Where are you from?

An exploration of identity, heritage and letterform.

Shambhu was my final project at university. It is designed to reflect where I am from without resorting to a caricature of India or direct references to Indian scripts. Through my written thesis, I arrived at the idea that “where I am from” is a constellation of influences and experiences unique enough in combination to apply only to me, rather than to a group identity. Starting from the individual naturally subsumes one’s group identities.

This idea became the theoretical basis for the typeface. I collected influences that shaped my aesthetic language and were specific to me in their combination: most notably the Warli painting tradition and the handwriting of a few classmates from school. I named the typeface Shambhu after my grandfather and my own middle name.

Warli painting primarily informed the upright letters. It inspired me from an early age with its beauty, simplicity, and the ease with which the style can be internalised and replicated. My classmates’ handwriting influenced the italics, which compelled an interesting design challenge: italics that lean backwards rather than forwards.