Hikaru Nishikawa

Accent is Beautiful

In Aotearoa, conversations about racism often begin and end with skin colour. But racism has many forms, and one of its most overlooked expressions is linguistic discrimination, which is subtle, everyday judgments made about how someone speaks. Accent, tone, rhythm, and vocabulary become markers of belonging or exclusion. They shape how we are heard, and too often, how we are valued.

Despite being described as a “superdiverse” nation, New Zealand remains one of the most monolingual countries, and linguistic racism is still prevalent. This contradiction reveals that we celebrate diversity in theory but struggle to embrace it in practice, especially when it speaks with a different voice.

The typeface, Accent is Beautiful was created in the hope of shifting that perception. Each letterform in this typeface carries a meaning, and it is a reminder that language is not neutral and that every accent carries history, cultural heritage, and identity. This typeface does not aim to be universal, and it aims to be an expression of diversity.