Stage 1. Objective
This project was for an OTT platform, Zee5, that offers popular regional content like Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Oriya, and is highly valued by viewers in those regions, sometimes even more than Hindi content.
As a visual designer, I collaborated with my team on researching and ideating on the first-letter typography for the language rail for these languages:
Kannada
Tamil
Telugu languages
Stage 2. Getting Inspired
The next step was finding inspiration and references to create my own typography. Since I wasn’t familiar with these regional languages, I drew inspiration from local shop signs, restaurant name boards, movie posters, and truck and auto typography.
Living in Bangalore at the time, I focused on reading Kannada typography in my daily life and even asked friends in Telugu and Tamil-speaking cities to send real-life references. It became a fun activity for both them and me, and over time, I even got better at understanding Kannada!
Stage 3. Ideation and Concept Development
After gathering plenty of inspiration, I began illustrating the typography for the first letter of each language, exploring multiple variations for each. Since I wasn’t very familiar with these languages, I sought feedback from people native to these regions, ensuring that every iteration was checked for letter construction, legibility, and style. Their insights helped refine the designs to be more authentic and accurate.
Ideation
First row: K in Kannada; Second row: T in Telugu; Third row: T in Tamil
More ideation and final selections
Once I had my first set of rough sketches, I sought feedback again, asking people to rate which illustrations they found the most attractive, legible, and prominent. This time, I reached out to a wider circle, including those who weren’t part of the research phase, to ensure unbiased opinions and fresh perspectives.
Finally I got my final three typography illustrations.
From left to right: T in Telugu, K in Kannada, and T in Tamil
