A Font To Fight Stereotypes: The Better India presents The

Stereotypeface Project

The Better India is a solutions-focused content & commerce platform founded in 2008 and based out of
Bengaluru. With the power of media and technology, it uses the medium of storytelling to affect large
scale social change. Stories of all the good things happening in India-- unsung heroes, changemakers,
innovations - are inspiring people to come together and create on-ground impact.

Stereotypes are something that plague and hinder our society. And there are countless ones. Many have
been formed over generations of false beliefs and misconceptions to the point where they are accepted
as the hard truth. These stereotypes confine entire groups of people to a set of unverified beliefs,
cutting across race, age, and gender. The results and the effects it has on citizens have been well
documented: discrimination, prejudice, even violence, depression, mental health issues, and suicide.

India is a nation rich in diversity. And when people who differ from each other come together, there is
always a possibility of stereotypes fomenting. India has many age old stereotypes, like the associations
made with caste, the treatment of widows, and the attitude towards the girl child. Meanwhile, newer
ones have come to prominence in recent times, such as misconceptions of the LGBTQ+ community, the
forced toughness of males, and the naivety of youth.

“For generations, all kinds of stereotypes have inflicted and continue to inflict undeserved damage on
people and communities, and it is ultimately the nation that suffers. We believe that it is very important
to take a strong, collective stand against such stereotypes, dispel the myths around them, and inspire
others to raise their voices against them. We must all learn to be more accepting, to un-stereotype
people”, says Dhimant Parekh, CEO & Co-founder, The Better India.

Wunderman Thompson Bangalore, a creative, data and tech agency, came up with a unique way to
address the issue of stereotypes: a typeface that would represent these stereotypes, bringing attention
to them and dissecting them. The idea was simple, to go back to our A-Zs to consciously unlearn what
we have learned. “We created a typeface that looks at 26 stereotypes among the many that exist. Each
stereotype is represented by a letter which brings the stereotype to life visually. But that’s not all,
research was conducted to find out how we could bring the whole story behind the stereotype to light,
with the intent of dispelling the preconceived notions around it. We wanted to engage with and
empower the ones suffering from being stereotyped,” said Rahul Bhojraj, Senior Creative Director, on
the conceptualization of the idea.

Check out the ongoing conversations on the typeface on The Better India’s Twitter thread here and their
Facebook gallery here.

“It’s not easy to educate without being preachy on subjects like Stereotyping. Hence the idea was to
make it easy to understand and comprehend, just like how we learned basic language-- one letter at a
time. With The Stereotypeface Project, we hope to spread awareness on these stereotypes, and
promote un-stereotyping and respect for every individual, regardless of what they are. Lets
#endthestereotype,” said Sandeep Shah, VP at Wunderman Thompson Bangalore.

The typeface is available as a free download from our website, www.stereotypes.in. The site also goes
into the myths behind each stereotype, and serves as an easy-to-share resource.

The pen is mightier than the sword, and a typeface can make a statement with every letter. So go ahead,
start a conversation with your community.