Rupee symbol for upcoming release from the Indian Type Foundry: Kohinoor Devanagari
Now that the dust has settled on India's launch of their rupee symbol we are starting to see its application beyond the initial fanfare. Signaling a strengthening economy, India's currency joins the likes of the euro, British pound, US dollar and Japanese yen in having a unique identity. Indian Institute of Technology graduate D. Udaya Kumar, won the national competition with his entry which combined the Roman "R" with the Devanagari "Ra."
Cell phone and software developers, hardware manufacturers, typographers and others are waiting for the Unicode Consortium to release its format for the new symbol. But the folks at the Indian Type Foundry are not letting this hold them back. Celebrated Indian typographer Satya Rajpurohit is developing versions of the new symbol to accompany the foundry's range of current and upcoming typefaces using Open Type's Ligature features until Unicode delivers. "The symbol's skeleton form is sound. The challenge has been to balance the weight between the Indic and Roman versions of our fonts. Naturally any symbol will be somewhat tailored to a particular typeface and I feel that type designers will adapt the new rupee mark with the flair they devote to all characters. It's like welcoming a new member to the family."
Now that the dust has settled on India's launch of their rupee symbol we are starting to see its application beyond the initial fanfare. Signaling a strengthening economy, India's currency joins the likes of the euro, British pound, US dollar and Japanese yen in having a unique identity. Indian Institute of Technology graduate D. Udaya Kumar, won the national competition with his entry which combined the Roman "R" with the Devanagari "Ra."
Cell phone and software developers, hardware manufacturers, typographers and others are waiting for the Unicode Consortium to release its format for the new symbol. But the folks at the Indian Type Foundry are not letting this hold them back. Celebrated Indian typographer Satya Rajpurohit is developing versions of the new symbol to accompany the foundry's range of current and upcoming typefaces using Open Type's Ligature features until Unicode delivers. "The symbol's skeleton form is sound. The challenge has been to balance the weight between the Indic and Roman versions of our fonts. Naturally any symbol will be somewhat tailored to a particular typeface and I feel that type designers will adapt the new rupee mark with the flair they devote to all characters. It's like welcoming a new member to the family."
The logo of Kaun Banega Crorepati
Elsewhere the symbol is set to star on prime time television. Seasoned Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan recently tweeted "New logo for KBC! Note the Rupee symbol incorporated in the design. My suggestion!! Yeahhh!! Feeling good" He's referring to the logo of Kaun Banega Crorepati — the Indian game show which he hosts that is based on the British Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and featured in the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millonaire. The show's new logo builds upon its previous version with the addition of the fresh rupee symbol to form a wheel. The hugely popular show will go a long way in bringing the nation's latest character to life.
Elsewhere the symbol is set to star on prime time television. Seasoned Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan recently tweeted "New logo for KBC! Note the Rupee symbol incorporated in the design. My suggestion!! Yeahhh!! Feeling good" He's referring to the logo of Kaun Banega Crorepati — the Indian game show which he hosts that is based on the British Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and featured in the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millonaire. The show's new logo builds upon its previous version with the addition of the fresh rupee symbol to form a wheel. The hugely popular show will go a long way in bringing the nation's latest character to life.
