Desi Geek Girls

Horn OK, please! Also, Star Wars.

Desi Geek Girls, a quirky comedic media commentator podcast team, came to me needing branding that showed their very unique positioning within the nerd-verse. Their name said it all: the word “desi” is a very broad term for people of South Asian descent which includes several geographies, Geek (funny, approachable nerds), Girls (ladies functioning within media and fandoms). These identity crossovers were something I wanted to be thoughtful about.

The Problem

Heeral, we need a full branding package that can work in both print and digital, would look great on pins and stickers for our fans, and is reflective of the fact that we’re nerds, we’re Indian, we’re American, and we’re funny with takes unique to our lived experiences. We also want it to be recognizable in some ways to our already established social following. We need a visual representation of all of these things. In the words of Archie: HALP!

The Roles

Art Direction, Logo design, Branding, Graphic Designer, Photographer, Stylist, Retoucher

The Visual Solution

I crafted an eye-catching, bright, and culturally immersive solution for them to be seen through the noise on twitter, where they shared their posts. I wanted the graphics to reflect how playful and funny both stars of the podcast are. These designs also translated well into the products we were getting printed to promote their brand and send to their patrons. Most importantly (to the client), it told their story immediately. I came up with the tagline of “Very Desi, Very Geek” as a play on both internet humor’s disregard for grammar and how little explanation you would need to really understand their brand.

The Approach

Graphics: I found the solution by approaching a graphic cross-over of identities that reflected their own identity cross-overs; old comic books, mehendi (henna) art, Indian miniature paintings, and painted lorry trucks. All of these employed bright coloring, carefully drawn, but imperfect, lines and lettering using traditional media, and a kind of nostalgia and cultural reference to a different time. They are all very accessible, casually impressive art-forms I felt would do their brand goals justice (league now)!

Product photography: I went for bright and modern, hard shadows, artfully places shapes, cultural references (hey-o, desis love their steel containers) but with a filmy graininess that said ‘old’. I wanted it to reflect the nostalgia for this once removed idea of India which first generation kids often recognize.

What Did We Learn?

We learned to always check that you have renamed the artboards before exporting for several formats when you have created large amounts of logo marks for usage.