Kanu Desai is credited with the proliferation of art in urban and rural spheres. This was done through the distribution of calendars, photos, postcards, greeting cards, book covers, and albums.
Kanu Desai is closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, whose books he illustrated. He recorded the Dandi March event through his paintings, making around 15,000 paintings published within 30 volumes.
He believed in a comprehensive composition; the tales of subjects through clean, crisp, and smooth crisp lines. Kanu Desai paintings were often gifted at weddings disguised as romantic albums.
His comprehension of colours was unparalleled and proved to be a success for the 1955 film ‘Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje,’ which won the Filmfare Award for Best Art Direction in 1957.