TYPOGRAPHY DAY EDITORIAL by Brinda Desai

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

Typography and Expression

typography Day 2011 International SeminarS and Workshops 3rd /4th /5th march 2011 NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN

ahmedabad, india

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

PUBLISHING DETAILS PUBLISHING DETAILS PUBLISHING DETAILS PUBLISHING DETAILS PUBLISHING DETAILS PUBLISHING DETAILS PUBLISHING DETAILS

03 18 29 37

RAFAEL VIVANCO FICKRET UCAR CAROLE CHARETTE SATYA RAJPUROHIT

03 18 29 37

SUMANTRI SAMARAWICKERAMA MOHAMMAD REZA ABDOLALI FANG CHEN NEELAKASH KSHETRIMAYUM

03 18 29 37 52 70

FARZAN KERMANINEJAD PRADNYA NAIK NOOPUR DATYE ANAND KAMDAR HARSHITA PANDE TED HARISSON

03 MAHENDRA PATEL 18 ERIN MCLAUGHLIN 29 FELIX ACKERMANN

CONTENTS 03 18 29 37 52

HARSHID AND YOGITA KULKARNI OZDEN PEKTAS TURGUT CHAN CHUNG CHUNG UDAYA KUMAR

03 18 29 37

HASHIM PM RATHNA RAMANATHAN NEHA JAIN SHASHIDHAR REDDY

03 RAJESH DAHIYA 18 KOK CHEON YEOH 29 HANIF KURESHI

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

foreword: SUBRATA BHOWMICK

Today there are a lot of exercises for designĂs students that explain how to create a new typography. After some easy or difficult steps they can design new typographies. Sometimes they are useable for any kind of body text and some others are a little difficult to be used in normal text and have to be used in titles, as an image for logo or just for decoration. This is good because we cannot limit our students in their creation process to just only design for one purpose, because any kind of typography created finally can be used and its design demanded an enormous quantity of creativity. But what will happen if we decide to create a new kind of type according to our realities or related to our cultures it means with Identity. The exercise definitely turns more powerful and interesting. The students can develop a design process contributing to their society and culture. There are many exercises for design new kind of letters we just only need to adapt that exercises to our reality, because we do not must repeat some exercises done in other countries due to our different realities, we must adapt those process. Peru is a great country with a wonderful past full of millenaries pre Colombian cultures, the IncaĂs, Amazonian cultures and actually a lot of living cultures; and also we must considerate that Peru in these The exercise consists to choose one element to work, an ancient culture, a living culture or some references related to our reality. In the next step they have to do a deeply research such collecting photos, reading books, studying beliefs, cosmogony, etc. All this referents will give the student powerful

tools to design a new type. We know that our ancient cultures did not know writing so this exercise give the opportunity to design based on studies and researches of some Peruvian cultures. Finally we are creating typographies with Identity it means they could be recognizing as Peruvians typographies

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

foreword: PrADYUMNA VYAS

There are many exercises for design new kind of letters we just only need to adapt that exercises to our reality, because we do not must repeat some exercises done in other countries due to our different realities, we must adapt those process. Peru is a great country with a wonderful past full of millenaries pre Colombian cultures, the IncaĂs, Amazonian cultures and actually a lot of living cultures; and also we must considerate that Peru in these The exercise consists to choose one element to work, an ancient culture, a living culture or some references related to our reality. In the next step they have to do a deeply research such collecting photos, reading books, studying beliefs, cosmogony,

etc. All this referents will give the student powerful tools to design a new type. We know that our ancient cultures did not know writing so this exercise give the opportunity to design based on studies and researches of some Peruvian cultures. Finally we are creating typographies with Identity it means they could be recognizing as Peruvians typographies contributing to the construction, recognition and expression of our Identity, so important if we want to be a part of a global world. We have to remember first at all: if we want be global we must to be local.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

PREFACE Today there are a lot of exercises for designĂs students that explain how to create a new typography. After some easy or difficult steps they can design new typographies. Sometimes they are useable for any kind of body text and some others are a little difficult to be used in normal text and have to be used in titles, as an image for logo or just for decoration. This is good because we cannot limit our students in their creation process to just only design for one purpose, because any kind of typography created finally can be used and its design demanded an enormous quantity of creativity. But what will happen if we decide to create a new kind of type according to our realities or related to our cultures it means with Identity. The exercise definitely turns more powerful and interesting. The students can develop a design process contributing to their society and culture.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

