Looking for two traditional Arabic fonts

[finedesign]

This topic was imported from the Typophile platform

I have two projects right now that call for a solid Arabic font, and am having trouble finding a solution. It may be two separate fonts or one that does it all.

DESCRIPTION OF PROJECTS

1. The first project is a series of religious brochures that are text-heavy.
   The logo for this project is in decorative Thuluth calligraphy.
2. The second is a series of Nasheed-like videos that will display Arabic text during the audio narration.
   The logo for this project is in the Ruq'a script.

TYPOGRAPHIC MATCHMAKING v.s. Traditional
I don't want to create a big brouhaha here. I'm just open to either approach. My main concerns are:

1. Readability
   Print project needs to be easy on the eyes at small sizes.
   Video project needs to be easy to read on screen.
2. Traditional
   Both fonts need to harmonize with traditional Islamic or religious content. But it must appeal to progressive thinkers too, so going outside the constraints of old-school traditionalism is fine.
3. Affordability

All of the Matchmaking fonts I have seen so far don't seem to fit as they appear too modern. But I love how matchmaking includes the Latin counterpart.

TASMEEM?
I have an old copy of Tasmeem and only have the Emiri font. To me, this font, while beautiful, seems a little difficult to read at small sizes. Correct me if I'm wrong. At this point, the projects cannot justify the expense of upgrading Tasmeem and InDesign.

MULTIPLE WEIGHTS
Both projects need the ability to have multiple weights. There needs to be a medium, light, bold, etc. I would prefer to find a family that has at least four weights. If there are strong opinions against doing multiple weights with Arabic, please explain your opinion. I'm open.

And perhaps I need to get a couple different fonts…one for body copy and one for titles and headings.

SERIF/SANS SERIF
I would assume this font needs to have serifs.

So far, I have only considered:
http://www.rosettatype.com/Nassim
It seems to fit some of these constrains, but to me it appears more editorial than traditional.

Looking forward to your recommendations, wisdom, advice, and of course, bulbs and flowers.
–paul

[aratypo.net]

Hi Paul,

As you are in Yemen, I think you can see the fonts collection of our colleague Sultan Maqtari : http://sultanfonts.com/

He has already some fonts that can fit perfectly/easily with your request and he is, as I said, in Yemen!

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need any further request.

Oussama

[finedesign]

Hi Oussama–

Thank you for the feedback. Yikes! I didn't realize my profile still said I live in Yemen. After leaving Yemen, I lived in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria for awhile. And I just returned to the US where I live in Portland. So thanks for the reminder to update the profile.

Sadly I never met Sultan Maqtari while in Yemen. But thanks for the link. I would like to support him too. I'm just a little confused. Are the fonts free or licensed? I can't seem to find a download/purchase/trial link.

While many of his fonts don't seem to fit my current projects, I would like to play with Ausan.

salaam–
paul

[aratypo.net]

Hi Paul,

I think Sultan is updating his website. However if you want to see his font Ausan in a text please send me the text to aratypo [at] gmaildotcom. I will send it back to you as a pdf. I will send you also Sultan's e-mail.

Salam

Oussama

[finedesign]

Thanks brother. I will be contacting you shortly.

I'm still hoping for more suggestions as well.

[Bahman Eslami]

Adobe arabic (more editorial) and Karim (traditional but without different weights).

[finedesign]

Thanks for the suggestions Bahman. Adobe Arabic is too modern and as I mentioned, I need the additional weights.

The best I've found so far is KFGQPC Uthman Taha Naskh with comes in two weights.
[KFGQPC= King Fahd Glorious Quran Printing Complex]

Oussama, I received an email and replied but never heard back. I can't find it now, but it was from Mr. Sultan.

[Khaled Hosny]

You can check my Amiri font. The last release has bold weight, but still needs more improvements.

[finedesign]

Thank you Khalid. It looks good! Thanks for your hard work...and tell Abdarrahman "thank you" too. Can I join some list to be updated on the progress of Amiri?

[Khaled Hosny]

There is an RSS feed in the download page, there is also the feed of Amiri tag in my blog where I post updates about the progress and release notes etc.