For the talk, I would like to share my feminist variable typeface experiment that I worked on as a part of my MFA thesis at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Nari is an experiment in variable font technology that attempts at answering the question, “what would it mean for a typeface to be feminist?”. The result is an interactive variable typeface designed by a woman of color, one that has multiple voices, that represent choice, expression, and inclusivity; does not belong to any one extreme, and is fluid in nature. Its proportions tickle the eye, and the letterforms are anything but neutral. The three variables are voice(weight), mindset(width), and fight(contrast). Through a permutation and combination of these three variables, Nari—meaning woman in Hindi, can generate various different styles, similar to how a woman is a powerhouse of assuming different roles at given points of time.

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About Aasawari Suhas Kulkarni

Aasawari is a Graphic Designer and Writer, currently based in Baltimore, originally from India. Recently graduated with an MFA in Graphic Design from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Aasawari has been placed as an AICAD teaching fellow at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, to start this fall.

Her work explores the intersection of human behaviour, and culture, with design. She writes poetry which often informs her body of work.

Website: https://aasawarikulkarni.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aasawari_kulkarni/