Since 2017, Pooja has been conducting guided typographic tours that reacquaint participants with their neighbourhoods from the vantage point of signage and letterforms. These walks are an excellent way for designers and non-designers alike to learn about how typography and lettering in public spaces shape our experience of them, and how they are, themselves, a product of social, cultural, even legal developments.
To learn more about what goes into preparing these walks, and the motivations behind them, check out this talk from TypeWknd 2020.
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Nicholson Cemetery Type Walk
In this walk, participants took a stroll in Delhi’s Nicholson Cemetery to look at some of the oldest Latin letters to be seen in the city: ranging in styles from blackletter to grotesque to tuscan, some of them dating back almost two centuries. As the group spotted letters on gravestones, Pooja talked about the stories of the typographic styles, as well as the stories of those who are buried here. The protagonists, among others, include John Nicholson, on whom the cemetery is named; American founding father, Benjamin Franklin; and of course, the man who introduced moveable type to Europe, Johaness Gutenburg. This walk is a unique way to learn about the history of the letterforms we see everyday, and discover how deeply intertwined they are with the important events in world history. (Illustration by Sarthak Sinha)
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Paharganj Type Walk & Show and Tell
The route of this walk followed one of the main market streets in Paharganj, a neighbourhood that has existed since the Mughal era and dates back to the early eighteenth century. The group would start and finish at two important landmarks built during the twilight of British rule in India: the Imperial theatre on one end, and New Delhi Railway Station on the other. Participants played a game of bingo to spot different styles of hand-painted signs, and were introduced to all the Indian and foreign scripts they encounter — over a dozen in total. As the sun set on Delhi, they got a chance to see scores of neon signs light up the market, learn about the history and science behind neon signs, and discuss their place in pop culture. The walk was complemented with a show-and-tell of books about Indian scripts, vernacular lettering and sign painting. Multiple editions of this walk were offered as Airbnb Experiences.
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Paharganj Typography and Signage walk
This walk was put together as part of the Delhi Walk Festival, a celebration of the city’s culture and quirks through a series of specialized walks, to help city locals see this historic neighbourhood not just as busy market full of tourists, but as a place with a distinct typographic personality that can re-acquaint them with the city’s history and culture.