Impact case study database

The impact of Ramanathan’s research has been twofold. It has enabled the preservation of and access to Indic classical texts and Indic scripts by providing typographic frameworks and design guidelines for publication of bilingual books in Indic and Latin scripts by the Murty Classical Library of India. And it developed for Tara Books an approach to typography that empowers marginalised communities of readers as well as expanding readership in inclusive and decolonial ways.

4.1. Impact on preserving and expanding access and readership of content from India and/or in Indic scriptsThe Murty Classical Library of India aims to make available the great literary works of India from the past two millennia, reintroducing them to a new generation of readers. Many classic Indic texts have never reached a global audience, while others are becoming increasingly inaccessible even to Indian readers. HUP used Ramanathan’s research and resulting guidelines in the design of 29 books to date (2015-2020) [5.1] supporting the preservation of content in 10 different languages. The Director of Design and Production at HUP described the collaboration with Ramanathan as essential to the publication of the series: ‘The Murty Classical Library of India is the most challenging project that Harvard University Press has undertaken, and without Dr Ramanathan’s outstanding work I cannot imagine that we could have achieved such success’ [5.2], He noted Ramanathan’s research contribution as ‘addressing everything from the historical design traditions across myriad cultures and formats to addressing the critical need for a unified design approach for the series that could encompass a wide array of variation and many disparate requirements' [5.2].

Ramanathan’s research on the complex challenges underpinning the Murty Classical Library project changed HUP’s approach to book design. In this respect, the Director of Design and Production at HUP stated: ‘One rewarding aspect of the collaboration with Dr Ramanathan came from the certainty that the work we were doing would have an impact in a long timescale, probably after our careers. We were looking at scripts that historically did not belong in a book whilst creating a framework robust enough to address design questions that will come up in the future. The books of the Murty Library are themselves the documentation of the design choices we are making today, trying to answer the questions for designers who will work on the series a hundred years from now’ [5.3].

The research insights also had an impact on translators, requiring them to move beyond seeing the non-Latin scripts as dictated by metal type. ‘This is a battle that we might not win every time but there is now an openness and flexibility to that embedded in the design about the way the original scripts should look’ [5.3].

Making the books available in a form and design that will work well into the future enables the press to meet its fundamental aim of expanding readership of the texts and widening accessibility [5.3]. The detail of how Ramanathan’s design work supports this is elucidated in a review of one of the books, The Epic of Ram: the reviewer noted that the ‘question of layout is probably the first aspect of these books to hit the eye (and then the mind and heart)’ [5.4]. He describes the traditional setting out of the text and compares it with the new layout, as directed by Ramanathan’s guidelines, concluding: ‘This reviewer huffed and puffed for a while at the sight of such a radical change, but was mollified when the reason for it became apparent: the new arrangement allows for an exact match between the layout of the Awadhi on the left-hand page and that of the English translation on the right-hand page, where the translator has, in most cases, artfully maximized this connection in his deployment of the English phrasing. This foot-for-foot equivalence greatly facilitates the dual reading of mūla [original text] and translation, and turns out to be one of the most successful and attractive aspects of the translator’s approach’ [5.4].

The series has prompted positive reactions from critical reviewers, including recognition of the contribution of the research to social impact [5.5], and in the media, acknowledging the ambition and cultural impact of the project: ‘One of the great benefits of this kind of project is that it illuminates lost things, brings back to recognition texts that were once crucial’ [5.6]. The Guardian review stated that: ‘It is worth noting that some of these texts are not only unknown to western readers; very few Indians have read them either. This makes for a significant opportunity for rediscovery; it also points to the millennial silence from which some of these authors emerge’ [5.7].

The series prompted a debate in the public realm on issues of cultural appropriation, voice and identity in Indian culture. The Director of Design and Production at HUP stated that ‘In terms of immediate impacts—apart from how much Harvard University Press learned from it and the straightforward effect it has had in the preservation and accessibility to classical Indian text in Indic scripts—the series opened up, in the public realm, pressing discussions about diverse approaches to designing, translating and publishing classical Indian texts. Our model should be one of many other possible models and we are fortunate to be part of this constructive debate’ [5.3].

4.2. Impact on changing attitudes to typography and to design research, and publishing practicesRamanathan worked with the Indian publisher Tara Books, applying her research in intercultural communication, decoloniality, graphic design and typography, encompassed in I Want to Be. Tara Books has employed Ramanathan’s approach to typography in several titles including Hic, Mother Steals a Bicycle, Tail Tale, Brer Rabbit Retold and Tree Matters [5.10]. The publisher has sold books produced in India to a global audience, as well as featuring in international exhibitions and the press. The company’s founder and publisher confirmed that Ramanathan's contribution was paramount in supporting the publisher to expand readership: ‘Rathna was responsible for using typography and communication design to expand readership, bridging social divides such as class and caste, and that is how her approach was taken up, not as a progression, but as an ongoing conversation. It’s about a commitment to building and expanding a community of readers around the globe, and bringing more people to the conversation whilst also building our own communities and livelihoods’ [5.11].

An article in the Hindu newspaper reviewing Tara Books’ social and cultural achievements described Ramanathan as having ‘revolutionised’ [5.12] Tara’s work. The company’s founder explained that: ’What we have done in focusing on the visual as a language is to bring access into people’s lives who don't speak or read or write the same language, or who don't read and write at all. This has an impact on both sides of the book as a process: the side of the readership, and the side of the story-tellers’ [5.11].

Ramanathan’s research is recognised as having changed attitudes to typography within Tara Books with the result that other practitioners have taken up her framework and applied it, including through Ramanathan’s mentoring [5.11] . The company’s founder concluded that: ‘Rathna's legacy can be seen in terms of the strength she brought to typography as a process, an ongoing conversation in which typography is a voice’ [5.11].