JamraPatel

02/03/2023

The last days: 1. Early morning in Mamou, Guinea; 2. Lush mountains on the road into Conakry, our final destination; 3. A productive meeting with the N'ko faculty and the director of the Advanced School of Business and Arts at Kofi Annan University in Conakry; 4. Visit to a N'ko bookstore; 5. Several books were set in our Kigelia typeface; 6. An important meeting at La Direction Nationale de l’Alphabétisation, de l'Education Non Formelle et de la Promotion des Langues Nationales with National Director Dr Mohamed Bintou Keita and his team; 7. Downtown Conakry from the top floor of Université Nongo Conakry, where we gave the 2nd presentation of our work on Adlam. The next day we flew home. We left Conakry at 97°F (36°C) and 100% humidity. 28 hours later, we were in Maine: 22°F (-8°C) and snow.

02/03/2023

From Gambia through Senegal to Guinea: 1. Morning sentry at our hotel in Banjul; 2. National Assembly, seat of Gambian government; 3. The classic West African dog — seen everywhere, haven’t been able to identify the breed(s); 4. A rural school in Guinea, where the Adlam script is taught; 5. Teachers & students greet our party; 6. Morning in Labé; 7. Reciting a poem written in Adlam.

01/24/2023

Conference days: 1. Unexpectedly in the stage party. L-R: Mark, Neil, Prof. Amadou Jalloh from Senegal, Abdoulaye & Ibrahima Barry, the inventors of the Adlam script; 2. We shared the stage with well-known African novelist Tierno Monénembo, and; 3. Adoua Kouassi, Président de l’académie ivoirienne des langues maternelle; 4. Many requested photos with us; 5. Security was tight; 6. Mark getting hauled off by the cops for disorderly conduct (just kidding — they asked for a pic); 7. Neil being interviewed by Afrika Pulaar TV; 8. Mark starting our presentation.

10/06/2022

”𞤄𞤭𞤲𞥆𞤢𞤥𞤢𞥄 𞤫𞤲 𞤸𞤫𞤩𞤼𞤢𞥄𞤳𞤭 𞤫 𞤯𞤫𞤥𞤯𞤫 𞤥𞤫𞤫𞤲 𞤸𞤢𞤪𞤢𞤴 𞤸𞤫𞤩𞤼𞤢𞥄𞤪𞤫 𞤲𞤣𞤫𞤲 𞤼𞤭𞤥𞥆𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭.“
Microsoft Microsoft Africa JamraPatel Andrewfootit Finde ADLaM MicrosoftNigeria
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03/22/2022

News has reached us of a beautiful new book entitled “Images of Mars” from the Swiss publisher Weber Verlag ( Verlag). Set in 5 languages, it features stunning images of the surface of Mars taken by the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter.

Our Kigelia typeface was used in both its Latin and Cyrillic capacities for the body text, and we love the way it was handled. This book is really special.

Book design: Sonja Berger

Other typefaces used:
Titles: Lust Sans by Neil Summerour Positype
Subtitles & captions: Magallanes by Daniel Hernández LatinoType
Cyrillic subtitles: Proxima Nova by Mark Simonson

Book photos: Sonja Berger
Mars photos: © European Space Agency

To order the book:
https://weberverlag.ch/products/nicolas-thomas-und-das-cassis-team-bilder-vom-mars

12/02/2021

🍡 Wonderful new article! 🍭 in the 🍡 about "Alphabet City: Art, Culture, & Letterforms" at the in Biddeford. This remarkable show, featuring Kifah Abdulla] & Jamra Patel] , will be on view through January 7. Open to the public 8am-6pm! Link to article in bio.

ALPHABET CITY: ART, CULTURE, AND LETTERFORMS
Kifah Abdulla, Mark Jamra, and Neil Patel
October 8, 2021-January 7, 2022

Painter Kifah Abdulla’s work merges Modernist abstraction with Arabic calligraphy, bringing script into a place of intense visual expression. Originally from Baghdad, Iraq, Abdulla is a Maine-based painter, poet, and educator. Kifah Abdulla]

The design collaborations of Mark Jamra and Neil Patel, of the Portland-based design firm Jamra Patel, use clarity and elegance to make African alphabets accessible and precise. Their groundbreaking “Kigelia” project has brought beautiful, functional typefaces to a number of African languages. Jamra Patel]

The power of written communication spans a wide range in this show, from the beautifully obscured to the balanced and pure.

UNE Art Gallery Biddeford, Jack S. Ketchum Library, 11 Hills Beach Road, Biddeford ME 04005
Gallery Hours: 8am-6pm daily. Please contact Hilary Irons for more information: [email protected]

11/02/2021

A few pics of the exhibition “Alphabet City” at UNE-Biddeford Art Gallery, featuring work from our friend and our Kigelia typeface family. Everything is in place and looks great, thanks to UNE exhibitions director Hilary Irons .irons.h and her team.

ALPHABET CITY: ART, CULTURE, AND LETTERFORMS
Kifah Abdulla, Mark Jamra, Neil Patel
October 8, 2021-January 7, 2022

Painter Kifah Abdulla’s work merges Modernist abstraction with Arabic calligraphy, bringing script into a place of expression. The type design collaboration of Mark Jamra and Neil Patel uses clarity and elegance to make African writing systems accessible and precise. The power of written communication spans a wide range in this show, from the beautifully obscured to the balanced and pure.

UNE Art Gallery Biddeford, Jack S. Ketchum Library, 11 Hills Beach Road, Biddeford ME 04005
Gallery Hours: 8am-6pm daily. Please contact Hilary Irons for more information: [email protected]

02/23/2021

01/19/2021

Glad to see a couple of projects from 2019 finally hit the market. Google’s Android 11 introduces the new designs we were commissioned to create of their Noto Adlam and Noto Tifinagh fonts. We’re happy to see these improvements become broadly available to their respective language communities.

11/11/2019

Here we go again! Another presentation — this one is for the home audience. We’ll be talking about the Kigelia project this coming Thursday, Nov. 14th at 6:30 pm in Osher Hall at Maine College of Art. Follow the link in our profile to get tickets from sponsors AIGA Maine. (Free admission for MECA students, faculty and staff.)