South African calligrapher, Andrew van der Merwe, has taken writing in the sand to the ultimate next level. A professional calligrapher and typographer, Andrew has developed his own technique of carving letters in the sand. Most of the forms he designs are inspired from African writing systems. Utilizing digital ...
Typography is the delicate balance between type, space, contrast and color. Designers must take up the task of perfecting this unique science. Purely for your inspiration we present to you Afrobeatfont, an experimentation in modern african typeface. Enjoy and join our Typography Lovers group on The ...
Andrew Footit is a self taught designer from South Africa. In many ways Footit is the ultimate African digital artist with modern design concepts and a wide range of digital projects. His work is dynamic and colorful. As usual we believe that his work should speak for itself. ...
Source: Abduzeedo In this tutorial you will learn how to create this really cool neon text design. The tutorial will teach you how to use Layer Styles and Blend Modes to get that cool neon text effect. This tutorial comes with a great screencast you can find below. Enjoy!...
This simple tutorial will teach you how to create this 3D jungle text effect using Photoshop and a little Illustrator. You can create the 3d effect through illustrator and use different textures for the animal skins. Enjoy and don't forget to share the results....
We are pleased to feature the work of one of our community members, sugarbelly.. The Ndebe Project is an attempt to construct a writing scrip for an almost extinct Nigerian spoken language, Igbo. Be sure to visit the Ndebe Project Facebook page and blog ...
Islam Zayed is a designer from Cairo, Egypt. Zayed's experimental use of type is truly inspirational. He is able to combine traditional scripts with modern designs that make his work original and refreshing. Zayed's portfolio also includes other digital artwork that fuse various graphic elements. Like always we ...
If you are discussing typography in Africa then you will come across Saki Mafundikwa. Saki Mafundikwa is a Zimbabwean graphic artist that has influenced typography and graphic design all around the world. Educated with a Masters of Fine Art at Yale and a BA in Telecommunications and Fine Arts at Indiana University, he left the United States to return to Zimbabwe to found the first school of graphic design and new media. Saki Mafundikwa's Beginnings Saki Mafundikwa's inspiring story and legacy of worked was featured on AIGA . Source: AIGA, Camille Lowry Saki Mafundikwa is a maverick visionary who left a successful design career in New York to return to his native Zimbabwe and open that country’s first school of graphic design and new media. Mafundikwa is the author of Afrikan Alphabets, a comprehensive review of African writing systems. He has participated in exhibitions and workshops around the world, contributed to a variety of publications and lectured about the globalization of design and the African aesthetic. In going home and opening his school, Mafundikwa’s ambition is nothing less than to jump-start an African renaissance. Mafundikwa was moved to draw from an early age. Using a stick, he illustrated on every surface he could find—on the ground, in the sand, even tattooing his thighs and arms. He loved drawing letters in particular. Though he had not yet heard of printing and thought typeset words were done by hand, his aim as a child was to make letterforms as good as those he saw in books. On becoming a designer: My family always knew me as an artist, so to them it’s always been like, “God gave him the gift. We do not understand completely what he does, but he’s done well for himself.” His father, a schoolteacher, recognized Mafundikwa’s constant scribbling as a talent to be nurtured. He enlisted his son to design classroom instruction materials, and soon other teachers were making use of Mafundikwa’s artistic gifts, too. READ MORE
We had the privilege to interview Anthony Dart Founder and Creative Director of Ontwerp. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dart has built his career on a range of digital media forms and techniques. To begin tell us a little about what you do and your area of expertise. I am essentially ...
