Tryst: Meaningful Variation
Description
TRYST is a variable typeface examining decolonization in India. The project aims to ask two simple questions: What is India? and What is the post-colonial identity? It operates in the theoretical framework of eminent, post-colonial thinkers including Homi Bhabha and Geeta Kapur, trying to visualize concepts like alterity, hybridity, cultural-soft-power, stereotype, and utopia. Rooted in the design history of post-colonial India, it critically engages with Modernist architecture, particularly the legacy of Le Corbusier’s work in India, as well as the stereotypes of Indian-ness found in both global media and vernacular design. TRYST is on the hunt for the "empirically true" India: is it Eastern or Western , Modern or unModern? The project raises essential questions: What did the commisioning of a Western designer for the visualization and construction of "modern" India's institutional buildings signal to the Indian people? How was modernism conflated with Westernism to create a westernized, "Indian" modernity? These are the representational dilemmas that TRYST— named after Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's speech, "A Tryst with Destiny," delivered upon India's Independence— seeks to negotiate.
TRYST is a wholly original, Akzidenz-inspired sans that mutates across two axes: Occidentalism/Orientalism: defined by the presence or absence of stereotypical Mughal/Rajput architectural forms; and Modernism/Unmodernism: defined by the presence or absence of ink traps. By embedding terms like “occidental-oriental” within design software interfaces, Tryst asks whether typography can instill a deeper awareness within creative workflows, fostering a culture of critical engagement. I create variation that swaps weight/width/slant for a more meaningful spectrum that gives voice to lived experiences that remain unacknowledged. TRYST hides a surprise for any designer wishing to use an otherwise benign sans.
As for the answer to what India is- TRYST utilizes variability to state, sans prevarication, that India exists not at the extremes but somewhere in the mucky, monsoon-addled middle.