Have you stopped, just for a second, to observe a billboard? Noticed the letters on an advertisement? From letters to logos, typography is everywhere. So why not find out more about it? If so, on the 24th of March, head over to Colombo Cooperative at 04:00PM and join Ladies, Wine and Design, as they collaborate with Akuru Collective. Here’s a reason why you should spend your Sunday evening with Typography:

1. TYPE IS MORE THAN JUST WORDS
Type, fonts and letters may seem trivial at first glance but it is an art that unites and allies separate, distinct societies and civilians. Ladies, Wine and Design together with The Akuru Collective and Colombo Corporative join forces to educate us in the subject that is the value of type. The world is changing around us. We constantly debate and analyse the exchange between the societies, militaries, governments and cultures that surround us. But there’s a visual interaction that’s happening right in front of our eyes, undetected. Its power to divide us or bring us together hinges on our choice to pay attention to the details. The details lie in the words we use and how we present them through fonts, their presentation, and their deeper meaning. Each type holds a profounder significance look closely.

2. MIXING TYPOGRAPHY AND CULTURE
Speaking of exchange and intermingling of culture, this panel discussion hosts four intellectual typography experts – Tanya George, an Indian Typographer and Type Designer. She finished her MA at the University of Reading and has over 7 years of experience in the field of Graphic Communication and Identity Design. Tanya has conducted TypeWalks in Mumbai and has cofounded and co-organizes Typostammtisch in Mumbai; Dr. Sumanthri Samarawickrama is a senior lecturer at the Department of Integrated Design, Faculty of Architecture, University of Moratuwa. Her work focuses on learning the practices Type Design and its evolution in Sri Lanka; Samadara Ginige is an award winning logo designer, and typographer. She is currently working on typographic murals for outdoor and indoor locations; Kimya Gandhi is a type designer from Mumbai with a passionate interest in Indic scripts. Kimya is a partner at the type foundry Mota Italic where she specialises in creating new and innovative Devanagiri typefaces with her husband, Rob Keller. She practices and teaches type design at various design institutes in and around Mumbai.

3. GIRL BOSSES AND EMPOWERING FONTS
Ladies, Wine and Design, founded by Jessica Walsh is a platform created as an initiative to foster women creativity. It's a platform to learn, share, grow and be empowered as a creative community of women. Jessica Walsh is an American graphic designer, art director and illustrator who founded LW&D to encourage and support women within themselves; it began as a notion to eliminate hostility between equally striving, successful women business leaders. Women in Colombo have taken the initiative to do the same in Sri Lanka, to foster and empower the support system between women leaders. ‘The Value of Type’ is yet another event organized by LW&D to create a platform for women successors in the field of typography.

4. THE PERFECT SPACE
The Colombo Cooperative is a space specifically designed to maximize communication and creativity, while also allowing for uninterrupted focus when you need it. The founders and organizers have incredible business concepts and treats each individual equally. Furthermore, the venue is located at perfect distances from great restaurants and bakeries, along with an amazing, panoramic view of the ocean. All these points add up to build just the right place to host this spectacular event and contributes to its purpose.

5. CAREERS IN TYPOGRAPHY
Specialist careers in typography are quite rare, and those who pursue them tend to be incredibly passionate people, who live and breathe type. In the digital age, typography has almost become a secondary skill, which many graphic designers possess within their batch of different talents. However, many people do still specialise in this area. A typographer’s responsibilities simply involve the meticulous and careful design of fonts and typefaces. This is an incredibly difficult and technically challenging task, which requires a steady hand, an eye-for-detail, and creative flair. If you want to pursue a career in this fascinating venture, then head on over to Colombo Cooperative!

We are all influenced by fonts, typefaces and lettering every day. Typography is art with a purpose. Driven by functionality, the typographer’s painstaking craft is dedicated towards the creation of legible and readable characters for printing; typefaces are silent masterpieces. Sundays are for motivation; join these empowering people to be motivated, be inspired.

ARTRA is Sri Lanka’s Art Magazine exploring curated content on Sri Lanka’s visual art, performance art, applied art and written art. Launched in 2012, ARTRA Magazine is a compact monthly art read providing a comprehensive understanding on Sri Lankan artists, art events, monthly art calendars and the Sri Lankan design landscape. In sum, all you need to know about art in Sri Lanka.