TypeAraby is a hub for Arabic typography that integrates pedagogy, discourse, and practice. Operating from a space of revisionism and the decolonization of design education and research, it is not concerned with linear progress or a formal evolution of type design, but with a philosophical conversation between form and meaning, one that embraces language and tradition as living inspiration. By confronting prevailing biases against non-Western cultures in design, the lab offers a counter-narrative that celebrates the richness of Arabic visual culture, traditional craft, and Eastern philosophies, while challenging outdated assumptions about their incompatibility with modern design. Language is the lab's focal point, not only for artistic expression but for engaging with political and social ideas. This unfolds across three lines of inquiry: type as spiritual and indigenous knowledge, craft as a form of knowing, and the politics of the script across past and present. Its design production reflects a profound contemplation of, and grappling with, the nuanced similarities and differences within our individual cultural contexts.
Basma Hamdy Founder and Principal Investigator of TypeAraby
Shima Aeinehdar Post Graduate Fellow
Selma Fejzullaj Post Graduate Fellow
Additional Members
Zainab AlShibani
Naima Al Majodoba
Past Lab Members
Maha Akl
Sarah AlAfifi
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Institute for Creative Research