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
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thank you
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[Music]
[Music]
you