This article was first published in Digital Fonts and Reading, 150–172, edited by Mary C. Dyson and Ching Y. Suen, Series on Language Processing, Pattern Recognition, and Intelligent Systems, vol. 1, (Singapore: World Scientific, 2016). Introduction In 1993 Charles Bigelow and Kris Holmes published ‘The design of a Unicode font’ [1993], an account of the […]
This was text originally presented by Dr Fiona Ross as a talk at the First annual Friends of St Bride conference, 24 & 25 September 2002. It had since been hosted on the website of the St Bride Library London, yet recent changes in its structure, management, and website made this important resource vanish. I am honoured […]
This text was first published on 15 November 2016 in a slightly modified version on Rosetta’s website at the occasion of the launch of Skolar Sans Arabic. When I received the brief for the design of Skolar Sans Arabic, David made it sound fairly straightforward. It was an extension to an existing design, wherein […]
First published on Typographica on May 9, 2016. In Arabic type design, novelty rules. This is understandable given that for too long, little was happening in terms of stylistic and conceptual exploration. Recently this has changed; now you get the extensions, the superfamilies and the like, and they attract. It might appear as if […]
In March 2014 I was contacted by two students of the University of Tehran, Maryam Khaleghi Yazdi and Ramin Pahlavan Hoseini. They were working on their MA thesis under the supervision of Dr. Sedaghat Jabbari. With the working title ‘A Research on Diverse Methods of Designing Farsi/ Arabic typefaces’ Maryam and Ramin wanted to explore current […]
I’ve put this list together for my various students. It’s an introductory collection of a range of different materials on various subjects. It’s loosely structured into three categories, though obviously there is some overlap. Approaches to type and extended context Bringhurst, Robert, (2002), ‘Voices, languages and scripts’, in Berry, John (ed.), Language Culture Type, […]
Gerry Leonidas asked me to put together a list of Arabic typefaces worth studying: examples which I found of particular relevance for students who seek key examples of exemplary practice (something along similar lines as his own list for Greek). The following, generally chronological list, is meant to be an introductory selection, and does not […]
My PhD has not been published yet, although you can find an article based on my research in Typography Papers 9, published by Hyphen Press. In the meantime you may be interested in consulting the abstract. PDF download (15KB) As is widely known, the MA in Reading features substantial research as part of its […]
In April 2013 I was asked to write one (!) paragraph about Arabic type design for the Smashing Book #4. Although impossible, I tried to produce a concise summary. Eventually the part of the book it should have featured in got cut, instead I publish it here. Designing Arabic type requires all the considerations […]
‘Note on the new edition of Aisha’, first published on the blog of Rosetta in April 2014. Innovation in type design can take a few different routes. It may follow formal experimentation, or result from the variation on existing themes. Often innovation is necessitated by external constraints, typically in the form of changing media, […]