22.Jul.2011 Typefaces have a body and a soul…
For those of you who have missed it, khtt.net is hosting Multiple Baselines which is a series of interviews “with people who play a role in the development of technology and design for the Arabic script.” I was the first designer interviewed (thank you Huda!), and the whole series seems to be very interesting. I [...]
04.Jan.2011 Featured alumni
The AUB alumni newsletter has kindly invited me for a feature, for which I am very thankful. The only thing that I’d like to add here, where I can speak freely and informally, is that I really loved my time in AUB, after which my typeface Janna is named. I also treasure my friends, to [...]
07.Dec.2010 Univers Next Arabic and The Guardian
Today is big: my Univers Next Arabic is released, and there’s a feature about me in the Guardian. Univers Next Arabic is everything that I’ve wanted to design. It has the modernity of a low-contrast typeface, the cleanliness and strength of curves, and an overall look that makes you want to just keep looking. It also [...]
03.Dec.2010 Robert Bringhurst and Arabic
Winsoft, the company that brought us InDesign ME and Tasmeem, has a very interesting interview with Robert Bringhurst. He needs no introduction, so just head over straight for some very interesting insights!
16.May.2010 “Doing better but feeling worse”
During research I came across an interesting article. Completely unrelated to legibility, but quite relevant to every day life. Here is the abstract: Expanding upon Simon’s (1955) seminal theory, this investigation compared the choice-making strategies of maximizers and satisficers, finding that maximizing tendencies, although positively correlated with objectively better decision outcomes, are also associated with [...]
10.May.2010 What does doodling do?
Interesting article: “Doodling is a way of passing the time when bored by a lecture or telephone call. Does it improve or hinder attention to the primary task? To answer this question, 40 participants monitored a monotonous mock telephone message for the names of people coming to a party. Half of the group was randomly [...]
17.Apr.2010 Novum: 7 Arabic typefaces you should know about
I was recently asked by Germany’s Novum magazine to write a short feature about my pick of Arabic typefaces that their readers would want to know about. For this I could choose from both my designs as well as others’. It’s never easy to make a small selection, and this was the case here. How [...]
18.Feb.2010 Recently…
I have been quite silent lately and so this post is long overdue. To recap some highlights of the recent months… In December Linotype released my Neue Helvetica Arabic. It was a very tough project to take on, but I was happy to take on the challenge. The response to it has been largely positive. [...]
12.Sep.2009 “Brave new world”
Amazing article on creativity in Beirut. Am thrilled to be in it! Also happy that Lebanese design is getting more and more coverage. Yey :) You can read the article here.
08.Jun.2009 Arabic block printing in the 10-15th century AD
Did you know this? I only came across this a few days ago and am still stumped. I’m surprised that I missed this, though I have to admit that I never dug deep into the history of early Arabic printing. But this is like an prequel to the history chapters that I’ve read. Very cool! [...]