Expressions Emotions In Letters

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so when i was picked to choose um

a subject what i’m going to talk about

at um

this event i was extremely

nervous terrified and modified with the

idea of

having to speak facing so many people

so i started visualizing what

the ted event would look like in my head

at that time it actually resembled like

a horror movie

because i am actually very scared right

now and

at that time i was so scared and

horrified with the idea of talking in

front of so many people so this is the

ted logo which i came up with

that was my emotion at that time but

then obviously that’s

something which i had to get over and i

thought of taking a completely

contrasting

approach and i came up with something

which is

a little more fun more colorful more

joyous

playful almost like a kids event but for

adults

i also added a teddy bear thinking that

maybe you might

receive teddy bears as return gifts

but that again is not reality

so finally i thought i need to do a

little bit of research

i need to talk to people and understand

what this event is like

and then i came up with a more realistic

and a more

intricate a stylish a multi-layered

logo which is what i hope that my talk

today

will be as well so you see what i was

doing i was manifesting all of my

feelings

for this event and all the fears that i

had

all the apprehensions and all these

emotions and i was putting them

into my letters by the way they are

shaped by the way

they are by the way the flow is by the

design by the color by the texture by

their size

letters have the ability to express

everything letters

can represent

and say much more than what they

actually want to convey

letters are all around us we see them

everywhere but we’re so used to seeing

them that we kind of take them for

granted

and we don’t really consider and think

about why they are shaped

or designed a particular way

letters can take us to a completely

different era and a completely different

century

letters can tell you certain values

and even tell you some stories letters

are sometimes

meant to be permanent and meant to last

forever

hence they are etched and carved out in

stone

some letters are not meant to last too

long maybe just for a few hours

or a few days like when you go to a

restaurant and a cafe

and you see the menu of the day some

letters you may not really understand

what it means but the way it’s designed

you know exactly

that you’re not supposed to do something

or you’re supposed to follow something

some letters are so very modern by the

way their flow is

and by the ease at which its designs you

know exactly what it is it’s like it’s a

cafe

a place where you can relax some letters

are

very simple modern

some letters give you an insight into

a place or the capabilities

the talent of a person for whom it is

being designed

sometimes some letters can be really

playful and they

actually are made up of the elements

which the logo is made for some letters

are so timeless

that they take you back to your

childhood generally when i visit social

gatherings and

events um i’m not the sort of person who

talks a lot i’m generally

standing quietly in a corner in my own

world

i’m very shy i’m an introvert i also

have a very soft voice

so that also goes against me so when

people

approach me and ask me what i do for a

living

i just say that i’m an artist and i

don’t

say anything more than that and

generally people don’t ask me beyond

that

because i think an artist is a word that

speaks for itself

and i’m more than happy to not elaborate

so that i don’t need to speak

but in reality i’m so much more than

just an artist

i’m a paper typographer

what is typography typography is the art

of designing type

and designing beautiful letters letters

which can

best represent a particular theme

or a subject and can communicate in the

most

optimum way so i have combined my love

for paper

and crafting and my love for typography

and i have mixed them both

to create paper typography which i

create just using my bare hands

with no use of any digital technology

and no computer softwares it requires a

lot of

passion a lot of patience

precision and persistence to do this art

which is

very unique it’s very one of a kind

and it’s also something that a lot of

people cannot do

i consider my job to be quite similar to

that of an architect

who creates and constructs

a building like just like an architect

would visit his site

and survey the area on which he is going

to build

i don’t need to first see the surface

and the base on which i am going to be

building my letters

then the architect starts drawing and

making sketches

of um how the area will be how the plan

will be how many floors walls how high

the ceiling will be

where the windows will be placed

according to the light

and the doors etc i do the exact same

thing

but i do it with letters i create

i start creating shapes and forms

i give it curves sometimes i make them

very narrow

i give a lot of details depending on the

subject

i sometimes play with

certain letters and even make them look

very whimsical

and fancy but this is all in a sketch

form

once my drawing is complete i start with

building my own letter

i can show you a process of exactly how

