DILLI - Typed. Alive.
Client
INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage)
Service
Content & Asset Management.
Brand Strategy, Design & Performance.
Communication Design.
Sector
Media.
Social Impact.
DILLI. Typed. Alive. Mir called Delhi the world’s life. Ghalib mourned it and loved it in the same breath. Delhi is not merely a city — it is an emotional frequency that has been searching for its form for centuries. COMDEZ partnered on Delhi: A Heritage Living, supported by INTACH and the World Monuments Fund, to create a cultural publication and public campaign capable of translating the poetic and architectural soul of the city into a living typographic system.
Preserved but Unfelt
Delhi’s heritage had been photographed, archived, and preserved extensively. Yet its emotional and literary depth had never been felt typographically — never translated into a visual language as layered and alive as the poetry associated with the city itself.
Most heritage communication systems rely on clinical layouts, monument silhouettes, or historical documentation. The challenge was to move beyond preservation and create an emotional connection between the city and the modern public audience.
The mandate was clear: do not design a book about Delhi. Design a book that IS Delhi.
Typography as Monument
The identity system was anchored around the classical couplet: “The world is the body and Delhi is its life.”
COMDEZ developed a towering typographic structure inspired by the verticality of Delhi’s minarets, domes, and historic stone architecture. A deliberate visual tension was created between traditional Urdu calligraphy and modern Latin typography, reflecting the layered duality of Delhi itself.
The system was designed to scale fluidly from intimate editorial layouts to massive public billboards across the city. Poetry by Ghalib and Bashir Badr was paired with monumental imagery of Jama Masjid and Safdarjung Tomb, transforming typography into a public cultural experience.
By treating typography as structure rather than decoration, the project made Delhi’s heritage felt before it was read.
Read Before It Is Read
The typographic system successfully translated from tactile publication design into a large-scale outdoor communication campaign across Delhi.
By combining poetry, architecture, and monumental typography, the project created immediate cultural resonance while aligning with the heritage standards of INTACH and the World Monuments Fund.
Seen on billboards. Held in hands. Read before it is read.
The poets gave Delhi its soul. We built the typographic monument to make it visible.
Solutions
COMDEZ designed a typographic heritage system for Delhi: A Heritage Living, transforming poetry, architecture, and cultural memory into an immersive editorial and outdoor communication experience. The project combined custom typography, Urdu calligraphy, monumental scale, and public storytelling to make Delhi’s emotional and literary identity visually felt across books and city billboards.
outcomes
Translated a tactile publication into a large-scale OOH campaign Built a custom typographic system inspired by Delhi’s architecture Created a visual bridge between Urdu script and modern Latin typography Delivered a culturally resonant heritage campaign for public audiences Successfully aligned with INTACH and World Monuments Fund standards
