Take A Peek Inside Mindspill The Typographic Diary Of Shrey Kathuria

Creative Boom: Inspiration Typography Take a peek inside Mindspill, the typographic diary of Shrey Kathuria We hear from the Delhi-born, London-based designer behind One Little Independent Records' visual identity about why he launched Mindspill – a growing archive of typographic posters. Written By: Ayla Angelos 20 July 2026 © Shrey Kathuria During a particularly quiet moment in time, when work had slowed and social life had gone still, Shrey Kathuria sat down and made a poster. He created Slowness Is Not Your Enemy, the first of a massive poster archive called Mindspill.

Shrey is a Delhi-born, London-based designer and art director who has spent the past four years as the visual lead at One Little Independent Records, the label that is home to Björk, Laura Misch, Galya Bisengalieva, Asgeir and the Sneaker Pimps, among others. His day-to-day work involves directing album art, artist branding, merch and commissioning other creatives – designing intimate, high-stakes visuals for a label that has never been particularly interested in playing it safe. Alongside OLI, he freelances across music and branding, with credits including Jordan Rakei, Aurora, Atlantic Records UK and Anoushka Shankar.

The personal work, on the other hand, operates a little differently from his commercial side. Shrey grew up in Delhi, within a small, tight-knit music scene centred around metal, then electronic, and then experimental – where hanging around with artists and collectives became the soft launch of his design career. Moving to London for his master's at the London College of Communication in 2021 was the transformative moment.

"Almost as if I started to shed my old skin from day one," he says, "and continue to do so." That process of navigating a new city, a predominantly white industry, a collectivist upbringing transplanted into a highly individualistic culture, became the material from which Mindspill was built. 01A © Shrey Kathuria 02A © Shrey Kathuria 04A © Shrey Kathuria 05A © Shrey Kathuria The archive, started in late 2025, is a series of typographic posters, each one rooted in something Shrey was thinking, feeling or telling himself during this time.

"For the most part, these posters came together from things I kept telling myself during difficult periods, or thoughts that surfaced when I was a far more anxious person," he explains. "Somewhere in the process, my inner dialogue slowly began to change. So what began as anxious, negative thinking gradually turned into a much kinder voice – a sort of inner dialogue rooted in optimism and reason. And that is the crux of Mindspill. Each poster is a little milestone in this long journey of self-discovery and learning." Shrey's process starts with a phrase in a simple font created in Illustrator.

Then he pushes it as far as it will go, using different brushes, shapes, and letters drawn directly on a trackpad. There was also a brief charcoal phase, during which he drew with his left hand. Next, he moves the vector skeleton into Photoshop, where blurs, filters and effects are applied until the visual tone matches the emotional weight of the words. Other posters use experimental typesetting in InDesign, in which he creates type on unusual paths and grid-based compositions, where colour and texture carry the feeling. The results are deliberately hard to read.

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The article presents an innovative approach to typography and personal storytelling that can influence brand identity, making it significant for the design industry while also providing actionable insights for brand strategy professionals.