maajoun was commissioned a short opinion piece on the possibilities of Arabic type design, to be featured in The Outpost‘s pilot issue, published in September. Below is the unedited version of this piece.

Type design is the practice of creating typefaces. This practice is rather complex; it requires a deep knowledge in the history of type, a solid understanding of type anatomy, a capacity to draw beautiful letter shapes and a strong technical know-how that allows the designer to turn their letters into a functional font that could be used on multiple platforms depending on the intended usage of their font.

The possibilities of type design are numerous, and vary between traditional and contemporary. Traditionally, type design allows us to conserve our typographic culture through a digital recreation of calligraphic and lettering writing styles that are in the process of disappearing, as well as metal type forms that are no longer in use due to the shift from metal to photographic then digital printing.

The past decade has witnessed the rise of what is commonly referred to as open type fonts, which are smart fonts that allow the user to maximize on the esthetic qualities of their text through various letter combinations and variations.

Due to globalization and the evolution of cross-cultural communication, designers have also been exploring multiscript typography; many fonts nowadays support different languages and allow us to use more than one language within the same text.

Furthermore, digital technologies have paved the way to a whole new set of possibilities. Type designers are now developing ways to maximize on the esthetic qualities of their text on the web, on smart phones and tablets. Designers are also exploring the usage of type in 3D gaming environments and augmented reality, and are experimenting with 3D printing, be it in small scale such as in the case of jewelry, or in big scale such as outdoor sculptures in public spaces.

The truth is: type design today is more open to possibilities and explorations than ever before. All explorations however rest primarily on two pillars, a historical knowledge of letterforms, and the ability to develop technologies that can support the explorations that we desire to undertake. Unfortunately, both pillars are rather underdeveloped in the Arab world.

In this perspective, if we intend to fully explore the possibilities of Arabic type design today, we need to put an effort into understanding and archiving our calligraphic and typographic heritage, and an even bigger effort in developing the technologies that are needed to explore our script within the current digital era.

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On September 28, Beirut’s Saint Georges Bay hosted the launch celebration of Masha3 which is a people’s initiative to reclaim and create public spaces in Beirut. The launch party grouped supporters from across the arts; performers, musicians, DJs, illustrators and designers. maajoun was delighted to take part of this launch; we participated with a simple idea that was adapted to a poster and postcards, a 42″ animation and an interactive wall.

Strategically, the initiative chose to start campaigning around the backfilled Beiruti waterfront, notably the area in between the western port currently known as the Marina and the eastern port which is still under construction. Solidere Real Estate Development company aims to transform this area into a money-making business hub, while Masha3 argues that, by law, any backfilled area is and should remain public property.

When we first met with the Masha3 team who introduced their project to us, they brought up several number based facts that sounded quite shocking. One fact that we couldn’t get past was that 1m2 on the Marina was being rented out to Solidere (by the government) for 2500 LBP/year, i.e. no more than 2 USD!

So we tweeted a simple question: ‘what can you buy for 2500 LBP’? And collected the rather funny answers that we got into a poster which lists the many items you can buy for 2500 LBP; highlighting the absurdity of the current yearly rent price for 1m2 in the Marina. The idea was then adapted to a series of postcards and a little animation.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For the event itself, we also created an interactive wall where people could fill in the different items they can buy for 2500 LBP. The results (some of which are guaranteed to put a smile on your face) can be viewed in this flickr album.

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After many months of work, thisisegg.com was finally launched. The result clearly shows how well crafted copy could enhance visuals – and vice versa.

We met the guys at egg around a year ago when we had just started. Originally a two-people start-up like us, egg had a lot of advice for us on the logistics and dynamics of small creative businesses. Some time later, Egg came to us for their website. They had a very clear idea about the visual style they were seeking, many ideas for content presentation and so little content  (they had opted for not showing any client work within their site). With this in mind, the website which is relatively low on information, was to be primarily designed as a vehicle which would relay egg’s identity and culture more than anything else.

This led us to explore an alternative kind of navigation; the site was conceived to operate like a massive sheet of paper that the viewer travels through. Organically in the form of a promenade, or systematically through the menu buttons which would lead you to specific x-y coordinates depending on the information you are looking for.

