The Ivorian artist and designer preserving African culture through digital creativity, Known for creating over 365 emojis that celebrate West African life and identity.
Born in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (Nov 7, 1997), O’Plérou grew up sketching and creating from a young age.
He studied Fine Arts, Graphic Design, and Web Development combining art and technology to share Africa’s identity with the world.
In September 2017, O’Plérou learned emoji design from YouTube tutorials. By January 2018, he launched Zouzoukwa a project to design and post one Africa-inspired emoji daily for a full year.
Within the first week, his art gained 2,000 new followers.
By December 2018, O’Plérou turned all 365 emojis into a mobile app bringing African identity to WhatsApp and iMessage.
His cultural innovation earned him the Young Talent Award at Adicom Days, leading to collaborations with Canal+ and Imalk Concept for fashion and media campaigns.
After Zouzoukwa, O’Plérou expanded into type design creating fonts like ALT Nadrey, OS Korhogo, and OS Gagnoa.
His work promotes underrepresented designers and brings African visual language into the global type community.
His mission is to make African culture visible online.
