Tangible and intangible heritages of typographic practice in India
India’s textual and typographic heritage can be considered in four stages influenced by economic and political development: precolonial, colonial, postcolonial, and liberal. Essentially an oral and manuscript culture, it can be argued that Indian typographic and publishing practice has absorbed Western typographic norms to such an extent that vernacular ways of designing, publishing, distributing and receiving texts are often usurped by so-called ‘global practice’. However, as noted by Fry (2017), there is much work to be done in ‘how design is understood, transformed, and practiced in the Global South’ and this requires a conscious and critical reflection of our heritage. Using India as a case study and typography as a lens, this paper asks what is a true typographic heritage in a postcolonial, liberal context? Using examples of historical approaches and practice in the design, production and distribution of texts in India, this paper evaluates particular intangible and tangible heritages, and sifts through inherited and local practices with the aim of drawing together a ‘new typography’ for India. Overall, it seeks to engage, explore, debate, elaborate, refine and extend a sense of typography and typographic practices for/by a ‘Modern India’.
Rathna Ramanathan is a typographer and Reader in Intercultural Communication, known for her expertise in working with marginalized communities and contexts using alternative publishing practices. She works in international cross-disciplinary teams and takes a decolonial, cooperative approach to leading the research, design, and delivery of communication on projects for BBC World (Hindi and Bangla), British Council, UNICEF India, and World Bank, as well as publishers Tara Books and Harvard University Press.
Themes of urban and cultural heritage resonate in Ramanathan’s work, including the relevance of tangible (archives) and intangible (oral texts) heritages in multiple languages and contemporary design (Murty Classical Library of India). Some of her other projects are centered around cities envisioned through rural/indigenous creative imaginations (The London Jungle Book with Bhajju Shyam and Tara Books), dialogs of people, politics, and place (BBC’s Voice of the People campaign), and working with endangered Indian heritages (archives, texts, and marginalized and indigenous community rituals).
Ramanathan is interested in the role of the communicator/designer in addressing critical human and non-human challenges. She believes that communication should be a fundamental human right. It is a radical and meaningful tool that can create lasting positive change in how we describe, interact, and connect with each other. Ramanathan is Dean of Academic Strategy at Central St. Martins, London, UK. She serves as ATypI’s delegate for India and is also on the organization’s board of directors.