Style combination · Pairs well

Indian Calendar × Nirnaya Sagar Devanagari Typography

For a devotional book, put one chromolithographed god picture from the Bombay presses opposite a black, typeset text page, and keep the type itself free of colour.

From the research on Nirnaya Sagar Devanagari Typography (Bombay Metal Type)

Mix them and make something Indian Calendar Nirnaya Sagar Devanagari Typography

A sample layout drawn from the recipe: shapes from Indian Calendar, their arrangement from Indian Calendar, the finish from Nirnaya Sagar Devanagari Typography. Not a real work, and not an image of either style.

What each style brings

Each part of the design comes from the style with the stronger say in it, and each style gives at least two.

Indian Calendar & Bazaar Art Nirnaya Sagar Devanagari Typography (Bombay Metal Type)

Type from Nirnaya Sagar Devanagari Typography: Brush & pen calligraphy
Tight setting
Colour from Indian Calendar: Full polychrome
Jewel & metallic

Nirnaya Sagar Devanagari Typography avoids full polychrome: this is where the two pull against each other.
Form from Indian Calendar: Naturalistic depiction
Abundant decoration

Nirnaya Sagar Devanagari Typography avoids abundant decoration: this is where the two pull against each other.
Composition from Indian Calendar: Central symmetry
Single focal point
Surface from Nirnaya Sagar Devanagari Typography: Paper & letterpress bite

The type

Open fonts standing in for each style’s own type, which is often hand-drawn or commercial.

Display · Nirnaya Sagar Devanagari Typography

Light

Yatra One, standing in for Nirnaya-sagar Pica No. 1, the basis of Monotype's 12 pt Devanagari, and the Nirnaya-sagar pica struck from Ranoji Raoji Aru's punches that Tilak's Kesari used

Text · Indian Calendar

Mass-printed images of Hindu deities, epic scenes, saints, nationalist heroes and film stars, sold in bazaars and given away as business calendars, from the chromolithographs of the Calcutta Art Studio and Ravi Varma Press to Sivakasi offset. Frontal, idealised figures painted with academic naturalism glow against dreamy landscapes, in saturated colour with gold, haloes and ornate frames above the sponsor's name and calendar pad.

Archivo; Indian Calendar used Hand-drawn Devanagari display lettering and Hand-lettered Tamil and Bengali titles

The colours

The ground and leading colours come from Indian Calendar, with a counter-accent from Nirnaya Sagar Devanagari Typography. The ink reads on the ground at 4.5:1 or more.

Indian Calendar & Bazaar Art Nirnaya Sagar Devanagari Typography (Bombay Metal Type)

#d4a537 ground · 36%
#141414 ink · 14%
#c8202f accent · 18%
#a08a62 accent · 14%
#1e6fa3 accent · 10%
#5c564c accent · 8%

As CSS

:root {
  --ground: #d4a537;
  --ink: #141414;
  --accent-1: #c8202f;
  --accent-2: #a08a62;
  --accent-3: #1e6fa3;
  --accent-4: #5c564c;
  --font-display: "Yatra One", cursive;
  --font-text: "Archivo", sans-serif;
}

Use it with care

Indian Calendar & Bazaar Art: These are devotional images that many viewers worship, so do not crop, distort or deface deities or place them on footwear, floors, underwear or in mocking contexts. Many original painters went uncredited; name the artist and press where known.

Nirnaya Sagar Devanagari Typography (Bombay Metal Type): Much of the press's output is scripture and ritual text, from the Vedas with their accents to Purāṇas, stotras and the almanac that fixes the dates of rites and festivals, so never use mantras, verses or divine names as texture, crop, mirror or garble them, or put them on floors, footwear or throwaway goods. Have every Sanskrit, Marathi or Hindi word set with correct conjuncts and read by a fluent reader, since image models invent pseudo-Devanagari with broken headlines and impossible ligatures, never present a generated page as a Nirnaya Sagar imprint, and credit the founder and his punch-cutter Ranoji Aru as well as the pandit editors.

The two styles

1878–present · South Asia Indian Calendar & Bazaar Art Mass-printed images of Hindu deities, epic scenes, saints, nationalist heroes and film stars, sold in bazaars and given away as business calendars, from the chromolithographs of the Calcutta Art Studio and Ravi Varma Press to Sivakasi offset. Frontal, idealised figures painted with academic naturalism glow against dreamy landscapes, in saturated colour with gold, haloes and ornate frames above the sponsor's name and calendar pad.

A vintage-style Marathi library poster printed in black on textured cream paper features an enormous Devanagari heading above centered informational text. Double rules and small floral ornaments divide the opening hours, printer details, and notices.

1864–present · South Asia Nirnaya Sagar Devanagari Typography (Bombay Metal Type) Devanagari as Javaji Dadaji's Bombay type foundry (1864) and Nirnaya Sagar Press (1869) cut and printed it: upright metal type with a strong headline, cut with the punch-cutter Ranoji Aru, and enough conjunct and 'Akhand' sorts to set Sanskrit, Vedic accents and Marathi whole. Pages stack root text, smaller commentary and footnoted variants in black on pale paper, almost without ornament. Naik credits it with the classical Devanagari face, the basis of Monotype's 12 pt Devanagari; digital fonts such as Adishila trace it.