This document discusses the relationship between calligraphy and typography. It describes a calligraphy syllabus developed by Ranjan R. Joshi in 1977 that helped make typography easier for art students to understand and practice. The syllabus involved students doing memory drawings that would reveal letterforms within the drawings. Students would then trace these forms with a calligraphy nib. This innovative teaching method helped international graphic design students learn about applying typography. The document reflects on how this calligraphy-focused exercise unexpectedly revealed future possibilities for exploring both formal and informal calligraphy to create display type designs.

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4CalligraphyisthemotherofTypography-ByRanjanR.I.Joshi
4CalligraphyisthemotherofTypography-ByRanjanR.I.Joshi
My Calligraphy syllabus a paradigm shift in visual art of
Maharashtra State in 1977, that made understanding and practice of
typography easier for the student of visual art. My involment as a senior faculty in
graphic design for international graphic design programmes from Canada and UK, this
calligraphy syllabus helped my students to learn Application of Typography in a easier
manner. Do enjoy the results presented here in series of parts.
CONTINUED FROM PART TWO…..
My home work for the concept
“Calligraphy is
the mother of
Typography”
experiments based on My Calligraphy
syllabus a paradigm shift in visual art of
Maharashtra State in 1977.
By Ranjan R. I. Joshi
presented here.

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This is what RANJAN R. I. JOSHI could define the term DESIGN
This is has helped me and my students reinterprete “DESIGN” freely.

14. Volume is when several planes coming
from different directions and thereby
encloses a space creates negative or positive
volume. Also when several planes are
placed on each other it will also creates a
volume.

18. Revelations after 30 years: From 1977 to 2007:
This exercise was discovered while exploring
innovative possibilities of “calligraphy to
letterforms” for creating the "Display type
letterform design palette" in the subject
Typography. On the right top is a memory
drawing of any subject rendered by the student
and bellow is the shapes revealed from the said
memory drawing that depicts roman script
alphabets. One can take any language script
instead of the roman script. They are sorted
out to be rationalized for creating “Display type
letterform design palette" in Typography.
You will notice that black colour markings on
the memory drawing is done freely in a playful
manner. In the next plate student must use
calligraphy cut nib to record these forms.
The cut nib gives the advantage for defining the
uneven forms as letter forms meant for
communication purpose. This concept
revelation was due to my innovative teaching
method approach for International Graphic
Design Education I had to conduct in Mumbai
for the courses from CANADA, U.K. I never
thought then in 1977 my calligraphy syllabus
concept could have future possibility of my
search in formal and informal calligraphy
journey. I remember “A novel by Dan
Brown“Da Vinci Code” published surprisingly
gave an insight that Leonardo da Vinci the
famous artist had used this codified language
in some of his paintings 400 hundred years
ago. This second slide shows the revealed
palette of letterforms. The objective of
recalling these slides is to present how one can
expand the study of both Informal and Formal
calligraphy taking it further to create Display
design type.
Memory Drawing and
revealing letterforms from it
shown bellow.
Student :Tina Bharucha

19. My type design
entry for Osaka
Design Festival.
It was visualized as
FRICTION DISPLAY
TYPE based on the
same theme.
Next Slides are dedicated in the memory of
my late friend Mukund Gokhale type font
designer, genius graphic design faculty and
type/script researcher.
My print art/literature critic friend Deepak
Ghare was also associated
when we conceived these exercises along
with Mukund Gokhale.

29. CONTINUED ON NEXT SLIDE PRESENTATION. 5