Welcome to the world of handpainted fonts in the digital age.

By Deepa Srinivasan

Whether it is on television or on the back of an auto-rickshaw, our eyes are constantly confronted by advertising signage. What used to be a colourful, effervescent hand-painted sign advertising a business establishmet or service provider – is now a costefficient printed-out invitation to somehow bring the business to our attention. Trying to bring these two worlds together is New Delhi-based art- and design-lover Hanif Kureshi.

As a little boy, Kureshi’s dream was to be a painter. During his vacations, he loved to observe the focus and dedication of painters; so, he worked on small jobs for them, even if it meant just cleaning brushes. He then started painting number-plates as a hobby, when his father suggested he attend the Faculty of Fine Arts in Baroda. There, he discovered a whole new world of art: typography, graphic art, mixed media, etc.

When he left Baroda, he joined the art department of the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather. Today, he works in the creative department of another leading advertising agency, Wieden+Kennedy. Through the course of his career, he has been exposed to numerous styles in art and advertising. Yet, his admiration for hand-painters of signage has remained intact. In the attempt to integrate these two aspects of his life, HandPaintedType was born.

HandPaintedType is a project to conserve the typography of street painters around India. The process begins with a street painter designing a font in his or her own style on a cloth banner; it is then photographed and sent to Kureshi.

The photograph is sent to Bombay, where Sarang Kulkarni, the proprietor of WhiteCrow Design Management, converts the fonts to a digital format. The hand-painter’s font thus becomes a font that anyone can download and use, just like Arial or Times New Roman.

We spoke to Kureshi about his project.

What led you to start this project and how did it begin?
I always wanted to become a painter, but with all the exposure I got from college and work, I became exposed to a different kind of world. The project was a way for me to connect the two worlds. I proposed the idea to the National Institute of Design, and as soon as I received their approval, I began.

What do you think makes a street painter’s font so unique?
It’s pure local art. A street painter is not checking international blogs for graphic art or anything to find out what’s new; they have no exposure, which makes it completely original. It’s ancient and Indian in the most precious way.

By digitally converting these fonts, don’t you think it takes the beauty away from the originality of it?
It does, but I think this is the best I can do for the painter and the public. The times are changing and these painters do not have a lot of work coming towards them. This is a way for them to leave their mark and it’s a way to make sure their art lasts forever.

How would someone get a hold of these fonts?
If you go to the website www.handpaintedtype.com you can download these fonts and learn a little more about the project and how to contribute, even.

What is the price of a font?
There is one font I’m giving away for free. It is called Painter Umesh. The others will most likely be priced around $40-50 because if it’s free, then the value of the font goes down and the main idea behind the project is to keep the worth of the painter’s styles alive.

How are the proceeds divided up?
Fifty percent of the money goes to the painter’s pocket for each download, and the other fifty percent goes to the project.

View more on Hanif : http://vimeo.com/