Today there are a lot of exercises for designĂs students that explain how to create a new typography. After some easy or difficult steps they can design new typographies. Sometimes they are useable for any kind of body text and some others are a little difficult to be used in normal text and have to be used in titles, as an image for logo or just for decoration. This is good because we cannot limit our students in their creation process to just only design for one purpose, because any kind of typography created finally can be used and its design demanded an enormous quantity of creativity. But what will happen if we decide to create a new kind of type according to our realities or related to our cultures it means with Identity. The exercise definitely turns more powerful and interesting. The students can develop a design process contributing to their society and culture. There are many exercises for design new kind of letters we just only need to adapt that exercises to our reality, because we do not must repeat some exercises done in other countries due to our different realities, we must adapt those process. Peru is a great country with a wonderful past full of millenaries pre Colombian cultures, the IncaĂs, Amazonian cultures and actually a lot of living cultures; and also we must considerate that Peru in these days is a wonderful melting pot it means a privilege multicultural country. The exercise consists to choose one element to work, an ancient culture, a living culture or some references related to our reality. In the next step they have to do a deeply research such collecting photos, reading books, studying beliefs, cosmogony, etc. All this referents will give the student powerful tools to design a new type. We know that our ancient cultures did not know writing so this exercise give the opportunity to design based on studies and researches of some Peruvian cultures. Finally we are creating typographies with Identity it means they could be recognizing as Peruvians typographies contributing to the construction, recognition and expression of our Identity, so important if we want to be a part of a

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

acknowledgements

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

SESSION MODERATOR

findout the name SUMANTRI SAMARAWICKERAMA MOHAMMAD REZA ABDOLALI FANG CHEN NEELAKASH KSHETRIMAYUM

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

Mr. Neelakash Kshetrimayum

NEW DELHI, INDIA MEETEI MAYEK MULTILINGUAL SCRIPT INDIGENOUS SCRIPT EVOLUTION OF LETTERFORMS

neelakash.k@gmail.com

NEELAKASH Kshetrimayum

A Comparative Study of Meetei Mayek

A Comparative Study of Meetei Mayek From the inscribed letterforms To digital typefaces

ABSTRACT

This essay investigates the typographic evolution of Meetei Mayekâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the indigenous script of Manipur (India). It examines this transition comparatively, and in five domains:

Inscription Manuscript Sign-painting Letterpress Digital typeface.

It attempts to explain the factors that influence the change in typographic elementsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; structure, nature of strokes, hierarchy, colour & texture, and multi-script text setting. It studies the limitations and advantages of different techniques in the production of Meetei Mayek letterforms. The essay explains the system of Meetei Mayek typography and its expression.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

Introduction

Until now, the Bengali script has been used for writing Meeteilon (Manipuri language) in Manipur (Figure.1) as a result of historical and political changes in the early 18th century. Before this, Manipuris wrote with their indigenous scriptâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Meetei Mayek. In 2005-2006, Meetei Mayek was officially approved by the government of Manipur and included in the academic curriculum of the state. Currently, the script with 27 letters, with its supplements, is being taught upto Standard VI in schools, although there were debates on the number of letterforms.

As the new generation is learning the script and it is slowly replacing the Bengali script, new typefaces will also be required for various forms of communicationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;newspapers, magazines, books, and many other media. At present there are only a few typefaces of questionable quality. Very limited research has been done on Meetei Mayek from the typographic point of view. Besides, there is a need to develop a system or guideline for designing Meetei Mayek typefaces.

To develop an original and quality typeface, one needs to examine the historical developments in the structure of a script and understand its current usage. This will reveal the possibilities and restrictions while creating shapes of letterforms, and eventually enable us to take the practical decisions needed to design a typeface.

NEELAKASH Kshetrimayum

A Comparative Study of Meetei Mayek

Meetei Mayek and its Peculiarities

A nomenclature for the parts of letterforms in Meetei Mayek is yet to be developed. The essay will follow the nomenclature in the Figure.2 for the purpose of discussion.

Meetei Mayek consists of the following letterforms illustrated in Figure.3 with their respective names: Eeyek Eepee: Original 18 letterforms Lom Eeyek: 9 letterforms that were added later Lonsum Eeyek: Semi consonant or half sound Cheitap Eeyek: Vowel signs Khudam Eeyek: Punctuation marks Cheising Eeyek: Numerals

Figure.2 Sample of Meetei Mayek nomenclature.

Figure.3 Sample of letterforms of Meetei Mayek with their names.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

Peculiarities of Meetei Mayek

Headline as well as baseline Like most Brahmi scripts, Meetei Mayek is written from left to right. Similar to the northern Indic scripts such as Gurumukhi, Devanagari, Bengali etc. (Figure.4), Meetei Mayek possesses a prominent horizontal stroke at the top of the letterforms, known as a headline (Figure.4). In addition to this, the script also has a strong baseline defined by letterforms like Kok (K), Ngou (Ng) etc (Figure.4). The presence of both a headline and a baseline gives the script a horizontal, or rectangular form.

Figure.4 (Top) sample of Gurumukhi, Devanagari, Bengali and Meetei Mayek; (Below) sample of Meetei Mayek letterforms that have both a headline and a baseline.

Absence of conjunct letterforms Though some of the early writings (18th19th) show evidences of Meetei Mayek having conjuncts, the modern Meetei Mayek does not have any conjunct letterforms. Alternatively, the script employs a horizontal line below the two letterforms to produce their combined sound (Figure.5). Figure.5 (Top) Sample showing the conjunct letterforms of early writings; (Below) Sample showing the usage of ligatures instead of conjuncts in the modern Meetei Mayek typeface.

