26.Nov.2011 What’s the point of good typography if the reality sucks?

Those who follow my @ArabicType account may have noticed that I am tweeting way more about politics and social issues than design these days. It’s not a coincidence and please bare with me. Today, I’m in Dubai on a business trip. I woke up and turned on the TV and first thing I saw was my Janna being used by mbc4. I got dressed and went grocery shopping and saw my Frutiger Arabic at Waitrose. I saw it again at the cashpoint for Emirates NBD. I got back to my rented apartment, turned on the TV and saw my Neue Helvetica Arabic on mbc’s Action channel. For a type designer, this is most rewarding, and I am of course super happy and excited about that. But it is not enough.

Two weeks after I had joined Linotype, the previous managing director Bruno Steinert asked me: What is it that you want in life? Very quickly, and without thinking I replied, “I want to make the Arabic world look better.” Bruno reminds me of this whenever we meet again. And though I am happy with how work is going, with time it becomes clear that my wish is very superficial. It’s not enough to want to make the Arabic world look better, it needs to be better.

I could design all the typefaces that I could imagine, but as long as women are mistreated, rights are abused, and books remain unread, then what is the point? I am finding it harder and harder to dissociate typography from its context, and I believe that to do that would be to divorce typography from reality. Typography breathes life into words, so how can it be far from the lives it touches? What’s the point of good typography if the reality sucks?

I am deeply unhappy with the situation in Lebanon. For all the typefaces that I can design, it will not lessen the sectarian strife that eats away at the country. It will not take away from the poison in the air. Much as I love my country, I have come to hate its politics. Where is the voice of reason? Sometimes it feels like the whole country has gone mad. Design is not enough. Whatever one does as a job, it is not enough. To be a citizen is to be engaged with the social fabric. There is no escaping politics.

And so it is. I’m not quitting my job. I really do love it. But I want to do more. Exactly what, I’m not really sure.

17.Nov.2011 Long day today

I don’t usually use this space as a diary but today was such a long day!!! I continued writing the chapter I’m working on for my dissertation, looked again at the statistics and data analysis. Then dove right back into LT projects (2 clients had urgent requests) then off to dance class. After I had to rush to a dinner with colleagues to talk about web fonts. I used up the remaining grey cells to write this post. My dreams will be extra silly tonight!

06.Nov.2011 To give a voice

This is the title of Linotype’s Fonts in Focus 9 which showcased the An-Nahar project from earlier this year. I am super happy with what Magma has designed and you should definitely check it out! You can get the printed version here.

05.Nov.2011 Arabic text for type specimens

I was looking yesterday at the specimens of some of the recent Arabic type design projects and was seriously disappointed with the choice of texts. Here are a few tips for non-Arabic speakers who are designing Arabic type specimens:

- Online translation tools rarely give grammatically correct texts and the errors stick out like a sore thumb. Better to use original Arabic text.

- If you know someone who can read Arabic, this can help ensure that your selected text is ok.

- If you’re not sure where to get Arabic texts that are non-political and non-religious, the arts, literature, and culture pages from newspapers are really good. I usually look at An-Nahar or Al-Akhbar. These are safe texts to use. I usually use these for setting my test documents. Or, you can use texts from Gibran or other literary figures.

The reason I’m writing this is: As a type designer, you would want to show an understanding of the script and culture you are dealing with. Spelling mistakes and nonsensical texts sort of ruin that for you. I hope this helps!

01.Nov.2011 3 free Arabic fonts for my 33

I’m turning 33 next week on Tuesday and to celebrate I have asked Linotype if we could give away 3 of my Arabic fonts for free for the whole month of November, and they have accepted! Deciding on which ones to give out was not easy which was why I asked everyone to chime in with their wish list. So, here it is the final set: DIN Next Arabic Light, Palatino Sans Arabic Bold, and Univers Next Arabic Regular. These are my latest designs, 2 of which have won awards, so I do hope that you’ll enjoy playing with them!

I have 1 small request: These fonts are free for you to download but not to share. If you know of someone who would like to have them, please share the link but not the fonts. I’d love to give this gift out to as many people as possible so please feel free to share the link with anyone who might be interested.

You can get the fonts here: http://www.linotype.com/6658/freearabicfontsvaluepack.html

If you’d like to see the whole set of Arabic typefaces that we have published at Linotype, you can take a look here: www.linotype.com/arabicfonts

29.Sep.2011 Gorgeous collages of Fayrouz in the press

I came across these today on the Facebook page of Lebanese diva Fayrouz. Not enough can be said about her voice and her songs, and now these collages bring back the typographic flavors of newspapers in many years past. Enjoy!

24.Sep.2011 Which one of my Arabic fonts would you like to get for free?

For reasons that I will explain in a couple of weeks — nothing sinister so no worries! — I would like to give some of my fonts for free, though only for a limited time. So, let me know which one of my fonts you’d like to get for free, and I will ask Linotype to arrange it. Attached is a preview of my available designs published with Linotype.

Click here to download the pdf: Arabic fonts from Linotype

The fonts listed are: Koufiya,Badiya, Janna, Palatino Sans Arabic, Palatino Arabic, Univers Next Arabic, Neue Helvetica Arabic, Frutiger Arabic, DIN Next Arabic. Hope you’ll like them :)

24.Aug.2011 Qatar e-government uses Berytus (BigVesta Arabic) for its logo

I just came across this… Didn’t even know about the services they offer but the site looks very helpful. The logo has a modern look that still tries to capture the flare and spark of Arabic culture. Color scheme is great. Being me, of course I would redesign a few things like the alignment on the right, and the internal spacing of the word Hukoomi in Arabic. Still, I like what they’ve done with it. Would love to know who worked on the new branding… Anyone knows?

14.Aug.2011 One hundred years of Lebanon

I came across The Fouad Debbas Collection on Blog Baladi and was quickly enchanted by the old photos of Lebanon and the region. I chose a few to show here but you should really check out the source.This is the largest private collection of old photos and postcards of Lebanon and the Middle East.

There is something lyrical about old photos, but these have an element of tragedy linked to them, depicting the uncomplicated life that would be shattered by 2 World Wars, famines, the struggle for independence, and a devastating civil war soon after. The reality of life today in Lebanon is worlds away from these photos, but in the wild nights of the Beirut clubs and the increasing political vitriol, one can starkly see the escapism of the embattled Lebanese spirit and its incessant drive towards self-destruction. Rushing into conflict to escape the fear of conflict. Pushing life to the edge, because of the fear of the abyss. There is no end to the Lebanese capacity to endure, to fight, and then to endure all over again. Fought over by many, in sorrow we stand alone. A friend who divides your house is no friend at all. There are lessons to be learned and this vicious cycle will not stop until we are able to look into our past and deal with everything that has brought us to this point. Otherwise, the seas will rise again and we have to endure another one hundred years of solitude. Read more ›

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 am a big fan of Thuraya so I’m glad to see it given the attention it deserves. The interview with my colleague Kamal Mansour is also very inspiring to read. All in all, it’s an excellent way to get a behind-the-scenes look at the people involved in the making of Arabic type. Should make for an interesting weekend read :)