Namrata Goyal

I’ve been reflecting on my work — particularly this year. Maybe because I recently completed 10 years since I graduated from Srishti. 10 years that include being a junior graphic designer, type intern, junior type designer, moving to and living in 4 cities, becoming a post graduate, and finally to what I do now. To be honest, an award doesnt really mean too much to me. But it acknowledges a journey of learning, un-learning and re-learning, growth and progress, and most importantly failures. Ascenders gave me an excuse to put together and showcase some of my projects in a short reel. And here it is! Big thanks to @typedirectors and this year’s jury for Ascenders, for selecting me and giving me a chance to reflect on everything and everyone that led me here 🤍 Animation and motion work by the very talented @janinamalinis 🌟

I asked Namrata (@n__goyal ) who she thinks is pushing culture forward right now and her answers are as thoughtful as they are expansive. 🐇🕳️ From the coziest YouTube corners where artists share their process, to the most comforting cooking pods, to books that stay with you long after, you can feel the care in every reference. If you’re curious to go deeper, the full feature is up on Substack. Link in bio. 📮 [artist, creative, type, cooper union, gastro pod, seseragi studio, arrow type]

This week’s Notes of Nuance come from Namrata Goyal (@n__goyal ) Namrata is a type designer and founder of A Letter Atelier, a space for experimentation, education, and research in typography. I first came across her work through @universalthirst : what stayed with me was the precision of her practice and the attention she brings to detail, material, and form. Namrata’s responses reflect a deep commitment to observation and a deep love for the process. They move between embracing intuition and discipline, toying between digital and analog, structure and play. Dive in! Notes of Nuance w/ Namrata Goyal is now live. 📮🥰 (Typography, type designer, substack, new media, analog, culture, design)

Students making letters 🤍 Three weeks of “Legacy of Letterforms” at @rv.university School of Design and Innovation, 2nd year undergrad students in Bengaluru. The course premise included typography basics, type history and classification, sketching and software introduction of letterform design and expressive typography. Alot, I know. My plans aside, the interest and pacing of the students drove each session and the outcome. They worked hard and the final exhibition held evidence of their consistency and applied learning. To encourage student initiative, there was no mandatory or predefined form of final outcome. As long as lessons from the last few weeks were understood and applied into the project it could involve different materials, techniques and expressions as unique as the students chose. I worked with each of them individually on their ideas— there were comic strips, crochet and knitting, educational games and building blocks, typographic composition, collected objects, rocks, photographs, science experiments, coding, printing, pancake batter, origami, balloons, concepts for typographic furniture, musical typography— you name it. Since the final this past week, I have been a bit overwhelmed and thinking about what I learned from the experience of teaching this time. It felt deeply personal and transformative in some ways. Everything I planned for the students, each exercise and class interaction, watching them as they were engaged in it— I saw a reflection of myself as a student. From undergrad to Cooper, and Type media. What I learned, how I learned, the kindness of my teachers, how they encouraged our individuality, all of it. I felt like I was learning everything all over again. Maybe thats what teaching is, a mirror into what we know and what we dont? Watching the students shine at the exhibition was truly a highlight! I’m very proud of each student’s work. Sharing a short snippet of the last few weeks here. Mighty thanks to the University, @dr_anu_arch Maam, Communication design and other faculty members, @ginu.grg , @nehadubey16 and @krishnalogue for the opportunity and support.

Last month, the @typedirectors revealed Lisa Smith, Aleksandra Samuļenkova, and Mary Kate McDevitt as the TDC72 Jury Presidents for Communication Design, Type Design, and Lettering respectively. These industry notables put together three groups of top talent from across the globe to help determine the very best type and lettering work of the year, and I am thrilled to be among the jury for TDC72 Type design competition. For each of the three disciplines (Communication Design, Lettering, Type Design) there are Discipline Presidents whose duties include selecting a jury of top typographers and type designers from around the world and facilitating the judging process. TDC juries include native experts for multiple writing systems including Arabic, Cyrillic, Indic, CJK, Thai, and select African scripts. Dedicated juries for each discipline ensure appropriate expertise within that discipline. Thank you for the invite to be on the jury panel @aleksandrasamulenkova , it is an honour to be included in this list. ENTRY SITE: enter.tdc.org @typedirectors TDC72

Most fun was had hosting TypelabAsia again, last week. Some snippets from the closing session :) @manvstype 🤝 TypelabAsia @typographicsnyc #2025 #letteringscroll #weirdandwonky #typeillustration #lettermonsters

RSVP for this free series of events and join us by Zoom, in-person or watch the livestream. /e/typographics-typelab-2025-tickets-1371585702759

It’s not too late to catch @n__goyal ’s Letterlove talk tomorrow evening! Namrata will be sharing her journey into type design, an introduction to Indic scripts and many beautiful examples of her work and process! Comment “Letterlove” and I’ll DM you the link to register!

Up next on the Letterlove series: Namrata Goyal! Letters, Languages, Love is a reflection on what it means to design type in a country as linguistically and culturally diverse as India. Namrata shares how she translates Latin logos into Indic scripts like Devanagari, Gurmukhi, and Bangla—going beyond form to capture tone, rhythm, and cultural nuance. From working with global brands to publishing experimental fonts on Future Fonts, she brings a unique perspective shaped by both collaboration and craft. Recognised as a 2024 TDC Ascender—you don’t want to miss this Comment Letterlove and I’ll send you the signup link!

Submit a proposal for TYPELAB at Typographics 2025! Go to TYPELAB linked in our bio! For more information about the conference, speakers, and to purchase tickets, visit Typographics.com!

Devanagari Workshop Week At the beginning of the Spring semester 2025, Namrata Goyal (@n__goyal ) mentored the students of 1st-year MATD in their journey to discover the Devanagari script and its typography. Each of them looked at latin brand logos to redraw in the script. For the final result, students developed a series of posters that included their logo lettering as well as a selection of Devanagari characters.

Aikyatha is a retail first, legacy business focusing on Kanchipuram among other South Indian silks as part of their core offering. With the revision of the Latin wordmark, Anomaly Brands also wanted the identity to extend to the other vernacular scripts of South India. A suggestion which works well with the mandate in many states now, that requires businesses to have their names in regional scripts on the store fronts. Looking forward to seeing these implemented and in person. Client: @anomalybrands for @aikyatha Art direction, branding & Latin wordmark: Nupur Panemanglor @nupurfireworks