Papua New Guineans can now use locally designed fonts or type-faces that come in a software package following the launch of Kumul Fonts this week.
Kumul Fonts is the first of its kind in the industry, designed and developed by the Arts & Design Strand of the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG).
The fonts or type-faces were designed to promote PNG art through modern technology.
Founder of the project and lecturer in Art and Design, Philemon Yalamu encouraged Papua New Guineans to embrace the use of local fonts more instead of western fonts.
The art work was created using different cultural backgrounds of his students.
35 students were directly involved and tasked to provide primary designs from their places of origin.
The project began in 2007 to 2011 and was finalised this year.
The fonts or type-faces were designed using cultural instruments including arrows, crocodile, betelnut, pig tusk, necklace, kundu, bamboo, tapa cloth, stone axe.
Yalamu has made a decision to sell packages at affordable costs.
The package includes a disc, electronic manual and printed manual for K30.
Kumul Fonts was launched at UPNG by PNG Data Co director Paul Komboi who congratulated the students and University on this milestone to promote PNG’s diverse culture.
Komboi also pledged K10 000 to the Melanesian Institute of Arts and Culture (MIAC) to assist with the work of the University’s Creative Arts strands.
Kumul Fonts is registered to the International Font Organisation similar to other fonts currently in use worldwide.