Emilie Nalini Ruha, the Swedish-Italian polymath, blurs the boundaries between painting, writing, and meditation. Her practice is a testament to the interplay of inner and outer landscapes, where disciplines like somatic painting, movement, and yoga Nidra coalesce. Deeply influenced by her studies in fine art and fashion design and by her tenure with Alexander McQueen, Emilie’s work evokes a Martha Graham-like ethos: a choreography of the body, mind, and soul in constant dialogue. Her creative process also draws on the mystical potency of sigils, where intention and form intertwine, and the elemental rawness of nature’s textures.

In 2021, Emilie invited our studio to collaborate on packaging two digital journeys, PAU-SE and DEEP REST, to guide users into purposeful relaxation and profound restorative sleep. Her brief was both precise and multilayered: to create designs that echoed the meditative essence of her practice while integrating her distinct visual language—an archive of paintings, sketches, poetry, and photographs.

The Process: Translating Archives into Design

Our journey began with Emilie’s archives, a rich tapestry of vibrant textures and organic forms inspired by her travels to the Himalayas, the Sahara desert, and other liminal landscapes. Each piece held traces of her meditative gestures: the sweeping arcs of her brush, the grain of her paper, the cadence of her words. These became our foundation.

Through a series of collaborative sessions, we distilled her ethos into a visual language that could balance opposites: stillness and movement, rhythm and rest. This tension guided us as we translated Emilie’s spontaneous expressions into structured designs that could function seamlessly in digital and print formats.

The Design: Dual Narratives of Rest

The visual identities for PAU-SE and DEEP REST reflect Emilie’s dual emphasis on rhythm and surrender.

• PAU-SE invites conscious relaxation, drawing from the earthy palettes of stone, sand, and clay. Double-exposed imagery layers texture and light, evoking the act of pausing and breathing. Typography mirrors this rhythm: a small hyphen in “PAU-SE” acts as a literal interruption, a subtle invitation to pause within the flow of movement.

• DEEP REST, in contrast, embodies the mysteries of the night. Saturated blues and fluid watercolour textures suggest immersion and surrender. Central to this design is a custom sigil—both a symbolic seal and an intention for rest. Its presence aligns with the ancient art of talismanic design, offering users a subconscious cue to release and restore.

Each bundle includes printable booklets featuring Emilie’s original artwork, ritual prompts, and poetry alongside MP3s that serve as auditory guides. Bold, deliberate typography weaves through the designs, creating a visual rhythm that mirrors the oscillation between wakefulness and sleep. Layouts, influenced by the pacing of poetry and painting, ground the sensory experience, inviting users into Emilie’s world.

Reflection: A Shared Vision

"Working with Emilie was an act of deep listening," we reflected. Her sensitivity to her surroundings—how she gathers inspiration from fleeting moments, textures, and light—guided every aspect of this collaboration. Her archives, teeming with sketches, collages, and journal entries, were an endless source of material and meaning.

The final designs for PAU-SE and DEEP REST do more than package guided meditations. They embody Emilie’s multidisciplinary vision, offering an experience that feels tactile, intentional, and personal. These journeys are not simply products but extensions of her artistry—a seamless interplay of form and function, inviting users to inhabit the liminal space between movement and stillness, rhythm and rest.