Arabic Font Design by Angie Salama

arabic font design ingy salama 25-1039 g01 graphic design

table of contents

01 018 030

Font Types Research 01 - 07

Font Approach «Topic, Brainstorming, Moodboard»

018 - 022

Final Font 030 - 041

08 023 042

Sound & Type Research

08 - 014

Font Trials 023 - 025

Applications 042 - 050

015 027

Various Sketches 015 - 017

Font Development 027 - 029

font types research 01- 07

arabic font research

arabic calligraphy Its an artistic practice of handwriting. this art form is based on arabic script which for a long time was used by all muslims. Arabic, Persian & ottoman calligraphy is associated with abstract arabesque motifs on the walls & ceilings of mosques. Contemporary artists in the Islamic world draw on the heritage of calligraphy to use calligraphic inscripts or abstractions in their work.

arabic font research

font anatomy While researching i found out that arabic fonts are different in many prespectives as the counter forms and tightness and stroke width and movment that is translated through the type. Also the arabic type x-height differs and not like the english stable it differs from font to font and from era to an era. I posted images of what i found according to this and to the counter forms too.

arabic font research

font evolution So as I continued researching I ﬁgured out many different types of arabic calligraphy through ages and eras that has many charactaristics that inspired many people in the Arabic font design industry nowadays.

kufic font Kufic is the oldest calligraphic form of the different Arabic scripts and modified form the old Nabataean script. Kufic developed around the end of the 7th century in Kufa, Iraq, from which it takes its name, and other centres. Until about the 11th century it was the main script used to copy Qur›ans. Professional copyists employed a particular form of kufic for reproducing the earliest surviving copies of the Qur›an; Used until almost the end of the 13th century. Kufic is mostly obsolete today because it is difficult to write any text of length. It is occasionally still used for titles of manuscripts or in architectural inscriptions. Characters of font : *Distinctive character. *Angular letter form. *Short, broader vertical strokes & long horizontal. *Some early kufi fonts didn›t use vowels or dots. *Colored dots more sometimes used around the letters to aid pronunciation.

A comparison I did in my sketch

arabic font research

maghrebi font Korans in North Africa and Islamic Spain were written in a distinctive style known as maghribi, or Western script, which has undergone little stylistic change over time. Characters of font : *Fluid lines. *Deep and open curves. *Diacritical marks. *Verse endings.

A comparison I did in my sketch

naskh font Naskh is a specific calligraphic style, thought to be invented by the calligrapher Ibn Muqlah Shirazi. The root of this Arabic term nasakh, which means “to copy”. It either refers to the fact that it replaced its predecessor, Kufic script, or that this style allows faster copying of texts. With small modifications, it is the style most commonly used for printing Arabic, Persian, Pashto and Sindhi languages. It is written using a small, very fine pen known as a cava pen, which makes the script eminently suitable for use in book production. Naskhi was used in copying Qurʼans and Hadiths. It was also used in commentaries on the Qurʼan (Tafsir) and in collections of poetry (Divan). It was and is a very widely used form of script.

A comparison I did in my sketch

arabic font research

diwany font Diwany font or “Sultany” is considered one of the most important arabic fonts till our modern day, it has the advantage of being soft and malleable yet away from affectation, capable of flow, spreading with dancing harmony froming a wonderful picture of beauty Diwany font is one of the fonts which were devised by the Ottomans. It is said that Calligrapher “Ibrahim Monuef” is the one who set its rules and scales. Diwany font was officialy known after Sultan “Mo-hammed ElFateh” opened Constantinople in 857 It acquired its name as it was used in “Governmental.“Diwans Characters of font : *Roundness with curves. *Thin endings *Confluence of letters. *Contiguity via horizontal lines. *Flexability in structure

A comparison I did in my sketch

arabic font research

andalous font Andalous Font is basically a reﬁnment of the “Cyrene Font” but with a new twist of ductility that distinguished it from the rest. Some say the occurance of the Andalous font is considered an independence from the East Characters of font : *Geometrical propotion. *Curved. *Short and round characters. *Balanced within the empty spaces.

other fonts Along the way I found other fonts but couldnʼt gather much information about. So I made a little comparison in the stroke widths and ends and so on so that I get a feel of how they are formed and to understand the diversity and evloution between fonts.

A comparison I did in my sketch

arabic font research

latest evolution Nowadays the fonts are digitalized and the approaches designers take are endless to reach a design that suits the consumer considering arabic fonts. and the different looks of design always look distinctive and always stand out than others. though there was a great debate whether the fonts should be readable or decorative or a mix of both examples here shows modern approaches.

sound & type research 08- 014