Member lesson

More than one script

Lesson 9 of 34 in Typography.

Challenges in Multilingual Type Design by David Brezina #typedesign #writingsystems #designresearch · Typography Day

Lesson

Most Indian design is bilingual before it is anything else.

Latin, Devanagari and Arabic aligned to different reference lines.

A matchbox label on a yellow ground: a Madurai temple gopuram drawn in brown and gold with red and white striped walls at its base, named in Tamil across the top, safety matches and fifty's price 13 Ps running vertically up either side, and SUNDARAM MATCH INDUSTRIES, MADURAI along the bottom. — A matchbox label showing a Madurai temple tower, named in Tamil. A few strong flat colours on a yellow ground carry the whole picture.Temple, Indian matchbox label. Unrecorded designer, for an Indian match manufacturer.Wikimedia Commons/Public domain

A matchbox label on a yellow ground: a tall sugarcane plant with a red and white banded stalk and green leaves, the name गन्ना in Devanagari beside it, PRICE RE.0-06 above, a band of blue water at the foot, and THILAGARAJ MATCH WORKS, SIVAKASI along the bottom. — A Sivakasi matchbox label that names its picture in Devanagari. Flat red, green and blue on yellow stay bright even on rough paper.Sugarcane, Indian matchbox label. Unrecorded designer, for an Indian match manufacturer.Wikimedia Commons/Public domain

Member

The rest of this is for members.

You have read the opening of this lesson. The rest of it comes with a membership.

One membership covers all four courses and Brands.

All lessons in the four Learn courses
All brand breakdowns in the Brands section
All quizzes, flashcards and crosswords
An AI teacher on every lesson, for up to 60 questions a day
All course material published during the membership

Price

Membership is from $12 a month on the Yearly plan, which is charged at $144 once a year. Lifetime access is $59, paid once.Membership is from ₹200 a month on the Yearly plan, which is charged at ₹2,400 + GST once a year. Lifetime access is ₹3,999 + GST, paid once.

See membership Already a member? Sign in

Check what stuck

Members only

You can't take this check yet.

Members answer these 3 questions and keep the ticket for this lesson. Every lesson has one.

Question 1, locked
A label designer finishes the English layout, then drops in Tamil at the same point size. What does the lesson advise instead?
- Keep the same point size so both scripts look fair
- Set them as a pair, the customer's script larger
- Put the Tamil on the back so the front stays clean
- Always make English larger, as the trade reads it
Question 2, locked
A matchbox from Sivakasi carries Tamil, Devanagari and English. Why does the lesson say it carries all three?
- Three scripts made a tiny label look richer and more decorative
- Local printing rules required three scripts on every label
- Its customers and its trade did not share one language
- The printer had type in all three scripts already to hand
Question 3, locked
Before a bilingual label prints, you ask someone who reads the second script to look at it. What are you asking them to judge?
- Whether the type looks normal or set by a foreigner
- Whether the translation is accurate and fully complete
- Whether the colours suit readers of that script
- Whether the label meets local printing rules

Unlock the checks Already a member? Sign in

Elsewhere in the library