Research:

Once the initial research was conducted, I moved on to creating iterations for the Devanagari letters. The initial set of iterations is in the language of vectors, and focused on layering while understanding the skeleton of the letter and how it stands up. The other aspect that I kept in mind was that the letters do not have to follow a single art form. Some of the ideas behind the iterations were: 

1. Layering between the horizontal and vertical strokes 

2. Interaction between basic shapes and more decorative strokes 

3. Outline on a separate layer from the filling 

4. Adding decorative features on a different layer 

5. Adding mass only on the horizontal stroke of a letter, like on the arms of a Kathputli 

6. Creating ornaments as a separate layer 

These iterations made me realise that the letters become more interesting when the layers are not in register with each other, and it is important to see how different parts create a whole. In the case of ornaments, they work better when the letters have mass. The second set of iterations focused on creating a base layer. The base layer was influenced by the subtractive letter workshop and Lino-cutting. The aim was to create tension between angular shapes and fluid shapes. 

The basic letter shape was confirmed by getting feedback from both my mentor and sending it to friends and family who use the script on a daily basis. The next step was to start creating the initial 10 letters “अ इ ए ख त भ द ध थ ष” that are considered to capture all the formal properties of the Devanagari Letter . Before designing these letters I determined the vertical proportion of the glyphs which was initially suggested by Mahendra Patel and further improved by Dr. Girish Dalvi. Varying or proportional widths for each glyph was also determined initially for the first 10 letters and then the other letters in relation to them. This was done by looking at other well-designed fonts such as Chikki my Mota Italic, Adobe Devanagari, Laila by Indian Type Foundry & Painter Umesh by Ek type. 

Once the 10 letter shapes were finalised I digitised them on Illustrator. While digitising I used a basic grid and each element of the letter was created separately so that replication and layering would be easier. The next step was to create the ornaments layer, while moving the other letters into glyphs app. 

About Mittee:

Mittee is a chromatic Devanagari display font with 2 layers and a set of 34 ornaments. The layers can be used individually, but when placed together they create unique multi coloured glyphs. 

The basic layer is influenced by concept of subtractive letters, as well as Lino-cutting. The letter shapes were purposefully designed to create tension between the angular shapes and fluid shapes. 

The skeleton layer takes inspiration from the Indian endangered art form Kathputli (Puppetry). In this art form the puppets are made using a large single piece of wood in the middle, followed by a layer of cotton to create the arms, which is further wrapped with a traditionally patterned cloth. 

The ornaments were formed using 4 copies of each of the consonants. The 4 copies were placed to create the ornament shape. These can be used to create patterns, borders or even a third layer for the font.