The egg promenade was made possible by our amazing web wizard Salim Hbeiliny.

The work also included logo lifting and development of stationery.

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Type designer Yara Khoury shares her experience on designing the first 3-D typeface ‘Kasheeda’ through an inspiring interview hosted by the maajouns. In addition to her independent practice, Yara is design director in Mohtaraf Beirut Graphics and faculty member in Notre Dame University (NDU) in Lebanon.

01. Can you start by telling us how you got interested in type design in general?

It all started during my undergraduate studies in NDU. The design program in NDU is quite focused on typography, which is probably an influence taken on from Professor Peter Rea who had re-structured the whole program at the university a few years back on the model of the Bauhaus school. My MA study in Middlesex was also type-focused. But mostly I would say I got deeply involved in type through the practical work I do at Mohtaraf Beirut Graphics–a very calligraphy and type-oriented graphic design studio. The studio’s work has a long history or tradition in calligraphic practices that started off with calendars and then gradually progressed into type design.

02. And how did you get involved in the Typographic Matchmaking (TMM) project?

I was recommended to Huda Abi Fares for the translation of the first Typographic Matchmaking book. Translating type design related terms was a tricky task that seemed to be more fit for an Arab speaking designer rather than an actual translator who had no notion of design or more particularly type design. And since I had a long history with Mohtaraf and the Arabic language graphics per se, I was able to do this kind of translation. Of course I had a hard time with it!

I did extensive readings on Arabic calligraphy and the terms it abided by and tried to match or find relevance in its vocabulary to that of type design, from counters, to baselines and tooth height etc… So that’s how I got involved! Then came the time for the second edition where I was invited on board as a type designer this time around.

03. In collaboration with Melle Hammer, you developed the first 3-D typeface. Can you tell us about the process? How was your idea born? And how did it evolve?

During the first meeting in Amsterdam, we showed each other our work to see if we can try to find any links in the way we think. Melle has a very pragmatic approach to problem solving and is highly experimental. While I work in a very corporate environment with impossible deadlines, experimentation is unfortunately rarely a part of my daily work process. This is why working with Melle was a very exciting opportunity. While explaining to Melle all the intricacies of the Arabic alphabet in our first meeting, he had asked me to draw the word “bridge”. This is when Melle crashed a bag full of tagliatelle that he spread on a table and within these pieces we could already identify some letter shapes. Then I showed him how we could simulate a calligraphic pen using two pens attached, and somehow he visually connected this to a ribbon. From there on our idea to create a typeface that exists only in 3-D, and that can be read from a specific angle was born! From this point on, we started working with bendable metal strips that we used to shape Arabic and Latin letters. It took us some time to decide on which material to use, the material kind of determines the way your letter shapes bend, how sharp they bend or how resistant they are etc. And we really wanted the metal to simulate a loose ribbon, steering away from the geometric. So, initial prototypes were bent from thin strips of metal, however for the final production, bending was too hard to calibrate. Casting was also considered but was too costly. In the final analysis, three-dimensional rapid printing/ prototyping was the best option. This process makes an object by layering thin strands of plastic material and allows for multiple compound shapes to be generated efficiently from computer files. It took us almost a year of drawing and back and forth dialogue that led to the final product.

04. We have seen quite a few 3-D renderings of fonts and some 3-D pieces like furniture made of letters and letter shapes. How is ‘Kasheeda’ different?

We have looked into 3-D typeface examples, most of what we found was letters that were constructed in 3-D like sculptures, or simply words that were designed in 2-D then extruded into 3-D existence. But none of these functioned as a typeface completely conceived in 3-D space that you can use to print a 3-D object. So I would say the main difference is accessibility, the fact that this is a commercial set of reproducible letterforms that you can physically print in any size you like, whether you want to use it to engulf a building, or print a small pendant that you can wear around your neck. As far as we know, this is the first of its kind. Kasheeda is born in 3-D and lives in 3-D only.

