47 Days Of Devanagari is an Instagram based type-challenge to express one Devanagari letterform each day from different creative perspectives. This project aims to bring creative minds together across the globe and give an opportunity to glorify Devanagari which is the world’s 4th most popular script used for 120 languages.
This initiative was started in 2017 by two designers - Manisha Gupta and Abneet Chauhan to bring back their academic project ‘Expressions through Letterforms’ done in 2009 at IDC IIT Bombay.
The challenge runs on a modal of building a community by influencing other like-minded people through showcasing the artfulness of letterforms. Also, the platform enables participants to practice and improve their skills, styles & creative techniques in the process of exploring and crafting letters each day.
THE FIRST TYPE CHALLENGE IN INDIA
In the process of creating 47 Day's brand story, the two designers etched a mark that was rooted in older mythological stories of India - ‘Kolam’ known by different names in different regions of the country, and a true symbol of diversity.
A much resonating connection was felt as Kolam is geometric, yet composed of curved loops, drawn around a grid somehow similar to how Devanagari letterforms are. A Kolam lasts only for a day, and so will each letterform be created and celebrated in all its totality for one entire day. This is how the calendar consisting of 33 consonants and 14 vowels was created to become 47 Days of Devanagari.
THE TYPE-JAM TO START WITH...
In the 2017 edition, 47 Day’s team was approached by hundreds of students for guidance, mentorship on how to approach the challenge. Overwhelmed by the urge to learn, the team planned a jam session to gear up type-enthusiasts and students on how to approach the challenge.
On 9th August, the team had an assimilating type-jam session with Hitesh Malaviya (Rocky), a renowned type designer, with a closed group of 40 students along with Adobe Design team and few external participants.
As a part of the session, Manisha Gupta (co-initiator of the challenge) briefly talked about her vision and journey of the 47 Days of Devanagari project.
The session geared up the participants to kick-start the 47 Days challenge by creating the letters क, ख, and ग in different typography styles and techniques.
Big shout out to Bhavya Minocha, Poonam Savale who were instrumental is implementing the jam-session, and Maharaj M A, who captured the best of the Type-jam moments and put together this awesome video. Also, thanks to Soumya Tiwari for her avid support in previous as well as this edition.
A big thanks to Vinay Dixit, Director of Design at Adobe India for his valuable guidance and support.
..AND THE CHALLENGE STARTS
The type-challenge started on 15th August with all the social media buzz, Influencers on-boarded, participants prepped and the team ready to review, curate and repost the best of the day artworks.
The team felt a moment of solace when the hashtags shot up to 5K+ artworks in the first week with 35k+ visitors who had tapped 47 Day's Instagram page. There was a bombardment of emails regarding participation, suggestions, applauding the initiative. Lot of Thank you's and Hearts and Claps were floating all over Instagram stories for bringing back the type-challenge.
In 47 Days, through the act of curation, the platform featured best artworks done through letter artistry, type design, illustration, concept art, 3D, calligraphy, lettering and many more mediums of expressions never seen before with Devanagari letterforms to showcase it to a global audience. Below is a peak of artworks created as a part of 47 Days challenge.
POLLS TO ENGAGE
Through the challenge, posting bite-sized polls with Instagram Stories was a fun way to engage with participants and learn about their feelings, struggle, and style of work. It opened up participation, and we received direct feedback about the challenge. The team got insights on how many people are participating. Are they experimenting every day or following just one style.
ELEVATING THE STORYTELLING WITH INSTAGRAM TAKE OVER
Some participants took-over 47 Day’s Instagram Stories and shared their creative process. It was a win-win because it added an element of surprise, diversified the content as each artist had her/his own process and way of storytelling, it reached a new audience, and most of all, it was fun!
EMPATHISING WITH PARTICIPANTS
Finishing one letterform each day with all the finesse is a big challenge, and doing it for all 47 days is even mountainous. Some artists who were thriving for high-quality creation had a struggle of finishing on time. Starting ‘Letter of the day’ mid-day was a relief as participants were able to finish late-nights or early mornings. Result: We were able to feature some of the best artworks that were getting finished late but had an outstanding output.
UNDERSTANDING INDUSTRY TRENDS
The project turned out to be very insightful in understanding the shift happening in the field of Branding and Graphic Design (especially in India) - 3D typography, Duotones and gradient, Isometric design, Eclectic, Minimal yet bold...Isn't that exciting :)
PROJECT OUTCOMES/ LEARNINGS
- Creativity and love for Devanagari script made people co-create without getting limited by output. The energy and enthusiasm led to beautiful artworks each day.
- Social media channels and relevant hashtags helped gather participants and find the right audience for their work.
- The edition witnessed new 400+ participants from different geographies. Collaboration with creatives across the globe led to diversified creative outcomes, stories, and experiences.
- For participants, 47 Days platform worked as a catalyst to uplift their quality of work, level of creativity and thrive to work hard and finish one art piece every day.
- Running a fast-paced project with a small team is a way to validate the impact of an idea.
Acknowledgements
- Co-initiators: Manisha Gupta and Abneet Chauhan
- Key Contributors: Soumya Tiwari, Bhavya Minocha, Poonam Savale, Maharaj M A
Stay tuned for the next article about inspiring artworks and Top 5 winners