Of the 7000+ human languages in the world, between 50–100 are supported digitally, with 10 languages making up 82% of all internet content.

Kourosh Beigpour's Jin is a digital typeface for Laki, a Kurdish language spoken in Western Iran and part of the Northwestern Iranian branch of the Indo-European family. Laki's linguistic structure preserves elements believed to descend from older Iranian forms, often linked to early stages of Old Persian. These layered histories give Laki a distinctive place within the linguistic landscape of Iran. Traditionally, the Laki language has been written in two ways, with examples of it being written using the Kurdish and Persian alphabet. Despite being spoken by several million people, the language has remained largely absent from the digital typographic environment. 

This booklet is part of series that highlights the work of designers who are creating digital typefaces for languages or writing systems that are underrepresented or entirely unsupported within current operating systems, keyboards, and digital technologies at large. The process for developing such typefaces requires intensive research, often with ongoing community collaboration and feedback. By providing a digital application for these languages, the type designers featured in this series contribute to the longevity of a language, and in turn, its cultural knowledges, oral histories, and ways of thinking. The project is made in partnership with SILICON (the Stanford Initiative on Language Inclusion and Conservation in Old and New Media).

Designed by Kourosh Beigpour and Sming Sming Books

Published by Sming Sming Books, 2026
Printed in an edition of 200 copies

Softcover, saddle-stitch binding, 28 pages, Risograph, 5 × 8 inches