Clarimo Arabic is my contribution to the global multi-script typeface family Clarimo (formerly ShinGo) by the Japanese type foundry Morisawa. The Arabic complement forms part of a substantial expansion of language support that the Rosetta Typefoundry did for Morisawa. In this context and in parallel to my design work I had the privilege to manage and coordinate the team responsible for the Devanagari and Thai designs, namely Ben Mitchel, Florian Runge, Vaibhav Singh, and Sasikarn Vongin. More about the scope of the entire project can be read on Rosetta’s website.

The Arabic design was developed in parallel to Devanagari and Thai, and was conceived to complement the existing Japanese (designed by Morisawa) and Latin (designed by Kent Lew) scripts. Clarimo is part of Morisawa’s Universal Design series, which emphasise clarity and legibility. All ornamentation and chirographic references are reduced to a minimum to achieve a high degree of functionality. The letterforms are thus characterised by essential forms, and are typical multi-purpose workhorse types.

The Arabic design reflects these features in a clear, minimal and highly contemporary interpretation of the Naskh style. Its slightly flaring terminals, paired with open counters and unambiguous letter constructions make Clarimo Arabic distinct and matching its Japanese counterpart, yet highly functional.