Tamil belongs to the Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the classical languages of the world, with a literary history spanning more than two millennia. The earliest Tamil literature dates to the Ca?kam period (300 BC–200 AD). Traditionally, Tamil was written on palm leaves, one of the oldest forms of writing in ancient India. The precise origin and history of palm leaf writing are unknown, but the practise is believed to have existed since the Ca?kam period. The use of palm leaf as a medium continued for several centuries until the late twentieth century. A medium with such a long history has scant literature on its writing system and its impact on script evolution. The existing literature on the evolution of script only focuses on stone and metal inscriptions. Other traditional mediums, such as palm leaf manuscripts, have not been explored and researched.

Traditional palm leaf manuscript writing was gradually displaced by the introduction of print media in the late sixteenth century. A printing press sent to Abyssinia for missionary work accidentally landed in India in 1556. Soon after, Christian evangelists adapted the printing press for native conversion. Initiatives by the missionaries led to the spread and establishment of printing. In the later centuries, the press gradually became one of the most important modes of communication, eventually supplanting handwritten manuscripts. On the other hand, it changed in relation to the medium. The shift from handwritten palm leaves to printing led to the transformation of letterforms. And also, there has been an influence of the letterpress medium and western typography on the native script, which needs to be researched. This early transformation is critical for typographers and type designers to understand the script and its evolution from handwritten forms to the standardised letters seen today. The understanding will also bridge the knowledge gap between the evolutionary findings of archaeologists, epigraphists, and historians.

The aim of the research was to determine the influence of the palm leaf medium and its writing system on the evolution of script. Concurrently, it aims to understand the transformation of Tamil letterforms from handwritten palm leaf manuscripts to early letterpress typefaces. The research also seeks to determine the impact of letterpress media and western typography on Tamil script. At present, there is very little literature and research material available on typography and type design in vernacular languages, especially Tamil. Therefore, the body of research would aim at creating a primary resource and knowledge base for the history of Tamil type design.