Isiabhaya Font
Emmaline Sasportas
Isiabhaya Font: A Sinhala Typeface Inspired by Letterpress Printing
Isiabhaya Font is a Sinhala typeface that was inspired by the letterpress printing of the 1960s. It is a digital adaptation of the popular FM Abhaya font, which was designed in 1996 by Pushpananda Ekanayake. Isiabhaya Font preserves the traditional and elegant features of FM Abhaya, while adding unicode compatibility and modern enhancements for web and mobile use.
Isiabhaya Font supports both Sinhala and Latin scripts, with five weights ranging from Extra Light to Bold. It has 925 glyphs that enable clean and precise rendering for Sinhala, Pali and Sanskrit texts. It also has stylistic sets that allow users to switch between compact and regular forms of certain Sinhala characters. The Latin characters match the aesthetics of Isiabhaya Sinhala, with a high contrast between thick and thin strokes and a touch of Sinhala form in some terminals.
Isiabhaya Font is a libre font, which means it is free to use, modify and distribute for any purpose. It is part of the Google Fonts library, where it can be downloaded or embedded on websites. It is also available on other font platforms such as Font Akasa[^1^] and 1001 Fonts[^3^]. Isiabhaya Font was developed by Mooniak, a small type foundry based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in collaboration with Pushpananda Ekanayake and Sol Matas. The project was funded by Google Fonts in 2015.
Isiabhaya Font is a beautiful and versatile typeface that can be used for various purposes such as headlines, body text, logos, posters, books and more. It is a tribute to the rich history and culture of Sinhala typography, as well as a contribution to the future of Sinhala digital communication.
Isiabhaya Font is not the only Sinhala typeface that has been inspired by letterpress printing. There are other fonts that have been created or revived based on the old metal types that were used for printing Sinhala newspapers, books and magazines. Some examples are:
- Abhaya Libre: This is another libre version of FM Abhaya, which was released by Google Fonts in 2016. It was redrawn from scratch by Mooniak and Sol Matas, with some modifications and improvements to suit modern usage. It has a more refined and consistent appearance than Isiabhaya Font, and also supports more languages such as Tamil and Latin Extended.
- Kaputa: This is a font that was designed by Thusitha Randunuge in 2004, based on the letterpress typefaces of the 1950s. It has a retro and nostalgic feel, with some quirky and irregular shapes. It is mainly used for decorative and artistic purposes, such as logos, posters and greeting cards.
- Sinhala MN: This is a font that was included in the Mac OS X operating system since 2009. It was designed by Muthu Nedumaran, based on the letterpress typefaces of the 1930s. It has a simple and elegant look, with smooth curves and balanced proportions. It is suitable for both print and screen media, and also supports Pali and Sanskrit.
These fonts show the diversity and creativity of Sinhala typography, which has evolved from the traditional letterpress printing to the modern digital media. They also demonstrate the importance of preserving and promoting the Sinhala script, which is one of the oldest and most unique writing systems in the world.
d8cbe59d7d