NEELAKASH Kshetrimayum

A Comparative Study of Meetei Mayek

Figure.6 Sample of Meetei Mayek letterforms shows a gap between the letters of a word.

Presence of multiple vertical strokes The presence of multiple vertical strokes (comparatively) in the letterforms and their repeated appearance in text-setting (Figure.7) form a unique texture and colour.

Figure.7 Sample showing the presence of multiple vertical strokes.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

Vowel sign In Meetei Mayek, the role of ascenders and descenders (in the Latin script) is played by vowel signs as they are written above, below, and along the headline and baseline (Figure.8). Figure.8 Sample of the positioning of vowel signs in relation to the headline and baseline.

Gap between letters While writing, the letterforms of Meetei Mayek do not join each other—there is a small gap between consecutive letterforms in a word (Figure.6). The function of headlines in Meetei Mayek is the same as that of the baseline in the Latin script—aligning the letterforms horizontally, but on top rather than at the bottom.

Numerals Experts claim that the numerals of Meetei Mayek are based on the shapes of the human embryo during the months of pregnancy (Figure.9). Basing his opinion on the manuscript Eeyek Chakpalon, Kangjia writes,” The Kanglei numerals and Phoon (Zero) and their original figures are coined from the embryonic developments of a human foetus during the period of nine months within a mother’s womb and its deliberation in the tenth month leaving the uterus of its mother vacant forming “0”, a phoon (Zero).” While the accuracy of these figures is arguable, the very concept of deriving 9 numbers from the 9 stages of pregnancy remains strong and logical. It would be interesting to develop a new counting system based on this fact.

NEELAKASH Kshetrimayum

A Comparative Study of Meetei Mayek

Figure.9 Meetei Mayek numerals showing their derivations and corresponding Latin numerals.

CHANGES IN THE EXISTENCE OF MEETEI MAYEK

Structure AND Proportion The unique manner, in which a letterform is constructed to define its character, can be termed as the structure of the letterform. The space around and enclosed by a letter influences the proportion of the letterform. Structure and proportion of letterforms influence each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;structures can be the same but with different proportions, or vice versa. Figure.10 Sample showing the structural changes in the letterform Mit (M) (top) and Na (N) (below)

Until the point that Meetei Mayek was written by hand (in inscriptions and manuscripts), its letterforms underwent a lot of change structurally (Figure.10), because different writers constructed the letterforms in different proportions. Once it reached the stage of printed letterforms (in letterpress and digital typeface), these structural changes came to an end, thus resulting in the basic structures that exist today.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

Figure.11 Sample showing the translation of letterforms Chil (CH) and Kok (K) from handwriting to the current digital typefaceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;(left to right) handwritten, printed wooden type, printed metal type and digital typeface.

Meetei Mayek letterforms engraved on wood can be considered the first attempt at creating a typeface. These letterforms have a very close connection with handwritten letterforms (Figure.11). In fact, it is almost an exact imitation of handwriting. This marks the transition between handwritten and printed type. These letterforms were then translated to metal-type retaining close proportion to the wooden type. Similarly, the letterforms of metal-type are translated to the digital typeface (Figure.11).

Figure.12 Sample showing difference in proportion of Meetei Mayek letterformsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; (from top) condensed, compressed and expanded.

In sign-painting, one finds a variety of letter proportions of Meetei Mayekâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;condensed, compressed and expanded (Figure.12). This domain explores various structures and proportions, yet maintaining a consistent feature that groups letterforms as a family. It may be difficult to recognize letterforms in isolation (Figure.13), but when they come together, they relate to one another at once. This suggests that building a family of letterforms requires a consistent feature that defines the personality of the letterforms. The varied structures and proportions of Meetei Mayek in sign-painting, are yet to be seen in the digital medium.

NEELAKASH Kshetrimayum

A Comparative Study of Meetei Mayek

Figure.13 Sample showing the various structures and proportions of the letter Rai (R) and its contextual presence (left).

Usage of Multi-script

Multi-script refers to the usage of more than one script to write a language. Manipuris use at least three scriptsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Latin, Bengali and Meetei Mayek, to write Meeteilon. Early Manipuri writings of 16th and 17th century of show the presence of only Meetei Mayek script. The Bengali script appeared in the 18th and 19th century due to the arrival of Bengali missionaries who introduced it, replacing Meetei Mayek. Since then most writings used the Bengali script. The advent of the British rule and Christian missionaries in the late 19th century led to the usage of the Latin script as well. Many attempts were made to revive Meetei Mayek during the 1930-70s in the form of print using wooden type, and through handwriting. In the 1980s with the introduction of metal-type, the presence of Meetei Mayek increased. Since then, Meetei Mayek has prominently existed along with Latin, Bengali and occasionally Devanagari (Figure.14). The existence of multi-scripts influenced the nature of strokes, hierarchy and other typographic elements of Meetei Mayek which will be discussed further.

