Faculty of Architecture, Integrated Design

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Browsing Faculty of Architecture, Integrated Design by Subject "SINHALA DISPLAY TYPOGRAPHY"

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    Sinhala display typefaces; visual classification of Sinhala book title
    (2023) Gunawardhana PHSD; Samarawickrama S; Dalvi G
    This thesis is a systematic documentation of letterform variations in Sinhala display typefaces through a visual classification in early Sinhala book titles. The research primarily focuses on documenting and classifying letterform variations of Sinhala book titles used in early printed books in Sri Lanka (from 1890 to 1960). Historical research and documentation is essential for the growth and development of any subject domain including design. Under the major subject domain of graphic design, Latin typography has a long history in its historical studies. As a result, the subject has grown to a substantial level. Since design education in Sri Lanka is nearly two decades old, subject areas such as graphic design and typography lack documented knowledge of early Sri Lankan typographic practices. The historical data that contributes to these subject areas are found at archival locations in Sri Lanka. In Colombo National Museum Archive, we found a collection of early Sinhala book cover design as primary data for historical studies in graphic design. Some of these data have been already lost due to inadequate preservation, conservation procedures, and lack of interest in preserving graphical material. Therefore we identify the research gap as the need of documenting primary data for graphic design; typography in Sri Lanka. Thesis introduces classification as a method of systematically documenting the primary data. It investigated Latin and Devanagari typographic classification systems and confirmed the importance of the variables for classifying data. We identified variables and values for the main study by conducting a literature survey on display typefaces and classification systems. We selected a random sample of early printed book covers from the Colombo National Museum Library and scanned a total of 1,410 book covers published between 1872 and 1960, along with their meta data including cover size, publisher, author, and so on. We uncovered 17 categories (variables) and 77 subcategories (values) under the visual variations of Sinhala book titles in early printed book covers in Sri Lanka. We v classified all the book cover titles within the variables. We conclude the research by presenting the findings and interpretations in a series of tables and graphs. This thesis primarily contributes towards fulfilling a key requirement for the development of the subject of typography and graphic design in Sri Lanka: the documentation of historical data.
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    Sinhala typeface features to optimize readability for small scale digital device screens
    (2023) Subasinghe R; Samarawickrama S
    The widespread use of digital devices for reading and communication has highlighted the need for optimized fonts for small-scale digital screens. This need is particularly important for languages with complex scripts like Sinhala, which require specific features to ensure readability. Unfortunately, the lack of digitally optimized Sinhala fonts is a major issue in the Sinhala typographic industry, prompting the need for research in this area. This thesis aims to identify the specific features of Sinhala typefaces that optimize readability on small-scale digital devices. The study has two objectives: first, to identify the role of general anatomical features of a script in designing a font for a particular purpose, and second, to identify the anatomical features of Sinhala typefaces that contribute to optimizing legibility on small-scale digital device screens. The thesis discusses the challenges posed by small digital screens and the importance of legibility, as well as the research gap in Sinhala fonts designed to optimize legibility on small digital screens. A visual experiment was conducted to identify the most appropriate Sinhala font for the research based on legibility, and Noto Sans Sinhala was selected. The experiment identified the anatomical features that contribute to letter misidentification, and a visual survey was conducted on the most commonly misidentified letters in the selected sample font. The purpose of this experiment was to identify the impact of legibility on Noto Sans Sinhala through changes to its anatomical features. The thesis discusses the differences between the Distinct Visual Features and the anatomical structure in Sinhala letters, how the legibility of a font is directly affected by anatomical changes to their Distinct Visual features through similar letter misidentification, and the anatomic features that need to be considered when designing a Sinhala font centered around increasing legibility for small digital screens. The practical implications of this research are significant for designers seeking to optimize legibility and reduce similar letter misidentification in Sinhala fonts on small-scale digital device screens. By manipulating the visual parameters of each anatomical feature, designers can make specific changes to the DV features of letters and improve the legibility of Sinhala fonts on digital platforms. This research contributes to the field of Sinhala typography and legibility on digital screens by providing a deeper understanding of the specific features that impact legibility and similar letter misidentification, enabling designers to create more effective and legible Sinhala fonts for digital devices, improving the user experience and enhancing the communication of messages in Sinhala.