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Full-Text Articles in Art and Design
Anatomy Of An Arabetic Type Design, Saad D. Abulhab
Anatomy Of An Arabetic Type Design, Saad D. Abulhab
Publications and Research
Arabetic type design, like type design in general, should not be limited by rigid rules, other than those advocating open choice and user options. But as with all design fields, highlighting certain principles and guidelines is crucial to realizing a successful project. In an Arabetic font design environment, such guidelines and principles should reveal deeper understanding of various scripts visual and behavioral defining characteristics rather than mere traditional calligraphic and handwriting norms. A main goal of this study is to emphasize that designing Arabetic fonts is much easier than it is portrayed, and designers of all backgrounds should be more …
Typography Behind The Arabetic Calligraphy Veil, Saad D. Abulhab
Typography Behind The Arabetic Calligraphy Veil, Saad D. Abulhab
Publications and Research
In the change from scriptural writing systems to textual mechanical systems and most recently to digital, computer generated text, some languages and their typographic representations have suffered. One such language, along with its visible language representation, that has not made a smooth transition is Arabic. The author argues that misinterpreting language tradition prevents what he calls Arabetic typography from embracing an appropriate technological adaptation. Putting forth an evolutionary argument, he critiques the notion that calligraphic styles must prevail and that legibility and readability of Arabic characters is objective. He further states that the resulting typefaces when abandoning the so called …
The Mutamathil Type Style: Towards Free, Technology-Friendly, Arabetic Types, Saad D. Abulhab
The Mutamathil Type Style: Towards Free, Technology-Friendly, Arabetic Types, Saad D. Abulhab
Publications and Research
Efforts to adapt various Arabetic scripts to the machine are as old as the field of typography. But most of these efforts concentrated primarily on forcing the machine to duplicate the Arabetic handwritten forms. Others have practically advocated divorce from the calligraphic tradition rather than enrichment and reform. One reason why the few modern attempts to typographically solve the technology-induced Arabetic script problems had failed is that many typeforms (or many times just theoretical calligraphy style) was presented as replacement for the traditional ones rather than as optional working types. New “controversial” types should be made widely available for users …