Mumbai Meri Jaan is an immersive, 3D pop-up book designed to translate the frantic, beautiful, and sensory-heavy experience of Mumbai into a tactile physical medium. This wasn't just about making "pretty pictures" jump off the page; it was an exercise in sensory translation—capturing the sound of the markets, the heat of the streets, and the specific rhythm of the city’s inhabitants through paper engineering.

The Vision & Design

The pop-up book explores the duality of Mumbai: the rigid structures of its colonial architecture versus the fluid, ever-changing nature of its street life. Each spread was conceptualized to be a "mechanical moment," where the user’s interaction mirrors the city's own movement.

• The Market Spread: A deep dive into the "Art of the Bargain." Using pull-tabs and layered pop-ups, this section mimics the back-and-forth tension of a street deal, where the typography literally shifts as the "price" drops.

• Tactile Storytelling: I moved away from traditional flat layouts, opting for kinetic typography that wraps around 3D structures. This reflects the visual density of Mumbai, where every square inch of space—from a railway wall to a shop front is layered with information.

Engineering the Experience

The technical challenge lay in the paper mechanics. Every fold and pivot was calculated to ensure the "pop" felt as energetic as a Mumbai local train pulling into a station. By combining traditional 2D graphic design with 3D spatial construction, the project invites the viewer to move beyond being a passive observer and become an active participant in the city’s narrative.