Figure.14 Sample showing the usage of multi-script in the sign-paintings of Manipur

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

Nature of stroke

Figure.15 Sample showing (Clockwise) different angles of the nib for writing tools

The nature of the stroke refers to the shape of the stroke of the letterform. It can broadly be divided into two—mono-linear (equal thickness) and modulated strokes (difference in thickness). Historically, the letterforms have an inescapable association with tools and materials used for writing. Depending on the tool and technique used, one can determine the nature of the stroke in the letterforms. For instance, monolinear stroke letterforms suggest the usage of a fine pointed nib, while modulated strokes are created by a broad/flat nib. There are various other factors that influence shape of letterforms—angle of nib, movement of stroke, pressure of tool, etc. Different angles of the nib for writing tools— 1. Wooden broad nib pen (obtuse angle) 2. Wooden broad nib pen (acute angle) 3. Calligraphic pen with smaller nib. 4. Round nib that creates mono-linear stroke; Meetei Mayek letterform written with the broad nib (obtuse angle) showing modulated stroke; Meetei Mayek letterform written with a round broad nib resulting in mono-linear stroke. Letterforms in Meetei Mayek inscriptions were traced (chiseled) from draft letterforms written with a sharp nib on sandstone. Early manuscripts (16th and 17th) of Meetei Mayek were written with bamboo, reed, and quill feathers sharpened to a fine tip. As a result these letterforms possessed mono-linear strokes and have an underlying structure of handwriting (Figure.16).

Figure.16 Sample of letterforms from the inscription (top) and manuscript (below)

The Bengali script introduced a new tool—the broad nib pen. This influenced the letterforms of Meetei Mayek and modulated strokes came into existence (Figure.15). These stroke styles were transferred to sign-paintings and digital typefaces. Hence the modern Meetei Mayek letterforms have both mono-linear and modulated strokes. However, only mono-linear stroke existed in the domain of letterpress (wooden and metal type) (Figure.17). The limited usage of the script (due to Bengali script domination) led to little exploration. Besides, the cost of production of metal type was expensive.

NEELAKASH Kshetrimayum

A Comparative Study of Meetei Mayek

Figure.17 Sample of wooden (topleft) and metal type (top-right); Printed letterforms of wooden, metal and digital typeface (below).

With the introduction of digital typeface and its advanced technology, there is an increase in the exploration of stroke styles though they are essentially based on mono-linear and modulated strokes.

Hierarchy

In order to categorize information, one creates a hierarchy to establish importance. There are various ways of creating hierarchy through size, weight, style, colour, etc. With these techniques one differentiates and directs the sequence of reading.

Size, Weight and Style Early inscriptions and manuscripts of Meetei Mayek had a few examples of the use of size and weight to create hierarchy. But the prominent usage of these techniques began only with the arrival of metal type letterpress (Figure.18) and digital type. Metal type had only 4 different sizes of the same style (monolinear): small, regular, medium and large.

Figure.18 Sample of printed Meetei Mayek (metaltype) showing hierarchy with different sizes.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

There were no weight variations in the Meetei Mayek script in metal type. The usage of different weights to create hierarchy began with digital typefaces (Figure.19). Some samples show the creation of a ‘bold’ weight by adding an outline stroke to the ‘regular’ weight. This technique distorts the letter proportion and affects the readability of the text.

Figure.19 Sample of printed letterforms of digital typeface showing the usage of Bold and regular to create hierarchy.

The sign-painting domain explores various means in creating hierarchy—the technique of shadows, highlights, outlines, slanted etc (Figure.20). Sign-painting letterforms generally serve for display typefaces—to catch or attract the attention of the viewer. This led to the formation of letterforms that are highly decorative and expressive in nature (Figure.20). These techniques and features are yet to be introduced in the digital typefaces of Meetei Mayek.

Texture and Colour

The texture refers to the overall pattern that the letterforms of a particular script make in a body of text. Colour of text refers to the overall grey value the human eyes perceive when the white and black forms of letterforms in the text are mixed. The change in texture influences the text. Mayek has its own texture (FigOwing to its unique structure and formation colour of text,ofMeetei ure.21). Due to the presence of multiple scripts and technical limitations to produce them, this texture has evolved (Figure.21). Some factors that influence the texture and colour of Meetei Mayek are discussed below.

Figure.20 Sample showing different styles of letterform in Meetei Mayek sign-painting.

NEELAKASH Kshetrimayum

A Comparative Study of Meetei Mayek

Figure.21 Sample shows the change in texture with the presence of Latin script in Meetei Mayek.

Introduction of word and paragraph space: Word space is the space between the words in a body of text and paragraph space refers to the space between the paragraphs. Early inscriptions and manuscripts of Meetei Mayek had no word or paragraph space (Figure.22). With the arrival of other scripts in the 18th-19th century, word and paragraph space slowly came into existence in Meetei Mayek. With the introduction of this typographic feature, the texture and colour of Meetei Mayek changed (Figure.23). Though there is no definite reason behind this introduction, word spaces appear in the samples of transliteration of language.

3.5.2 Additional Punctuation marks:

Figure.22 Sample of manuscript writings showing the absence of word and paragraph space.

