Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TypoArabic (Towards historically informed practice in contemporary Arabic typography)
Reporting period: 2019-06-03 to 2022-06-02
TypoArabic was conceived following a few key observations: contemporary Arabic typography lacks thoroughly researched literature, it is disconnected from its historical roots, and it frequently remains bound by technical concepts and models that emerged in the European tradition – inadequate for the authentic representation of the Arabic script with typography. TypoArabic therefore set out to research historical forms of Arabic typography as they were practised during a high-point of the craft in the Middle East: the second half of the nineteenth century. Casting a spotlight on local expertise, TypoArabic thus sought to use historical best practice models to inform contemporary typographic design.
The principal research activity consisted in the identification of representative samples of historical book typography from three publishing centres of the Middle East, their review, analysis, and evaluation. Volumes from key collections were selected to include a broad spectrum of genres; to feature productions from diverse print shops from Beirut, Cairo, and Istanbul; to contain examples from various points in time during the era considered; and to reflect previous research from related areas of study. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, central characteristics such as column measures, interlinear space, type size, fonts employed, the dimensions of margins, visual hierarchies, etc. were considered, measured, and recorded in a spreadsheet, producing a dataset that has been made publicly available for further research.
In parallel, outreach, dissemination, and exploitation activities were pursued. At the outset of the project, a web presence consisting of a blog and a twitter feed were established and used to communicate about TypoArabic. Outreach to scholarly peers and industry was performed from the start of the project, as for example through the participation in a workshop at the Centre for Manuscript Studies of the University of Hamburg in June 2019 and the annual conference of the ATypI in Tokyo in September 2019. As a result of these networking activities, the principal investigator (PI) began to contribute to the Text Layout Requirements for the Arabic Script by the W3C’s internationalisation group in November 2019 and was appointed co-editor in January 2020. A first editor’s draft of the document was published later in the year. In January 2020 the PI presented at the ATypI’s working seminar in Amiens, France. During this meeting co-authors for the final edited volume were met and invited to contribute, and an outline of the publication was discussed and planned.
In March 2020 the PI was due to present on challenges of Arabic script typography in the context of the TypeTech Munich conference on web and multilingual typography, but with the first wave of European lockdowns of the Covid-19 pandemic the event was postponed. Likewise, planned presentations by the PI at the Mashq conference in April 2020 in Beirut, and participation in a workshop at the Centre for Manuscript Studies of the University of Hamburg in August 2020 were cancelled.
In light of the radically changed situation for research, exploitation, and dissemination due to the pandemic, alternative means were sought, explored, and planned. The time of travel restrictions was used to write a series of extensive blog posts and to reach out via social networks to expand the project’s reach. Building on these activities, a article was written that considers the historical evolution of Arabic justification in manuscript practice, its implementation in typography, and the support for its techniques in contemporary software environments. ‘On Arabic justification’ was peer-reviewed, accepted for publication, and included in volume 23 of the Journal of Electronic Publishing. The paper elicited considerable interest, including the invitation of the prinicpal researcher to an informal peer group that prepared proposals for improvements of the industry standard OpenType. During the project duration, the article was also translated into Arabic and made available through an online platform to extend its potential reach. As part of the proceedings of the Hamburg workshop in mid-2019, a chapter was contributed to the edited volume Manuscript and Print in the Islamic Tradition. The paper, ‘Overlooked: The role of craft in the adoption of typography in the Muslim Middle East’ will be published in September 2022 in the Gold Open Access series Studies in Manuscript Cultures vol 26.
In early 2021 the PI secured a publishing contract for an edited volume with the Swiss design publisher niggli for the main output of TypoArabic. The book assembles contributions by three fellow Arabic typography scholars and two essays of the PI, and is complemented by an introduction and a preface by two leading authors in the field. The volume, Arabic Typography: History and Practice weaves together substantive scholarly discussion with applied perspectives on contemporary design practice, providing a model for the combination of research and practice that transcends the subject of Arabic typography. The volume is due to be published in autumn 2022.
Other outreach activities included the PI featured in two episodes of the podcast Quantization, produced by the OCAD in Canada, and a YouTube interview of the PI that was recorded by Mohamed Gaber for designrepository.design an online platform that seeks to become a hub of information and exchange for designers of the Middle East.
In parallel, outreach, dissemination, and exploitation activities were pursued. At the outset of the project, a web presence consisting of a blog and a twitter feed were established and used to communicate about TypoArabic. Outreach to scholarly peers and industry was performed from the start of the project, as for example through the participation in a workshop at the Centre for Manuscript Studies of the University of Hamburg in June 2019 and the annual conference of the ATypI in Tokyo in September 2019. As a result of these networking activities, the principal investigator (PI) began to contribute to the Text Layout Requirements for the Arabic Script by the W3C’s internationalisation group in November 2019 and was appointed co-editor in January 2020. A first editor’s draft of the document was published later in the year. In January 2020 the PI presented at the ATypI’s working seminar in Amiens, France. During this meeting co-authors for the final edited volume were met and invited to contribute, and an outline of the publication was discussed and planned.
