Umwero Noto Sans
Beyond Latin. Beyond borders.
Toward a future written in our own hands

Rwanda

In 2025, I collaborated on Noto Sans Umwero, a typeface designed to support the newly created Umwero Script by Rwandan designer Mugisha Kwizera.

Kinyarwanda, like many African languages, has long been forced into the rigid framework of the Latin alphabet—a system that does not reflect its sounds, rhythms, or cultural logic. Umwero emerged from a decolonial desire to create a writing system that truly honors the language it serves.

Drawing from Google’s open-source Noto Sans family, I expanded the system to accommodate Umwero’s unique forms. This wasn’t just a design project, it was an act of cultural restoration.

Today, with 34 early users and a virtual keyboard, Umwero represents more than functionality, it’s a reclaiming of voice, memory, and identity.

Noto Sans Umwero is not just a typeface. It’s part of a larger movement to script African futures anchored in culture, community, and self-determination.