Saachi Mehta is a designer and illustrator based in Mumbai, India. Her area of work lies at an intersection of conceptual design and cultural imagery. With an inclination towards research driven work, she explores the relevance of traditional knowledge and cultural identity in the contemporary world.
She holds a Masters Degree in Illustration & Visual Media from London College of Communication, UAL and holds a Bachelors Degree in Commerce and Economics from H. R. College with a Diploma in Visual and Communication Arts from Raheja School of Arts.
Coca Cola, ColoursTV, Ladybird Books, London College of Communication, NASA, Nike, Victoria & Albert Museum and Unicef are some of the brands she has worked with.
She has taught Visual Communication and Branding at NMIMS School of Design and is currently teaching Design Thinking at Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management and Engineering.
She is a winner of many accolades and has exhibited her work on in Mumbai, London and Venice.
Select Features
Heston's Dinner In Space
Heston's Dinner in Space
NASA & Channel 4
Services
Art Direction + Illustration
Facilitator
London College of Communication
Collaborators
Clorama Dorvilias, Wajeeha Abbasi, Matthew Lyall, Lorenzo Davitti,
Anabelle Alias, Tianju Duan
Overview
British Astronaut Tim Peake was selected to be a part of Mission Principia to the International Space Station (ISS) by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2016.
Long before lift-off, the British astronaut challenged Michelin starred chef, Heston Blumenthal, to create dishes to eat during his six-month mission on-board the ISS, which would remind him of home.
Creation
Designed a multi-sensory and nostalgic dining experience for the British Astronaut, Tim Peake, for his Mission Principia on board the ISS. It involved package design for the food curated by Michelin starred chef, Heston Blumenthal and elements to support the experience design.
Research
Tim Peake
British Astronaut
Enjoys outdoors and camping
Is a family man and has two sons
Heston Blumenthal
The Michelin starred chef prepared space food based on Tim's favourite dishes and those which are the most memorable for the British astronaut for his visit to the International Space Station on Mission Principia.
Guidelines
Ideation
A fine-dine mat designed to hold the food tin in the plate hole and an iPad in the slit on top. The mat would enable Tim to audio-visually interact with his family and dine together.
A visually engaging mat designed with illustrations from a camp site and family photographs. This mat enables Tim to reminisce the natural outdoors on Earth and enjoy a nostalgic meal.
An iPod pocket designed at the bottom of the food tin sleeve attached with noise reducing ear phones. This would enable Tim to enjoy ambient sounds from nature or some of his favourite music while relishing the food.
Natural scents infused bubble wrap attached to the sleeve of the food tin, emanating smells when burst. The smell is the strongest link to memory, so it could induce nostalgia while eating. This idea is subject to ISS regulations.
Special sleeves designed for the food tins based on the recipes prepared by Heston. Thereby generating an emotion of familiarity and inducing haptic sensations while enjoying the meals.
~ Apple Crumble
Brittle and rough-textured sleeve
~ Sandwich
Bun-like textured sleeve with
little paper sesame seeds on top
~ Key Lime Pie
Canapé-textured sleeve
A candle light gourmet dinner date visualisation for Tim, with his wife, from the International Space Station.
It includes a British bow tie ensemble created using a printed t-shirt or a fabric stick-on along with augmented reality candles floating in the background. The idea hopes to engage them in a delightful and unique experience.
Experimentation and Production
On Air
"One small bite,
one giant leap
into nostalgia!"
