01.Feb.2012 7 years at Linotype

One day I decided to take the bus, and because of that I am sitting here at this desk today.

On the morning of September 27, 2003 I was in a flat in Vancouver with some of my classmates from the MA at Reading. We were there to attend the annual ATypI conference and I was scheduled to give a talk and be on a panel about Arabic typography. Typical me, I wanted to sleep in that morning so I can be fresh and ready for the big talk that afternoon. So, all of my friends went ahead and I took my time to get ready.

And then there was the bus. The conference was taking place at quite a distance from where we were so I wanted to catch the bus that ATypI organized to take us there, but instead I only found a group of people wearing the same conference badge like me and waiting outside the conference hotel. I went up to them and asked one of the gentlemen if they were waiting for the bus too, and he said no, but offered me a ride in their car as they had an extra space.

That group was the Linotype delegation and the gentleman was Bruno Steinert, who was Linotype’s managing director at the time. We got to talk about type, my typeface Koufiya, Arabic and Latin, the dialogue of cultures, and I then invited him to come to my lecture. He did, and very quickly offered me a job right after.

So, I am here thanks to John Hudson, who invited me to give a talk at AtypI.

I am also here because of the encouragement of Jean-François Porchez. He had told me then: Nadine, there are 2 gods in type design, Adrian Frutiger and Hermann Zapf. They both work with Linotype, and Zapf comes to the office twice a week.

I am also here because of Bruno Steinert. He believed in me, when no other foundry was interested in any kind of non-Latin, let alone Arabic. And Bruno was right. Arabic typography is flourishing now, and the work that we have done here has met with an amazing response from designers and clients both in and out of the Middle East. Joining the Linotype team was the best career decision that I have made.

I would not have stayed here, if it were not for my colleagues and my supervisors both at Linotype and Monotype Imaging. I am lucky to be able to do the job that I love, and to be given the space to do it. And for that I am very thankful.

21.Jan.2012 “Raeding Wrods With Jubmled Lettres”

A while ago, there was this e-mail going around:

“Arocdnicg to rsceearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer are in the rghit pcale. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit pobelrm. Tihs is buseace the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.”

13.Jan.2012 Palestinian designer adds new poster for #FightRape march

Palestinian designer Areej, @rejism90, has joined the support for women’s rights in Lebanon and made this design also available for download. Many thanks Areej! Download pdf here: Areej

“Outlaw Rape” poster for the march against marital rape

This poster was designed for @abaretruth for the march against marital rape that is going on tomorrow. It is free for download here: Protest5

3 poster signs for the march against marital rape

I have an open offer to all activists joining the march on Jan 14 to protest the marital rape laws in Lebanon: If you would like me to help you design poster signs, I’ll be more than happy to do so! It’s a bit late notice but it just occurred to me today. I have gone ahead and designed 3. I am attaching the pdf files below for the high res quality. You can use them to print signs or even t-shirts. Wish I could join you in person!

This is an extract to explain the situation:

‎”Article 503 says a rapist can be acquitted if he marries the victim. He would often get a reduced sentence if he proposes marriage. The maximum sentence is 5 years. Husbands are excluded from this law if they rape their wives. Rape is interpreted as a penis penetrating a vagina. All other forms of sexual violence are not criminalized. This is the law the governs rape in Lebanon. This is the law we should revolt against.” – Nadine Moawad | Nasawiya

This is the Facebook page dedicated to the march.

Here are the pdf files:Protest1 Protest2 Protest3

10.Jan.2012 Who wants to design Arabic t-shirts?

03.Jan.2012 Standing up for women’s rights

Lebanese activists are trying to pass a law to criminalize marital rape in Lebanon. The shock is twofold: 1. Men are allowed to rape their wives in Lebanon, 2. All attempts to change this are being heavily resisted in Parliament.

I don’t care what religious authorities say. This is backward and medieval and a blatant abuse of women’s rights.

A march is being planned on January 14. Please read about it here on Facebook.

ps. I heartily approve of using one of my typefaces for the posters :)

31.Dec.2011 Ending the year on a very high note!

Have to spill it out: I’m in Megg’s History of Graphic Design!!! I am sooo thrilled, excited, honored, and deeply humbled to be included in this book:

“This is the unrivaled, comprehensive, and award-winning reference tool on graphic design recognized for publishing excellence by the Association of American Publishers. Now, this Fifth Edition of Meggs’ History of Graphic Design offers even more detail and breadth of content than its heralded predecessors, revealing a saga of creative innovators, breakthrough technologies, and important developments responsible for paving the historic paths that define the graphic design experience. In addition to classic topics such as the invention of writing and alphabets, the origins of printing and typography, and postmodern design, this new Fifth Edition presents new information on current trends and technologies sweeping the graphic design landscape—such as the web, multimedia, interactive design, and private presses, thus adding new layers of depth to an already rich resource.”

I really can’t put into words just how happy I am to have been added to its pages. This is definitely a career highlight :)

Koufiya, Frutiger Arabic, and Neue Helvetica Arabic are shown in the book. Some of my other typefaces are also listed.

14.Dec.2011 Job opening in VCUQatar

If you like teaching and have the background and know how to teach Arabic typography, you might want to check out the job opening in VCUQatar. Apply quick as the review starts in January.

27.Nov.2011 بالنسبة لبكرا شو؟ And what about tomorrow?

I got asked over twitter by @NajBass about my favorite line from an Arabic play and it was this title. It holds in it something that has always intrigued me and I got to thinking why is this phrase so powerful, and then it hit me. This is the question that the collective Lebanese psyche actively runs away from.

I am no psychologist and I can only speak for myself. But there is clarity in distance. The Lebanese live in the NOW because tomorrow is so uncertain. This is why they party so hard. This is why anti-smoking campaigns never work (why worry about cancer in 20 years when a bomb might kill you tomorrow?). This is why corruption rules. This why reform never works. This is why the same lousy politicians keep getting elected. Lebanon is frozen in a bubble. The status quo is the past, the present, and because we know it, it will be the future. Because a lousy present is still better than a lousier future. Fifteen years of civil war and 21 years of unrest have left a dreadful message: Things will never get any better. The NOW is the best you’ll ever get so just live it.

But what about tomorrow? Will the economy collapse? Will Israel invade? Will the country implode? Lebanon is afraid. We are always waiting for the next big distaster. If it’s not political, then surely nature will comply with an earthquake or two. Maybe even a tsunami. It’s happened before, so why not again?

And this is where the problem lies. When a country is so rooted in its despair, so entrenched in its sorrows, so afraid, and so unwilling to believe that this is not how things have to be, then how can it not be afraid of tomorrow?

Something needs to give. Something needs to change. Or tomorrow may never come.