Embark on a one-of-a-kind journey into the world of Devanagari type design. This course will guide you through the intricacies of turning your idea into a working Devanagari typeface with the help of type design professionals.
Practica Devanagari Two: Introduction to Devanagari type design
Wednesdays and Fridays, August 6–November 7, 2025
Wednesday's classes are 2.5 hours. Friday classes are 1.5 hours.
Classes begin at 7:30pm Mumbai, 4pm Berlin, 10am New York time.
43.5 total course hours, live classes held over Zoom.
Students should expect to spend roughly six hours a week on homework or research outside of class.
Quickly move from basic letterform construction to exploring foundational typeface design concepts — like workflow, spacing, proportions and creating systems in Devanagari typefaces. Students will get plenty of personalized feedback on their typefaces, as well as the support and collaboration of their peers. Join us to develop your own Devanagari typeface, be inspired by our amazing guest lecturers, and connect with a community of passionate designers.
What you’ll learn:
- Understanding of the construction and proportions of Devanagari letterforms
- Expanding character sets and building a foundation for a complete typeface
- Creating a coherent visual system
- Insight into research and professional type design practices
- Increasing efficacy and time management when designing a Devanagari typeface
- Understanding and applying typographic principles specific to the Devanagari script
You will get plenty of personalized feedback on their typefaces, as well as the support and collaboration of their peers. Join us to develop your own Devanagari typeface, be inspired by our amazing guest lecturers, and connect with a community of passionate designers.
Class schedule:
- Aug 6: 10 min individual meeting with Kimya, no formal class
- Aug 15: Course introduction, lecture: Possibilities of Devanagari typefaces
- Aug 20: Project introductions and initial design direction discussion
- Aug 22: Demo: Review of type design process in Glyphs
- Aug 27: Feedback session: basic consonants and vowels
- Aug 29: Lecture: Setting up test documents and testing techniques
- Sep 3: Feedback session: advanced consonants and vowels
- Sep 5: Guest lecture: Research-based type design projects
- Sep 10: Feedback session: anchors and marks
- Sep 12: Lecture: The world of conjuncts
- Sept 17: Feedback session: conjuncts part 1
- Sept 19: Lecture: Basic Devanagari feature building; short guest lecture on font production
- Sept 24: Feedback session: conjuncts part 2
- Sept 26: Individual feedback sessions, no formal class
- Oct 1: Individual feedback sessions, no formal class
- Oct 3: Flex session: Q&A
- Oct 8: Feedback session: texture and spacing
- Oct 10: Lecture: Language alternates, numbers and punctuation
- Oct 15: Feedback session: numbers and alternates
- Oct 17: Guest lecture: Business of Indic type design
- Oct 29: Feedback session: numbers and alternates
- Oct 31: Lecture: Interpolations and pushing boundaries
- Nov 5: Feedback session: final
- Nov 7: Final presentations 🎉
Who?
Kimya Gandhi (Mota Italic) – Lead instructor
Lipi Raval (Typeface designer) – Visiting critic
Liang Hai (Typotheque) – Visiting instructor
Vaibhav Singh (type.land) – Visiting instructor
For Whom?
Students are expected to have prior experience with the Devanagari script and a solid idea for a typeface they want to create before starting the course.
How Much?
Starting at USD 1250, payment plans available.
Enrollment opens July 17, 2025.
Language
English
Prerequisites
Mac with Glyphs preinstalled. Internet connection, a layout program like Affinity Publisher or InDesign. Zoom, Miro, and Discord accounts (free).
