Typography workshop by Zenab Bastawala
Zenab
Bastawala’s typography workshop made me reflect on not just how we interpret
typefaces but also how we interpret designs. When I first entered the space
where the workshop was scheduled, I was pleasantly surprised to see paint and
material kept for use. I initially assumed that this was going to be some new
way of demonstration to make us understand about typography but when Zenab
asked us to pick up some paint and work with it I was totally thrilled. As
shapes gave way to new shapes I got totally engrossed in the activity and
before I knew it, it was already an hour of work.
Stencils, partly from Kannada and
partly from English scripts, were provided to us and we were asked to form
shapes connecting the ones already existing on the wall. We worked in groups of
two and during the course of work our vision was restricted to the space we saw
and we were working on. Zenab continuously asked us to take a step back and
process the spaces between the forms created and work accordingly. And what I
saw when I took a step back really baffled me. It
taught me how important the spaces between the types is. 
In my discussion with Zenab post the
workshop she addressed the importance of stepping back and observing our work
from a distance. While we are designing, we are so absorbed in the small space
that we are concentrating on, that we often forget to look at the bigger
picture or how our design looks as a whole. She also explained how this
workshop would help us to visualize how scripts may have come into existence.
Like we may have accidentally created a new script that day, the origin of
script would have also been accidental and has eventually become the written
form of communication we use today.
I am going to carry forward this experience
throughout my journey as a designer. This workshop not just enabled me to
understand scripts and type better, but also have the pleasure of leaving
behind a part of me on the walls of Cubbon Park station.
