Arabish

arabish

â€

“It is not the eyes that are blind but the hearts.”

– Surah Baqarah 2:195 –

“There is no compulsion in religion.”

– Qur’an 2:256 –

I find beauty in the stereotype

A

a

arabish is a stereo-typeface that is intended to mimic that of the arabic language . The name itself was an easy choice with the terrorish element and the stereotypes that come with the use of the word terrorist , and thus the language itself has unfortunately become associated with judgemental negative connotations , through this font I hope to change that .

B

b

C

c

† you probably won’t bother to read this

arabish, but try and have a lovely day nonetheless .

†

†

see the beauty in other worlds, cultures &

religions , at the end of the day we’re all on this rock together .

†

D

d

E

e

F f

a new light I wanted to create a beautiful font that had the characteristics of arabic , the long rolling descenders , the straight upward ascenders and various accents and additions . Since I couldn’t read arabic I focused on the letter forms and quickly discovered that each word seemed in it’s own right unique , so I wanted to reflect that .

G

g

H

h

Regular A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ! ? £ $ % @ & * . , < > ^ ` # ∞ ( ) - ÷ = + [ ] { } ; : ‘ “ ” \ | / •– ¿ ^ ˙ ˚ _ …

Bold A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ! ? £ $ % @ & * . , < > ^ ` # ∞ ( ) - ÷ = + [ ] { } ; : ‘ “ ” \ | / •– ¿ ^ ˙ ˚ _ …

I

i

J

j

K

k

Ligatures I had to find a way to ensure that the characters connected to seem like a handwritten typeface.

Since many of the usual letter pairs didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sit well together I had to create over 160 separate ligatures. This also meant that each word could be seen as its own symbol , and stand out in both a display environment or just in bodies of text .

L

l

M

m

†

I hope you aren’t feeling sad and

lonely , we should all build on the way we treat one other .

†

†

whether it’s Allah , Vishnu or maybe your own

god , no one should be judged for their beliefs .

†

N

n

O

o

P

p

Implementing With the finished typeface I wanted to be able to use it in posters and pieces of work surrounding islamophobia and how the Western world seems to ignore it .

For me as a language of so many I felt like people tend to shy away from anything associated with it , so I began devising posters that people would be drawn to with good intentions .

Q

q

R

r

Italic A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ! ? £ $ % @ & * . , < > ^ ` # ∞ ( ) - ÷ = + [ ] { } ; : ‘ “ ” \ | / •– ¿ ^ ˙ ˚ _ …

Bold Italic A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ! ? £ $ % @ & * . , < > ^ ` # ∞ ( ) - ÷ = + [ ] { } ; : ‘ “ ” \ | / •– ¿ ^ ˙ ˚ _ …

S

s

T

t

U

u

Dissonance By creating designs with the use of arabish I am able to exploit otherwise non muslim quotes and articles that condone the religion , and make it seem like a conflicting ideolody .

Thus creating a state of dissonance for the audience , enabling them to take a second glance and hopefully rethink the way themselves and others treat another faith .

V

v

W

w

â&#x20AC;

newspaper headlines are all rather

frightening , the fear they are spreading is making the situation worse .

â&#x20AC;

â&#x20AC;

the use of judgement is a dangerous

thing , if it has to be used, do so with a conscience .

â&#x20AC;

X

x

Y

y

Z

z

Forgiveness This has been my stereo-type specimen on a mixture of english and arabic , I hope it has inspired anyone who reads this to reconsider their views of others , regardless of belief or culture .

As a conclusion I give you a verse from their holy scripture : “ Hold to forgiveness , command what is right , and turn away from the ignorant .” ( Qur’an , 7 : 199 )

we must all find beauty in the stereotype

With an overwhelming sense of Islamophobia in the world today since the events of 9/11, I have created a beautifully elegant stereo-typeface that reflects the beauty in the Arabic language. Hopefully shedding a new light on the way we decide to see and judge an entire religious culture, based on the actions of a few.