Figure.23 Sample of printed letterforms of digital typeface with word space.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

Additional Punctuation marks Meetei Mayek has its own punctuation marks. With the arrival of foreign scripts, Meetei Mayek mingled with Latin, Bengali and Devanagari. As a result, Meetei Mayek began to include punctuation marks from these scripts, especially Latin, such as comma, colon, brackets, inter rogation marks etc (Figure.24). The inclusion began in the letterpress domain and carried on to the digital typeface. Now, Meetei Mayek uses these typographic elements. This too influences the texture and colour of Meetei Mayek (Figure.24)

Figure.24 Usage of typographic elements like colon, bracket, quotes etc. in Meetei Mayek

Technical limitations and advantageS An important observation is that the texture of text printed using the letterpress, particularly metal type, stood out. The positioning of vowel signs in metal typesetting varies as compared to handwriting. Vowel signs like Atap, Unap and Cheinap position themselves next to the preceding letterforms instead of staying above them (Figure.25). This is due to technical restrictions in letterpress printing (Figure.25). Therefore, there is an apparent gap (Figure.25) in the text-setting, disrupting the cohesive nature of word formation, which in turn affects the texture and colour.

NEELAKASH Kshetrimayum

A Comparative Study of Meetei Mayek

Figure.25 Sample showing (left) the change in vowel positioning of Meetei Mayek in handwriting, wooden and metal type printing; (right) The limitation of the letterpress that hinders the accurate positioning of vowel signs.

Figure.26 Sample of printed letterforms of digital typeface showing vowel positioning in the letterpress.

Due to technical advancement, digital typefaces have solved most problemsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; limitations on size, weight, style and vowel sign positioning (Figure.26). It allows an easier way for complex type-settingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the combination of text and image, multilingual typesetting with different scripts etc. Interestingly, digital typefaces are influenced by the letterpress text composition (Figure.26). Vowel signs are now intentionally positioned on the top-right or bottom right of the letterforms, although technology allows them to be positioned like they were in early inscriptions and manuscripts.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

CONCLUSION

At present, majority of the people in Manipur still communicate using the Bengali script. It will take a few years before Meetei Mayek can completely replace the Bengali script. They will continue to co-exist at least for a little longer. Meetei Mayek has already become a part of the educational curriculum and the new generation is learning how to read and write it. Once it has become the key channel for communication in Manipur, the entire visual landscape of Manipur will change. Therefore it is a very crucial time to look into the issues revolving around Meetei Mayek, and its existence in the future.

One of the biggest challenges faced while reviving Meetei Mayek would be the transliteration of all those books written in the Bengali script. Over the years, some sounds from Bengali have become a part of Meeteilon. These sounds do not exist in the modern Meetei Mayek. Therefore, transliteration of the Bengali script to Meetei Mayek will not be completely accurate unless an alternative solution is developed. A few Meetei Mayek typefaces are available to use, but they lack the quality and style to create heirarchy and for complex text-setting. This curbs expression and effective communication of ideas. Analysing the change in letterforms informs us of the influence of tools, materials and technology. The letterforms found in inscriptions and manuscripts show an immediate influence of handwriting. They show spontaneity and have a natural flow of the stroke. They could be a good inspiration for developing text typefaces. Sign-painting letterforms are more constructed and geometric rather than possessing a natural stroke movement. As they function for display purposes, they show various personalities through their anatomy, style and proportion. This can serve as a useful source of inspiration for developing display typefaces. It is equally important to examine printed letterforms, as the technical restrictions and advantages in producing them influence the design of a typeface. With these sources of inspiration, one will understand the limitations and possibilities while designing a typeface for Meetei Mayek.

NEELAKASH Kshetrimayum

A Comparative Study of Meetei Mayek

references Bahadur, M. (1986) Epigraphical Records of Manipur, Vol-1, Mutua Museum, Imphal, India. Bahadur, M. (2005) Illustrated Manuscript of Manipur, Mutua Museum, Imphal, India. Grierson, G.A. (1967) Linguistic Survey of India, Vol. III, Part-III (Tibeto-Burman Family), Motilal Banarsidass, India. Kshetrimayum,N. (2010) A comparative study of Meetei Mayek: from the inscribed letterform to the digital typeface (Dissertation, University of Reading, UK). Kshetrimayum,N. (2010) An analysis of the letterforms of Meetei Mayek in sign-writing and typefaces (Essay, University of Reading, UK).

