{"product_id":"adam-yeo-bete-typeface","title":"Adam YEO: Bété Typeface","description":"\u003cp\u003eJune 2026, English, Bété, 5 x 8 in., 28 pages, riso, softcover, staple-bound\u003cbr\u003eEdition of 200\u003cbr\u003eDesign: Adam Yeo \u0026amp; Sming Sming Books\u003cbr\u003ePrinting: Irrelevant Press\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOf the 7000+ human languages in the world, between 50–100 are supported digitally, with 10 languages making up 82% of all internet content. \u003c\/span\u003eThis booklet is part of series that highlights the work of designers who are creating digital typefaces for languages or writing systems that are underrepresented or entirely unsupported within current operating systems, keyboards, and digital technologies at large. The process for developing such typefaces requires intensive research, often with ongoing community collaboration and feedback. By providing a digital application for these languages, the type designers featured in this series contribute to the longevity of a language, and in turn, its cultural knowledges, oral histories, and ways of thinking.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAdam Yeo\u003c\/strong\u003e's \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBété Typeface\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e emerges from a deep engagement with the Bété script, a syllabary of 448 pictographic signs invented in 1956 by the Ivorian artist Frédéric Bruly Bouabré to transcribe the Bété language of Côte d’Ivoire. Based on geometric forms inspired by everyday life, this handwritten system was conceived to preserve and promote local culture. More than a tool for writing, the script embodies a worldview, a rhythm, and a visual logic deeply rooted in Bété traditions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eThis project is made in partnership with SILICON (the Stanford Initiative on Language Inclusion and Conservation in Old and New Media).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.adamyeo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAdam Yeo\u003c\/a\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003eis a graphic designer, type design researcher, and faculty member at the University of Bondoukou in Côte d’Ivoire. He holds a PhD from Nanjing University of the Arts in China, where his research focused on African writing systems and typeface design. His work explores the relationship between writing systems, visual culture, and contemporary design. In particular, he researches the Bété script: an unencoded writing system from Côte d’Ivoire, with the aim of supporting its preservation and digital development. Through his projects, Adam brings together culture, identity, and design, transforming indigenous scripts and symbols into contemporary typographic and visual forms. His practice operates at the intersection of research, graphic design, and cultural heritage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003ca rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/silicon.stanford.edu\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eStanford Initiative on Language Inclusion and Conservation in Old and New Media (SILICON)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e believes that your “home screen” should feel like home. SILICON is a Stanford Presidential initiative, supported by UNESCO, that focuses on advancing digital inclusion and empowerment for the \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003emore than 6000 languages left behind in the Digital Age. SILICON works with communities, linguists, technologists, and more to develop the foundational building blocks of the digital age, including typefaces, keyboards, and UX\/UI datasets. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sming Sming Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50239682904257,"sku":null,"price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2789\/2198\/files\/adam-yeo_bete-typeface_1.jpg?v=1779134223","url":"https:\/\/www.smingsming.com\/products\/adam-yeo-bete-typeface","provider":"Sming Sming Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}