Meli

Inspired by my daughter and derived from playful experimentation with the flat brush, Meli (pronounced may-lee) is a slightly unconventional type family for children’s books that consists of three distinct styles intended to be used together: a lively, brushy, pseudo-sans display style, a friendly and more restrained serif text face, and a text italic. In order to create a dynamic and flexible system, I drew the display in such a way that it, like the italic, can also be used within text to add emphasis or character. Meli is a multi-script type family that supports both the Latin alphabet and the Cherokee syllabary.

Chris Skillern

Chris Skillern is a type designer, dad, husband, musician, and casual cartoonist from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has an affinity for lively letterforms, an eye for detail, and a deep appreciation for oat milk. As a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Chris has a special interest in working with the Cherokee syllabary. He is currently freelancing and working to launch his type foundry, Tulsey Type, and would love to work with you on any type- or lettering-related projects!

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