We recently started seeing some incredibly creative letters and numbers in Mixel made in the most unexpected ways. Over the course of two weeks, new user Senongo Akpem started creating a fully-fledged Mixel font, letter by letter, in first alphabetical then numerical order. Each of his mixels is composed of many surprisingly free-flowing shapes that almost look random, until you step back and see how they manage to form beautifully cohesive letterforms.

Senongo Akpem made this mixel. Jan 28, 2012

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Who is this alphabet creating superstar? Senongo is a Nigerian American web designer and art director based in NYC. His background is in print making and he’s recently gotten into more experimental typeface design. He learned about Mixel from a talk our co-founder Khoi Vinh gave at Webvisions and decided the app would be a fun place to experiment with typography.

Senongo Akpem made this mixel. Feb 2, 2012

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We asked Senongo what inspired this series and he shared this with us:

I don’t know that I had any specific inspiration, but typography has always been fascinating to me. I lived in Japan for about 7 years, and the only way I learned the written language there was by assigning an image to each character.  For example, the Japanese character for the sound ‘to’ (と) looks like a human big toe, so I guess I like the imagery attached to alphabets and type.

Senongo Akpem made this mixel. Feb 3, 2012

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The look of each character is so unique and we asked Senongo what the process of creating each one was like.

My process for using the Mixel app is quite random. I just browse around til I find a color or pattern that I like, and then go from there. I’m especially attracted to images with transparency and large colorways- they seem to work better for this project. I try to avoid images that are recognizable, and go for the abstract stuff. I also really enjoy finding images that have tiny slivers of color or pattern, because its a challenge to find a use for them in a collage.

Senongo Akpem made this mixel. Feb 4, 2012

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We’re blown away by the creativity and ingenuity on display in each character and can hardly wait to see what Senongo does next.

Senongo Akpem made this mixel. Feb 5, 2012

Open this mixel.

To look at the entire alphabet, numbers, and glyphs created by Senongo, check out the board on Pinterest.

Is there someone who’s doing inspiring work in Mixel that we should feature on the blog? Let us know in the comments!