Hanif KuresHanif Kureshi

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about Indian artist and designer. For the British playwright and
screenwriter, see Hanif Kureishi.

Hanif Kureshi

Kureshi in 2023

12 October 1982
Born
Palitana, Gujarat, India

22 September 2024 (aged 41)

Alma mate Maharaja Sayajirao University

Street typography
Known for St+art India Foundation
Guerrilla Art & Design

Notable HandpaintedType
work Time Changes Everything

Style Street art

Hanif Kureshi (12 October 1982 – 22 September 2024), also known by the
graffiti name Daku, was an Indian artist, designer, and advertising
professional. Kureshi was a pioneering figure in India's street art movement,
helping to transform urban spaces into public canvases and bringing art out
of the museums to the wider public in India. Kureshi's early childhood
experiences with hand-painted signage led to his lifelong interest in
typography and street art, with his first apprenticeship with local painters
creating hand-painted licence plates. He studied art at Maharaja Sayajirao
University of Baroda, later pursuing a career in advertising.
He started working as a graffiti artist in the late 2000s, moving on to large-
scale street art and murals, often collaborating with artists from around the
world. After seeing the impact of modern digital design and printing
replacing the local artists of his youth, he started the HandpaintedType
project as an attempt to preserve typographic practices and styles unique to
Indian street sign painters and provide them with an income stream. Kureshi
went on to co-found the St+art India Foundation to help popularise street
art throughout the country, with notable work produced in the Lodhi Art
District in Delhi, the Sassoon Dock art project in Mumbai, and the Bangalore
Metro.
Early life
Kureshi was born on 12 October 1982[1] in Palitana, a town in the Bhavnagar
district of Gujarat.[2] He first began working with street painters during his
school vacations.[3] He apprenticed with local painters who specialised in
hand-painted licence plates.[4] Encouraged by his father, he decided to
become an artist himself,[3] graduating with a degree in arts from the
Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.[5]
Career
Kureshi began his professional career in advertising, starting with the
advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather in 2003 where he went on to become a
senior art director.[6] He later moved to the advertising agency
Wieden+Kennedy in 2008 where he became a senior creative. That same
year, he first began working as a graffiti artist on the streets [7] using the
pseudonym Daku (transl. Bandit).[5] In 2011, while still at the agency,[4]
Kureshi started the HandpaintedType project[8] as an attempt to preserve the
typographic practices and styles of Indian street sign painters for future
generations before they disappeared.[note 1]
HandpaintedType documented the typefaces of at least 18 roadside painters
in India, recording brief biographical data and producing at least two short
documentary videos.[9] Kureshi released an initial free, digitised street font
to the public based on the project, followed by a later commercial release, [10]
whose proceeds were intended to provide a source of revenue for the
traditional sign painters being displaced by digital printing. [11] In 2011,
Kureshi made several presentations to professional organisations about the
data they collected, including one at the Typography Day conference in
Ahmedabad followed by a larger, formal presentation at the 2011 ATypI
typography conference in Reykjavík.[10] Following his stint at
Wieden+Kennedy, Kureshi left the advertising world to focus on street art
and sign painting.[2]
hi
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about Indian artist and designer. For the British playwright and
screenwriter, see Hanif Kureishi.

Hanif Kureshi
Kureshi in 2023

12 October 1982
Born
Palitana, Gujarat, India

22 September 2024 (aged 41)

Alma mate Maharaja Sayajirao University of

Street typography
Known for St+art India Foundation
Guerrilla Art & Design

Notable HandpaintedType
work Time Changes Everything

Style Street art

Hanif Kureshi (12 October 1982 – 22 September 2024), also known by the graffiti
name Daku, was an Indian artist, designer, and advertising professional. Kureshi was a
pioneering figure in India's street art movement, helping to transform urban spaces
into public canvases and bringing art out of the museums to the wider public in India.
Kureshi's early childhood experiences with hand-painted signage led to his lifelong
interest in typography and street art, with his first apprenticeship with local painters
creating hand-painted licence plates. He studied art at Maharaja Sayajirao University
of Baroda, later pursuing a career in advertising.
He started working as a graffiti artist in the late 2000s, moving on to large-scale street
art and murals, often collaborating with artists from around the world. After seeing the
impact of modern digital design and printing replacing the local artists of his youth, he
started the HandpaintedType project as an attempt to preserve typographic practices
and styles unique to Indian street sign painters and provide them with an income
stream. Kureshi went on to co-found the St+art India Foundation to help popularise
street art throughout the country, with notable work produced in the Lodhi Art District
in Delhi, the Sassoon Dock art project in Mumbai, and the Bangalore Metro.
Early life
Kureshi was born on 12 October 1982[1] in Palitana, a town in the Bhavnagar district of
Gujarat.[2] He first began working with street painters during his school vacations. [3] He
apprenticed with local painters who specialised in hand-painted licence plates.[4]
Encouraged by his father, he decided to become an artist himself, [3] graduating with a
degree in arts from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.[5]
Career
Kureshi began his professional career in advertising, starting with the advertising
agency Ogilvy & Mather in 2003 where he went on to become a senior art director. [6]
He later moved to the advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy in 2008 where he became
a senior creative. That same year, he first began working as a graffiti artist on the
streets[7] using the pseudonym Daku (transl. Bandit).[5] In 2011, while still at the
agency,[4] Kureshi started the HandpaintedType project[8] as an attempt to preserve the
typographic practices and styles of Indian street sign painters for future generations
before they disappeared.[note 1]
HandpaintedType documented the typefaces of at least 18 roadside painters in India,
recording brief biographical data and producing at least two short documentary
videos.[9] Kureshi released an initial free, digitised street font to the public based on
the project, followed by a later commercial release, [10] whose proceeds were intended
to provide a source of revenue for the traditional sign painters being displaced by
digital printing.[11] In 2011, Kureshi made several presentations to professional
organisations about the data they collected, including one at the Typography Day
conference in Ahmedabad followed by a larger, formal presentation at the 2011 ATypI
typography conference in Reykjavík.[10] Following his stint at Wieden+Kennedy, Kureshi
left the advertising world to focus on street art and sign painting. [2]