S.

Journalist, The Hindu

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Join us behind the scenes for a glimpse into my artistic process, from concept to completion.

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I met Incharge Ilango at the Chennai–Puducherry highway toll gate while enquiring about a 3-month pass for my car.

When I said I don’t travel often and asked if there was a cheaper option, he suddenly straightened up and declared, without being asked, that he is an honest government employee who does his duty sincerely.

But his shifting eyes and light sweat told a different story. I glanced behind him, there was a CCTV camera recording.

Struggle for a pass still continues but Mr. Ilango made it to my series.
Life in Basic Shapes • Silly Indian Faces

5/20 faces
Keeping it simple, keeping it silly :)

Weekend motivation for everyone chasing a better version of themselves than yesterday.

India is made up of people and their distinct feature, posture, clothing, lived experiences, humour and the way they express themselves.. this quietly reveals itself in tiny details.

Life in Basic Shapes • Silly Indian Faces
This series is my attempt at documenting those observations through basic shapes. ✏️
Just reflections of everyday people and life around us:)

20 faces from different parts of India.
Follow along?

Introducing Life in Basic Shapes • Silly Indian Faces.
A series of India’s faces - raw, fleeting, and full of character.
4/20

LECTURE LAKSHMAN, he remembers obscure art theories from 1972 but forgets his students’ names. 🤔

Keeping it simple, keeping it silly :)
Follow along?

On popular demand, we have “Himsagar” featuring along with some of my favourites in the summer slurp 🥭

Mangoes I look forward to eat this summer 🥭

Here’s how we built our studio in two months.

A soldier stood alert, eyes scanning the horizon.. just a few steps away, a couple was lost in their own world, filming a cinematic reel laughing, retaking shots, chasing the perfect frame.

The Central Reserve Police Force on duty from bustling tourist spots and quiet valleys to sharp hairpin bends, the Gondola in Gulmarg, and even the heights of Apharwat Peak. Their presence was constant and.. reassuring.

<<Process>> I love a dense illustration and I cannot lie.
Sharing the process slides from concept to final render, swipe away ⬅️

Which one are you looking forward to munch on this season? 🥭

Every auto has a personality of its own, and these are some of the little things I’ve noticed.
Tell me yours in the comments below, I will add them in the next version :)

Introducing Life in Basic Shapes • Silly Indian Faces.
A series of India’s faces - raw, fleeting, and full of character.
3/20

GEARSHIFT GURPREET, he believes the routes are discovered not planned, usually after the first wrong turn. 🚚

Keeping it simple, keeping it silly :)
Follow along?

Introducing Life in Basic Shapes • Silly Indian Faces.
A series of India’s faces - raw, fleeting, and full of character.

30 days, 20 faces.
Keeping it simple, keeping it silly :)

Follow along?

[Update] I visualised one of the Silly Indian Faces with Adobe to give a 3D-form to my illustration and get the fun details out - like cleft chin and buck teeth.

Looking at these renders, I want to collaborate with a clay sculptor who’d be excited to bring this into the real world.
If you’d like to take this up, feel free to reach out :)
📍Chennai, Pondicherry, Auroville would be ideal for working together.

—
Series: Life in Basic Shapes
Edition 02: Silly Indian Faces 1/20
“RUMOUR RAO”

30 days, 20 faces.
Keeping it simple. Keeping it a little silly.

—
Thank you for all your responses, I appreciate you taking the time out and sharing your work. I found a sculpture artist based out of Chennai and we have started ideating on the project. We will keep sharing updates as we progress.
Thank you ☀️

Series • Life in Basic Shapes
Edition 02: Silly Indian Faces
2/20

Work took me around India since Jan 2026 and I observed people and met incredible souls from Srinagar to Chennai :) Overwhelmed by their energy, I poured my feelings into my work.

The funny, unintentional expressions you notice for a second and remember for much longer?
This series is just that.

20 faces.
Keeping it simple. Keeping it a little silly.

[Small 🎁treat for you, limited time] Purrkins is our black cat and range of our cat meals. He has found a way to identify healthy meats and he loves sharing his discoveries with his cat friends.

Purrkins goes on a series of adventures to source the best of them, and this time, it landed him in a bit of trouble for sneaking into a chicken coop in Namakkal.

—
We at Pets of Paradise have been working on this healthy formulation and packaging for a while, and we’re incredibly excited about how it has turned out.

You all have been there all along supporting me and my team in the process. As a token of thank-you, I want your cats to try out Purrkins and tell us what they think :)
Code: Try20 for 20% off on the order value.

