An elegant contemporary Arabic and Latin type characterize the new corporate identity of Shawati’ Magazine, Abu Dhabi. The new design and layout of the magazine was complemented by the creation of a unique Arabic and Latin Display type.
The new corporate identity of Shawati’ Magazine was launched in April 2012. The selected images show the use of Shawati’ Corporate Type set in the magazine for titles and introductory text.
The type supports both Arabic and English since Shawati’ Magazine is bilingual.
Arabic Type Designer: Pascal Zoghbi
Latin Type Designer: Ian Party from Swiss Typefaces
Each letter has been designed in special way; making sure all of them had the extreme thick and extreme thin pen strokes. The extreme contrast was coupled with strong cuts and edges to give the font a strong and crispy feel.
The Arabic is inspired from both Naskh and Thuluth calligraphic styles while the Latin is drawn based on the Modern Serif Roman style. The letterforms are drawn with extreme refinement and high contrast between the thick and thin pen strokes that unveil modernity in a stylish approach. The Arabic and Latin were created simultaneously and without any sacrifice from one script on behalf of the other. The elements that bring both scripts together are: the design approach, the proportions, the weight and the contrast.
Sketches from the first stage of the design process investigating the concept of creating Naskh and Thuluth based letterforms with extreme contrast.
The Arabic letters are drawn with a free approach. The letterforms’ descenders are cut in an elegant thin open stroke instead of curving back into the main figure of the letter.
The loop structures in the letters were drawn in an original manner with extra-extended strokes with thin endings, as opposed to the traditional fully circular or triangular approach.
The weight of the tooth in the letters is a balance play between thick and thin strokes that lend the letterforms a unique contemporary feel with a sturdy structure.