05. How far is your outcome from your initial idea?

Not far at all actually. The tagliatelle pieces that we started with look very similar to the letters that we ended up with. The hardest part of the work was about transferring this piece of bending metal into a digital format that can be easily printed in 3-D; modeling these letters in 3-D was an agony that went through several phases. For example, I had to visit Amsterdam to work with Freedom of Creation on the refinement of the drawings and then Melle had to visit Beirut to work with Ramzi Zahar on another round of modifications. It is a very difficult task to transform those abstract metal shapes into accurate 3-D renderings. What we needed is a reverse engineering sort of solution where we can scan the object and it directly translates into a ready 3-D drawing. That would have saved a lot of time and effort.

06. Printing your typeface depends on a complex 3-D printing technology. Can you tell us more about this technology and how it affected your work process?

Three-dimensional ‘kasheeda’ typeface was fabricated using a 3-D printing machine that outputs a digital file as a three-dimensional form by depositing thin layers of plastic in successive strands. That is the technology. The 3-D printer understands your 3-D drawing using a 3-D software, and it prints it starting from the base going up layer by layer. It is a very lengthy and time-consuming process. One can add any sort of minute detail to the letterforms using this technology, such as the clicking system. Kasheeda-Arabic and Kasheeda-Latin 3-D fonts can be clicked together into flowing bands to form words on a sloping baseline for the Latin and a straight one for the Arabic.

Click here to view the embedded video.

07. Printing type in 3-D is a new experiment. Do you feel that this experiment will die out eventually? Or will it evolve into a trend that other designers will attempt to follow?

I hope it evolves into more than a trend. It would be interesting to see how other type designers can experiment with this technology and with this way of visualizing letterforms.

08. Are there any future plans for Kasheeda?

To start with, we would love to refine these letterforms furthermore. So the most immediate plan is to find some funding for this task. We also hope that somebody decides to do something with it, this font is designed to be used in public areas and all the shapes are really interesting for all sorts of spaces such playgrounds, building facades, fences, living rooms and even around someone’s neck or finger as jewelry pieces. Our plans also depend on our partners Freedom of Creation (FOC), who are transferring our digital data into print, and are in charge of the website.

The kasheeda font can be ordered online in a variety of sizes at: www.kasheeda.com.

Photos and video courtesy of Yara Khoury and Melle Hammer.

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In March, the maajouns were invited to take a shot at the famous 20×20 format during the 10th edition of Pecha Kucha Night Beirut.

The event took place in Art Lounge and featured 12 speakers: Koulourz, Hibr, Nadine Feghaly, Noel Nasr and Mary-Angela Willis, Rana Abou Rjeily, maajoun, AsILE, Wissam Koteit, Hote Libanais, Nino Azzi, Laboratoire d’Art and Mashallah News. For those who have missed on the actual presentation, we prepared a small video of the slide show. Many thanks for Bilal Yamani who helped us record the sound in his home studio.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For more about ‘Shimal’ click here.

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Horsh Beirut, also known as ‘Horsh al-Sanawbar’ or ‘Bois de Pins’ is one of the few green spaces left in the city of Beirut after concrete has taken over. This green space –which area is in constant shrinking– has been closed to the public since 1992.

Nahnoo have been working hard on a campaign that advocates the reopening of ‘Horsh Beirut’. Primarily targeted at the municipality and other governmental entities, the campaign approaches the topic from a legal perspective and highlights the many social and health related advantages of reopening the space. The campaign also offers a clear logistical plan for this reopening; i.e. opening times, security and maintenance measures.

As part of this campaign that touches each and every single Beiruti, maajoun developed an A4 brochure which opens into an A2 poster that could be hung in your living room. On a double note, one that attempts to imagine the space repopulated, and one that looks back to the time when it was actually populated with great nostalgia, the brochure uses Letraset figures; a typical retro medium used to populate architectural perspectives back in the 60s and 70s.

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To mark the beginning of 2011, and the launch of our studio, we ventured into a play-dough session where we had great fun confectioning our mini-mes. These were designed to star in the first maajoun greeting card.

The process was simple, somewhat meditative, and definitely messy! A full account of the operation can be viewed on our flickr page.

