Shiva Nallaperumal Named Winner of 2015 Catalyst Award

The Society of Typographic Aficionados has announced that Shiva Nallaperumal of Chennai, India will be the recipient of the 2015 SOTA Catalyst Award. Created in 2010, the award recognizes a person 25 years of age or younger who demonstrates significant achievement and future promise in the field of typography. Shiva will present his work and receive the award at TypeCon2015, taking place this summer in Denver, Colorado.

Shiva Nallaperumal

About the Winner

Shiva Nallaperumal, 22
Chennai, India

Graphic designer, typeface designer and occasional illustrator, Shiva Nallaperumal pursued a Masters in Graphic Design from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) after receiving an undergraduate degree in Communication Design from DJ Academy of Design in Coimbatore, India. Shiva has worked as an intern with J. Abbott Miller’s team at Pentagram and Grandmother Design in Mumbai, India.

As a typeface designer, Shiva has published typefaces through Indian Type Foundry (ITF) and Lost Type Co-Op. As an independent graphic designer he has designed exhibitions, identity systems, publications and typefaces for a variety of clients, including Facebook Asia. In 2014, Shiva received the prestigious ISTD Certificate of Excellence from the International Society of Typographic Designers, London. Shiva plans to join ITF as a designer while pursuing independent projects when he returns to India.

Observer Typeface by Shiva Nallaperumal

Rope Specimen by Shiva Nallaperumal

Manifesto Typeface by Shiva Nallaperumal

Labyrinth Poster by Shiva Nallaperumal

Dolphin Sans Typeface by Shiva Nallaperumal

Posters by Shiva Nallaperumal

A panel of notable and experienced judges had the challenging but pleasant task of reviewing all the amazing entries from numerous talented and brilliant young creative people from all over the world. Make no mistake, the public will undoubtedly come to know all of those entrants as they continue to pursue their craft with vigor. SOTA wishes to express a sincere thank you to everyone who participated in the 2015 Catalyst Award and to encourage their continued efforts.

The SOTA Catalyst Award is presented each year to a young person who has created a significant or important body of original work a field related to typography. Recipients of the award have included Satya Rajpurohit (2010), Erin McLaughlin (2011), Niko Skourtis (2012), Kyle Read (2013), Krista Radoeva (2014), Shiva Nallaperumal (2015), Roxane Gataud (2016), Ramakrishna Saiteja (2017), Frida Medrano (2018), Ruggero Magrì (2019), and Anagha Narayanan (2020)