In every industry, there comes a moment when the existing model stops answering the questions of its time. 

Advertising agencies emerged when brands needed communication. Design firms emerged when brands needed identity. Creative studios are emerging because brands now need meaning; they need to be felt, experienced and remembered. 

Studio EBBXFLO was founded on a simple belief: brands are not logos, campaigns or packaging systems. They are systems of meaning. They shape behaviour, create memory, influence culture and determine how businesses are remembered long after their products have changed. 

Founded by Creative Director Akash Kumawat and Art Director Anusha Tallam, EBBXFLO emerged from over a decade spent working across strategy, design and brand building. What began as a series of observations written in a notebook evolved into a new creative practice built at the intersection of design, art, psychology and science. Today, EBBXFLO positions itself as one of India’s emerging independent creative studios, working across branding, packaging, communication, experiences, visual production and cultural strategy. 

What distinguishes the studio is not the range of disciplines it offers, but the way those disciplines interact. 

For decades, creativity has been divided into silos. Agencies focused on campaigns. Design studios focused on aesthetics. Consultants focused on business. EBBXFLO was built on the belief that the most meaningful work happens when these worlds collide. 

The studio describes this as an interdisciplinary practice. A brand identity may begin with behavioural psychology. A packaging project may draw from archaeology, material studies or cultural anthropology. An experience may borrow equally from architecture, theatre, design and narrative systems. The objective is not to create more work, but to create work with greater depth and relevance. 

At the centre of the practice sits Brand Therapy™, EBBXFLO’s proprietary framework that applies psychological thinking to brand building. The studio’s belief is that brands behave much like people. They carry fears, ambitions, contradictions and belief systems. Understanding these forces allows businesses to build identities that are more resilient, distinctive and culturally relevant. Supporting this approach are proprietary models such as Three Body Identity, Brand Truth Incentive and Identity Physics, frameworks designed to help brands understand not just how they look, but how they behave. 

This philosophy has led EBBXFLO to build brands using references rarely seen in conventional branding. Identities have emerged from chalkboard culture, charcoal art, archaeological research, regional languages and historical artefacts. Projects such as Nenapu, Yuzen, Maya, Becoming and Chefling reflect a belief that originality is not found in trends, but in uncovering truths that already exist beneath the surface. 

The studio draws inspiration from three enduring sources: nature, history and culture. Frogs, birds and marine life become lessons in colour systems. Historical movements reveal patterns of human behaviour. Fields such as psychology, physics and biochemistry offer new ways of understanding how people perceive, remember and connect with brands. In pursuing the idea of a true creative studio, EBBXFLO has sought to establish a balance between the discipline of design, the freedom of art and the rigour of science. 

Alongside its client work, the studio has built a growing ecosystem of creative initiatives. Briefs Are Lies is an open learning cohort where creatives, founders, artists and thinkers come together to explore the deeper principles of creative practice through peer-to-peer learning and experimentation. Designed as an accessible alternative to traditional creative education, it seeks to cultivate new perspectives and contribute to the future of creativity at scale. 
Freeze explores visual production through the belief that images should communicate even in the absence of language. KAOZ extends the studio’s thinking into experiences, translating ideas, emotions and narratives into immersive environments, cultural encounters and memorable moments where brands are not merely seen, but felt. 

The industry has responded quickly. 

Within its first 500 days, EBBXFLO received recognition from platforms including Kyoorius, Abby One Show, the International Design Awards and Design India, where it was named India’s Best Brand Design Studio. Yet awards are not what the studio believes it is building towards. The larger ambition is to help establish a true creative studio culture in India. 

Historically, India has produced exceptional agencies and exceptional designers. What it has lacked are institutions that treat brand building as a multifaceted craft, where strategy, design, culture, psychology, science, technology and storytelling are developed as a single practice. EBBXFLO sees itself as part of a broader shift toward that future, a future where creativity is measured not only by output, but by the originality of thought behind it. 

As artificial intelligence makes production faster and more accessible, the studio believes the industry’s greatest differentiators will become judgment, authorship and meaning. Technology can generate options. It cannot decide what deserves to exist. 

That responsibility still belongs to people. 

And perhaps that is why EBBXFLO is a studio to watch, not because it represents where the industry has been, but because it is helping define where the industry is going. 

If the agency era was about communication, the studio era will be about culture. 

Nenapu - F&B Branding: Using handcrafted chalk art as its primary medium, EBBXFLO built a brand that feels less like a restaurant and more like a rediscovered memory.

Rasoii - FMCG Branding: Branding Drawing from 16 ancient civilisations, EBBXFLO reconstructed fragments of human history to build a brand rooted in the origins of food itself.

Virgin - Alcobev Branding: A botanical gin shaped through the convergence of nature, mythology and culture, turning every bottle into a living artefact of place and story.

Yuzen - B2B branding: Inspired by Japanese visual philosophy and meticulous stipple artistry, EBBXFLO translated calm into a brand experience designed to be felt.

Chefling - D2C branding: Before ingredient-led branding became commonplace, EBBXFLO transformed ingredients into a visual language, designing a packaging system that stimulates appetite before the first bite.

This article was part of a special focus on Indian independent creative companies circulated alongside Manifest's June issue, which can be bought here.

For a one-year subscription, use the below link. 

We also have a six-month subscription. Get it here. 

For any subscription-related queries email aaryan@manifest-media.in.