Impact case study database

The impact of the research resides in the adoption of its methodologies for the design of ‘non-Latin’ fonts, an area of growing importance as applications increasingly support a larger number of languages and script systems worldwide. The research has been transformative of the approach to digital font design for ‘non-Latin’ scripts. It has been adopted by major industry players and small start-up foundries alike, thereby improving the reading experience of millions. It has also offered new routes to understanding world script systems through publications, industry engagement, and exhibitions (E1).

Influencing policy

The research has influenced non-Latin font policies at Adobe and Google. These determine how software renders languages across a range of different technologies and document types. The analysis of historical forms has provided the evidence base and examples of best practice required by software developers who would otherwise approach the problem from a purely engineering standpoint. Adobe and Google have embedded insights from the research to systematize their type design processes, and to provide a QA procedure for non-Latin font development through:

• determining required character sets;

• using historical sources to confirm character shaping decisions and correct substitution/placement of characters (script behaviour);

• using document design analysis to confirm the range of font variants required for a script (E2).

The research team has distilled their findings into practical and applicable guidance for the design of specific typefaces in a course run for Adobe and Google engineers and designers called Type Design Intensive (TDi). Since 2008, this summer school, curated by Leonidas, has offered access to the Non-Latin Type Collection and other historic material, and is regarded by tech companies as essential professional development for engineers, project managers, product managers, and visual designers (E3, E4).

Establishing and distributing benchmarks and standards

Production of fonts informed by the research has established typographic benchmarks and standards for non-Latin scripts. Standards in this industry are typically distributed through exemplars rather than stand-alone documentation. The research has directly influenced exemplar fonts that have been shared with and by the font design community. Leonidas' research informed the development of Source Serif 2 through designing character sets for historical and current Greek. Senior Manager for Adobe Type Development commented: "The character sets, OpenType feature code, and other project data that have been developed through this collaboration between Adobe and Reading are shared freely and publicly on GitHub as reference material to help other font developers understand how to build fonts according to the specifications we have tested for ourselves” (E5).

Cultural reach

Making high-quality design publicly available

The researchers' approach to typeface design has been applied and adopted by major publishers to benefit readers of academic and commercial publications in Indian languages. Ross's award-winning fonts developed for the acclaimed Murty Classical Libraries of India project for Harvard University Press provide historically accurate and culturally relevant fonts for non-commercial use. The fonts use OpenType technology to support the complex shape substitution and positioning required for the correct display of these languages. Updated ('Tiro') versions are freely downloadable for the current Apple MacOS, and Google will offer them through its webfont service. The research is also communicated to design professionals through discussion in professional journals (E6).

Default operating system fonts read by millions

Google's Noto typeface family includes scripts for all languages recognized by the Indian constitution (Noto Serif Bengali, Tamil, Devanagari and Gujarati, among others, have input from Reading researchers). Noto is the default for email, SMS, and web browsing on Android phones, which comprise 91% of the 32 million smartphones shipped in India in Q1 2019 (E7). Another default operating system font co-designed by Ross, Microsoft's Nirmala UI, continues to be expanded with South and Southeast Asian scripts (E8).

Emphasising language and script to ensure cultural resonance

The research stresses language and script knowledge as the basis of type design. It overcomes arguments that only native speakers can design for their own script systems and promotes the integration of language and script knowledge into the design process. This has been applied by new foundries such as Rosetta, Brand New Type, and Universal Thirst (set up by Leonidas' and Ross's postgraduate students). These foundries rely on international collaboration. Commercially, they are able to offer fonts that are equal in quality and innovation to those used by brands in the West, achieving cultural parity with integrity. Examples are the Dhaka Art Summit 2020 with type designed by Universal Thirst, and new branding for the ABP news media by Brand New Type (E9).

Enhancing cultural understanding of global scripts

The research has contributed to enhanced cultural understanding through exhibitions and public-facing events, Ross's exhibition, co-curated with doctoral researcher Izadpanah, “ 20th-century Persian newspaper types: investigating the design process” (Reading, May 2019) attracted journalists, curators, politicians, and linguists, notably from the Iranian diaspora in the UK. It featured on BBC Persian, which has an audience of more than 13,000,000 Persian speakers worldwide and circulated online to a positive reception (E10). Ross's and Singh's 2019 workshop at the British Library, “Introduction to non-Latin scripts”, for a general audience, led one participant to remark that it had led to a “deeper knowledge of Indian scripts”; and Ross contributed an online article 'Two Bengali grammars - a typographic perspective' for the Early Indian Printed Books public-facing website.