Response to Arabic Storyline 1st draft

5 August 2009

Max:

Looking at you sample I removed the baseline from the word space. When I compare the Latin and the Arabic, I see that the Arabic is vertical and the Latin is more horizontal. In general it looks bolder too. I don't know what your text says, but I think that doesn't matter much for it visual impression. I think you have almost reached the limits of simplification and compressing, so what I need to investigate is to incorporate more verticalness in the Latin. What do you think?

Naji:

It says "When we went to Rome the days passed faster and the nights were darker" "Hisham, Max, Naji"
>>so what I need to investigate is to incorporate more verticalness in the Latin. What do you think?
I think this is due to 2 facts, that in Arabic letters are trying to act like capital letters (always trying to reach the full X hight), and the other fact is that you used more lower case in your Latin sample. The solution is already their, if you use more capitals and less lower case letters we can reach the same balance in verticals. I think Arabic should be adjusted too in order to have less verticals (less upper-case like letters) and more lower-case like letters. If you look at the first line in Arabic (image under) you'll find almost the same movement as in Latin, some nice ups and downs, that we lose while going down till the end... It all depends on the amount of upper-case and lower-case letters you use in Latin in one sentence. It is only a matter of "dosage" that we have to define. What do you think?

Max:

Yes, I think you are right. I used regular Caps and Low. As far as it was regular then... But this comes closer already...
I see I made the dots alittle bigger. It would be good to use the baseline in Latin similar for dots or other marks.