Kshetrimayum,N. (2006) Meetei Mayek: The Ignored Face (Diploma, National Institute of Design, India). Mangang, Ng. K. (1996) History of Kanglei Eeyeks, Kanglei Publishing House, Imphal, India. Mangang, Ng. K. Kanglei Eeyekki Wari (History of Kanglei Eeyek), Meetei Mayek & Cultural Development Organisation, Imphal, India. Mangang, Ng. K. (2003) Revival Of A Closed Account (A brief history of kanglei script and the birth of phoon (Zero) in the world of Arithmetic and Astrology), SALAI Punshipham, Imphal, India. Ross, F. (1999) The Printed Bengali Character and its Evolution, Curson Press Sharma, B. K. (1999) Typology & Technology of Meitei writing materials (Handmade paper, Ink & Pen), Manuscript Library Imphal, India Singh, Ch. M. (1978) A History of Manipuri Literature, The Manipur Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, India Singh, R.K J. (1987) A History of Manipuri Literature, Public Book Store, Imphal, India.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

SESSION MODERATOR

findout the name RAJESH DAHIYA KOK CHEON YEOH HANIF KURESHI

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

Rajesh Dahiya

Codesign Gurgaon, India TYPOGRAPHY IDENTITY CULTURE EXPRESSION

dahiya@codesign.in

RAJESH DAHIYA

CO-DESIGN: AN INTERVIEW

CODESIGN: AN INTERVIEW

ABSTRACT

tion. This is good because we cannot limit our students in their creation process to just only design for one purpose, because any kind of typography created finally can be used and its design demanded an enormous quantity of creativity. But what will happen if we decide to create a new kind of type according to our realities or related to our cultures it means with Identity. The exercise definitely turns more powerful and interesting. The students can develop a design process contributing to their society and culture. There are many exercises for design new kind of letters we just only need to adapt that

exercises to our reality, because we do not must repeat some exercises done in other countries due to our different realities, we must adapt those process. Peru is a great country with a wonderful past full of millenaries pre Colombian cultures, the IncaĂs, Amazonian cultures and actually a lot of living cultures; and also we must considerate that Peru in these days is a wonderful melting pot it means a privilege multicultural country. The exercise consists to choose one element to work, an ancient culture, a living culture or some references related to our reality. In the next step they have to do a deeply research such collecting photos, reading books, studying beliefs, cosmogony,

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

Figure.7 Typography application as a title

RAJESH DAHIYA

CO-DESIGN: AN INTERVIEW

“ SO, OVER THE LAST SIX OR SEVEN YEARS OF CO-DESIGN HAVE YOU NOTICED CHANGES IN THE DESIGN INDUSTRY? ESPECIALLY IN THE WAY THE CLIENTS LOOK AT DESIGN?

LET ME START OFF BY ASKING YOU ABOUT CODESIGN. WHEN WAS CODESIGN SET UP? 2005. december,2004 to be more specific. et up?

hile I don’t have any statistics, there are different indicators which help us get a sense of the changes that are taking place. For example there are far more queries that come from clients for design than we did earlier. So that’s a positive indicator. As a studio we have never advertised ourselves, so when we see more clients approaching us we believe it’s because they see a need for design now more than they did when we had started. Awareness about Co-design has been more or less the same over the years. In fact we always ask new clients how they found us. Typically, 50% of them come because an existing client has recommended us. What is more surprising is that now every month there are queries that come in through google searches that clients do. This is interesting because it’s an indication that clients now realize that- I need to get this designed and I need to approach someone qualified to do it. But it also shows that there is no accessible directory or anything of that sort that a client could look at to see who can help them. So they have to rely on results that google throws up. The sad thing about this is that if you are in Delhi you are probably googling ‘Design’ and ‘Delhi’ because people still believe that only someone around me can help me. Another indicator is existing clients keep coming back to you for their new needs. That means what design did for them in their last assignment worked, they found some value in it and hence they come back. Thats again a good indicator on the professional side. As a studio we have always had strong academic relations. However, being known amongst design students I think is usually difficult. But we have managed to have a good presence. So I would say both on the professional side and within the design community itself you see lot of positives regarding the perception of design.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

Let’s take the example of the ‘ArtHouse’ logo for Mocha that you talked about during Typography Day- How do clients react to a Typography based logo that is also dynamic? I ask that because a logo like this might go against what is traditionally perceived as a logo by clients.

ust to give you a context in which we did this project- The client approached us when they did not have ArtHouse as an idea. They wanted to know how their brand- ‘Mocha’ could be different from all the other cafes that were now offering things that were earlier Mocha’s forte. So when you are engaging with a client at that level, visual graphics becomes an internal issue. The major part here was not the graphics but curating art for them once we froze on the idea of having an art gallery in Mocha. Now the garllery would have art that was changed every 45 days and would have performances every week. So the space was a dynamic space which naturally lead to a logo that was dynamic. Also the fact that we were dealing with art and not a FMCG product meant that we had that freedom. I mean you can’t afford to do that with something like a dettol bottle where I pick and bottle and you pick a bottle and the logos don’t match, it would just make dettol look spurious. So it was a project that let us do things we enjoy doing. We as a studio have been biased towards

typography as most of the designers working in Co-design have done graphic design at NID. If you think of the graphic design course at NID you wouldn’t think of illustration or branding before you think of typography. It’s a mixed clout but I think typography is placed a little higher where it has acquired a ‘sexy’ status which I think is fine. Typography is also the only course that has a sequence, where you have Typo1, 2, and 3. So it seems to run through the veins and nerves of the discipline at NID.