i work

and how i build my letter so i was

commissioned to create

the key artwork for adobe acrobat

which had their 25th anniversary so

what i do is i start with first drawing

drawing out the numbers

and then it’s the acrobat trademark logo

and since it’s a celebration i have like

this firework

display then i start cutting out the

strips

and i start gluing each strip down

following

the guidelines which i have drawn below

i have to ensure that i

glue the paper exactly on the drawing

and the adobe logo is made up of these

vibrant red colors

shades of different shades of red and

there is certain blues and yellows

then i start working on the 25 sign

which is

behind it’s going to be all in white

so it doesn’t grab too much attention

and take away from the aggro path sign

i continue the same thing with the

number five

and i also follow the rays of the

fireworks

the illusion which i’m trying to create

and i do the same thing basically i take

the strips

i mold them i shape them and i glue them

down

very precisely so that it kind of

converges and creates one harmonious

design

and the final touches is when i start

adding little pops of color

so that it’s through the white you can

also see a bit of the fireworks a bit of

vibrancy which will come out

once it’s complete i take it to my

studio and i take a picture

that’s how it looks

in many ways i feel paper as a medium is

very similar to my own

nature and my own character as a person

paper is very fragile and

yet very strong and that’s what i think

i am too

it has the ability to to bear a lot of

weight

even though it looks so

easy easily to very easy to kind of

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destroy but that’s not the case it has

to be

handled very gently very delicately

and especially the kind of work that i

do

i need to mold it in a precise way

and i need to glue it down very

correctly to get

the desi the result that i want in many

ways i feel

paper typography is and the shape of

letters is similar to

our gestures like our hand gestures

or our facial expressions and also the

tone of our voice

so for example if i was to say that this

is a really wonderful event

and as against that if i was to say this

is such a wonderful

event that’s the difference of how you

speak

and it’s also similar how i work

with paper i can give you some examples

of

the work that i have created myself and

whatever i’m trying to portray

through my work letting my emotions come

out

so i can speak about something very

romantic

and something very loving with the way

the type is designed

i can speak about summer warm weather

and include illustrations like clouds

and

sunshine i can also make connections

with people

by connecting the letters that i’m

creating

i can show the tenderness and compassion

which a mother can give also a

celebration

and a great festival by using the

trademark features which i used

also show you what the meaning of life

is

by depicting and adding all the elements

which convey life to me in each of the

letters

i can also give you a sense of something

very old

and traditional by the way i have

structured my alphabets

by the way i have designed them by

making them

look quite vintage and by using a serif

font

i can also take you for a walk through a

fragrant botanical garden

i can give you a sense of pride and

patriotism

by creating letters and

certain monuments which are so

significant to our country

i can take you for an evening soare

to the sula vineyards and for a wine

tasting session as well

and also wish you a very happy diwali

during

celebratory times so for a person who’s

very shy and introvert like me

my work has made me a more outgoing

person

but it’s only through the designs and

through the letters that i create

paper typography is the perfect tool

for me to express myself more openly

i can be very bold when it comes to

using

all the vibrant colors to show you

the very colorful side of my personality

i don’t suppress myself when it comes to

speaking

and i let us and i let my letters do all

the talking so that i don’t really need

to speak

in a way i can say that through

typography with paper

i found a way to

have my own voice since my job

is to be a designer of type

i want them to make you feel

and to make you see things the way i see

them

so it’s very important for me to

shape the letters very beautifully very

exquisitely

and to have a lot of meaning so

through my alphabets and through my

letters i’m always trying to evoke

a sense of excitement

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astonishment and joy for the viewer

on viewing my letters are constantly

seeking

to make you dream to make you wonder

and sometimes even make you travel to

places like

london or singapore

even oslo since the communication

is such an important part of our

everyday life

the letters require all the effort

and the craftsmanship and the

delicateness

with which it is being created because

you as the viewer

deserve to feel all the emotions

and to see all the beauty through my

alphabets

so that my letters can make you get

dazzled

they can charm you and even transport

you to another world

that’s it

[Applause]

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thank you

[Applause]

[Music]

[Music]

you