What you’ll learn:

• Understanding of the construction and proportions of Devanagari letterforms

• A visual survey of the past, present, and future of Devanagari letterforms

• Creating new styles for Devanagari letterforms through several exercises

• Introduction to drawing a Devanagari typeface in Glyphs 3

• Creating a brief for a new typeface project

• Looking at how the script functions and the rendering of Devanagari in text input tools.

Students begin by learning about the structure and evolution of the script, and then experiment with making their own Devanagari letterforms through prompts and weekly assignments. Individualized feedback helps students improve the quality of their letters, but also develop their own ability to critically analyze Devanagari forms. The final weeks are devoted to understanding what is involved in making a Devanagari typeface — from initial idea, to Béziers, to an overview of the programming involved. By the end of the course, students will have a holistic overview of the Devanagari script and a foundation for creating their own Devanagari typeface.

Class schedule:

• October 9 / Course introduction, lecture: an overview of the script and its evolution plus visiting lecture with Aashim Tyagi

• October 13 / Bonus: phonetics of Devanagari script

• October 14 / Feedback session: hand-painted letters

• October 16  / Lecture: proportions, terminology, metrics, and the influence of tools

• October 21 / Feedback session: TypeCooker exercise

• October 23 / Lecture: the type design process and state of Devanagari type design

• October 28 / Feedback session: missing letter exercise

• October 30 / Demo: moving to a font editor

• November 4 / Feedback session: marks and conjuncts

• November 5 / Lecture with visiting instructor

• November 11 / Feedback session: the design brief and an initial word

• November 13 / Lecture: expanding from idea to typeface and next steps

• Bonus: basics of drawing good curves in Glyphs with Sol Matas (pre-recorded)

Starting at USD 395
For all available tiers, see the course page.
Enrollment opens September 28, 2026.

• Basic materials for sketching letters: pencils and paper or a sketchbook

• Paint, a brush, and paper (a small amount of poster paint or paint of choice, a ¼” to ½” flat brush, plus a couple sheets of paper suitable for the paint)

• Access to a printer is preferred but not necessary.

• Mac with Glyphs 4 preinstalled.

• A Miro account (free)

• Plus, the basics for joining an online class.