Figure.7 Typography application as a title

RAJESH DAHIYA

CO-DESIGN: AN INTERVIEW

e, as a studio never reflect our internal interests outside. While dealing with clients we are strictly solving an issue. In any case typography and graphic design forms by default about 70% of content- text that people read. So internally when we are tying to come up with a logo we consciously restrain ourselves from working only on typographic logos. Though I must admit by default our hands start working along those lines because when we think of logos we don’t think of symbols as much as we think of logotypes. Then we consciously move in other directions too. So as long as we are aware of it and are presenting the client with other alternatives as well we don’t mind this bias. As humans we are naturally inclined to things that interest us. So appropriateness of a design can always be checked and if it turns out that something we were inclined towards does not work then we are always willing to work in other directions. But we need to be sure about it ourselves. In the ‘ArtHouse’ project for example the client did not like the logo approach we had taken for the first two weeks. So we asked the client to put on hold the decision on the logo and began work on other collaterals. Each time we presented something we would put the logo on it. Two weeks later the client came back saying they had started to appreciate and like the logo. Many large companies that are in mass media, however, might need a symbol because it’s not always practical to put a logotype everywhere. If you take Apple for example they would rather have the symbol of an apple rather than write apple computers. Text by it’s very nature is more intrusive, when I open a laptop I prefer seeing a backlit apple. Large companies need a symbol to abstract ideas and values, just to tell people who they are. You are anyway not searching for a meaning in a symbol after a point. But in the Mocha ‘ArtHouse’ case, it was a small cafe where the brand touch points are really limited so you are not looking for too many abstract things to represent them.

But do clients see typography as something that concerns them or something that they need to care about?

Figure.7 Typography application as a title

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

think we were lucky. The design department head from the client’s side was from NID and he was around in NID when I was there and he has been following the work that we have been doing at co-design. He was already, internally pushing the channel to invest into design both in terms of time and money. So we were approached by the channel because of this connection. But that does not mean we don’t give any credit to the channel because someone can keep approaching you, the fact that they got convinced was very positive. They nice to know that they did not want to pick up an existing font but wanted to have an exclusive font and an exclusive font in devnagri is quite a task. You have to remember that this is a channel whose 70% of the target audience has a CRT monitor where the pixels are coarse and the screens are 20 inches or lesser, so it’s a nightmare of sorts in terms of design- an interesting nightmare.

The other project that you talked about in your talk was the ‘type design’ you did for a news channel. You mentioned that the client approached you and not the other way round. How did the client perceive the need for this?

Figure.7 Typography application as a title

RAJESH DAHIYA

CO-DESIGN: AN INTERVIEW

This project would obviously must have been very challenging, you were catering to a client who perhaps does not look at type anything like a type designer or a graphic designer would.

his was interesting, how they looked at was Hindi is ‘thick and thin’ the way it would be if you wrote with a kitta. When Satya and I went there the first time with the preliminary drawings of the type their comment was that it looked like it was drawn by a child. And mind you these were not rough drawings they were resolved drawings. I kept wondering why they felt this. Then I understood that for them refined Hindi is thick and thin. So I had to stop the presentation open Illustrator type a lowercase ‘a’ in Garamond and in Helvetica to show them how the Roman script was earlier and what it is now. And it’s not that we don’t have lineal typefaces in Hindi, we do but they just don’t like them. So we had to build the case from there and it was only our

fifth drawing that was approved. You have to realize that when I say drawings, I mean enough letterforms to form sentences, which is why a project that was to finish in six months took one and a half years.

Beyond convincing the client there must have been other challenges for you like the kind of support or the lack of it that the existing software has for devnagri.

es, the software they use is way behind in that aspect. You draw the characters for the typeface imagining the type handling capabilities of some of the Adobe software but then you realize that there are kerning issues, the software won’t support opentype. Devnagri needs opentype desperately because of the complex combination of characters that it has. So something that supports just 256 characters is just not good enough. We are now sitting on a font whose capability won’t be used till the software gets updated. We designed about 800 characters of which only 256 will be used for now.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

You had talked about the way you approached this project. You had mentioned how you had selected ‘Amplitude’ as your Roman typeface and were in the process of designing a devnagri typeface that could work with it till the client changed their mind about this approach.

e were trying to understand from them how much of Roman will be used. Because if there was enough of it then it’s better to point the one we should use form the lakhs that are available. The idea was to then do the Hindi according to that. But somewhere down the line they felt that if they were investing into a font they would want it to look very distinct. We tried telling them that doing the devnagri and then trying to match an existing Roman typface might be a tougher route. But they then told us that the use of Roman would be very limited- mostly just numbers and a few odd characters once in a while. We had to go back to the drawing board and start from scratch. You also talked about how clients give feedback on such projects. So when they tell you that the typeface has to be like Akshay Kumar and not Hrithik Roshan or when they say it has to ‘jump’ out of the screen how do you reinterpret it for yourself? Well being a consultant from the same country, you understand Akshay Kumar and Hrithik Roshan. But that was the most interesting part for me, realizing that this the way they talk about light, medium and bold

and not the way we do in academic environment. For example you do get a sense of how bold the bold has to be from such feedback. Akshay Kumar is not going to get romantic roles, he is going to be the brash hero who is punching the villan with a certain ‘akkad’ and masculinity. In fact, I remember later telling them that this is the kind of feedback that helps us, earlier they would say things like ‘is mein jaan nahi hai’ or ‘is mein maaza nahi aaya’. Those are very generic things and hard to work with.

