John Orrand
AVT318 History of Graphic Design
Historic and Contemporary Approaches to Arabic Calligraphy [presentation outline]
NOTE: The examples in this presentation by no means cover all of the existing styles and
variations of Arabic calligraphy. I have included information from a variety of sources to give an
overview of a few styles.
Paper Topic: Arabic lettering has a rich and complicated history— one that is sometimes in
conflict with contemporary adaptations.
History
By the first century CE, the Arabic alphabet took on several unique forms that used ligatures to
connect many letters within a word, small dashes and lines that decorated and defined the letters.
Kufic: often used in architectural decoration and tends to have an angular, gridded composition.
Diwani: made use of elegant strokes and ornate decoration
Naskhi: 1000 BCE
became the new standard for scribes copying the Quran
basic cursive style which links most letters in each word and uses simple dots and dashes
remains one of the more popular styles of everyday Arabic writing
Ta’liq: translates as “suspension” each word drops down from the previous one, creating a
floating feel in the lines of text.
Maghribi: more circular features typically has an elongated and curved stem of the letters.
Calligraphic Designs
Word tessellation: highly complex and mathematical rendering of a word into patterned shapes
within a circle, octagon or hexagon where the shape’s entire surface is utilized with no
overlapping shapes or gaps between them
Tughra: contains an enlarged and decorated initial letter with the remaining letters or words
surrounding the central character. Traditionally used for royal seals and official signatures.
Anamorphic and zoomorphic figures: created by fashioning letters and decorative elements
into the shape of an animal.
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Contemporary Use
*Because Arabic calligraphy is rooted in the Islamic religion and its texts, the Arabic letterform
and calligraphic styles are considered by many to be holy and sacred and stands as a symbol for
Islamic culture. Modern use sometimes stands in conflict with its origins.
All Arabic calligraphy is considered Tawqif, or the “language established by God”.
Quotes:
Alia Hasan, a researcher of Arabic art and architecture, states, “to Muslims, calligraphy is used as
the ultimate expression of God’s words.”
Baba Shah Isfahani, author of a Persian treatise in the seventeenth century, claimed, “the practice
of the calligraphic art requires moderation and balance of the soul, without which the expression
of the divine beauty with pen and ink becomes flawed.”
Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFares, an expert on Arabic typography, states, “when Arabic type is
applied to situations where order and clarity prevail -such as newspapers, signage, on-line... etc. it is often stripped totally of its beauty and rendered sterile.”
Closing: perhaps the best practice for modern designers would be to make every effort to
preserve its fundamental standards by being conscious of the complex tradition associated with
Arabic calligraphy.
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Works Cited
AbiFares Huda Smitshuijzen, Arabic Type: a challenge for the 2nd millennium, 1998
http://www.sakkal.com/articles/Arabic_Type_Article/Arabic_Type1.html
Ahuja, Mangho and A. L. Loeb Leonardo, Tessellations in Islamic Calligraphy, Vol. 28, No. 1 (1995), pp.
41-45 Published by: The MIT Press
Beumer, W.G.M., Experimental Arabic type designs: breaking away from a rich tradition, Library of the
University of Amsterdam, http://www.uba.uva.nl/news/object.cfm
De Zoysa, Dana, Splendor in the Line, http://januarymagazine.com/artcult/islamcalig.html
Ernst, Carl W., The Spirit of Islamic Calligraphy: Bābā Shāh Iṣfahānī's Ādāb al-mashq, Journal of the
American Oriental Society, Vol. 112, No. 2 (Apr. - Jun., 1992), pp. 279-286 Published by:
American Oriental Society
Ghulam, Dr. Yousif Mahmud, The Art of Arabic Calligraphy, 2nd ed, 1982 ,Published by the author
Hasan, Alia F., Arabic Calligraphy: The Art of the Calligraphy Scripts in Islamic History
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/arabic_islamic_architecture/28162
Khallaf, Rania, Calligraphy remembered http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2001/565/fe5.htm
Roxburgh, David J., On the Transmission and Reconstruction of Arabic Calligraphy: Ibn al-Bawwab and
History Studia Islamica, No. 96, Écriture, Calligraphie et Peinture (2003), pp. 39-53, published by
Maisonneuve & Larose
Schimmel, Barbar Rivolta, Islamic Calligraphy, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series,
Vol. 50, No. 1, Islamic Calligraphy (Summer, 1992), pp. 1-56
Zeina Azzam Seikaly, The Arabic Language: The Glue ThatBinds the Arab World
http://www.amideast.org/publications/arabic-language.pdf
Other Sources
Atiyeh, George N., The book in the Islamic world: the written word and communication in the Middle East,
http://www.netlibrary.com.mutex.gmu.edu/Reader [electronic resource]
Bell, Roanne. Symphonic Scripts, Print magazine, Aug 08
Margaret M. Wood, Latinizing the Turkish Alphabet: A Study in the Introduction of a Cultural Change, The
American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Sep., 1929), pp. 194-203
Millican, Richard D. Reviewed work(s): Lettering. The History and Technique of Lettering and Design by
Alexander Nesbitt The Journal of Marketing, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Apr., 1951), pp. 510-511
Smart, J.R., Tradition and modernity in Arabic language and literature, Richmond, Surrey, U.K. : Curzon
Press, 1996.
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