Abstract/Summary

This essay considers research methods that underpin and document the design process for the development of types in diverse scripts, particularly those of South Asia, to answer specific typographic needs. This is conducted through illustrated case studies. The first case study relates to designing harmonious typefaces for multi-script texts for the Murty Classical Library of India project. It focuses on issues concerning the design of Devanagari and Gurmukhi typefaces optimized for sustained reading. The second study discusses typeface designs and their requirements for the transmission of news, initially regarding Bengali-script newspaper composition and subsequently considering the design of logos, taglines, and typefaces for broadcast-news channels and websites in six Indian scripts. The third case study concerns the very recent design of an original OpenType Nasta’liq typeface for Urdu textual composition. All the above practical projects represent collaborative design work that is founded upon a research-based design methodology to foster the optimal typographic representation of South Asian languages.