So when you do this exercise and try to figure out what they mean when they give such feedback, do the clients see the Akshay Kumar in the typeface the next time around?

es, they do see those things. See, everyone is a visual person, some of us are creators of these visual and some others are consumers of it. So once they see the font after their last feedback, their vocabulary is based on the last feedback- ‘Haan, is mein akkad hai’, earlier it was ‘maaza nahi aaya’. so the idea is to get them from giving generic feedback that has no direction to something where they start giving you concrete words.

RAJESH DAHIYA

CO-DESIGN: AN INTERVIEW

h! We would make hypothetical TV news reports and present it in the same flavor as that of the existing news channel-’Salmaan Khan Jail mein gaya!’. Then they visualize it in their context. In the first few presentations we had pdfs with black type in different styles, weights and sizes- typical specimen sheets that we understand. But it was only when we put the type with 3D effects, shadow and in their environment could they decided if they liked it or not and also pushing them not to use words such as ‘like’, ‘dislike’ but say what it stands for. So we now have rules in our presentations where you can’t say, ‘It’s excellent’, you have to say what makes it excellent. In branding for example you always here people say ‘It has to be very good’ but what is ‘very good’ in your context. Its only then that people slowly come up with concrete things. The project in a sense has changed the way we go to clients now. We now take a lot of pictorial references especially because we do a lot of brand workshops before starting work on projects. I usually take a lot of images and then ask them to talk about it. For example I show them ten logos of existing airlines and ask them which airlines do they like, they say something like Singapore Airlines then you ask them which logo they like, invariably it’s some other logo. It’s to show them that the brand is different from the logo. You need to take care of the hospitality inside the aircraft or how the receptionist takes a call in your office or how in your retail space your store manager handles things those are the things that make your brand. A symbol is there only to recall. So thats what we do now- use images whenever possible, people react better to images In the context of this project the thing is that type design is so new, even in the west and even newer here, we just have to do a project, learn from it and improvise. Maybe the next time I do a type project I will know what I need to get approvals on first before I let the client articulate on the individual forms of the letters. I would never enlarge the type, because they don’t see it as type, they would ask you why is there that cut in that corner, or why is that point so sharp etc.

Does that also have anything to do with the way you present such projects. Black text typed out on a white sheet of paper might not really excite too many clients.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

he rewarding moment is yet to come. The channel is waiting for their design team to do their new layouts which will also be introducing the new fonts. For us the rewarding moment will be when the nation gets to see the channel with the new font where we would be responsible for having brought in the that little bit of extra clarity in the readability. But this field is so nascent and fresh that it is anyway rewarding to get to do something that we wanted to do and we now have a client. So the rewards come in stages, we are getting to do something that would otherwise would have remained as drawings in our sketch books and gotten lost. Doing it in a a real world scenario, dealing with the friction and someday to see it on TV is a amazing learning experience. It’s also a very humbling experience because something that you in your world see as being very important may not be so important for someone else. So you have to be happy in your world without depending on how much your work means to everyone else. I mean I don’t understand management ‘fundas’ nor do I wonder what a furniture designer might be thinking when I go and tell him what I want. When someone comes and tell me they want a retro font I ask them ‘why?’ but then I go and ask the furniture designer and say I want a retro piece. When you see this you understand what’s going on- when people pay you and are going to own and use what you have made it’s very difficult for an outside consultant to keep telling them what’s good for them. It’s only doctors who can do that because it directly affects your body and mind.

But even with these difficulties I am sure there must have been rewarding moments while working on a project like this one.

Does it every bother you that a designer might never get the sort of respect a doctor might?

ell, honestly I don’t respect designers more than doctors. They are dealing with far more critical things and we have to admit that design is not priority number 1 for this world. Design is without doubt important but do we have to keep pushing it to a level of importance where only being number 1 is acceptable? That’s unfair. Design might be...2051st on the list of important things in this world but that still means it’s important. But design itself is too broad- maybe

RAJESH DAHIYA

CO-DESIGN: AN INTERVIEW

designing a font is not as important as designing an heart surgery table. So in design what you are doing and the reasons you are doing it for are important. I might be designing the interiors of a cafe that will make the space aesthetically more pleasing. Charles Eames had once remarked- ‘Who says pleasure is not functional?’, I agree with that. Making things more beautiful, aesthetically more pleasing are worthy causes.

“ Interviewed by Vinu Chaitanya & Pragya Mishra

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression

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Typography and Expression

typography Day 2011 International SeminarS and Workshops 3rd /4th /5th march 2011 NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN

ahmedabad, india

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN typography Day 2011 International Seminar and Workshops on Typography and Expression