Selected portfolio Brand systems Experience design

Akshatha Nagendra

In the end, people carry emotions, memories, and experiences with them, not just the object itself.

Your approach to design as a people-first, functional system, rather than something driven purely by aesthetics, is what immediately drew me to AKFD. I deeply admire the thought and values behind the way you define successful design: something that works beautifully for the people experiencing it.

Selected work

01Founder

Unsalted

A premium baked-goods world: naming, identity, packaging, photography, material choices, and the rituals around gifting.

Full brand world
Artisan gingerbread and sugar cookies on a clay tray — Unsalted craft direction
02Brand consultant

Anjya

Quiet luxury for a contemporary Indian fashion label: mark, voice, stamp, and application system.

Identity system
Anjya brand identity — logo on dark silk
03Visual direction

GuzzUp

A loud, culturally specific energy drink direction built from street-food color, motion, and shelf impact.

Identity proposal
GuzzUp Street Wala Zing — Mirch Laga Kar promotional poster
04Head of design

The Third Perspective

A curatorial platform for objects, spaces, and visual ideas that sit outside the mainstream.

Brand & editorial
The Third Perspective brand book — Designed for real-world problems. Delivered with depth.

Visual archive

Selected references in motion

01

Ritual Rooms

Interior mood / atmosphere
Moorish arched dining room with hanging lanterns and carved niche details
02

Sugar Objects

Food styling / tactility
Cream-frosted cake with translucent blue blown-sugar shards
03

Wisteria Hour

Event / ritual / staging
Woman behind a dessert table under hanging white wisteria installations
04

Gilded Cones

Detail / material / craft
Pale blush cake with miniature ice cream cone motifs and gold leaf flecks
05

Lantern Lines

Pattern / shadow / warmth
Ornate brass lantern casting lace-like patterns across a Mughal-arched room
06

Jellyfish Palazzo

Light / spectacle / scale
Baroque gallery room with floating jellyfish-like light installations
07

Green Inhale

Space / texture / foliage
Lush urban garden courtyard with a grey daybed surrounded by dense climbing vines
08

Crimson Still

Painting / composition / depth
Oil painting of red roses in a jug alongside pomegranates and grapes on a dark ground
09

Interior Light

Close study / colour
Close-up painting of a kiwi cross-section revealing luminous green flesh
10

Gold Unfurling

Sculpture / material / surface
Forest-green velvet cake with a sweeping gold leaf panel and fresh red berries
11

Printed Energy

Color system / graphic rhythm
Corner gallery of bold Colombian screen-print posters in vivid primary colors
12

Mavinkayi

Typography / cultural signal
Editorial poster of green mangoes with Kannada script typography
13

Chai Always

Ritual / place / warmth
Styled poster of a brass chai kettle and glass tumblers at Tapri Jaipur
14

Sugar Snow

Seasonal / texture / craft
Gingerbread figures and snowflakes dusted with powdered sugar on a clay tray
15

Moon Memory

Illustration / indigo / bloom
Digital illustration of a serene moon-face amid lilies and stars on deep indigo
16

Dark Fruit

Painting / drama / detail
Painting of a halved blood orange cross-section against a deep black background
17

Fully Dressed

Gift / occasion / abundance
Abundant festive gift basket with sparkling wine, sweets, ribbons and fairy lights
18

Bottled Season

Packaging / occasion / warmth
A glass bottle of mulled wine with a snowflake motif beside a wine glass and orange slices
19

Imagined Kitchen

Space / atmosphere / vision
Moody kitchen with dark cabinetry, warm under-shelf lighting and rattan bar stools
20

Before the Bouquet

Flora / light / field
Dense field of stargazer lilies in bloom with a fan palm trunk blurred behind
21

Jaipur Hour

Street / dusk / culture
Jaipur market at dusk — a vendor holds plastic cups against a purple-gold sky
22

Mural Alcove

Interior / craft / shadow
Dark intimate alcove with hand-painted Rajasthani murals and carved cane seating
23

Night Palace

Light / scale / spectacle
Illuminated Rajasthani palace facade at night with a full moon rising behind
24

Golden Threshold

Architecture / light / transition
Golden sunlight streaming through a Mughal arched doorway with sheer curtains
25

Art Corner

Street / graphic / night
Vivid red street-art print of a surreal mushroom tree at a night art market
26

Leaf Light

Botanical / surface / shadow
Single tropical leaf backlit by raking sunlight against a warm terracotta wall
27

Material Memory

Surface / object / detail
Acrylic painting of oversized magenta tulips on a warm coral ground
28

Small Batch

Packaging / craft / brand
Three artisan granola packages — Unsalted by Maia in kraft and glass
29

Rattan Sanctuary

Interior / material / ease
Rattan and wicker living room with warm afternoon light filtering through sheer curtains
30

Illustrated Hours

Drawing / still / composition
Illustrated still-life composition with botanicals and everyday objects
31

Gifting Table

Brand / occasion / warmth
Styled gifting table with curated products, ribbons and seasonal foliage
32

Red Silk

Portrait / culture / colour
Portrait in red silk — cultural dress and colour
33

Light on Stone

Place / travel / texture
Travel photograph — light on stone architecture
34

The Open Table

Place / warmth / belonging
A shared table moment — place, warmth and belonging
35

In the Field

Space / travel / light
Travel photograph — open space and natural light
36

Looking Up

Architecture / wonder / scale
Looking up at architecture — scale and wonder

I care about the full encounter: the object, the surface, the way it is held, the memory it leaves behind, and whether every part of the experience behaves with intention. My work sits between visual direction and functional systems, where feeling and usability have to support each other.

Brand systemsIdentity, packaging, voice, visual rules, and applications that hold together across touchpoints.
Experience thinkingDesign decisions shaped around how a person moves through, receives, remembers, or shares the work.
Visual researchCurated references, material studies, color cues, and cultural signals translated into usable direction.