Dishoom →
Emotion meets function

We’ll be walking through the process that allowed us to translate a world-class physical experience into an industry-leading digital estate.

In this feature, we’ll introduce our emotion-over-function ethos — showcasing the easter eggs and elements of storytelling that add depth to Dishoom’s online presence.

If it doesn’t make you feel something, it isn’t right. It’s a simple mantra, but it’s one that kept us grounded throughout the complex and highly technical build of Dishoom.com. Function was an inherent challenge on the site, but our incessant pursuit of emotion was self-imposed. Dishoom is a love letter to Bombay, so it was essential to us that the platform follows suit; replicating the nostalgic yearning engrained in every faucet of their cafés.

This, naturally, started with our first second on screen. Bringing this feeling to the fore, our scroll-controlled video pushes you into the immersive world of Dishoom — using footage shot on-site in Bombay to paint the culture in barmy, sepia colour. This style of video ripples throughout the site, bringing a sense of realism to the dream-like vision of the city emulated within the venues.

The user journey needed to be intuitive and light, but just as Dishoom plays with positive friction within their restaurants (think: bathroom doors that open backwards, humorous Hindu sayings tracing walls), we too wanted to introduce elements of unconventionality to subvert expectations and peak engagement online.

With a brand as rich in lore as Dishoom, adding in easter-eggs is easy. Take the Matka for example. We took a gamble and introduced the ‘underground lottery’ into the website within the footer — referencing the signature game with a dice roll that encourages you to keep clicking until you’ve landed a six. What happens when you win? Word to the wise: see for yourself

Another place where emotion trumped function? The 404 page. Bombay is a natural labyrinth filled with unmarked lanes and warren-like streets. Neither Citymapper nor Google Maps work in the city, so when you don’t know where you are there’s only one place to turn — the Taxi-wallas.

The 404 felt like the natural place to nod to this tidbit; whether you’re lost in the city or lost in the site, they’ll be waiting to take you home, to a café or to a humble local storefront.

Dishoom restaurants are deeply sensory — defined by distinct sights, sounds and smells reminiscent of Bombay. We wanted to incorporate this feeling into the site; engaging the senses throughout in surprising and uncommon ways. This allowed us to access broader audiences on a deeper level — with sounds that resonate and visuals that stimulate.

While the secrets are out on some of our online magic moments — we’d never spoil them all. Scour the site further to discover the rest. (Hint: we’d head to the café pages if we were you).

Or — you could simply wait until our next instalment of Capturing the Dishoom Magic, where we’ll be walking you through that very thing. Dissecting the founding myths, artefacts and storytelling devices that make each venue their own.