Tata Group releases ‘Jeh’ font inspired by JRD Tata’s handwriting

Conceptualised by BBH India and the Tata Group, the font is part of the group's commemoration of JRD's 116th birth anniversary.

JRD Tata would have turned 116 this year. He was and still is one of India’s most revered businessmen. For all his achievements such as being the founder of Tata Consultancy Services, Titan Industries, Air India, Tata Motors, and Tata Salt, a particular aspect of his whilst unknown to many, is of great intrigue – letter writing.

Yes, he was an exceptional letter writer and had exchanged over 40,000 letters during his lifetime. To celebrate his legacy, the Tata Group has released the Jeh Font, a unique typeface inspired by JRD ‘Jeh’ Tata’s handwriting as a part of the Group’s commemoration of the former chairman’s 116th birth anniversary that fell on 29 July 2020.

Tata Group released a video yesterday (15 October 2020) which was also the 88th anniversary of a date (15 October 1932), that made aviation history, JRD famously piloted the first-ever flight of the Tata Air Services from Karachi’s Drigh Road Aerodrome to Mumbai’s Juhu Airstrip via Ahmedabad. The aircraft was a single-engined De Havilland Puss Moth and it carried 25kg of 4-anna airmail letters.

JRD Tata has been an inspiration to his peers and the generations to come. Every year, on his birth anniversary, we try to keep his legacy alive by talking about all the things that made JRD Tata the phenomenal industrialist and human being he was.

This year, we sought to immortalise his handwriting by introducing the Jeh Font. After several months of analysing his handwriting from the thousands of letters he had written in his lifetime, we devised this font. A small effort to bring alive a stalwart of a man,” said Harsha Ramachandra, AVP – Group Corporate Communications, Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd.

Russell Barrett, CCO & CEO, BBH-PWW India added, "In an effort to immortalise this legendary Indian, we researched his many letters and understood the natural flow of his hand, from the three arcs to the exact kerning and leading required to reproduce an authentic version of JRD’s writing. This font is a dedication to a phenomenal human being and a reminder to all generations of his achievements as well as his humanity and compassion"

Download the #JehFont here: https://t.co/1lAPGpax4F#JRDTata #ThisIsTata

— Tata Group (@TataCompanies) October 15, 2020

The YouTube description of the ad reads, “#JRDTata was an inspiration, and even after 116 years, his words are still etched in our minds. To honour the legend & the leader that he was, we created the #JehFont. A digital typeface inspired by his penmanship, preserving his memory in each letter of the alphabet.”