The New Robi Font

The Bangladeshi telecom giant AKTEL rebranded itself as Robi

Here’s the first glimpse of the Robi Bangla font. Get ready to see it everywhere.

The former Aktel rebranded itself as ‘Robi’ on March 28, 2010. This marked one of the most significant commercial events in the history of advertising. I got wind of the new brand name as early as February 15, even though it was a well-guarded secret at the highest level. Suddenly, I felt incredibly special when they offered me the opportunity to design and develop a new typeface for this emerging brand.

It was an entirely new experience for me. Robi is predominantly owned by Axiata, so it adopted Axiata’s brand identity and guidelines. I had to adhere to the Axiata font style, and the timeline was quite tight, especially for someone new like me. However, this urgency fueled my determination.

I managed to meet the first deadline with a fully developed font, but it was rejected. The present font, the one you see today, was the result of several sleepless nights and the support of my dearest friend Tirana and Rifat.

So, whenever I see a billboard displaying phrases like ‘apnar aktel ekhon’ or ‘jole uthun apon shoktite’ in the Robi font, it reminds me of the hardest work and the most cherished memories :)