There are many ways to describe Sabeena Karnik’s profession, most of which contain the word “paper”. Based in Mumbai, India, the paper letterer/illustrator/sculpturer/human works entirely by hand, her practice requiring much precision repetition.
“My process is like every other designer,” she shared with Creative Chair. “It always starts with sketches putting down all the ideas that are in mind and making it into a harmonious-looking composition. After approvals from the client, I make the final clean drawing adding colors if needed, then proceed to create the illustration with paper.”
Specializing in paper typography, Karnik first made headlines thanks to her paper alphabet. “I decided to start my typography series and thought of making individual letters with paper,” she shared in another interview with Verve Magazine. “A, B, C, D… going right up to Z. By then, I had my own website and started posting images of what I had created.”
According to Karnik, halfway through the alphabet, she was offered a job. Each of her paper letters is dedicated to a certain idea that corresponds with the letter. Most recently she shared a paper interpretation to the letter A.
“A for Astronomy,” reads the Instagram caption. “I am very fascinated with astronomy and enamored with the idea that there are billions of stars and planets out there in the universe.”
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