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Rathna Ramanathan is a graphic designer whose practice is situated around and inspired by the contexts of culture, language, typography and publishing.
Based in London, UK and in Chennai, India, Rathna's work has a strong research and publishing focus — whether a book, website, exhibition, roadshow or a simple postcard. Her practice is concerned with the relationship between technology, society and culture and the role of the communication designer within this. She has an interest in the materiality of the digital to locate the reader and in a vision of the worldwide web as an accessible and empowering publishing platform.
She runs her own studio minus9 (named for her eyesight and spectacle prescription) and has a PhD in the History and Theory of Typography and Graphic Communication from the University of Reading. Rathna has taught both in India and in the UK including National Institute of Design, Srishti School of Art and Design, London College of Communication, and Central Saint Martins. She is the Head of Visual Communication at the Royal College of Art, London where she also co-leads the Experimental Type Research Network.
Rathna’s work with Tara Books has received a number of international awards including, the ISTD Certificate of Excellence (2014) for In the Land of Punctuation. She is part of the exciting project that is the Murty Classical Library of India. Rathna is also the ATypI Delegate for India and advises on the design of Indic typefaces.
For an informal summation of Rathna’s practice, make yourself a cup of coffee and listen to her Typeradio interviews or follow her on twitter and instagram. Or if you’d prefer to chat in person, get in touch.