Typographic Matchmaking

$36.00

Building Cultural Bridges with Typeface Design

By Huda Smitshuijzen-Abifarès

Typographic Matchmaking presents the first government-funded design research project that aimed to support cultural integration within society though design collaboration. This intercultural project brought together five teams of Arab and Dutch type designers to create a fully integrated Arabic extension to five existing and established Latin font families.

The five projects discussed in this book pose questions about the aesthetic and technical issues concerning the creation of Arabic fonts as companions to Latin ones, addressing modern communication needs in the Arab world.

The resulting five Arabic typefaces were widely used throughout the (Arab)world, charting a new trend in Arabic type design. Eventually, all these fonts were further developed and became part of the collection of established font foundries. One type design received the TDC award for excellence in Typeface Design, and for four of the Dutch type designers this project was the start of a continued career in Arabic type design and font production.

This second edition presents the design process of the original project, and additionally showcases—on additional colored pages—a sample of the way the fonts have been used by designers around the world.

Typographic Matchmaking serves as both a concise guide and a source of inspiration for modern Arabic type designs.

Published by Khatt Books
Second edition, 2012

Softcover, 176 pages, b&w with a few color images, 6.25 × 9.5 inches

ISBN: 978-9-06-369124-0