QT ArabicCity is a contemporary arabic typeface where simplicity meets modernity to reach design needs in modern cities where business are crowded, information are interfere and time is not enough except for read clearly and in optical sequence.
a readability connects eyes with mind..
In 2012, I developed the first version of this web application under “Square Kufi / Kufi Murabba” name. The concept of the app was to help users to create one kind of arabic calligraphy which is Square Kufi using pen and eraser tools.
Square Kufic is one of the oldest calligraphy style in the arabic heritage. It appeared from the thirteenth century on coins, tile work and elsewhere in Iraq, Turkey & Iran. In today’s world, it is used for logotypes by some designers and typographers of both, the Arab world as well as globally.
TypoGrid App
At the end of 2014, and after feedback and further development of my vision, I developed a lot of concepts to created an advanced and smart tool for typographers and graphic designers which would help them to create typography letters and pixel arts based on the grids system, in a much more faster way. Thus, this web application has now emerged as something more than a tool to create Kufi arabic calligraphy – it has become a Typogrid.
Qassim Haider
Technical Features:
– User-friendly interface
– Export as SVG (as vector for Adobe Illustrator) and PNG (as an image for Adobe Photoshop)
– Import SVG files
– Compatible on iPad, Tablets and smart phones
What is new in version 1.3.0 ?
– Bold & light thicknesses / Unit controller (Click on + and – keys).
– New mode views.
– Rounded Corners.
– Bug fixes & performance improvements.
– More compatible on desktop & tablets.
http://typogridapp.com
Talented Bahraini typographer Qassim Haider sat with Perle Magazine and elaborated on perhaps the most established form in the region, Typography; an art that has been used for centuries to display the amalgam between religion and culture throughout the Arab world.
Haider got his start in typography from a very early age. His eldest brother, also an artist, introduced the typeface to him when he was just a child and encouraged him to excel in this medium. Haider says his brother helped his learning with resources such as books, and gave him a basic understanding of the illustrations. He watched his brother create the art using his hands, which would take somewhere between one to three weeks. That, he said, was the beginning that led to his pursuit of typography. Typography, he explains, is different than calligraphy wherein the former is alphabets organised on a straight line by illustration and the latter is done by hand and has curves.
Knowledgeable both in IT and typography, Haider built his career in the design industry over 10 years before launching his own company, qtypography, at the end of last year. As a Creative Strategist, he explains, it is his job to ensure that for each piece of work, the right methodology is applied before it is produced. Speaking of his own process, Haider says he first takes inspirations from various books, then from his culture and then research. The research, he says, is the part that requires the longest time. Once Haider gets an idea of what he will be doing using his resources, creating the piece, he says, only takes a few hours. The initial plan is done by hand and then drawn on the computer. “The process is not a lengthy one, it’s just Muslims feel there is a system in even the smallest of things and typography reflects that”, he says of the of the art that is deep-rooted in the Arab culture.
His expertise in the areas of IT combined with his control of the art form led him to create a web-based program, TypoGrid, which has made it easier for him and those who are interested in typography, to create his pieces. Using this program any kind of typography can be created. Along with the program, Haider has also created a font called qtype square kufic (available on www.fonts.com) to assist him.
Having taken part in three exhibitions so far as well as successfully selling his work, Haider’s talent speaks for itself. Whether it is designing creations akin to those from the Fatimid Dynasty or taking inspiration from Kufic typography done centuries ago on walls and coins, Haider is a master at adding his own spin to create unique, intricate and detailed pieces of work through the art of typography.
Square Kufic is one of the oldest calligraphy style in the arabic heritage. It appears from the thirteenth century on coins, tile work and elsewhere in Iraq, Turkey & Iran. In today’s world, it is used for logotypes by some designers and typographers of both, the Arab world as well as globally.
Since 2006 until the beginning of 2015, Qassim Haider studied this kind of calligraphy/typography and developed a wide variety of logotypes and art design. He even developed a unique web application called “TypoGrid” to create this kind of typography. Qassim has designed and developed this style as font family with 8 different thickness styles in a very detailed and elaborate experience.
The font is available on qtypography.com/fonts,
linotype, fonts.com & fontshop where you can take a trial and purchase it.
You want an arabic font that nobody else has? A font to represent the values and the spirit of your enterprise? How about a custom font by qtypography.
Hand in hand with you, we will develop the font to your satisfaction.
Maybe you have a design that is not a font yet? We will help you to transform your idea into a font.
And we will help you in as many steps as you wish: designing, digitizing, spacing, kerning or the development into a font-family with multiple weigths and widths.
contact us on: design@qtypography.com
TypoGrid is a smart tool for typographers and graphic designers helps them to create typography letters and pixel arts based on the grids system.
In 2012, Qassim developed the first version of this web application under “Square Kufi / Kufi Murabba” name. The concept of the app was to help users create one kind of arabic calligraphy which is Square Kufi using pen and eraser tools.
