Challenges adapting Faction for Arabic

KB: The design of Arabic Faction was challenging because as you know, the counter form of Faction is always rectangles of the same thickness, while the outer forms adjust and morph. Just imagine applying this to Arabic, a script that has so many wild and unexpected anomalies, which has ascending and descending movements with all those counter forms, especially the negative spaces, which are naturally apart of the script. The latin letter form in Faction has overlapping because of the spacing and the nature of it’s very own design. However, when you apply this to Arabic or Persian, all of the anomalies that come in the form of slashes and dots, that appear either above or below the main line design, makes this hugely challenging. Another challenging point to note is that I was distancing myself from my first true form of love in font design, which is the ancient forms of calligraphy in Iran. Moving away from that was also difficult for me.

TJ: That is a lot of challenges! I want to explore more what you described as “distancing from the ancient forms of Iranian calligraphy.” Along with the regularization of the counters and overlapping components, I am getting the impression there were other deviations from classical calligraphy in Faction Arabic. Is that true? If so, in what manner?

I didn’t want to break the rules and proportion [of Arabic calligraphy], but I wanted to apply the same rules in a different way.

KB: Yes you are correct to assume that there are more points of deviation from classical calligraphy in Faction Arabic, for example when eliminating the white or black spaces in Faction, we have to add something else to the font that will balance it out. I didn’t want to break the rules and proportion, but I wanted to apply the same rules in a different way. For example, I have to close the counter parts, which means I will have more white space as well as losing proportion. So, by adding a line and playing with the character’s form, I should be able to get rid of the extra and needless spaces.

TJ: I understand the need to compensate for the counter parts. Was the low-contrast nature of Faction a challenge to interrupt into Faction Arabic? Traditional arabic calligraphy appears to have a variation in contrast in its strokes, correct?

KB: Yes your absolutely correct in regards to the variation in contrast in the strokes applied to traditional calligraphy. However, when it comes to Faction Arabic, the challenge from low-contrast nature was indeed there, and I do believe that this is where we distanced ourselves from the reality of calligraphy. Nevertheless, I have kept the thickness which creates more white space, which lead me to play with the design in such a way that keeps the original characters in tact and correct. Is this clear or do I need to elaborate?

TJ: Perhaps a specific character example would help clarify when you maintained the correct arabic form in Faction Arabic.

I had to close the bowl [of “noon”] with a line that cuts the negative space, and the hovering dot now must sit right upon this newly added feature to the letter.

“noon” glyph in Faction Arabic

KB: When applying Faction to the original form of the letter “noon,” I had to become creative in still keeping it intact but not breaking the rules of Faction. For example, the letter “noon” is traditionally in the space of a open bowl that has one dot in the middle hovering above. But when it comes into the font design of Faction, I have to close the bowel with a line that cuts the negative space, and the hovering dot now must sit right upon this newly added feature to the letter. So essentially, I am changing the nature of the letter, slightly, to be able to apply this new font design. But the most important message for me to give with this font design, was to be able to apply the new features and yet still have it remain readable and legible. Furthermore, the same shape that became noted for “noon” I had to apply to numerous other letters that became ever so more challenging.

A modular approach is applied to other glyphs using the base form of “noon”. Left to Right: the letter “sad”, the letter “shin”, the letters “meem-noon”, the letter “noon”

TJ: That’s a great example, thank you! When can we expect to see Facton Arabic out in the world?

Status of Faction Arabic

KB: At this moment I have finished close to 90% of the alphabet line, and I hope to have faction arabic out there by the end of this year for sure. The remaining 10% I’m working on are the alternative designs that are required for the font in order to make it legible.

TJ: Kourosh, thanks so much for being here for TypeThursday.

KB: Thank You Thomas for all that you do for the Type community with Type Thursday. Cheers to you!