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Arek comes first in Granshan’s Armenian text typefaces category, and takes home the competition’s Grand Prize! The third International Eastern Type Design Competition for Armenian, Cyrillic and Greek typefaces, took place on Sep. 9 to 12, during the ATypI conference in Dublin.

Developed during my studies at the Royal Academy of Art in the Hague (KABK), Arek is an Armenian typeface initially designed to be used for schoolbooks. A modern interpretation of the ancient Armenian script used in old manuscripts, it currently comprises an upright and cursive style in two weights; regular and black. Arek is a typeface rich in various OpenType features such as ligatures and contextual alternates, developed to remain true to the original structure of Armenian letter shapes.

Co-founder of Armenotype.com Hrant Papazian recently interviewed me to discuss Arek, the work process behind it, the typeface’s characteristics and future plans. For the complete interview, please click here. You can also view more images of Arek and its process book at debakir.com

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A group of 22 artists and designers from the Netherlands, Egypt and the Middle East have met in Amsterdam this summer (Jul-Sep 2010) for a mapping project initiated by the Mediamatic foundation.

The different mapping exercises have resulted in an exhibition and a travel guide which was published as a supplement in one of Amsterdam’s most highly circulated dailies Het Parool. Maajoun was happy to lead the design team which was responsible for the identity of the project, and the design of the travel guide. This experience was one of a kind for us: it was the first time we work within such a big team of artists, designers, researchers, editors, writers and translators. And the first time our work results in a roomful of printed matter: more than 106.000 copies of the guide were printed at one go!

Participants and project kick-off

The project kicked off with a three-evening educational event on diverse mapping practices, which was open to the public. The program “Mapping Festival” featured inspiring work presented by Malkit Shoshan, Annelys de Vet, Christian Nold, Wietske Maas, Richard Rogers, Catalogtree, De Geuzen, and many others. For more about the speakers and their respective talks, you are invited to visit the following pages:
Evening 1 / Mapping for Change
Evening 2 / Mapping for Clarity
Evening 3 / Mapping Ignite

In parallel to that, the different artists and designers were getting to know each other. Each participant gave a presentation to introduce themselves as well as their work itineraries. Participants  were Ahmed Kamel, Ayman Ramadan, Engy Aly, Tunctunctunc, Ganzeer, Khajag Apelian, Sarah van Sonsbeeck, Golfstromen, Foundland, Wietske Maas, Kaweh Modiri, Kareem Lotfy, Lara Balaa, Lynn Amhaz, Mahmoud Hamdy, Malak Helmy, Melle Smets, Malkit Shoshan and Jan Rothuizen.

One of the main strengths of the Noord project lies in the fact that the lines were blurred between the different functions. Since day one, both designers and artists were encouraged to think of editorial content, artistic contributions and the form of the publication. Still, the main design team was comprised of four members; Khajag Apelian, Lara Balaa, Engy Aly and Lynn Amhaz, each of whom brought their personal touch to the table, from stylistic approaches to typography and pattern making. To know more about the designers involved, feel free to check the following interviews:
Interview with Khajag Apelian
Interview with Lara Balaa
Interview with Engy Aly
Interview with Lynn Amhaz

In the two weeks that followed, we were encouraged to attend many organized activities which were meant to familiarize us with Northern Amsterdam. Such activities included full-day bike tours, a tour with the neighborhood policeman, a trip to the Historical Center of North Amsterdam, and way too many dinners! During this time, and for the remaining period of the project, most participants resided in a small constellation of old houses located in a part of Amsterdam North which was subject to a massive gentrification process. Being neighbors helped us enjoy a generally outdated – and very Arab – neighborly relationship whereby one can easily drop by the neighbors’ place to ask for some rice to complete their dinner meal or an extra chair for one of their too many visitors.

Finally, our account of our stay in North Amsterdam would not be complete unless we share our ferry experience with you. Everyday, our trip to the Mediamatic premises and back included – besides the regular bike ride – a three minute ferry trip, best described as a full-fledged timeout.

