Revolutionizing digital calligraphy in Saudi Arabia

Revolutionizing digital calligraphy in Saudi Arabia

Revolutionizing digital calligraphy in Saudi Arabia

JEDDAH: Adapting Arabic letters to technology has been a challenge since the first printing practices arrived in the Arab world in the 18th century.

There have been many developments since Arabic was first introduced to computers in the 1980s. Calligraphy enthusiasts, however, yearn for something to take it to the next level.

"The current technology was initially built only for the Latin script, although it was extended and modified later to accept other languages including Arabic as a result of globalization. Arabic script was among those languages that compromised a lot of its beauty to be accommodated in the (modern digital) font system,“ Fahad Al-Rashed, co-founder of Kaleam, a calligraphy design platform, told Arab News. 

The problem arises from the simplification needed for use on computers. Arabic writing is mainly cursive, where letters are attached, unlike Latin. To resolve this, some designers tried to Latinize Arabic letters in a detached set type.

Al-Rashed believes that Arabic does not need to be simplified any more, especially with technology today being advanced enough to accommodate the requirements of calligraphic typefaces. 

He thinks it is time to solve the problem from the roots and build new technology to digitize the Arabic script while