Melvian

Dragons? In THIS economy!?

It's weird to me that designers think they can force other scripts to look like Latin even when those scripts follow a completely different set of principles that readers of that script are accustomed to (as is very much the case for Arabic). In my mind the point of studying scripts other than Latin is that they ARE different and that they have a unique set of ideas. Maybe it's not too different than how most programmers don't really give a shit about the consequences of what they make and contribute to. No wonder it's hard for me to find people I admire...

@kae_bytheocean I think @Gurnitath is the 10th one you were wondering about

Maybe I'll lean more into music when I've built a software ecosystem that isn't predatory as hell.

@Houl rarararr :dragnwinghug:

@anthropy :dragnloaf: dragon

@anthropy :dragncool: dragon

Not complaining, just an interesting observation.

@hexaitos As far as individual designers go, there's two in particular that I personally look up to. Pooja Saxena was the first Devanagari type designer I came across and seeing her work was the first time I discovered that Devanagari could look cool as fuck. She is literally the whole reason I took interest in the script to begin with. In addition to working at TypeTogether and having led the adaptations of Adelle Sans (https://www.type-together.com/adelle-sans-devanagari-font) and very recently Bree (https://www.type-together.com/bree-devanagari-font) she also does custom work on her own as Matra Type (https://www.matratype.com/ some wonderful lettering work). AND she maintains an archive called India Street Lettering (https://indiastreetlettering.com/ which appears to be down atm?), which aims to document, well, street lettering in India, which is *incredibly* diverse. The importance of her work documenting this stuff cannot be underestimated, because while more common scripts like Latin and Cyrillic are well-documented in terms of established conventions and stylistic possibilities, the same cannot be said for Indian scripts. Also a book came out of it! (https://www.blaft.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/india-street-lettering) Anyway, I already would have greatly respected her if she just made typefaces, but the fact she goes a step further and actively documents extremely important things that had historically received almost no attention and gives people like me the means to shift a little further away from the Eurocentrism that permeates design teaching and documentation... I would go as far as to say that she's one of the most important type designers working today. Also, she's on Mastodon! (@matratype) Please please please go follow her if this stuff sounds interesting to you.

@drakocxjo@dragonchat.org Probably the most comprehensive webring list out there: https://brisray.com/web/webring-list.htm

@daytonamess Incredible work you've done I wish you the best luck and I do hope this will lead to some really cool stuff for you, whatever that may be!

@Houl No u 🫵 *boop*

@Houl :dragnpats:

@Umbreon The 10th dragon had this to say: https://meow.social/@Gurnitath/116478447829653767

@Houl lie :wvrnBlush:

@kae_bytheocean Dunno, that's just what I heard

Man, I want to collaborate with native designers of other scripts :dragnpleading: Maybe someday. Just maybe. But first I need to release a few (Latin) fonts of my own just to prove myself.

@TiroTypeworks I thought @daytonamess posted this for a moment since it was something about a music playlist, then got confused when it mentioned Gurmukhi, and then realized who actually posted it lol.

A *lot* of typeface work has been going on behind-the-scenes, I just haven't bothered to post much of that :dragnmlem:

@Houl @catraxx *winghugs you both* :dragnwinghug:

@Houl aaa :wvrnBlush:

@matratype I am glad you're getting some rest because *holy crap* you've been putting out a lot of stuff :dragnsweats:

@matratype @hexaitos Ah, got it.

@hexaitos The other designer is Kimya Gandhi, who, with Rob Keller (who mostly does Latin to my understanding), runs the foundry Mota Italic (https://motaitalic.com/) Some very inventive typefaces, like her adaptation of DJR's absolutely bonkers Fit typeface (https://motaitalic.com/product/fit-devanagari/) She also teaches the Practica Devanagari courses, one of which I was able to take and enjoyed it a lot (which I could talk a lot about). Not all of her work is sold directly through Mota Italic, there's been a couple of her stuff done through other foundries. For instance, Diatype Devanagari (https://abcdinamo.com/typefaces/diatype-devanagari) and the earlier Favorit Devanagari (https://abcdinamo.com/typefaces/favorit-devanagari) were done through ABC Dinamo. I find Favorit Devanagari an interesting case study as an adaptation of an existing Latin typeface because if one understands the conventions of the script well enough, it's apparent how Kimya chose to selective introduce *slightly* odd shapes for matras and some shapes that's much like the slightly odd construction of the original Latin. Because of this I found it peculiar that she used Favorit as one of the main typefaces for talking about the different letterforms of Devanagari during the course. In all fairness Diatype Devanagari probably wasn't ready yet when the slides were prepared, and when actually talking about the script conventions and construction logic she went to more conventional typefaces and other proper resources for that. Another one is the adaptation of Zarid Sans through 29LT, which I really like (https://www.29lt.com/product/29lt-zarid-sans-dl/) There's a few other places I like and occasionally think about but those are the main designers and foundries that stick out to me.

@changelingcritter Dunno, probably depends on the dragon.

@labtoast I wish I had a hobby that didn't involve me staring at a screen, and which I'd have actual space for.

@calcifer@masto.hackers.town @neauoire@merveilles.town Aw thanks

@smaugryu Thanks! I won't be immediately rereading, but I definitely will at some point.

@krutonium Ah, maybe. I don't know too much as I haven't read the spec yet.

@krutonium I don't know what that is