This Mumbai-based design collective is making unique fonts for Indian scripts

Ek Typersquos latest typeface called Anek is another example of the work that the collective which specialises in type designs of Indian scripts undertakes Cofounder Sarang Kulkarni says ldquoWorking towards the creation of Indian script designs wersquore looking to fill the gap in existing fonts by providing technically sound design and language support so that fonts are legible functional and aesthetically pleasing with the times without losing the scriptrsquos visual grammarrdquo For this he continues that working with language professionals and other experts are part of the long and detailed process of font creationTypeface ModakStarting each project with the objectives and outlining the requirements Kulkarni elaborates ldquoWhere will the font be used What need is it fulfilling We define these objectives to understand the visual parameters and ensure the design caters to that sector or domain the font will be used forrdquoVariations in width and height of Anek Pic CreditEk TypeTo illustrate the type designer shares examples of previous typefaces from Ek Typersquos repertoire Baloo a multiscript design was specifically created for headlines multilingual branding publications and Modak experiments with heavy letterforms in Devanagari script while still ensuring its readability Anek he adds was designed to be a versatile display typeface mainly for large sizes and short texts Being a variable font it can be made narrower or wider to accommodate several words in a lineSarang KulkarniPut together in 20 months by the team at Ek Type Anek might be one of the collectiversquos largest projects yet with 40 styles in 10 scripts The font has variations of weight and width or what one might call thinness or boldness and narrowness or wideness of a letter It comprises scripts such as Devanagari Bangla Latin Tamil Gurmukhi Kannada Telugu Malayalam Odia and Gujarati A lot goes into creating a font in multiple scripts Mumbaibased Kulkarni says ldquoEqual importance needs to be given to all scripts The design of one script cannot overpower the other They have to look like they belong to the same design familyrdquo In a multiscript and multilingual country Kulkarni concludes ldquoWe work on the visual design of existing scripts We are not creating new scripts or reviving languages we are only doing our part to ensure that Indian scripts have contemporary and functional fontsrdquo Anek is available for free download on Google FontsLog on to ektype on Instagram or search for Anek on fontsgooglecomTesting it outWe invited two design experts to try out Anek herersquos their report card after they experimented with itArtwork by Pratik Deo that he made using AnekConvenient and modernPratik Deo art director and illustrator Mumbai pratik_deoAnek which means many in Devanagari is perfectly titled because this font covers 10 scripts and various width and weight combinations mdash The variety of weights makes the font very convenient for multiple use cases Anek and other fonts by Ek Type are a muchneeded addition to the Google Font library since it is sometimes a challenge to find fonts in Indian scripts with a contemporary look This San Serif font comes with modern aesthetics and classic detailing The equal contrast gives the font its uniformity And the detailed curves that form the contours beautify it giving it a unique characteristicUnique and cleanShiny Yadav creative director and partner Flying Cursor MumbaiPune a_shiny_personThe font instantly ticked a lot of boxes for me it has the 3Cs of design mdash clean clear character It is a versatile font but for me the identifiable feature of Anek is the f p amp g lowercase letters which also remind me a little bit of the classic Cooper Black or the more serious version of that All the characters in Anek have their own quirks but having said that the identifiers are missing from the type design in other scripts Where Latin has it the others donrsquot It is a strong font choice for brand usage as it will provide consistency across languages and mediums It is unique enough to create recall and clean enough to be legible on small screens and sizes