Hand painted signs are one of the most iconic visual elements of India. Unfortunately, due to the advent and growth of desktop publisher shops, road side typographers are seeing their work replaced by amateurish computer graphic and ugly vinyls.

With his project, HandPaintedType typographer and artist Hanif Kureshi is documenting and digitalising the typefaces of sign painters across India, creating a database to prevent the rich Indian heritage of hand painted typography from getting lost.

The project is open to be a collaborative effort: detailed instructions on how to document local typography are available on the website, and anyone is welcome to contribute.

HandPaintedType, and a video about the project, will be part of the show Paris-Delhi-Bombay, opening at the Centre Pompidou, Paris, on May 25th. The India Tube and Motherland have been selected to be part of the exhibition and media space too, so see you in Paris!