Chisa Joboson is one of the first Nigerian type designers to be published on Google Fonts. Having crossed 100k downloads, Ojuju of Udi Foundry is now one of the most widely distributed and accessible typefaces ever created by a Nigerian designer. The reverse contrast weight axis variable font inspired by African Masquerades supports 874 languages, with 514 being indigenous African languages. Since Chisa shipped Ojuju in March 2024, there have been thousands of posts on Twitter where folks showcased how they applied Ojuju irl, locally and on the global stage. Chisa has joined the handful of Nigerian type designers like Eyeyemi, Belonwus, Afrotype etc who have chosen to do a really hard thing, to travel the lesser-known path, to draw and define the essence of Nigerian type. The work they have started today will shape the future of Type in Nigeria and play a key role in exporting made-in-Nigeria to the rest of the world.

I asked Chisa if he’d be willing to tell his story and answer questions about the work that went on behind the ship with Ojuju. He agreed :)
In this post, I summarize notes from my interview with Chisa where we go over his backstory with Google fonts and lessons that would inspire anyone thinking about making type.

The backstory

Hi, Chisa here. My fascination for typography started when I realised that many typefaces I liked didn't cater to African lettering and languages. I'm doing a poster for an African brand, I want to put a certain pricing on it and I won't find the Naira symbol. I'll have to put the 'N' and construct the horizontal strokes or just have the 'NGN' typed out because the naira symbol did not exist.
I started to feel some kind of way. Not intentionally. I won't fault these type designers for not catering for those letters. They didn't see the need.
This is what drove me to try to attempt to solve that problem.
I thought, what if I create a foundry of some sort, an independent foundry that would house my explorations?
Where I could practice, explore and document my learning as I tried to solve this problem.
Udi Foundry was that house, that brainchild for me. It was in this experiment, that Google Fonts called.

In March of 2023, Simon Charwey, an African design visionary DM’ed me on Instagram informing me Google Fonts was trying to create an initiative where they get African designers to make some typefaces. He asked if I’d be interested and my response was yes. But it wasn’t until September that Dave Crossland and Thomas Phinney, contractors for Google Fonts (thanks to Simon’s referral) got on a call with me to discuss designing Ojuju.

In the next section, I’ll cover some of the early lessons I wish I had known as a Brand Designer publicly learning to be a Type Designer.

5 Lessons on Making Your First Typeface

1. Don't design a reverse contrast typeface

Just kidding lol. You can try, but I don't think I would advise that at the early stages of getting into type design.
Standard, traditional letterforms are constructed following the principles of typography. These determine the proportionate spacing, height, width, weight, and contrast needed to produce a harmonious group of letters.
The thing about making a reverse contrast font is that it requires you to go against these defined rules successfully. Trying to do this on your first type-making attempt is where your frustration begins.
I don’t regret going that route as a first, but perhaps I should have done something easier. I'm grateful for the folks who got involved in the project. They did everything possible that allowed us achieve a well-crafted, high-quality reverse contrast typeface.

2. Get curious

Fonts are accessible. However, despite the ease of downloading and using fonts, there's a significant amount of work involved in creating them. A lot of designers today, don't know and have never thought deeply about that. We can tell ourselves that a certain font is “overhyped” or “it's rubbish” but at the end of the day, it's still a lot of work.
Getting into type design requires a deep curiosity about typography.
Studying both new and old type forms, what languages they support, noticing the patterns and understanding why they exist are habits that will get you on the right path.

3. Learn the basics

I used to think it was going to be so easy to make fonts. You just create a bunch of letters, a bunch of numbers, some symbols and you call it a day. However, typefaces are languages in some form. It shapes the world in some sense. We use it to communicate across different languages when designed well. For that reason, aspiring type designers must understand the foundations around it

Type courses are expensive. Type design resources can be difficult to come by. But if you're curious enough and willing to learn, you'll find basic information that will allow you make a decent attempt.
Here’s a list of Type resources I stumbled across while making Ojuju

• Type tools: Fontlab, FontForge, RoboFont, Glyphs App.

• Type school: Type Electives

4. Practice and mess things up

I had put down many type ideas even before I started to understand typography.
I would be fascinated by something and think, "Maybe I could create this." For me, Ojuju was just another idea. I saw different patterns from a masquerade and thought, "Is there a certain way I could make the letter 'O' look like a masquerade’s own?"
This is your sign to explore, create sketches and practice

5. Bring your own spice

It's not bad if you want to create another sans-serif font but in my mind, we already have a lot of them. It’s hard to differentiate in a world where everything is already a remake of something else. However, I truly believe there are other ideas to explore, especially as African designers.
The beautiful thing about being in your environment, your own space is that the inspiration you seek is right in front of you. You don't have to go so far to look for them. For me, with Ojuju - it was just my childhood memories of masquerades. Who would have thought? How easy it is for us to stand out.
So my advice, for folks who would want to contribute to type design, who want to explore the world of type design, there is a place for you. You just have to come with whatever you're inspired by and get ready to explore, to bring your spice, to make something truly remarkable.

Closing notes

I don’t want to set unrealistic expectations. Not everyone who designs fonts will get noticed by big companies. For me, getting to design fonts for Google was a lot of grace and a lot of hard work. I never expected it to happen. It could have been anyone else. I also did not see myself at any point in time designing for Google Fonts.
I just wanted to try and solve a problem. To create fonts that support African languages.
I don't have any proven answers on how to sell fonts or get noticed. But what I believe is that there’s still a lot of work to be done in elevating and distributing African design. In some way, everyone is invited to do this work and I’d like to think of Ojuju as my little contribution.

Acknowledgements

To Mirko Velimirovic who helped with design guidance and engineering. Eben Sorkin, Lisa Huang, and the Google Fonts team who contributed to the success of the Ojuju Typeface.

Thank you, Chisa! Meanwhile, you can catch up with him over LinkedIn and Twitter.
You can also download the font here

If you made it this far, I hope I am making something that you want to be a part of.
This is to all Makers. To making Something small. Something stupid. Something great.
- ©️ 2024 Lota Anidi