Type Design for African Languages with Chisaokwu Joboson
How can type support cultural identity, linguistic nuance, and visual expression across Africa?
TE Lecture Series: Type Design for African Languages with Chisaokwu Joboson
In this session, we’ll speak with Chisaokwu Joboson, a Nigerian type and brand designer, about Type Design for African Languages and his work with Ụdị Foundry. We’ll explore the cultural, linguistic, and design considerations involved in creating type that elevates African stories and reflects the continent’s languages, character sets, visual traditions, and cultures. Chisaokwu will share his journey in type design, how his work challenges industry expectations, and his approach to authenticity, self-determination, and cultural representation. We’ll also discuss questions such as: How can designers expand access and equity in type design for African languages? What gaps exist in traditional typography education and resources? How can type support cultural identity, linguistic nuance, and visual expression across Africa?
📅 Date: October 3rd, 2025, 1-2 PM
📍 Online via Zoom
💸 Free to attend! Support us with a donation to keep these lectures accessible.
💬 Short presentation + conversation moderated by Juan and Lynne + open Q&A.
Have a question for Chisa? Send it to us on Instagram @typeelectives.
🔗 Register
Upcoming Courses
Drawing Letters from NYC with David Barnett
Discover the unique vernacular of New York City’s signage and create your own logotype or display typeface inspired by historic designs. Led by David Barnett at Noble Signs, this workshop explores the New York Sign Museum’s archive of signage, type catalogs, and 20th-century advertising ephemera. Participants will select a hand-lettered artifact as a starting point, then develop a logotype or display typeface inspired by these historic designs. Open to all levels. See details below for scholarships.
📅 Thursdays, Oct. 16 – Nov. 13, 2025 | 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM EST
📍 In-Person: New York Sign Museum (inside the Noble Signs studio)
Experimental Letterforms with Kel Troughton
Take your lettering and type design to the next level by exploring sources of inspiration beyond the traditional canon. Led by Kel Troughton, this workshop invites lettering artists and type designers to dive into diverse lettering disciplines and translate their principles into modern, expressive letterforms. Each week, we’ll study a different lettering approach through lectures and hands-on drawing exercises, covering showcard writing, sign painting, photo typesetting, graffiti, calligraphy, and traditional type design. Students will start sketches in class and continue refining them as homework, blending personal style with lessons drawn from each discipline to create innovative work that spans tradition and contemporary design.
📅 Mondays, Oct. 20 – Nov. 17, 2025 | 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM EST
📍 Online (Zoom)
Pay What You Can
We are proud to offer scholarships for all our classes, prioritizing Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, especially those with limited access to educational opportunities. Full details are available on our Scholarship Page.
To make our fall classes more accessible, we’re offering a Pay What You Can option. Simply indicate the amount you’re able to pay to attend the class. Scholarship applications are available on each course page.
In the meantime, subscribe to our newsletter, help us spread the word, and if you can, please support us with a donation. Your support goes a long way in helping us fund scholarships and keep our online programs rolling.
Kate