Nigerian multidisciplinary designer releases first typeface—Agụ Display, a decorative, rounded, sans-serif display typeface—in collaboration with Google Fonts
Agụ Display, a decorative, rounded, sans-serif display typeface featuring a substitution axis that makes the letters dance, is inspired by Nsibidi, an ancient graphic communication system...
On January 1, Seun Badejo, a Nigerian multidisciplinary designer with a focus on Type and Brand Design announced the release of his first typeface—Agụ Display, a decorative, rounded, sans-serif display typeface featuring a morphing substitution axis that makes the letters dance—in collaboration with Google Fonts.
“Happy New Year!! I just released my first typeface in collaboration with Google Fonts!” Badejo shared. “Agụ Display is live on Google Fonts and agudisplay.com (in collaboration with Studio Null).”
With origins in the Ekpe secret society, Agụ Display brings the ancient mystique of Nsibidi symbols to life with inspiration from a rich West African heritage, extending from Cross River to Cameroon, the official website notes. “From the Ụzọ, Àlà to Osisi masters, let Agụ Display take you on a winding path through time, merging tradition with contemporary style in a unique typographic adventure as your words dance with history!” it adds.
According to Google Fonts, Agu Display serves as a bridge between historical symbolism and modern typography. “It's not just a font but a tool for cultural preservation, enabling designers to infuse their work with African heritage's depth and richness,” it explains. “This typeface celebrates tradition while fostering innovative expression, linking ancient communication with today's design needs.”
Badejo says the typeface, which features stylistic influences from the popular Kablammo and Jokerman fonts with decorative influences from Nsibidi and Neo-Nsibidi, was brought to life with contributions from Nathan Willis, Travis Kochel, Lizy Gershenzon, Agyei Archer, and Jordan Williams. “Special thanks to Dave Crossland, Thomas Phinney, Nhung Nguyen, Lotanna Igwe-Odunze, Rainer Erich Scheichelbauer, Eze, Uchechukwu Arinze and Ogonna ‘Maranatha’ Nnaemeka,” he added.
Agu Display is part of Google Fonts’ type project in Africa. The project, which began in 2023, set out to equip African designers with the knowledge, skills, and resources to design typefaces inspired by their culture, story and heritage.
Last March, The Creatives Note first reported the release of 2 typefaces—Ojuju, a san-serif typeface of an afro-grotesque style, created by Chisaokwu Joboson, a Nigerian-based brand and type designer, and Madimi, a rounded-sans with a mixed geometric and organic design, created by Taurai Valerie Mtake, a Zimbabwean visual communicator and type designer—from the collection.
The Creative Note also reported the release of Tac One, a single-weight, bold Sans Serif typeface and Danfo, a tuscan serif font, designed by Afrotype—a Lagos-based type studio founded by Seyi Olusanya, by Google Fonts.
Ga Maamli, a font inspired by the historic handwritten posters found in the vibrant coastal communities of Accra, designed by Ghanaian design trio—Afotey Clement Nii Odai, Ama Diaka, and David Abbey-Thompson, Sankofa Display, a typeface that draws inspiration from African art styles, with a focus on straight-line geometric designs, designed by Zimbabwean designer Batsirai Madzonga, and Matemasie, an ultra-bold display typeface that draws inspiration from the Adinkra symbol 'Mate Masie', designed by Adam Yeo, a graphic and type designer from Côte d'Ivoire, are also part of the collection,
Check out the Agụ Display typeface on Google Fonts
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