Bfrika is an ‘Africa inspired’ typeface and a contribution for the typographic issue ‘National Typographica’ of I-Juici Magazine, in South Africa. This geometrical decorative design represents bold simplicity, directness and rythm. The name evolved from text for the spread in the magazine. The B replaces the A. Africa be free. Bfrika.

The concept behind Bfrika is to generate an unpredictable visual rhythm in an attractive decorative presentation. Filling up the white space around the letters accentuates form over function, thus creating an interference of visual impressions with its legibility. This visual rhythm is amplified by its redundancy in a text, only pausing at a break or a word space. Based on the concept of separate printing forms in letterpress, Bfrika Two Tone and Bfribat Two Tone separate the letter from the outside form in two fonts. Placing two text frames exactly on top of each other and assigning each part of these font to a frame in a different color, offers a quick way to add color.

Originally Bfrika was designed for I-Jusi magazine #17, National Typografika, South Afrika 2001. Bfribat and both two tone fonts were created for Building Letters, a fund raiser for orphanages in Kenya and Uganda (www.buildingletters.org) and are also available for Mac and PC at www.hollandfonts.com and will be distributed in 2004 through associated foundries.