The brief for this project required the creation of a typeface inspired by an area or building in South Africa. The typeface was to be informed by aerial photography of the chosen area or building taken from Google Earth. The chosen place for this typeface is the The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in Henley-On-Klip.

In 1860 a farm by the name of Slagfontein was bought by Mattys Wynand Pretorious and Magdalena Gerbrecht along the Klip River. When Mattys died, he was buried on the banks of the river. 

In 1903, various parts of the farm were sold to various companies. This resulted in some hotels being built along with a weir that impounded water of different widths and still stands today. The town was named by Advocate Horace Kent who was inspired by his birthplace, Henley on Thames in England. Henley on Klip was also home to some British troops who protected a railway nearby. The town was a popular weekend destination for the Johannesburg population. Even when the hotels closed, people still visited the markets and restaurants. At the start of the 20th century the town became more built up, but still maintained a rural aesthetic. 

The majority of the population are self-employed, work in the town or are pensioners. The town is also home to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls was founded in 2007 to help underprivileged girls in South Africa. This school was Oprah’s gift to South Africa and Mandela in particular. Oprah believed education was a way to end poverty. 

The students at the school have also endured many struggles in their lives such as losing their parents, dealing with illness or suffering abuse, so the school offers a safe home for them with many new opportunities that they may not have had before. Oprah said once in an interview that she believes that poverty makes people think that they are not good enough, but what she wants from her school is to show these young ladies that they have the ability to achieve their dreams. 

OWLAG aims to equip their students with the skills required to achieve their dreams. The school believes strongly in the South African principle of Ubuntu (humanity, compassion and service to others and leadership). The 4 main values of the school are respect, honour, service and compassion. 

When Oprah has the opportunity she visits the school and shares her knowledge with the students. The students often refer to her as mama o which provided the inspiration for the name of this typeface. Many graduates from OWLAG have gone on to study at top universities in South Africa and around the world.

Translate what makes the chosen area or building historically or culturally significant into a typeface.

Mama O is a typeface inspired by the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in Henley-on-Klip in South Africa. Built from the aerial view of the school and its surrounding areas. Mama O aims to celebrate the school and the opportunities that having been offered to young women in South Africa, opening doors for them to fulfil their dreams and aspirations.

Utilizing the aerial photos of Henley-on-Klip and The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, various grids were developed. Using the grids, various letter-forms were developed exploring different styles. 

After developing the different variations of each letter, each letter in the alphabet was designed alongside each other in order to maintain consistency and build stronger relations between all of the letters from a to z.

Various alphabets were developed each with a specific style and structure that was used to maintain consistency throughout each alphabet.

The final grid was developed from the rows of trees as well as the roads that surround the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. The shape that this creates is fitting for the school as it resembles a pair of doors which represents the new opportunities offered to students. 

Once this shape was traced, it was refined to ensure that all of the elements were neat and aligned. Following this, the shape was duplicated and rotated 180 degrees which created the final grid.

The main purpose of this type booklet is to showcase what my typeface Mama O is about, explaining the history, what inspired the typeface, the process that was used to create the typeface. Furthermore it display important elements such as the grid and how the grid was created and how the letters fit into the grid. Additionally it display the typeface’s anatomy and examples of the typeface in use.