Cafe Dil (Dignity in Life), Prayatna Pune3 min read
Designing an inclusive identity and communication system for Cafe Dil
- Role
- Volunteer Design Consultant
- Company
- Cafe Dil (Dignity in Life), Prayatna Pune
- Timeline
- 2026
- Owned
- Identity, menus and signage, staff communication aids, launch film
Summary
Cafe Dil needed to work for two audiences: customers visiting the cafe and the adults with disabilities running it. I brought the identity, menus, signage, staff picture aids and launch film together under one visual direction, while adapting each communication to the people using it. The identity incorporated artwork by Prayatna's students, and the staff materials built on the picture-based format they were already familiar with. Cafe Dil is now open, with the picture aids used as part of the staff's daily routine.
- ~20
- baristas supported by the picture aids
- ~30
- cafe visitors a day
The design problem
Cafe Dil, short for Dignity in Life, is a cafe run by Swayam, a program under Prayatna.
It had to work like any other cafe. People walk in wanting coffee, and nothing about the experience should ask them to adjust their expectations.
It also had to work as a workplace for staff who have learned through pictures since they were young. These were two design problems sharing one identity, and almost every decision came down to which audience a given piece was for.
What I owned
I designed the identity, menus, signage, cafe banner, staff picture aids and launch film. I worked directly with Prayatna's founder-trustees throughout, designing within the colors and visual direction they had in mind for the cafe.
My role was to make one identity work across the customer experience, the staff's daily routines and the launch.
The identity
I incorporated artwork by Prayatna's students into the logo, giving the identity a personal connection to the people at the heart of the cafe.
The challenge was making the artwork work as a practical logo: at small sizes, in a single color, and on a banner that could be read from across the street.
For customers
The customer-facing menus, signage and banner needed to make the cafe easy to recognize and navigate, while giving it the look and feel of a welcoming cafe.
For the staff
The staff at Prayatna have used picture aids as a learning tool since they were young. The idea of a picture-aid menu came from the founder-trustees, Mridula and Radiya: rather than introduce a new system, the staff's menu would build on the format they already knew. My job was to design it.
I created a picture-based version of the menu using photographs of each item, with color coding to distinguish vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, as well as hot and cold drinks. The aim was to make the menu easier to use within the staff's existing way of learning and communicating.
The launch film
The identity also needed to extend beyond the cafe itself. I directed, shot and edited the launch film to introduce Cafe Dil and the people behind it.
My other films for Prayatna are in the gallery.
Where it landed
Cafe Dil is open and running, with around 30 visitors a day. The picture aids are part of the daily routine for its ~20 baristas, built around a format they were already familiar with.