The Arabic Type Design Archive

Hermann Zapf, the designer of fonts such as Palatino, Optima, Zapfino, Melior, Aldus, and the quirky, yet very beloved, Zapf Dingbats, had a prolific career. One of the pioneers of computerized typography, Zapf worked on many fonts, but his personal favorite was the humanist sans serif typeface Optima, the lettering chosen for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington, DC. Born in Nuremburg, Zapf started to experiment with font-making as a child. He served as a cartographer for the German army during WWII, drawing maps of Spain. At the end of the war, he was imprisoned by the French but said he was treated well. “They had a great deal of respect for me as an ‘artiste’” he wrote. “I think the French still have this respect today.”

With over 27 years of experience in art and design across the GCC, Lara leads Landor’s creative efforts in the Middle East, aligning the company’s global vision with local dynamics and fostering talent. Prior to joining Landor, she was Creative Director of Design for Apple in the Middle East from 2016 to 2022. Lara initially joined Landor in Dubai in 2001, where she contributed to key projects such as Brand Jordan, Commercial Bank of Dubai, and Al Tayer Group, staying until 2005.

Hi, I’m Ehsan, a graphic designer and typographer. My passion lies in blending different lettering and calligraphic cultures. In collaboration with Nahaaki Studio, I’ve had the honor of designing and redesigning logotypes for well-known brands such as Delester and Abali. For the typeface Doran, together with Reza Bakhtiari-Fard and Fereshteh Iranshahi, I designed the Armenian version of the font.

I’m a graphic designer, originally from Beirut, Lebanon. I’m also a type designer with a focus on Arabic Typography. After working for studios like SAATCHI, Commercial Type, MTWTF, C&G partners and Base Design I recently started working on my own taking on branding and design projects while working on typeface design.

Born in 1971 in Tehran, a graphic designer, specializing in visual identity and typography participated in several group calligraphy exhibitions Published works featured in the book "Iranian Logotypes" by Afraoui Publications in 2018 Awarded as the top contributor in the "Illustration" category in 2018

NamelaType is a type foundry based in Magelang, Indonesia operated by Nur Syamsi and Bustanul Arifin. Passionate about harmonizing Latin and Arabic fonts, we aim to create innovative solutions that align their weight, shape, and style—despite their opposite flows—while exceeding our own and our readers’ expectations.

Founded by Neil Summerour in 2000. A trained designer, lettering artist, and calligrapher, Summerour established Positype to accentuate the craft behind producing typefaces. The subtleties of mass, perfect imperfections, warmth, and uniqueness are foundational tenets to developing the foundry’s commercial offerings with the ultimate goal of producing useful and reliable fonts.

Alef Type Foundry is a small typeface design studio based in Paris, France. We are specialized in Arabic and matchmaking type design.

Babelfont is an independent type foundry in Paris and Marrakech. We design multiscript typefaces — Arabic, Latin, Tifinagh, and Korean. Our goal is simple: connect cultures through letterforms.
 The language of the future is multiscript.

F37® Foundry is an award-winning type foundry that creates fonts and logotypes to help businesses stand apart. As well as understanding the minutiae of letterform aesthetics, we create beautifully crafted type families that align perfectly with the identities and sensibilities of the companies we work with.