Tsampa Classic typeface preview

Tsampa Classic is the working name for my main font project. I started work on this font from scratch; it has not been scanned or copied from any pre-existing material. Glimpses of its evolution can be seen in my other projects, such as in the Tsampa Keyboard font and Tibword for Windows. The font has gone through several remakes in search of a style that agrees with me the most; in the process I have developed a serious interest in Tibetan typography that doesn't seem to be fading.

I worked intensively on this font in bursts during my stay in Amdo 1999-2001, during which time I had several opportunities to discuss its design with local Tibetans. My goal is to make a high-quality font that would be suitable for printing. Below is a sample of all the root letters in their current shape; you be the judge on how close I am to my goal.

Currently, I do not have any specific plans for the destiny of this font. Ideally, I would like to be able to release it complete with all necessary Sanskrit stacks for free or on a donation basis to the public. I am also looking into whether I should convert it into Unicode and/or Open Type. So far development has taken place in Fontographer, but I would like to migrate my work to the more powerful and up-to-date FontLab, which fully supports both Unicode and Open Type. Needless to say, I do have other font projects waiting in line, including a block print font and a handwritten font.