Abstract/Summary

Marlik is the result of a collaborative research-driven project by Borna Izadpanah (designer) and Fiona Ross (art-director) to produce an original low-contrast typeface in the Arabic script that caters for contemporary needs. The ‘simplified’ version of the Arabic script in type was invented as an adaptation to the constraints of a hot-metal typesetting. To minimize the cost of production, the variety of contextual letterforms and ligatures had to be reduced. The result was often unsatisfactory: providing a uniform dull appearance, stiff flat bottom line, illegible letter combinations, unrefined connections between rounded and straight strokes, some distorted proportions and many inconsistent compromises. While the technological constraints of hot-metal typesetting have become history, the genre of the simplified Arabic typefaces has established itself firmly in the typographic landscape of the script. Simplified typefaces have been commonly used for newspapers, branding, posters, packaging, and the like. However, in emphasizing this modernist aesthetic, many simplified Arabic typefaces compromise readability. Izadpanah and Ross aspired to provide a design that would still appeal by its simplicity but maintain a good reading experience in the variety of genres. Thus, Marlik is informed by the calligraphic tradition as well as by the options of the digital world: it redresses past technological compromises and although low in contrast is not over-simplified but accords with conventional Arabic proportions suitable for longer texts. It is designed for sustained reading in print or online, and to achieve readability at all sizes; alternatively, the Thin and Black typestyles are considered appropriate for use in headlines and posters. Marlik has 9 typestyles, and supports Arabic, Persian, and Urdu languages. It was released by the Rosetta Type foundry in 2018 and is available as a variable font. [The Latin glyphs included in Marlik are from Skolar Sans Extended designed by David Březina and Sláva Jevčinov.]