Typography for Bilingual Arabic-Latin Editorials

One file, two Arabic personalities—geometric or calligraphic via 20 OpenType stylistic sets

Originally commissioned as a monoline geometric Arabic headline face for a Kuwaiti newspaper, AwanZaman grew into a three-phase bilingual family. Dr Mamoun Sakkal developed two complementary Arabic styles—Awan (geometric Kufic) and Zaman (calligraphic Naskh)—unified in a single OpenType file with 20 Arabic stylistic sets. Juliet Shen then designed a companion Latin—a sans serif with tall x-height, larger counters, and matching stem thickness—to harmonise with the Arabic's text colour and page presence across seven weights.

Set in Awan Zaman

Insights

The Arabic's two personalities (geometric Kufic and calligraphic Naskh) coexist in one font file and are switched via 20 OpenType stylistic sets; the Latin adds four further stylistic sets for novel characters that echo Arabic forms.
No italic exists in either script; weight contrast across seven grades substitutes for the typographic role italics normally play.
Latin parameters—tall x-height, larger counters, matching stem thickness—were chosen to harmonise with the Arabic's monolinear strokes and overall page colour.
OpenType programming covers Persian and Urdu, including correct handling of Barri Yeh's returning tail.