History Hour | 16 January 2026 | Newspaper Typography, Design and Technology in Goa: A Historical Overview
Rinald D'Souza
Newspaper Typography, Design and Technology in Goa: A Historical OverviewFriday, 16 January 2026 | 6 pm
HISTORY HOUR
Newspaper Typography, Design and
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Newspaper Typography, Design and
Technology in Goa: A Historical Overview
Goa was among the first regions in Asia to receive a printing press, introduced by the Jesuits in 1556. The evolution of newspaper design and typography in Goa reflects a distinctive intersection of colonial influence, regional culture, technological advancement, and changing reader expectations. As a major Portuguese colonial hub, Goa emerged as an early centre of printing in Asia, significantly shaping the visual and editorial character of journalism in the region.
This historical overview traces the phases of development from the latter half of the nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. Although newspapers in the modern sense did not initially exist during this period, newsletters, bulletins, and administrative notices circulated widely in Portuguese. Goa witnessed the emergence of its first newspapers in the latter part of the nineteenth century.
The visual style of newspapers during this era largely reflected European norms. Design remained austere, characterized by minimal decorative elements, occasional single-column layouts, and a heavy reliance on imported typefaces. Letterpress printing technology, still in its early stages, resulted in outputs that lacked the refinement seen in contemporary publications. Visual elements were limited, and the use of decorative motifs to enhance design was correspondingly restrained. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, when photo-engraving technology for reproducing photographs was beyond the reach of many publications, woodcut illustrations were commonly employed. Even after photo-engraving technology became accessible within the publishing industry, the quality of reproduction was often substandard and, in some cases, ineffective.
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Wilfred Goes
Wilfred Eusebio Goes is an art educator, researcher, and bilingual writer with a distinguished career spanning visual communication, print culture, and Konkani literature. He holds a Master of Fine Arts (Applied Art) degree and taught for 38 years at the Goa College of Art, Altinho, Panaji, where he also served as Principal. At the College, he was associated with the Department of Applied Art, teaching Graphic Design, Communication Design, Media, Photography, Computer Graphics, Audio-Visual (filmmaking), and Illustration. His pedagogy and practice consistently emphasized layout, typography, and design as core visual and communicative elements. He also holds a Master’s degree by research, focusing on newspapers and print publications produced in Goa and Mumbai from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. His research reflects a sustained engagement with visual culture, print history, and the evolution of graphic communication, forming the foundation of his work on newspaper typography and design in Goa.
A bilingual writer in Konkani and English, Goes has authored and published nine books, including novels, short story collections, and children’s literature. He contributes regularly to magazines such as Gulab, Goan Review, and Goa Today, and has written for Sunaprant, The Navhind Times, Amcho Avaz, and Pormoll. He has presented papers on Konkani literature at state, national, and international seminars and served on the Konkani Advisory Board of the Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi (2008–2012). His work has been recognised with several honours, including the Konknni Bhasha Mandal Literature Award, the Jack Sequeira Award, the Gulab Writer of the Year Award, and State Art Awards for Graphic Design and Photography.
Pamela D’Mello
Pamela D’Mello is a widely published journalist, writer and independent researcher with degrees in Economics and Law from Bombay University. She has worked in the newspaper, magazine, and online media space for over three and a half decades, reporting on and analysing the political economy of contemporary Goa — from iron ore mining, ecology, tourism, civil and caste movements to land use and politics. Her work as a journalist spans early years at the Lawyers’ Collective, Bombay; Herald, Goa; Special Correspondent (Goa) for The Asian Age; Associate Editor, Herald; stringer for The Associated Press and The Telegraph, Calcutta. Her by-lined articles have appeared in Frontline, Economic and Political Weekly, India Today, Scroll.in, The Wire, Huffington Post, Mongabay, The Hindu, Deccan Herald, Down To Earth, BBC, The Quint, Caravan, Vantage, The Week, India Legal, The Goan, as well as on her blog, goajournal.in.
She has published book chapters on ‘Goa in Creative Writing – An Annotated Bibliography’ (co-author) (Mirror to Goa, 2010, Broadway & Goa 1556) and ‘Journalism in the Time of Avarice’ (And Read All Over, 2025, Goa 1556). Her short stories have appeared in anthologies of the Goa Writers Group — Inside Out (2011, Goa 1556), Ways of Belonging (2024, Goa 1556), and Appetite: New Writing from Goa (2026, Penguin; forthcoming). With an interest in academic and historical research, she has presented seminar papers at Goa University and Xavier Centre of Historical Research on land relations, Legislative Defections and the Tenth Schedule, the Goa Civil Code, and the role of private schools in nineteenth and twentieth century Goa.
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Xavier Centre of Historical Research
B B Borkar Road, Porvorim, Goa 403521, India
xchr.in | in...@xchr.in
