OPINION ON ARABIC VS. HINDI NUMBERS
whats considered good Arabic typography with regard to numerals? My design schooling insists to always use Arabic (Latin) Numerals Rather than the Hindi ones.
Why are GREAT new Arabic fonts including Hindi Numerals? Like Fedra and TheMix?
Luma
personal opinion
i do not know about any rules or regulations regarding numeral usage. visually, i believe that hindi numerals look better within the arabic script. however, this is a decision that i take every time i am working on a new project; depending on language, typefaces used, and sometimes client preferences. for the time being, i am happy that fedra, the mix, and other contemporary typefaces offer me the freedom to choose my numerals!
A sad story of Westerialism
Marhaba Luma
Until around the 1960s the use of Hindi numerals in Arabic was universal both in calligraphy and printing. Then in Lebanon a progressive poet publishing his magazine mistakenly thought that using "Arabic Numerals" is something authentic and attractive or for whatever reason used these numerals for chapter headings الله يسامحه. The fad spread and this was a disaster. Arabic numerals were adopted in the West around 1300 AD(?) and their shapes evolved to match those of Latin letters. Their verticals and curves are completely out of character with Hindi numerals as they evolved separately within Arabic scripts. Until now you could see these unmatched numerals sticking out in a really ugly way within Arabic text.
Marhaba Lara Whether Arabic or Hindi are used they should be specially designed within each particular Arabic font to match the letters as to thickness, style, height etc. I suppose it is part of globalization that the Arabic numerals be used to make scientific and economic data consistent with calculators, computers etc. But the Hindi letters have evolved naturally with the Arabic letters and I think they should be used whenever possible.
Thanks Lara, Vladimir...
Yes, Most of my big clients have insisted on Arabic Numerals as they are traditionally Arabic while Hindi numerals are more culturally attached to India and the East.
I think using Hindi Numerals in Display and Decoratively can be really beautiful.
However, for more information heavy communication, letterheads, businesscards, it is clearer and cleaner to use Arabic numerals?
Also since most designs these days in the region are bilingual, it helps for consistency sake.
Perhaps this is where appropriateness comes in?