The design process

Blurring the lines between editorial and design work (form and content) was definitely one of the fundamental principles behind this project. The project leaders Willem Velthoven and Jans Possel encouraged the design team to step outside of the boundaries of form, and more into structure and content, working hand-in-hand with other artists, researchers, and the main project editor Anne Margriet Van Dam. In line with this approach, Engy Aly produced her poster A tribute to the ferry which illustrates her own take on the ferry that links Central Station to North Amsterdam. However, this same principle resulted in a classical time-management issue which led the design team to stress over the little time left at the end of the process for the actual production of the publication. Luckily, the project organizers picked up on this problem, and postponed the opening of the exhibition for a week.

The first phase of the design work consisted of a general research on travel guides; form, content, sections, relevant information… etc. This was followed by the development of several moodboards which aimed at visualizing our different ideas for the publication to come. From there, the thought of creating a very basic travel guide was born. Of course, this basic form was to be challenged by several factors such as the newspaper format, its bilingual information (Arabic/Dutch) and most importantly an unconventional content that includes a good deal of humor.

The next step consisted of deciding on layout elements such as grid and typography, as well as a system for reading two different languages in parallel, each of which has its own reading direction. Arabic reads from right to left, while Dutch reads from left to right. We aimed for finding a solution without resorting to the common practice of separating the two layers of information, thus remaining true to the reading flow of the newspaper where information is highly fragmented. At the end of the day, we opted for a clear hierarchy between the two languages whereby Arabic texts were given the primary importance. Dutch texts remained secondary, and dotted lines were added to assist the Dutch reader in navigating through the different text blocks. This resulted in the whole publication reading from right to left. Which means that any Dutch reader would naturally be inclined to start with the newsletter’s back-cover. For this reason, we had to devise a back-cover that looks as interesting as our actual cover, and a backward reading trajectory that retains the reader’s interest until he/she figures-out the actual reading direction!

Naturally, this reading system was being developed in parallel with the grid and typography. After numerous experiments, we decided a 12-column-grid which allowed us a flexible division of the page to fit the different layers of information needed in our different sections. In regards to typography, we opted for a mix of multiscript typefaces using TheSans by LucasFonts (Arabic developed in consultaion with Mounir Al Shaarani) for titles, and FedraSans by Typotheque (Arabic developed in consultation with Tarek Atrissi) for text. Both Arabic versions of the fonts have been commissioned by the Khatt Foundation as part of the project Typographic Matchmaking 1.0. In addition to the above, a set of tailor made icons were developed to match our typographic choices.

Maps being a crucial part of any travel guide, one of our major challenges in this project was related to finding a suitable map. Copyright regulations regarding using or redrawing online maps turned out to be much more strict than initially expected, and the maps that were available for sale were either too detailed or too simplified. At the end of a long research process, we ended up receiving a suitable version from the local newspaper Het Parool, the map was then stylized and reworked to accommodate the information relevant to our travel guide content.

The layout production process that succeeded was of a very reiterative nature considering the short time assigned for the development of both form and content. The initial design was based on place-holding text, which was quite frustrating considering many initial assumptions had to be challenged once actual content started coming in. And content kept on coming in and changing until the last minute. Same goes for our flat plan, which increased the amount of stress, especially during the last week before we went to print.

The work also included designing the identity for the exhibition, as well as a set of related promotional material, including the A0 posters that took over the streets of Amsterdam at the beginning of September, making us all so proud!

Finally, the exhibition opened on the evening of Sep. 10, 2010 with inspiring artwork, Arabic pop music, and a massive party… in a typical Mediamatic fashion!

Many thanks for Willem Velthoven and Jans Possel for giving us the chance to participate in this project. We would also like to thank all those who were involved in the process including Anne Margriet van Dam, Femke Vos, Dido Reijntjes, Ista Boszhard, Ingunn Jonsdottir, Sebastiaan Klaasen, Justin Linds, Julia Luczywo, Alberto Marchioretto, Annouk Post, Eva Spijker, Tommy Vermeire, Amber Verstegen, Marie-Anne Huiskamp, Bas van den Broeke, Evelyn Austin and Lars Wannop.

Photo credits: Khajag Apelian, Mahmoud Hamdy and Willem Velthoven.

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