Hashim Padiyath Malayalam script has its roots in Brahmi like other Indian scripts, and has evolved as its own script only by about 14th to 16th centuries. The script has taken many forms, like Vattezhuthu, Kolezhuthu, Malayanma, and Aryezhuthu, before arriving at its current rounded form. Malayalam language’s close kinship with Tamil and adoption of many sounds from Sanskrit may also have influenced these forms. The popular substrate of palm leaves and the use of metal styluses to write on them have definitely made a lasting impression on the letterforms.
From the manuscript days, Malayalam has been written largely in rounded forms and rarely in squarish forms. When printing began, the square forms were initially adopted, but through the years became rounder and rounder to make the script synonymous with roundness. Artists and designers have given these letterforms many different forms, but the roundness has remained the leitmotif of the script. Many people have designed typefaces in the script; many have succeeded, but some have also faltered for lack of understanding the script and its nuances. This presentation examines the letterforms geometrically, trying to define ideal proportions between various parts and extent of variations desirable, and will try to create a framework for future typeface designers to develop better type designs in future.