Honoring Hand Painted Type by Preserving India's Graphic Past

My Indian step mother often bemoans the loss of India's heritage, from folks trading in centuries-old cookware for plastic dishes, to family members tearing down historic family homes to build modern ones of cement and marble. Her house is full of family artifacts that she has smuggled back to the U.S. in suitcases.

Like my step mother, The Hand Painted Type Project too is squirreling away a disappearing part of India's past. The idea is to have regional artists hand paint alphabets, then the digitize them to make them available for anyone to use. 50% of proceeds go back into growing the project, while the other 50% goes to the original artist. I have to wonder what other places around the world would benefit from such a project.

Some good news is my father informed me via email last night that the sign painting trade is still alive in Mangalore where his in-laws live. He says it's the norm for proud homeowners to name their houses and have signs painted for them. My step mother's parent's house located in Kulshekar had a gate with their home's name, Hilldale, hand painted on it. 

Visit handpaintedtype.com for more info. Their films are worth watching for sure. 
Learn to letter yourself with Colt Bowden's Sign Painting Books. 

Painter Kureshi from hanif kureshi on Vimeo.