Background story of Madimi
I began working on this award winning project back in 2016 for my Bachelor’s Honours degree thesis. I aimed to write my book using a font that resonated with my project. I initiated sketches for the font but couldn’t finish digitising it on schedule. Consequently, I submitted my thesis using a font that seemed visually suitable at the time.
I am interested in the potential of design in contemporary Afrikan visual culture, where traditional cultural practices often become a staged authenticity in which the history of meaning in the objects and designs is often lost, sometimes even to the producers themselves. It is in this way that important indigenous systems have been transfigured in contemporary society, merely as elements of decorative art or a curio for mass consumption. I am inspired by nature, symbols, colours, the art of writing. Madimi takes inspiration from the gentle curved geometry of certain Nguni symbols from Southern Afrika. Circles are a main feature, the circle being a shape that represents the womb of a woman in KiNtu symbologies. The idea behind Madimi is to enact the subtle visual subtext of Afrikan visual traditions. Madimi is simple, clean and round edged but still remains clear and easy to read. Taurai designed Madimi One with mentoring and technical help from Laura Meseguer, Lisa Huang, and Mirko Velimirovic.
Your Text Here