The Tibetan script has an empirically testable recorded history of 1,300 years; it has been the lingua franca of Central Asia for several centuries, around the 12th century; and Tibetan script has hundreds of unique calligraphic styles. These diverse styles are now being digitalized and being used as inspirations for designing new forms of digital fonts. Type design has taken off as an industry in Tibetan society, and more and more people (now mostly young Tibetans) are designing Tibetan typefaces and fonts, despite it being a new thing for Tibetans. The number of Tibetan types is in the 300+ currently, and dozens of new fonts are being designed and released annually. I am going to hold an exhibition of Tibetan typeface, using typographic posters, showcasing the diverse variations of Tibetan type, drawing from the rich and unique styles of the Tibetan scripts. The current Tibetan fonts largely remain on the script fonts side, but new Latin-style Sans Serifs and variable fonts are also emerging. For example, there are currently four Tibetan Uchan-style variable fonts, but only one Umed variable font (Uchan and Umed are the two simplified categories of Tibetan script classification).
The exhibition will give the audience an unforgettable opportunity to see, experience, and get inspired by the Tibetan script and the greatly varied and unique styles of Tibetan script, which are now available in digital format.
Tibetan Typography Exhibition