In March 2020 the PI was due to present on challenges of Arabic script typography in the context of the TypeTech Munich conference on web and multilingual typography, but with the first wave of European lockdowns of the Covid-19 pandemic the event was postponed. Likewise, planned presentations by the PI at the Mashq conference in April 2020 in Beirut, and participation in a workshop at the Centre for Manuscript Studies of the University of Hamburg in August 2020 were cancelled.
In light of the radically changed situation for research, exploitation, and dissemination due to the pandemic, alternative means were sought, explored, and planned. The time of travel restrictions was used to write a series of extensive blog posts and to reach out via social networks to expand the project’s reach. Building on these activities, a article was written that considers the historical evolution of Arabic justification in manuscript practice, its implementation in typography, and the support for its techniques in contemporary software environments. ‘On Arabic justification’ was peer-reviewed, accepted for publication, and included in volume 23 of the Journal of Electronic Publishing. The paper elicited considerable interest, including the invitation of the prinicpal researcher to an informal peer group that prepared proposals for improvements of the industry standard OpenType. During the project duration, the article was also translated into Arabic and made available through an online platform to extend its potential reach. As part of the proceedings of the Hamburg workshop in mid-2019, a chapter was contributed to the edited volume Manuscript and Print in the Islamic Tradition. The paper, ‘Overlooked: The role of craft in the adoption of typography in the Muslim Middle East’ will be published in September 2022 in the Gold Open Access series Studies in Manuscript Cultures vol 26.
In early 2021 the PI secured a publishing contract for an edited volume with the Swiss design publisher niggli for the main output of TypoArabic. The book assembles contributions by three fellow Arabic typography scholars and two essays of the PI, and is complemented by an introduction and a preface by two leading authors in the field. The volume, Arabic Typography: History and Practice weaves together substantive scholarly discussion with applied perspectives on contemporary design practice, providing a model for the combination of research and practice that transcends the subject of Arabic typography. The volume is due to be published in autumn 2022.
Other outreach activities included the PI featured in two episodes of the podcast Quantization, produced by the OCAD in Canada, and a YouTube interview of the PI that was recorded by Mohamed Gaber for designrepository.design an online platform that seeks to become a hub of information and exchange for designers of the Middle East.
Societal relevance
Arabic typography and type design have experienced a surge of interest and activity over the course of the last twenty years. Driven by economic factors such as the booming economies of the Gulf states, Arabic typographic design has attained unprecedented relevance. However, this dynamic was not accompanied by matching scholarly enquiry or technical developments, resulting in a practice that lacks a critical discourse. This is particularly noticeable in formal design education, where training has to make do with little recourse to sound reference works and relevant literature. The publications of TypoArabic directly contribute to closing that gap and provide a model for using research to inform practice that is agnostic of language or script.
Scholarly relevance
Whereas the history of print and the history of the book in the Middle East have seen significant scholarly debate since the turn of the millenium, the material properties of these subjects have received scant attention. Contemporary Arabic typography, on the other hand, has yet to fully appreciate historical research as a key source for current design challenges. In order to address these issues, TypoArabic has worked across disciplinary boundaries, engaging questions relevant to scholars of the modern Middle East and historians of print, economy, and design, as well as to typographic designers of today. Straddling contemporary design practice and historiography, the project’s publications offer perspectives of craft and materiality for consideration in scholarly discussions that focus on textual enquiries, and provide contemporary design practice with sound historical foundations. The combination of appraisals of historical Arabic typography from a design perspective, embedded in a narrative that connects with discussions of Middle Eastern modernity, colonialism, and emancipation, is a first in the field.
Arabic typography and type design have experienced a surge of interest and activity over the course of the last twenty years. Driven by economic factors such as the booming economies of the Gulf states, Arabic typographic design has attained unprecedented relevance. However, this dynamic was not accompanied by matching scholarly enquiry or technical developments, resulting in a practice that lacks a critical discourse. This is particularly noticeable in formal design education, where training has to make do with little recourse to sound reference works and relevant literature. The publications of TypoArabic directly contribute to closing that gap and provide a model for using research to inform practice that is agnostic of language or script.
Scholarly relevance
Whereas the history of print and the history of the book in the Middle East have seen significant scholarly debate since the turn of the millenium, the material properties of these subjects have received scant attention. Contemporary Arabic typography, on the other hand, has yet to fully appreciate historical research as a key source for current design challenges. In order to address these issues, TypoArabic has worked across disciplinary boundaries, engaging questions relevant to scholars of the modern Middle East and historians of print, economy, and design, as well as to typographic designers of today. Straddling contemporary design practice and historiography, the project’s publications offer perspectives of craft and materiality for consideration in scholarly discussions that focus on textual enquiries, and provide contemporary design practice with sound historical foundations. The combination of appraisals of historical Arabic typography from a design perspective, embedded in a narrative that connects with discussions of Middle Eastern modernity, colonialism, and emancipation, is a first in the field.