Arabic calligraphy is a thriving art these days. While it has been originally used mostly in the Quran, people and artists are appreciating its beauty and are trying to incorporate it in our every day lives. For instance, street artists in the Middle East, more specifically in Lebanon, are using Arabic calligraphy in their graffiti. Famous Lebanese artists that use calligraffiti are
and
. Away from art, a Lebanese calligrapher named
realized an achievement after penning 800 pages (front only) of the Quran in the Diwani font.
The rising popularity of Arabic fonts
While Arabic graffiti is slowly getting popular on an international level, Arabic fonts are still not noticed by the public. Everyone knows that are many fonts for Latin letters. However, when it comes to Arabic fonts, they sometimes go unnoticed. However, you’ll be surprised to know that there are many Arabic fonts! Mourad Boutros, a Lebanese calligrapher and designer, and his wife Arlette have founded the Boutros design company. The company has created over 150 Arabic fonts! The style of the fonts that the company creates range from traditional to modern, and sometimes a blend of both! These are the categories:
#1 New Font Releases
#2 Modern Arabic and Bilingual Fonts
#3 Arabic Calligraphy and Traditional Fonts
#4 Arabic Display Fonts
#5 Latin Fonts
In fact, this Lebanese couple has created the Boutros Advertisers Naskh font in 1977 which is used the most in the Middle East. Boutros explains that Arabic fonts were not very popular 40 years ago. However, globalization changed the game. Now, there are many international companies that are requesting personalized Arabic fonts. Boutros design company creates Arabic fonts for many prestigious clients such as Al Arabiya, BBC Arabic, newspaper Al Hayat, the publishers Harper Collins, and many more.
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