Omnes is one of Darden Studio’s best-selling typefaces. It is used worldwide for many products and services, and is particularly popular for packaging. In the course of an extended expansion in styles and languages, Darden Studio commissioned me to conceive the Arabic version of Omnes.

The qualities of Omnes do not fall neatly within any narrow genre. Its characteristics change subtly through the weight range, and evoke different associations. Whilst at first glance Omnes appears playful, soft, and even cuddly, a closer look reveals that these traits are very controlled, and never stray too far from fairly conventional type forms. The shapes are highly synthetic, and far removed from traces of a writing tool – in apparent contrast to the most common Arabic typefaces.

The design of Omnes Arabic takes these features to a very different typographic heritage, and seeks to balance family resemblance with fidelity to the script. Further to this stylistic tightrope walk, Omnes Arabic covers an extreme weight range, from hairline to black, opening up new possibilities for Arabic typographic design.

Thanks to Joyce Ketterer, Eben Sorkin, John Hudson, and Quinn Keaveney, who all contributed in different ways to this project.

The product mockups on this page are shown by courtesy of Darden Studio.