Ishan Khosla Launched in 2011, The Typecraft Initiative, develops a range of display typefaces based on the rich crafts and indigenous arts of South Asia and beyond.
The aim of the workshop is to look at non-Western sources of inspiration for lettering, typography, and type design beyond Modernism and the Bauhaus. Participants will learn how to decode a folk art or craft into its fundamental building blocks and then use these forms to “recode” or transform them into lettering. Instructions with case studies will help explain how this can be done, and how each craft needs to be approached differently with different techniques.
While the time for the workshop is short, a brief overview of a few crafts will be given to participants to make them aware of the complex and deep meaning these have to a culture. Each craft is associated with a community, that have its own belief-systems, material culture and belong to a certain geographical region—all of which influence the forms and function of the craft to that culture. For instance, Rabari embroidery made by women-folk, celebrates the dancing peacock in its motifs. This is not only symbolic of the male call for mating but indicates the possibility of rain, which in a dry arid region of the Kutch desert becomes a signal for abundance.
This workshop brings some of the rich crafts knowledge to participants who are challenged to create letterforms based on an understanding of one of the crafts presented. It involves working hands-on with low-tech materials like paper, scissors, shapes of pre-cut materials, stamps etc., that mimic some of the crafts of South Asia.
This workshop is ideal for students interested in exploring diverse cultures, and are open to new experiences, those who are interested in research, material cultures, age-old making methodologies, combining the handmade with design and technology.
While the workshop will focus on constructing Latin script letterforms, participants are welcome to explore any other script as well
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Typecrafting (Workshop)
$50.00
