ColomboType is a gathering and platform for Sri Lanka’s growing community of type enthusiasts, created to share knowledge, resources, research and experimentation around typography.
Its first meeting, hosted by Mooniak in 2018, brought together designers, researchers and type aficionados to explore the possibilities of Sinhala and Tamil type design, from extinct Sinhala numerals and the anatomy of Sinhala typography to new font design projects. ColomboType aims to encourage exploration, collaboration and the growth of type knowledge and creation within Sri Lanka’s creative community.
This year’s ColomboType will be held at the Bawa Space as part of the Mooniak-curated Akurugraphy exhibition, with presentations by Alain Parizeau and Dr Sumanthri Samarawickrama.
Bending Type with Sound with Alain Parizeau:
What happens when music is used to contrive typographic meaning? Type takes on rhythm, cadence, and emotional weight that bends its meaning. In this 45‑minute seminar, Alain Parizeau goes beyond the standard elements used with typography and explores how sound and visual language interact, focusing on sensory metaphors and emotional rasas as tools for interpreting and shaping type choices.
Alain Parizeau co‑founded Public Works, a story design studio. His practice blends Jungian theory, rasa aesthetics, and brand-persona‑driven playlists to unlock emotional resonance in design.
Uncovering Methods of Sinhala Letterforms: Calligraphy and Letterpress with Dr Sumanthri Samarawickrama
This presentation examines two methodological approaches to studying and documenting historical Sinhala letterforms. The first investigates mural calligraphy using photographic documentation, letterform extraction, and structural analysis, while the second examines early letterpress newspaper mastheads through structured visual analysis.
Dr Sumanthri Samarawickrama is a design educator and researcher whose work explores typography, graphic communication design, Sri Lankan graphic and typographic history, packaging design, heritage visualisation, and editorial design.