Studio Modak: Thinking outside the cuboid

Nagpur-based Studio Modak was founded by Gajesh Mitkari over six years ago, with the vision of building a studio that balances storytelling, strategy, and craft. Over the years, the studio has worked on branding, packaging, illustration, and design consultancy across industries. However, Mynd and Bloom’s brief was distinct.

The brief — shared by Chaitanya Tanna, founder and CEO of Mynd and Bloom — included designing packaging for a unique incense product. The incense sticks are infused with three distinct fragrances — rose, sandalwood, and lavender — each fragrance alternating every 15 minutes. Mitkari shares, “He wanted a unique packaging design solution for the product; no other vision was shared. This gave my team and I a blank canvas to explore and experiment."

Studio Modak Team (l-r): Lehar Bhatt, Gajesh Mitkari, Disha Kolhe

Structural geometry

And experiment, they did. The trapezium structure of the Triveni Sangam incense stick box stands out. Mitkari explains, “We find the existing incense packaging dated and boring, as it is mostly cuboid-shaped. There is almost zero room for experimenting with visuals, and the quantity of incense that can be stored inside is limited.”

Having studied various natural forms to biomimic them in projects, he remarks, “This project felt like a good opportunity to put theory into practice.” The team’s process began with a cross-section of a hexagon, which forms a trapezium. Inspired by the structure of a honeycomb, the cross-section allowed the team to work on a solid stacking structure.

He illustrates, “While a cuboid box has three flat faces at 90 degrees to each other, this structure has naturally slanted faces, giving us more surface area to work with, providing us with a bigger canvas to explore visuals.” According to him, the trapezium-shaped packaging optimises space; a standard box typically accommodates 40 incense sticks, while the trapezium box holds 65–70 sticks — increasing the pack-count by 70% within a similar footprint.

For Mynd and Bloom’s Triveni Sangam, this increased capacity also includes space for an integrated incense holder and a brand card, maximising utility without increasing bulk. Working with the trapezium-shaped box came with its own set of challenges. He reflects that the production was challenging; he shares, “No Indian vendor was initially ready to print a completely new structural exploration.” He continues, “Eventually, we managed to convince one of our vendors. We believe having a good vendor is just as important, and just as big a task, as having a good designer on board, because they are the ones who make the product actually exist.”

Visual narrative

Once the structural geometry was finalised, the focus shifted to the visual narrative — defining the packaging’s information architecture and type hierarchy, curating the visual language to ensure every element had its intentional place. The team created intensive visual reference boards to ensure alignment while making sure the packaging is visually appealing and customer-friendly.

Mitkari explains, “We feel packaging is the most important part of any retail brand and is equivalent to a website in terms of customer engagement, so it should always be designed with user experience in mind.”

Aesthetic philosophy

Drawing from the natural world, the team selected a palette of: deep blue, sunflower yellow, milk-white, rosy red, marigold, and leaf green. As for the motifs, Mitkari’s philosophy was straightforward: “The first thing that comes to most people’s minds is the Triveni Sangam of the three major Indian rivers, but we wanted to steer away from that generic idea and develop something new.”

Moving beyond the literal three rivers, Studio Modak explored the archetype of the Holy Trinity. He observes, “We drew inspiration from the idea of Holy Trinity in different mythologies — one being the creator, one the destroyer, and one who oversees everything.” This conceptual trio defines the product’s architecture; each character is paired with a fragrance designed around a signature flower, with custom illustrations adorning the sides of the trapezium packaging.

A peek into the pack

The packaging is made entirely of eco-friendly kraft paper. Mitkari elucidates, “This was decided much before the actual packaging came into the picture.” He adds, “We always push our clients to use eco-friendly materials and avoid plastic.”Out of around a 100 hundred projects that Studio Modak has worked on, only three have utilised plastic-based materials.

According to Mitkari, these rare exceptions were necessitated by specific product requirements regarding light and moisture sensitivity. For Mynd and Bloom’s 100% plastic-free Triveni Sangam, the team selected a premium 350 GSM SBS paper with a sophisticated matt finish. The inner packaging features an eco-friendly, starch-based pouch to preserve the incense’s essential oils, and the structural design prioritises brand visibility, with space for the logo to strengthen brand recall.

The visual execution relies on offset printing for the main artwork, with specific areas featuring spot UV for a gloss contrast, while embossing is applied to the logo to provide a tactile focal point. He shares, “The luxury look and feel are maintained through the finish, colours, and materials used.”

The unboxing experience is designed to be multi-sensory. He illustrates, “We have used special fragrance inks applied to the flower designs on all three sides, so when someone holds the box, they can smell the fragrances.” The customer accesses the packaging with a pull-out tray mechanism, which reveals the incense sticks, holder, and card.

A packaging design milestone

For Mitkari, the project’s most significant takeaway was the challenge of vendor management for non-traditional designs. Because the trapezium structure and material combinations were experimental, the process required extensive sampling and rigorous back-and-forth coordination.

This phase proved to be a learning curve in training Indian vendors to handle specialised technical requirements that deviate from standard manufacturing. While the most rewarding phase was the initial prototyping, where the team focused on perfecting the trapezium mechanism and physical sampling.

The result is a milestone in the industry. He shares that this is the first incense packaging of its kind in India and the first in the world to utilise this specific trapezium shape. He beams, “We are confident this will inspire many future designers to build more innovative packaging.”