TCN Monthly Recap: July 2024 Edition
Here's a recap of the stories—news, events, opportunities, resources, insights, opinions and conversations—we published in July and some other recommended stories for you
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It’s that time when we bring you TCN Monthly Recap; a recap of all the exciting stories—news, events, opportunities, resources, insights, opinions and conversations—we published all through the month of July. (I know this is coming a bit later than usual but there’s a saying: it’s better late than never). Also, watch out for more interesting reads and recommended stories at the end of this.
In this edition of TCN Monthly Recap, you will find;
Our conversation with Seyi Olusanya on getting into type design, founding Afrotype, and collaborating with Google Fonts
Google Fonts adds Ga Maamli, a font inspired by handwritten posters found in Accra.
Nigerian visual artist completes record-breaking painting for the largest drawing by an individual
Our conversation with Boluwatife Sonaike on finding digital art, translating ideas to visuals, and how he is always feeding his visual bank
Luxurious Urban Mobility (LUMO): Useful desirability approach to car design in Africa
Seyi Olusanya on getting into type design, founding Afrotype, and collaborating with Google Fonts
In April, Google Fonts announced the addition of Tac One, a single-weight, bold Sans Serif typeface, designed by Afrotype—a Lagos-based type studio founded by Seyi Olusanya—to its catalogue. One month later (in May), it also announced the addition of Danfo, a tuscan serif font inspired by vinyl stickers on the ubiquitous Danfo buses of Lagos, another typeface designed by Afrotype to its catalogue.
In a conversation with The Creatives Note, Seyi Olusanya, the founder of Afrotype, talks about getting into type design, founding Afrotype, and collaborating with Google Fonts.
Google Fonts adds Ga Maamli, a font inspired by handwritten posters found in Accra, to its catalogue
Last month, Google Fonts announced the addition of 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—to its robust catalogue of open-source fonts.
According to Google Fonts, Ga Maamli supports over 514 African languages.
Nigerian visual artist completes record-breaking painting for the largest drawing by an individual
Last month, in Lagos, Nigeria, Fola David, a Nigerian visual artist, completed a record-breaking 1,050 square metre painting to clinch the world record for the largest drawing by an individual.
David, who started his record-breaking attempt on July 16, painted for six days to surpass the existing record of 629.98 square meters by Ravi Soni from India.
A conversation with Boluwatife Sonaike, a Nigerian digital artist known for his work with notable Nigerian music artists such as Rema, Show Dem Camp, and YKB
Check out our interview with Boluwatife Sonaike, a digital artist from Nigeria. Tife, a graduate of chemistry, is a self-taught artist known for his distinct style of digital illustration and painting.
Over the last five years, he has worked with multiple Nigerian brands and notable music artists such as Show Dem Camp, YKB, Yinka Bernie, Lady Donli, Ycee, and most recently Rema, for the identity of HEIS, his second studio album.
In this interview, you will get to know what led him to art, how he got started, how he approaches his work, his favourite projects, his biggest challenge as an artist, and how he navigates it. You will definitely love and enjoy reading this!
Luxurious Urban Mobility (LUMO): Useful desirability approach to car design in Africa
A large percentage of cars driven in Africa are imported and used. Most Africans have to turn to imported second-hand cars because the design and manufacturing of affordable cars are not commonplace on the continent. While countries like South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and Ghana offer assembly plants for international OEMs, there aren’t dedicated design studios, according to Daryl K. Chirombo, an Industrial designer from Zimbabwe.
In his own words, Chirombo, a Zimbabwean industrial designer, shares his design approach, philosophy, and rationale for Luxurious Urban Mobility (LUMO), his attempt to answer the question: What if things could be different?
Recommended reading
Alongside Bolanle Austen-Peters’ biopic of the late rights activist, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Lanaire Aderemi’s mini-doc shows that Nigerian women have a rich history around common social issues for decades.
The Stanley Museum of Art, University of Iowa, has returned stolen artefacts to the Benin Kingdom, marking a milestone in efforts to repatriate looted cultural treasures.
Meet Ebele Okoye, Nigeria’s first female animator and arguably one of Africa’s first female animators.
Art and counselling are helping women and girls in Kenya to process anger and forgive family members, who are often the ones who subjected them to genital mutilation.
"God and my passion for art keep me going. I just have a passion for art. Also, I want to succeed as an artist. I want my art to have a positive impact on humanity." - Opeyemi
“I created Naija Comm for the creatives in our community. I wanted a space to amplify and empower creatives along with their businesses and projects. A space where people can learn...” - Eno
That will be all for this month. Thank you for reading.
I hope it’s not too late to say HAPPY NEW MONTH!!!
We enjoyed bringing you these updates and putting this recap together. See you this time next month. Until then, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn to stay up to date.
