Nadine Chahine

Nadine Chahine is a Lebanese type designer with a special interest in Arabic typography. She studied Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut and Typeface Design at the University of Reading, UK. During her study at Reading, she focused on the relationship of the Arabic and Latin scripts and the possibilities of creating a harmonious relationship between the two. She taught Arabic type design as a visiting lecturer at the American University in Dubai and is currently working at Linotype, Germany, as the Arabic specialist.

The Arabic script meets Latin typography

The world’s two dominant scripts, Latin and Arabic, are inherently different in terms of their direction, construction, and their history of development. These two scripts differ and contrast in more points than they meet; and when these two do meet, the Arabic part looks weaker and less present than the Latin one. It is then no surprise that designing typefaces that create a harmonious relationship between them is a very challenging task.

Amongst the many different styles of Arabic calligraphy, it is the noble simplicity of the earliest form of Kufi that provides a basis for typographic freedom. Whether it is a text face or a signage typeface, the unornamented clarity of the Early Kufi gives way to achieving a matching rhythm and an unprecedented sense of equality amongst the Latin and Arabic scripts. Both are now able to communicate on an equal platform and to march side by side in total harmony without loss of identity or culture.

The presentation will focus on the process of the design of multi script families and the different forms of dialigue that these scripts go to in order to arrive to an equal status. It will also showcase 3 projects as examples of harmonius relationship between Latin and Arabic scripts.