Across Africa, designers are finding fresh inspiration in the richness of their cultures, using it to fuel creativity and innovation across various sectors—fashion, art, graphic design—you name it. In the world of typeface design, this cultural revival is gaining momentum. Designers are crafting fonts that don’t just represent letters but embody history, identity, and the stories of generations.
Take Chisaokwu Joboson, who created the Ojuju typeface inspired by his childhood fascination with masquerades in Enugu. Or Seyi Olusanya, who brought the bustling spirit of Lagos to life with the Danfo Std, a font paying homage to the iconic yellow Danfo buses. Their works, and many others, speak to a growing desire to preserve cultural narratives in a world where histories are increasingly at risk of fading.
For instance, the Nsibidi script, an ancient system of pictographic and ideographic symbols dating back to the 4th century, is one such treasure. Historically inscribed on calabashes, masquerade costumes, brassware, and even human skin, Nsibidi holds a wealth of cultural significance. Yet, its use has dwindled over time, and much of its history remains under-documented. Designers like Seun Badejo are working to change that.
Seun is the creator of Agụ Display, a typeface heavily influenced by Nsibidi. His journey into this project began in 2019 when he first learned about the ancient script. “I had no idea we had a writing system indigenous to Nigeria,” he recalls. “It felt under-documented and underexplored. I spent the next few years passively learning about it and looking up academic papers from the early 1900s.”
Three years later, this quiet fascination turned into a creative mission. Seun began recreating the base radicals of Nsibidi, crafting graphic explorations, stamps, and 3D pictograms of Igbo names. When the opportunity to collaborate with Google Fonts arose, he saw it as the perfect chance to reimagine Nsibidi in a contemporary format through Agụ Display.
Creating Agụ Display was a meticulous process that mirrored the intricacy of the script itself. Seun collaborated with a team of experts, including Agyei Archer, Travis Kochel, and Lizy Gershenzon, to ensure the project remained authentic and technically sound. “The creative process started with simple digital sketches of the decorated typeface,” he explains. “This led to a methodical approach: first developing the base versions of all glyphs without decorations, then systematically incorporating Nsibidi elements while maintaining visual consistency… Special attention was given to the animation of decorations between styles, ensuring smooth, cohesive transitions that enhanced rather than disrupted readability.”
This approach extended into the final stages of the project. Tools like Font Bakery were used to refine every detail, from glyph completeness to metadata accuracy. The process culminated in the creation of a specimen site, agudisplay.com, and a public launch in collaboration with Google Fonts.
For Seun, this project isn’t just about creating a font; it’s about challenging stereotypes. “I believe a lot of how Africa and African design is represented in modern visual languages feel crude and archaic. I remember reading about the origins of typefaces used in representing Africa and realising a lot of it have European origins. Case in point: Neuland, a typeface designed by Rudolf Koch in 1923 which is meant to be a modern version of German typography, is now used almost stereotypically in representing Africa. This does not sit right with me. It feels pretentious and unoriginal, dare I say unimaginative.” he shares. Through Agụ Display, Seun aims to shift perceptions, presenting African design as refined, innovative, and deeply rooted in cultural heritage, and it’s creators as “competent.”
He believes this could ignite a larger movement to digitise other endangered African scripts, making them accessible for education, preservation, and storytelling. “In an era where internet access can open up vast learning opportunities, having indigenous scripts represented in digital typography becomes crucial for cultural preservation and educational advancement.
Creating something new rarely leaves an artist unchanged. Working on Agụ Display proved to be a significant period of growth for Seun. “Perhaps the most valuable lesson emerged from working with a culture and language outside my expertise,” he reflects. “This experience taught me the delicate art of respectful representation through collaboration with language experts and cultural consultants.”
Echoing the timeless wisdom of ‘No man is an island,’ Seun also realised the power of collaboration: “Despite the initial challenges of navigating unfamiliar territory, the project reinforced a powerful truth: with the right collaborative partnerships and expert guidance, no design challenge is insurmountable.”
With more designers like Seun, creating from the culture, African creativity is no longer merely a reflection of global trends. It stands as an independent force, boldly celebrating its unique heritage and redefining the boundaries of design.
***
Photos credit: Seun Badejo
The post Seun Badejo Is Digitising Ancient Nsibidi Scripts with Agụ Display Typeface appeared first on BellaNaija - Showcasing Africa to the world. Read today!.
English (US) ·