GOOGLE ENDORSES VISUAL COMMUNICATOR
SWEDEN-BASED brand and visual communicator typeface designer, Taurai Valerie Mtake, is on cloud nine after her lettering dubbed “Madimi One” was considered for Google Fonts.
She is joined by Nigeria’s Chisaokwu Joboson whose “Ojuju” font has also been endorsed.
Typeface involves the design of letters, numbers, and other symbols, to be used in printing or for electronic display.
In an interview with H-Metro from her base in Sweden, Mtake said:
“It’s a surreal feeling, reaching this milestone reminds me of how much progress I have made and the exciting possibilities ahead.
“This achievement, which I have been working towards for years, feels like a dream finally coming true.
“I am mostly thankful to my family, friends and mentors that have helped me reach this milestone.” She added:
“I began working on this award-winning project back in 2016 for my Bachelor’s Honours degree thesis.
“I wanted to write my book using a font that resonated with my project.
“I initiated sketches for the font but couldn’t finish digitilising it on schedule. Consequently, I submitted my thesis using a font that seemed visually suitable at the time.
“In 2023, Simon Charwey suggested Google Fonts (Thomas Phinney and Dave Crossland) to me. I had approximately three months to digitise the font again and make it available for Google Fonts, and I embraced the opportunity wholeheartedly.”
Mtake revealed her source of inspiration.
“I get inspired by many things around me, my language and my culture.
“I am interested in the potential of design in contemporary African visual culture, where traditional cultural practices often become a staged authenticity in which the history of meaning in the objects and designs is often lost, sometimes even to the producers themselves.
“It is in this way that important indigenous systems have been transfigured in contemporary society, merely as elements of decorative art or a curio for mass consumption.
“I am inspired by nature, symbols, colours, the art of writing,” she said.