Pooja Saxena

Mostly type design + writing, especially Indic scripts
Occasionally birding and pixel drawing

New Delhi/Brussels

she/her/they

Newsletter: http://www.matratype.com/my-typographic-eye
Instagram: https://instagram.com/matratype
India Street Lettering: https://indiastreetlettering.com/

Last Notes

2025-07-22 14:43:33 CEST

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I talk a little about not seeing sign painting in India as a monolith, but focusing instead on the peculiarities of a city or even of different neighbourhoods within one. That’s allowed me to see lettering styles and trends with a local lens, and appreciate how much a single sign painter can affect a locality’s visual identity.
One of the examples I share is of painted trucks from Kochi, which strike a unique chord even in a subcontinent known for its truck art.
https://bl.ag/indian-sign-painting-a-typeface-designers-take-on-the-craft/
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/114/896/924/191/176/599/original/8168783a4cfea2eb.jpg
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/114/896/924/190/803/588/original/02d8ad95a11ae966.jpg
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2025-07-22 14:30:26 CEST

Sam asked me if I’d like to write for the @npub1fpx…k29l blog when we first met here, but I felt so uncertain about what I would even say about sign painting in India. It is only now, with the India Street Lettering book in the offing, that I buckled down and put pen to paper.
The result is a short essay where I try to unpack how I, as a documentarian and type designer, have tried to deal with the clichés that come with how Indian sign painting is viewed.
https://bl.ag/indian-sign-painting-a-typeface-designers-take-on-the-craft/

2025-04-22 13:34:01 CEST

Today I saw the first photos of a book I co-edited — seeing one’s name on a book cover is, umm, quite exciting 🫠 💖

2025-03-05 11:19:37 CET

Found myself underplaying a significant professional landmark to a group of enthusiastic and supportive colleagues, who quickly set me right. Why am I like this? 🙄

2025-01-26 16:51:01 CET

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So sorry for your loss, Tejas 😔

2024-12-22 05:45:39 CET

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I’m back home now, but updates from my Kolkata trip continue.
Let’s start with the bad news: this larger-than-life neon sign for Elite is now lost as the cinema building was demolished earlier this year 😢 I had featured it in my zine about cinema signs from Kolkata https://www.matratype.com/shop/zine-06-cinemas-kolkata
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/113/694/653/327/810/702/original/ec0f47646794dc95.jpeg

2024-12-18 15:44:16 CET

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One of my quests on this Lucknow trip was to document specimens of this distinctive style of signage I’ve seen on many older Art Deco buildings here. The letters are built in layers, lending them a wonderful dimensional quality.
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/113/674/355/511/426/812/original/c263087721fd38aa.png

2024-12-18 03:57:42 CET

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Several hand painted signs (like the ones below) have been replaced with boring black and white flex ones in Lucknow’s Qaiserbagh chauraha. Looks like some kind of signage gentrification/beautification effort 🙄
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/113/671/578/345/302/021/original/5bb08426941feb76.jpg
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/113/671/578/366/997/180/original/0edda2093467febe.jpg
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/113/671/578/393/563/972/original/342fd793b375f2d9.jpg

2024-12-17 16:19:54 CET

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Being tall, having short hair and dressing rather butch during this trip has meant that I was confused for a man *a lot*. Usually by other men. They would move me by my shoulders if I was in their way on busy streets and then be horrified that they’d done so to a woman. Being a flâneuse is fun 😂

2024-12-14 17:55:49 CET

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A long day of walking and photographing, but among the highlights was meeting Islam ji who paints these “trolleys” for Azad Band, probably the best known wedding band in Lucknow.
Ram Kumar ji of Azad Band, who I also met, talked about how they had worked together for decades and over generations, and had come up with this recognisable visual language that used red, white and black, plus the occasional peacock motif.
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/113/652/226/009/429/346/original/561a6a7992344a79.jpg

2024-12-12 15:30:46 CET

Starting my year-end break with some roller coaster travel to do more documentation for https://indiastreetlettering.com/. Wish me luck!

2024-11-24 05:31:20 CET

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Thank you 🌻 Seeing you post regularly has been a real inspiration!

2024-11-22 07:08:25 CET

This week I completed a year of writing week notes https://www.matratype.com/week-notes/, a small attempt to go back to old-school blogging. I missed a few weeks, sure, but I am so happy to have stuck with the habit.
Albeit silly, one of the biggest challenges I faced was having a photograph (or two) to accompany the text every week. It made me realise how rarely I use my phone camera.
https://typo.social/system/media_attachments/files/113/525/109/684/381/254/original/378551a442a84a59.png

2024-08-20 14:43:07 CEST

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Good luck! 🤞🏽