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Design talk & latest news

Articles on typography and visual communication in the Middle East

The Khatt Network for Arabic Typography is a project of the Khatt Foundation, designed as a platform for discussing issues pertaining to design and visual communication in and about the Middle East. Join us as a member in this networked community and contribute your thoughts, articles and latest news on this site.

  • Arabic shoe charms.jpg

    Arabic shoe charms.jpg - 

    Arabic letters shoe charms for your Crocs, by Hayan Maani

Just to get you started, here's a list of recent contributions below. Please email your articles and latest news to Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès.

  • AlefCover2.png

    AlefCover2.png

  • Publication: 

    Samandal Comics

    Quarterly tri-lingual comics magazine from the Middle East

    Hatem Imam, fdz bx - The comic book, in its present day form, is regarded as an imported medium to the Arab world. Samandal (Salamander in Arabic), a ...
  • Now, your Crocs can speak Arabic!

    Arabic alphabets shoe charms by designer Hayan Maani

    Hayan Maani - All over the world and on the net you can find shoe charms or better known as Jibbitz (the original company that produces them)... the ...
  • event: New York, TCD

    2
    Fresco Arabic Wins TCD2 2008 Award

    For excellence in Typeface Design

    29 July 08 18:00 > 22 Aug 08 17:30 Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFares - Congratulations to our Khatt members Lara Assouad-Khoury and Fred Smeijers for their achievement! The Fresco Arabic Font designed...
  • Looking for a Missing Employee in Shizuoka, Japan & Live from Beirut

    11 to 16 May 2008

    samar maakaron - I was invited with director Rabih Mroue to Shizuoka in Japan to present 'Looking for a Missing employee'. Due to the airport closure in ...
  • event: University of Leipzig

    3
    History of Printing and Publishing in the Languages and Countries of the Middle East

    Third International Symposium, a part of 24th Congress of the Union Européenne des Arabisants et Islamisants (UEAI).

    25 Sept 08 > 27 Sept 08 Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFares - Following two successful international symposia on The History of Printing and Publishing in the Languages and Countries of the Middle...
  • event: The Cultural and Scientific Associatio - Al Mamzar

    Dubai International Exhibition of the Arabic Calligraphy

    5th Session

    13 Feb 08 10 > 20 Feb 08 22 Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFares - Under the patronage of H. H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai - Chairman of the Executive Council.
  • event: Dubai, Traffic

    Traffic Design Competition 2008

    the region's first product and interior design competition

    1 Dec 07 > 9 Mar 08 Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFares - Traffic launches the Middle East’s first regional annual design competition in its continued efforts to encourage, promote and nurture...
  • Multi Online Design Journal

    Call for Submissions (2008/2009)

    Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFares - Multi's international editorial board seeks original, unpublished contributions for upcoming issues. Multi aims to nurture an ...
  • Lebanese Vernacular Type

    Vernacular bookmarks

    wael morcos - When type mixes with art, superstitions, formalities, religious affiliations and social behaviour the result is a vernacular way of ...
  • Book: 

    1Stéphane Mallarmé's ‘Un Coup de dés’ translated, composed & printed in arabic!

    Sébastien Morlighem - A new french publisher, Ypsilon, teams up with moroccan poet Mohammed Bennis for a world premiere : the first bilingual french-arabic ...
  • animation film: 

    5Persepolis, story of an Iranian childhood

    An animated biography of an Iranian woman

    Edo Smitshuijzen - Sometimes the story about important developments in the Arab world are best told by reports about personal experiences. And sometimes ...
  • Generating Arabic Fonts

    Pascal Zoghbi - Developing and generating Arabic fonts is not as easy and straightforward as for Latin fonts.This article will cover Encoding, Glyph and ...
  • Khatt Project: 

    Typographic Matchmaking fonts in public spaces

    The BigVesta Arabic font used in Guggenheim exhibition design

    Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFares - the Vesta and BigVesta Arabic fonts are used on large scale environmental graphics and lettering for the Saadiyat Island Cultural ...
  • News Archive 2007

  • الشيخشاب

    حوار مع الفنان/ محي الدين اللباد

    Ahmed FOULA - محي الدين اللباد: ولد في القاهرة عام 1940؛ درس التصوير الزيتي في كلية الفنون ...
  • Arabesque Latin Font in Mainstream Publishing

    The Alef Pixel Caps, new drop cap initials for a hip Middle East lifestyle magazine

    Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFares - A new visual trend is certainly emerging in mainstream media where the political agendas have been voiced in subtle ways through playful ...
  • Mutanabbi Street Starts Here

    Broadsides collection

    Dr Geoffrey Roper - A heartfelt tribute by some traditional letterpress printers in America to the literary and bibliographical heritage of Iraq, and its ...
  • event: London

    London Book Fair 2008

    Arabic books central at the London Book Fair

    14 Apr 08 > 16 Apr 08 Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFares, Edo Smitshuijzen - This year's London Book Fair (14 - 16 April) has put the Arab world as its pivotal theme. This initiative has lead to a more general...
  • event: Emirates Palace

    The Arts of Islam

    Treasures from the Nasser D. Khalili Collection

    23 Jan 08 10:00 > 22 Apr 08 22:00 Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFares - Exhibition and Symposium at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
  • event: Dubai, Tashkeel

    Tashkeel Exhibition Call

    15 Mar 08 Lateefa - Tashkeel is currently calling for work for a group exhibition opening 15th March 2008 entitled "Vibrations Within" and would...
  • event: Alexandria, ACAF

    Cleotronica 08

    Festival for Media, Art, and Socio-Culture

    18 Jan 08 19 > 31 May 08 23 Bassam El Baroni - Cleotronica 08 is the inaugural version of Cleotronica a festival for media, art, and socio-culture organized by Alexandria Contemporary...
  • Erykah Badu and Arabic Muslim Culture

    with a controversial working album title, references and more

    Omar Al-Zo'bi - Erykah Badu is one of the most established Hip-Hop/Soul musicians in the United States as well internationally. She's been on the music ...
  • image: 

    Almosawer, Egyptian Magazine back from 1949

    Omar Al-Zo'bi -

    photograph of a rare publication by Ahmad S. Kamel

  • Project: 

    A turning point for Arabic typography and design

    Report on the Khatt Kufi & Kaffiya symposium and the Typographic Matchmaking project presentations.

    Edo Smitshuijzen, Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFares - The Typographic Matchmaking project ( Arabic fonts and book ), the Khatt online community (www.khtt.net), the Khatt Kufi and Kaffiya ...
  • Arabic Glyphs Proportions and Guidlines

    Pascal Zoghbi - The following article is a brief description of systems and guidelines used in Arabic calligraphy and Arabic type design field to ...
  • The Big Kashida Secret

    Edo Smitshuijzen - The great masters of Arabic calligraphy loved to show their skills but they did not put much of their knowledge on paper for others to ...
  • Article: 

    MS Embedded Open Type format

    Microsoft proposing the MS Embedded Open Type format

    - Microsoft is ready to propose to the World Wide Web Consortium (the W3C) that they adopt the MS Embedded Open Type format for all ...