Here’s how vernacular fonts are changing typeface design

Indian and Indian-origin graphic designers and illustrators are spotlighting vernacular languages by contemporising them through typography, and even reviving them in some ways

When mixed-media artist Jessie Sohpaul’s parents immigrated from India to Vancouver about 45 years ago, little did they realise that the move would anchor their son’s search for his identity in creatively diverse ways.

Sohpaul was drawn to art from the age of 12 and wanted to take it more seriously. At the time, he thought he would one day become a comic-book artist. “I decided to invest time in art while in high school. I also loved comics and cartoons, so my fascination heavily influenced my love for design with pop culture. With time, I started working on my drawing skills, and transitioned into using Photoshop and working with digital design before studying design at university,” he says.

Soon, Sohpaul combined his Punjabi lineage with art. During his stint as a designer in San Francisco, he used his free time to create “fusion art” that represented his experience from a South Asian lens. “In San Francisco, I didn’t have the family connection; though it didn’t disappear, it was at a distance. I was then wondering about showcasing the story or the Punjabi aspect of the heritage,” he says.

The desire to remain connected to his roots spurred his decision to experiment with the Gurmukhi alphabet—a writing system developed by the Sikhs in India for their sacred literature—as typography to create a visual narrative that would resonate with the Punjabi community globally. Sohpaul shares his creations under the brand and art gallery, Do Not Touch. “I may not be fluent in Punjabi, but I did isolate alphabets in Gurmukhi, using them artistically across merchandise. It built an emotional resonance with me and the public as well—particularly members of the Punjabi diaspora. 

Sohapaul is just one of many Indian and Indian-origin graphic designers and illustrators who are spotlighting vernacular languages by contemporising them through typography and even reviving them in some ways, with the intention of staying connected to their roots. And for a good reason too. In a Reuters report, The People’s Linguistic Survey of India (PSLI) noted that more than half of the languages spoken by India’s 1.3 billion people might die out over the next 50 years, raising the alarm during the launch of the 11 volumes in its planned 50-volume survey of the country’s languages in 2017. The survey called especially for a concerted effort to preserve the tongues spoken by the nation’s endangered tribal communities.

Elaborating on the findings, PSLI chairman Dr GN Devy said of the 780 languages spoken in the country, at least 400 are at risk of dying in the next five decades. Devy also noted each time a language is lost, the corresponding culture is killed, adding that India has already lost 250 languages in the last five decades.

A new approach

Indic typefaces are becoming increasingly popular because many people might be more comfortable using their vernacular language than English, feels Jatin Talreja, co-founder and business head at Project Hum—a Mumbai-based farm-to-fork, fast-casual restaurant that aims at democratising clean food. “In a bid to convey our mission of fostering community-supported farming with a focus on seasonality and local sourcing, thereby bridging the gap between producers and consumers by involving small farmers directly, we opted for an Indic typeface for our branding because we felt ‘Hum’ spelt in the vernacular would reinforce our commitment to community-building,” he says.

In keeping with the establishment’s ethos, the branding, outsourced to a graphics firm—Popping Mustard—followed suit. Rooted in earthy colours like mustard, mint, peach, saffron and blue, the brand’s logo design is evocative of a stamp, with just a hint of authority. Devanagari letters serve as the main element to represent  the grassroots network that goes into building the final plate of food one would consume at the restaurant. A leaf connects the letters, symbolising how food connects people and communities.

“The clean, unpretentious typography celebrates the brand values of transparency, realness and warmth,” says Talreja. 

A revival

When Berlin-based typeface designer and design educator Kimya Gandhi of Motaitalic studied design in India, she admits to having ironically learnt about Swiss typography, with most of her work grounded in using the Latin script. “I didn’t realise how my decision to study the Latin script impacted the outlook and sensibilities of younger students towards vernacular visual culture until later,” she says. 

However, while she was pursuing a Masters in visual communication at the Industrial Design Centre at IIT Bombay, she was introduced to a course titled ‘Indian Thoughts and Traditions,’ which exposed her to various Indian scripts and the diversity of beautiful letterforms from different parts of the country. 

“The course impacted my process forever. The idea of designing with context had begun for me. Indian scripts are used heavily for communication in our country but don’t enjoy the same stature as Latin, which saddened me. The way to influence or change this scenario was to contribute to my work actively. Our scripts are beautiful and deserve to be presented to the world,” she says. 

Growing up speaking Marathi at home, Gandhi did not understand why regional languages were considered inferior to English—from a design point of view. Specialising in designing Devanagari typefaces, Gandhi focuses on the functionality of typefaces and always tries to find new directions for showcasing Indian graphic design. And while she’s proud of graphic designers and branding agencies’ work to creatively transform original, indigenous traditions through a contemporary design perspective, she believes “more needs to be done to incorporate Indian scripts in their designs and licensing typefaces than only using open-source options.”

Street chronicles

When Aashim Tyagi, a Fiji-based multidisciplinary artist working with photography, graphic design and text, travels across India to capture the personality of the cities through their typography on shop walls and signage with his trusty camera for company, he is always in awe of the typographic treasure that usually lies hidden. “In Kolkata, the crumbling Art Nouveau signs co-exist beautifully with the more expressive Bengali script of the signs on local shops, along with the Art Deco and even mid-century styles of movie theatres,” he says. Tyagi has enjoyed spending the better part of the last decade building his archive of street typography by shooting in Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Lucknow, and other cities in India. 

“As I navigate the streets and bylanes, these formal and informal systems of words, numbers and symbols call out to me, and while I may not be able to read them, I still understand them,” he says. “When I photograph these old signs, I hope to resurrect them via design interventions, but that approach has changed. I’ve realised the process has become a way for me to let go and accept that cities change and modernise.”

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