Being Bridge Bharat

The Dot, The Origin — where everything begins.

Like most new businesses, we have pivoted time and again in the last two years- from positioning to collection mixes to distribution channels. However, one thing has remained constant throughout — our north star — taking India’s 3000-year-old heritage art to the world. Today, we live by this vision every day.

So, when it came to translating this vision into a visual identity — we went back to our first principles. Why do we exist? Why are we uniquely positioned to do this? What do we fiercely stand for? Who constitutes the ‘we’?

The Cosmos — The Creator — The Divine

When one is creating a brand immersed in fine artistry, history, and culture, it is crucial to sensitize the ecosystem to the ‘human-ness’ of this world. For us, this has always been the power of the artists- the creators- that we represent. Naturally, this is where we also began while constructing our identity.

‘The very being of Bridge Bharat lies with our artists.’

A highly intuitive being — a powerhouse of creativity and energy

Delving a little deeper into what makes our artists- we identified the senses that make one so unique — their eyes which symbolize the intuition, perspective, and vision, and the dexterity of their hands — the muscle memory that creates history. Celebrating the two was synonymous with celebrating these practitioners.

By popular perception, art often goes hand in hand with beauty, luxury, and opulence. Indian art is so much more. Think 3000 years of philosophy, mythology, history, music, and calligraphy. Recorded and passed down through the Pichwais, Thanjavur, and Madhubani arts of India.

Indian art, to us, is ‘intellectual luxury.’ Therefore, encapsulating elements that symbolize wisdom, intellect, infinity, and power seemed fitting. These elements are the building blocks of an India that has transformed global design.

Deconstructing Bridge Bharat — credits — Doorbeen Creatives

The making of — credits — Doorbeen creatives

The Imperfect Mudra

For over six centuries, trade, culture, and inspiration have been exchanged between India and the world. Through the lens of various materials and visual categories, including textiles such as chintz and muslin, fashion history, and heritage arts, intriguing stories unfold, surrounding the histories of objects in India — the birthplace of global luxury.

Imperfection in form but signifying legacy, fortune, and cultural wealth — is the beautiful paradox of India’s mudras. And art. Coinage in India can be traced back to the 1st millennium- with empires that issued coins in gold, silver, copper, and other metals. While crafting an identity for Bridge Bharat — we paid tribute to the first tokens of India’s relationship with the world- the mudra.

What is the color of India?

Not the loud, holi colors that India is often associated with — but the warm, earthy color that cuts across states and strikes a chord with anyone who has called India home. To us, India tastes like, smells like, and is painted with the colors of the earth- Mati, Matka, and Geru.

“How clever of him to know that red is the navy blue of India.”

-Diana Vreeland — on seeing Norman Parkinson’s atmospheric images of India, 1956

The Earth Palate — credits- Doorbeen creatives

The Genesis of Bharat

Bharat is India’s historical name- a region that at one time encompassed the entirety of India, South East Asia, and Central Asia. Bharat comes from bha-ra-ta — Bhava means sensation- the sense of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hear — the basis of your experience. Ra means raga or the tune. Now you have to find the rhythm, which is the tala.

Modern nations are defined basis of language, religion, race, ethnicity, and maybe ideology — essentially, it is the sameness of people that makes a nation. But in this nation, which we have known as Bharatvarsh — we have never defined ourselves by sameness. We live in a country where art, architecture, language, topography, and history change every 100 km! The diversity of this nation is beautifully captured and archived through our native arts.

Hello World!

 

The Europeans have claimed art. India’s reservoir of crafts runs deep, both in terms of skill and legacy. However, we have never had the confidence to take this global. Bridge Bharat intends to change this.

We invite you to be a part of this journey and hope you find your story along the way.

A huge thank you to the wonderful team at Doorbeen Creatives — Pranidhi and Saurabh — for going over and beyond for us.

Love,
Aakanksha