MA by Research in Typography and Graphic Communication, University of Reading
Centre for Print History and Culture, Birmingham, UK
Gurmukhi Printing: a historical analysis of design, production and consumption from early printing to the 20th Century
This research investigates the development of printing types of the one of the scripts used to write the Punjabi language; Gurmukhi, by British type founders and printers. In doing so, it aims to address the effects of various printing technologies on the letterforms of these scripts. Furthermore, it will consider the historic backdrop and the contexts—this includes religious, social, and political texts—in which fonts were being developed for the writing system. The historic scope of this thesis begins from early nineteenth century, in which the first movable type was developed for the Gurmukhi script, and extends to the era of digital type production in the twentieth century. By consulting archival material and relevant literature largely gathered from various collections within the United Kingdom, the social and cultural intentions that motivated the transition from pen to print for Gurmukhi will be evaluated, as well as subsequent typographic developments for the script. Additionally, through the critical analysis of valuable primary resources including type specimens, trial proofs, correspondence between clients and customers, and case studies of printed outputs, light will be shed on the rationale and solutions that led to impactful design decisions. Collectively, this will result in an important contribution that will fill gaps in the history of typography and print of the Punjab region.
Paper: Sahar Afshar (2020) The Gurmukhi Type of Oxford University Press, Midland History, 45:2, 161-175
Presentation: The Gurmukhi Type of Oxford University Press | Artsfest Online: Printing and Print Culture in the Midlands: a Webinar, 2020
Presentation: PhDs in Europe: Students | ATypI Working Seminar, Ésad Amiens, France, 2020
Presentation: Muses, methods, and thereafter | ISType conference, Istanbul, Turkey, 2019
Presentation: The future is no longer what it used to be: an overview of variable fonts | Birmingham Design Festival, Birmingham, UK, 2018
Presentation: On extending connections (AKA making it fit) | Co-presented with José Solé for TypoLabs, Berlin, Germany, 2018
Presentation: Sours, Flips, & Fancies | TDC Judge’s night presentation, Great Hall of Cooper Union, USA, New York, 2018
Article: Through the typographic looking glass: reflections on the concept of “decentralizing” type | Typegeist Online Magazine, Summer 2018
Article: Interview for special issue on typography | Gráffica Magazine, Summer 2018.
Presentation: Punjabi printing: a historical analysis of design, production and consumption from 1800 | Centre for Printing History & Culture Annual Symposium, Birmingham, UK, 2017
Presentation: Considering the old, designing the new | Association Typographique Internationale (ATypI), Montreal, Canada, 2017
Panel Presentation: Liberating Digital Type from the Metal Rectangle | TypoLabs, Berlin, Germany, 2017
Presentation: The importance of research-based practice | Typographic Meet, Iran, Tehran, 2016
