Arabesque: Graphic Design from the Arab World

Arabesque investigates the current creative potential of the Arab World and Persia. The book collects examples of recent innovative and groundbreaking design work that is inspired by the richness of the region’s visual culture. In addition to a wide range of Arabic fonts and typefaces, it presents graphic design, modern calligraphy, logos and illustration by artists from Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon. Arabesque also includes a CD-ROM with the Arabic inspired Latin typeface Talib, created by the book’s editors Ben Wittner and Sascha Thoma.

Due to popular demand, Arabesque is now available as an accessible softcover edition. Arabesque investigates the creative potential of the Arab World and Iran. This book features examples of groundbreaking graphic design, illustration and typography that are inspired by the richness of the region’s visual culture.

Given the important role of calligraphy in the Middle East, Arabesque focuses on typography. The book presents a wide range of Arabic fonts and typefaces inspired by traditional calligraphy; these are accompanied by a rich selection of applications. Further examples of design and graffiti serve as powerful demonstrations of how text can be used illustratively. This work is particularly relevant to those now creating street art and poster design.

Arabesque features graphic design, logos and illustration by young designers and activists from Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which is complemented by selected projects by Western designers, who are strongly influenced by Arab culture. Regardless of the location and ancestry of their creators, all of the examples included in Arabesque combine modern design with the traditional, letter-based canon of Arab forms in striking ways.

The book includes a foreword by Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarè, the Director of the Khatt Foundation Center for Arabic Typography, and supplementary text describing the environments in which the featured designers and artists work. As with the successful hardcover edition, this book also comes with a CD-ROM with the Arabic inspired Latin typeface Talib created by the book's editors Ben Wittner and Sascha Thoma.