The Lure Of Letters

Rukminee Guha Thakurta has made an indelible mark for herself in the world of publication design

Passion for print

I studied Graphic Design at NID, chose to work with print and tried my hand at everything from newspaper design, exhibitions and identities to books and magazines. I love the printing process: the smell of paper and printing inks at the press, and watching images form with each impression of the four-color process. I worked at Steidl Verlag in Germany where I experienced the best of collaborative design and fine printing, and ever since I’ve been known as a book designer. But, I’d call myself a graphic designer really.

I had been working in New Delhi at Photoink – a photo agency and design studio then – for a number of years when they decided to go through a change of identity in 2009. It didn’t make sense for the new gallery to also run a design studio and design for other galleries. I was heading the design studio there and we came to a comfortable decision that I’d continue to design all of Photoink’s exhibition material in exchange for the space which I continued to use for my work. So, I started my design studio, Letterpress, and nothing really changed till Photoink moved to another space. That was when I too moved my studio. 

Platform for design