The Kolam is a celebration of the divine and ephemeral, an ancient mathematical floor pattern made by women at the threshold of the house to bring auspicious energy to the home.
Inspired by this ritualistic practice also known as rangoli, alpana and mandala, type designer Ishan Khosla and his team at The Typecraft Initiative worked with 15 kolam artists in Tamil Nadu to create letters that eventually became typefaces based on the kolam.
Join Ishan, an award-winning visual artist, educator and type and graphic designer, for a presentation on how The Typeface Initiative works with craftspeople, indigenous artists, and refugees to create typefaces grounded in history and tradition but made for contemporary digital use.
Based in Dehradoon, India, Ishan is a TED Fellow, and a Type Directors Club finalist, he holds an MFA in Design from the School of Visual Arts, New York. Ishan founded The Typecraft Initiative in 2011, to address broader themes of cultural preservation, sustainability, equity, and the politics of representation. He sees type as a tool for transformation—one that can amplify marginalized voices, preserve endangered traditions, and inspire new creative possibilities for bringing communities together. Ishan is a juror for the Granshan Bloom Awards 2026.
His work has been exhibited internationally—including the Venice Biennale, London Design Biennial, Atelier Muji Ginza Tokyo, Indian Ocean Crafts Triennial, RMIT Gallery, and the Australian Design Centre. Ishan’s work has been collected by—SFMOMA, The Letterpress Archive, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum and the Powerhouse Museum. Recently, the V&A museum has commissioned him to design posters for their collection.
Ishan has spoken at ATypI, Typographics, Type Directors Club, Typo Berlin, AIGA, the Japan Foundation, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Stanford, University of Edinburgh, Aalto University, School of Visual Arts, California College of Art, and College Art Association. His writing is published in Marg magazine; The Politics of Global Craft, and the Field of Brooms. His work is featured in the V&A’s India Contemporary Design; Typographic Universe and Asian Graphics Now! He is currently writing a book to be published by RIT University on The Typecraft Initiative.
His published work includes—“Reimagining Baiga tattoos as a typeface” (Marg); “Exile from the Forest” (The Politics of Global Craft [Bloomsbury]) and, “A Sweeping View of the Jharu: the socio-cultural and political connotations of the broom in South Asia” (Field of Brooms). He is currently writing a book to be published by RIT University on The Typecraft Initiative.