Special Recognition
Baybayin Flow
by Sarah Kemle
Script Group:
South East Asian Scripts
Category:
A2 Display Typeface
Typeface Competition:
13th GRANSHAN Type Design Competition 2023/2024
Remarks of the Jury
Baybayin, the historical writing system of the Philippine people is experiencing a strong revival within the local design community. Although it was not possible to on-board it as a regular part of the South East Asian Script Group, GRANSHAN was keen on acknowledging Sarah Kemle's dissertation and practical work on the Baybayin script resulting in her type design study ’Baybayin Flow‘. Therefore it was deemed worthy of a special recognition by the jury to raise awareness and appreciation of the script.
Description of the Typeface by the Submitter
The typeface has a natural look and feel due to the smooth, curved lines that give it a sense of fluidity. This is a result of the calligraphic strokes used during the development of the typeface. It can be read from left to right, but because of its organic form and its historical roots in writing, it can also be written from bottom to top. The characters can be read in a 90-degree (bottom-top) to a flat 0-degree (left-right) position. It was created from a nearly extinct pre-colonial script without typographic standards. Each character was carefully observed from a surviving book and strokes were created through experimentation to retain its original characteristics while being aesthetically pleasing. Latin script can be used to aid with translation. Because due to its rarity, it is unlikely that many individuals can read it. The characters can also be used decoratively when arranged in a repeating pattern because of their organic form.