[2/2] During the development of the Kikọ script, significant thought was given to this evolutionary process. Experiments were conducted using paper, kalams, pens, and Chinese calligraphy brushes to determine the most natural shapes for Yorùbá. As a result, Kikọ features a natural cursive form ideally suited for marking Yorùbá tones. There is also a philosophical side: the interplay of curves and rigid lines was a deliberate choice to accentuate the script's aesthetic appeal alongside its functionality. We personally observed that in design and art that slight “imperfections” often heighten visual beauty. Instagram - instagram.com/kohetype/

[1/2] 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 This week, we continue the Kọhe project on Instagram, focusing on the Kikọ script. You might be curious about the origins of the Kikọ script, its influences, its history, and what preceded its recent iteration. Kikọ bears many similarities to both existing and historical writing systems, with its most apparent influence originating from South Indian scripts. What gives Kikọ its unique appearance is this harmonious blend of ideas, inspirations, and influences. We analyzed the development histories and design advantages (and disadvantages) of numerous scripts, selecting only the best elements to adapt for Yorùbá. What makes a writing system feel natural is its "ductus"—a term in linguistics and typography referring to the "path of writing" or its "flow." A ductus evolves through constant usage as writers seek more efficient character forms for ease and comfort. This process is closely tied to physical mediums such as brushes, kalams, paper, stone, tree bark, and leaves. For example, Egyptian Hieroglyphics originated as logograms and phonograms. The cursive Hieratic script developed to streamline writing, which then evolved into Demotic, and ultimately influenced Coptic. continue reading below...

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[1/2] I and an Ethiopian started Kọhe Type on Instagram (kohetype) a while back, focused on font design and development. It is our design lab where we experiment with ideas, learn from each other and beyond, and improve our practice. The name Kọhe is a bringing together of Yorùbá and Amharic. "Kọ" meaning to write in Yorùbá, and "he/ሄ" which is a syllable letter taken from "ሆሄ/hohe" which as a word stands for another way of referring to the Ethiopic script. Part of our core focus is language use and representation in the font design space. We make use of Amharic, Yorùbá, and English. This is our first written piece briefly explaining the Ethiopic script. In referring to the Ethiopic script in Yorùbá, we made use of the preferred Ethiopian term "ፊደል/Fidäl", Yorùbánised as "Fídẹ́lì" rather than a Yorùbánisation of "Ge'ez" or "Ethiopic". Just like with Kikọ, the Ethiopic script is an Abugida writing system but one with a very long history. It is the oldest African writing system still widely used today, perhaps second only to the Coptic script. More Images in second tweet Our Instagram - instagram.com/kohetype/

[2/2] Lastly, although Ésàn is a tonal language, most (if not all) readable documents don't have the tones marked. I was surprised that even the Bible translation available on the JW website, usually done by Experts of the language, had not a single tonal marking throughout the text. I suppose the Ésàn linguists have settled on not indicating tones in the standard orthography. Font update reflecting all updates to the script will be announced soon for device usage.

[1/2] Final touches to the Ésàn language supplemental letters spoken in Ẹdo state. I have been tugging with the Ésàn language issue for months ever since a follower that speaks the language considered I take a look at the language and attempt a possible design specific to the language. I felt the previous designs did not do real service to the language both in terms of beauty and functionality. One of the issues was that although I had designed some of the letters, there was no efficient way of actually using it in typing. You could type the base letters but not its tonal variants. The other issue is that it did not fit into the broader Kikọ design language. It made use of a design language that looked a bit too different from how the core of the script operates. In this update, we have rectified all these issues. Another reason I felt strongly about the Ésàn language was that they had sound inventories that although not included in standard Yorùbá, are present in some of the dialectical variants of the language.

Learn Kikọ and you will feel relaxed. Be part of the "Ẹgbẹ́ akẹ́kọ̀ọ́ Kikọ" movement. kikoscript.org/

Illustration work featuring the Kikọ script by @_dandymike

Journal note from one of our followers (soyabee_cw0) on Instagram. Send us your pictures writing Kikọ to get featured.

This week we continue with our notes on writing system and their classification. We move on to Syllabic writing systems ("Àpínrókọ") with the main topic of discussions being The Vai writing system used in Liberia, the Cherokee writing system used in the USA, and the Japanese writing system. In the pictures below we only touched on the Vai and Cherokee writing system, later notes will follow specifically on the topic of the Japanese "scripts". Our last discussion on logograms ("Chinese script in particular") was quite brief because the intention is to do a double explanation for scripts within that category, which partly includes Japanese. We call it logograms, but an accurate terminology for writing systems in that category as used today will be "morphograms" because the logograms (or "characters") tend to represent words (often monosyllabic like in Chinese) that can no longer be divisible less they become meaningless. These "characters" are sometimes complete words themselves, or tied with other characters to become a complete word. I use the word "Ọ̀rọ́rọ̀" formed from an elision of ọ̀rọ̀-ọ̀rọ̀ ("word of the word/the 'words' word") or ọ̀rọ̀-inú-ọ̀rọ̀ ("the 'word' inside the word") to define the Yorùbá word for "morpheme". A morphogram (also used to mean logogram) could be called "àmì-ọ̀rọ́rọ̀" | "éékọ́ ọ̀rọ́rọ̀" | "éékọ́-àmì ọ̀rọ́rọ̀". Still a "word in progress", if you have a better suggestion, let us know in the comments