Meenar: A Variable Devanagari Typeface
Description
Meenar (which translates to 'tower') is a condensed-geometric Variable Devanagari display typeface inspired by the Art Deco Movement of the 1920s. The influence of Art Deco can be observed in the symmetrical arrangements of letter strokes, reminiscent of the geometric patterns found in Art Deco architecture and design. It fuses one of India's traditional Indic scripts and the historical Western design movement, resulting in a culturally significant expression of fluid typography. The font is variable in nature and allows dynamic adjustment of the ratios & proportions of specific letterforms along the y-axis.
Meenar was created during a two-week Typeface Design course after a rigorous study of type anatomy. After multiple hand-drawn explorations using two pencils tied together by a rubber band, each letterform was crafted meticulously, following a modular system, and further refined digitally. After continuous iterations and understanding the scope of the variability of each letterform, multiple draft prints were taken to maintain form and sizing across the letter set and decode the right texture for the variable typeface system.