Visit our store and don’t forget to use the coupon code!

New Series • Life in Basic Shapes returns!
Edition 02: Silly Indian Faces 1/20
RUMOUR RAO, says 👋

Work took me around India since Jan 2026 and I observed people and met incredible souls from Srinagar to Chennai :) Overwhelmed by their energy, I poured my feelings into my work.

The funny, unintentional expressions you notice for a second and remember for much longer?
This series is just that.

20 faces.
Keeping it simple. Keeping it a little silly.

I think I missed my annual trip to the magnificent Meenakshi Temple in Madurai last year.
The drive to Madurai usually begins early in the morning.
I reach town by afternoon, check into a hotel close to the temple, and keep everything within walking distance. My visits there are never long, usually no more than two days.
I should go again once summer has passed.

Back to my sunlit studio after a month-long India tour for Life in Basic Shapes.
It was a beautiful month. Everything was thoughtfully planned and smoothly executed, and I got to meet so many wonderful new people along the way.

Back to base also means one thing, there’s more exciting stuff in the works. But before I tell you about that, here’s a little photo recap from the journey.

A Kashmiri boy casually walking his pashmina goat through Betab Valley in Pahalgam.

I don’t know what was more impressive..the shawl, the sales pitch, or the fact that I briefly believed I needed pashmina for Chennai.
Travel has a funny way of doing that to you. You step into a new place, meet people who know exactly how to tell a story around what they sell, and for a moment, their certainty becomes your reality too.

Old sketch of the Amer Stepwell in Jaipur. This trip was extra special, as I bumped into my Surat friends @thetapiproject at the same event I was sent to cover. The Jaipur Lit Fest. I was sent there by Samsung to review their newly launched tablets.
Post the event, we stayed back for a few days and moved around the city. We spent some time at the stepwell before heading back for dinner, where @bijunambiar97 and I feasted on the mutton laal maas at MM Khan.
Absolutely worth it, even if our backsides were on fire the next morning 😅

ADJUST PLEASE | Tote Bag
I’d been waiting on these samples for a while, so it feels really nice to finally have them here.
I got a few made for myself, and a few for people who wanted to carry a piece of my work with them too.

Planning to make a small limited batch available around mid-April.

I’ve been using mine for coffee shop days, visits to friends’ places, and general running around. It’s big enough to carry my whole setup, which basically makes it my portable dookhan.

Some essentials that I have started carrying with me where ever I go.
Minister white shirt, madras watch company and a cat stuck in a hanger lapel pin, this combo has traveled with me everywhere I went this month.

When I was young, every holiday meant going to my grandparents’ house in Coonoor. Their house was in Bandishola, on a hill that almost touched the sky.
We travelled by the Blue Mountain Express from Chennai at night. By morning, we reached Mettupalayam, ready to take on the mountains.
On the way, we stopped at Burliar for tea. I didn’t drink tea back then, but it always smelled delicious.

The car ride up was full of twists and turns. Some people felt dizzy, so we carried lemons. I wasn’t sure if they worked, but we sucked on them anyway!
There was no internet, and our phones were simple button phones, hardly used for entertainment. So it was just us and the mountains.
We looked out of the window and guessed tree names. I used to know so many!
The air became cooler as we went higher, and everything looked green and fresh. By the time we reached my grandparents’ house, I was all charged up for the usual routine there.
It was a simple, happy ritual that I looked forward to every holiday.

Eid Mubarak… now please don’t touch my plate.
[EidMubarak, EidAlFitr2026, Eid2026, EidMubarak2026, HappyEid, EidVibes, EidCelebration, PawsAndPurrs, PetLovers]

Like a crowded bus that keeps moving through sheer collective weight and shared direction, a team aligned by one purpose finds its way forward, no matter the bumps along the way.

I’ve seen wedding baraats before, and even experienced one too, but the one I attended last week felt less like a wedding procession and more like the whole city had poured onto the street.

The scale of it was unbelievable. Standing by the side, I watched the dhols shake everything nearby, money flying through the air, and the poor street dogs at the corner looking utterly confused, as if they were trying to make sense of human behaviour.

In Surat, celebration often feels tied to being seen. There is a certain pride in scale, glamour, and making sure the world notices. So much of what people do comes from how they wish to be remembered.
Having travelled here often, I know there is another, quieter side to the city too. But every now and then, I must admit, I enjoy being part of the glamour 😬

A quick sketch on the flight back to Chennai.

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Beyond the Spoken and Written.