Overview
I'm a designer focused on Arabic type design and typography. I've also programmed specialised tools for designers and for interactive art installations. My career started in advertising, where I was obsessed with photorealistic rendering in computer animation; followed by a Master of TypeMedia at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK).
Key Skills
Type design
Languages
Software
Code
Commercial Projects
Yango Arabic
Designed the Arabic part of Yango Headline typeface. Intern Assistant: Maryam Golpaygani.
Yandex Arabic
Designed the Arabic part of Yandex text typeface. Intern Assistant: Maryam Golpaygani.
Aeonik Arabic
Designed the Arabic part. Intern Assistant: Maryam Golpaygani.
FIBA - Qatar World Cup 2027 Custom Typeface
Designed the Arabic part and font engineering for the final production static and variable fonts.
Forma Arabic Typeface
Font mastering and bug fixes for an Arabic variable font family with extended language support.
MSK Custom Typeface
Custom typeface for MSK Cancer Center, New York. Font mastering for a super family including Latin, Cyrillic, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew; designed the Arabic part.
Lyon Arabic
Font mastering and bug fixes for Arabic family with two optical cuts: Display and Text.
Lyon Hebrew
Font mastering and bug fixes for Hebrew family with two optical cuts: Display and Text.
Mute Arabic
Designed Arabic typeface based on Latin part; mastered font software for publishing.
Amaala Arabic Custom Typeface
Custom typeface for a luxury resort in Saudi Arabia; designed and developed Arabic part.
Kone Arabic Custom Typeface
Custom typeface for elevator manufacturer in Finland; designed and developed Arabic part.
Graphik Arabic Type Family
Font mastering and bug fixes for the Arabic font family.
Renault Typeface Custom Typeface
Custom typeface for car manufacturer in France; designed and developed Arabic part.
Diodrum Arabic Type Family
Designed Arabic companion for Latin typeface; developed font software for publishing.
Fedra Arabic Super Type Family
Designed Arabic companion for Fedra Sans, Fedra Serif, Fedra Display; developed font software for publishing.
Kohinoor Arabic Type Family
Designed Arabic companion for Latin typeface; developed font software for publishing.
Harir Type Family
Designed Arabic typeface in 2 weights and 3 optical sizes; added character set for Arabic script languages; wrote OpenType features and shipped binary fonts.
Greta Mono Specimen
Coded the type specimen showcase using Python in DrawBot.
Harir Promotional Motion Graphics
Created promotional motion typography: directing, storyboard, modeling, animation to final render.
Awards & Recognitions
Exhibitions
Diaspora Radio's mini-festival in De School
Persian calligraphy live performance to promote freedom of women and minorities in Iran.
Art Collective for Iran in Azadi Expo
Designed visual identity and performance for promotion of freedom of speech in Iran.
Letter Lords & Calligraphy Freaks
Created a music video using Python and typography in collaboration with Jasper Terra.
Kohinoor in New Design Museum
Kohinoor typeface exhibited as part of a group project.
Publications
Free Hand – New Typography Sketchbooks
Featured sketches and an article on sketching before designing a typeface, edited by Steven Heller and Lita Talarico.
Reducing noise in Arabic script
The design process behind the Harir typeface, aimed at reducing visual noise in Arabic typesetting.
Open Source
RoboFont Font View Modular Contextual Menu
Modular contextual menu for the font overview in RoboFont.
RoboFont Special Clipboard
Menu item for pasting glyphs with more options in RoboFont.
RoboFont Mark Tool
Tool for RoboFont to adjust mark positioning.
RoboFont Simple Kerning
Simple bidirectional kerning and grouping solution in RoboFont.
DrawBot expandStroke contribution
Added expandStroke method to the BezierPath object.
Cultural Contributions
Custom lettering QFI, 'Speak Arabic'
Designed the custom lettering for the phrase 'Speak Arabic'.
'Baren buiten de box' Book Cover Illustration
Designed the illustration for the cover of the book.
Calligraphy Performance at De School
Live calligraphy over silk screen prints.
Perpetuum Mobile project by De Grafische Werkplaats
Silk screen prints visualizing patterns of Iranian architecture.
Qoqnoos Expo 'You Can't Burn Women Made of Fire'
Designed the visual identity of the exhibition.
The Library Facade Lettering
In collaboration with LettError, designed the Arabic lettering for the building facade.
Permanent Installation by Karel Martens at Guy's Hospital
Coded two graphic mini apps used to create the new visual identity of the cancer care center.
Martin Bril Paviljoen by Karel Martens
Created a 3D animation to visualize the monument before construction.
Gerrit Noordzij Prize in KABK
Coded a live video installation for the Karel Martens exhibition and wall graphics.
Talks
Perso-Arabic Typographic Night
Presentation on designing for Arabic script, with a showcase of Arabic lettering techniques.
Open Source Arabic font tools
Presentation of custom RoboFont tools developed to streamline the workflow, with the rationale behind them and lessons learned.
Cultural Roads between Arabic and Latin
The challenge of designing an Arabic companion for a Latin typeface and bridging the heritage gap between two scripts.
Workshops
Studio Metaphor Workshop
A 2-day workshop on Persian-Latin lettering.