Typography Tales: Handpainted shopfronts in rural Uganda

Walking along the streets of rural Uganda you can’t help but notice the almost random ‘pop’ of colour on buildings. You can't miss the hand-painted signs or the buildings that have been painted all over. It soon became clear that many of these were advertisements. But why are laundrettes painted all over and advertising a sim card? With fewer restrictions on advertisements, it’s also not uncommon to see shops with adverts for products specifically targeting the adult market, for example, condoms seem to be a very popular advert!

I have been to Uganda a few times now, and these buildings always stand out to me. I spent a month there at the end of 2023 and wanted to know more about the stories behind these buildings.

The Art of Making Do:

In the Kumi district of Uganda, money is short but competition is high, there are often a whole row of shops selling the same products. So how do you stand out when the buildings all look similar, the streets are packed with people and you have limited funds? Armed with paint and a whole lot of determination, shopkeepers turn their spaces into vibrant reflections of their trades. It might not be polished, but it sure is authentic.

Corporate Murals:

However, not everyone has the time, skill or resources to paint their shop. So that’s when large corporate companies come along. Large companies will strike deals with the shopkeepers as a way to get free or cheap advertising for their company. The companies will paint the shop and advertise their product (often nothing to do with the shopkeeper’s business). In return, the small business owner will get a smart-looking building that not only looks nice but will attract more customers than the colourless shop next door.

However, these companies often don’t up keep the paint job they did. So with time that too starts to look run down and business owners are left with a building with crumbling paint and no funds to amend it.

As you walk through the streets you realise that these aren't just buildings; they're storytellers. They tell tales of resilience, resourcefulness, and the bridge between small local businesses and large corporations.