Image Courtesy: Afrobeat by Giuseppe Salerno

Afrobeat is not something that requires an introduction in Nigeria. We live and breathe Afrobeat, it’s the culmination of Nigerian music during the trying times of post independence and military rule. At the heart of Afrobeat is the revered Fela Anikulapo Kuti. A man who seemed to have sung about everything from Zombies to Water. We love you Fela.

Now this is a blog on Design, and in most cases Design in Nigeria. So why all this talk about Afrobeat you might wander? Well Afrobeat has also come to refer to a font created by Giuseppe Salerno inspired by Afrobeat. In Salerno’s words:.

“The pounding tribal rhythms of Afrobeat music is expressed through this psychedelic brand new font, Afrobeat. Every letter becomes art as every letter is elegantly placed side by side, like music notes, creating music for the eyes.”

There is also a free poster and you can read more about Afrobeat by going to the website.

I’m a sucker for anything that steps away from “the trend”. The last two sunday papers for Thisday and 234 Next have featured an A1 poster by Etisalat showing a typographical illustrated map of Nigeria and the states currently covered by the network.

Whilst a little bit of attention could have been paid to kerning and line-height, I commend the creativity. Well done guys, I think the agency behind this is 141 Worldwide. Very clever!

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