WinSoft Arabic Typography Contest
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Interview with jury member George Kandalaft
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We were pleased that George Kandalaft accepted to be one of our jury members. Then we were struck by his belief that simplicity is beautiful. Enjoy his interview... 1. Why did you accept to be part of the WinSoft Arabic Typography Contest jury? What appealed to you? For the past twenty years I have evolved in a world of design, calligraphy and font creation and I am managing a web site dedicated to font and design development and promotion, so it's natural that I take this opportunity to contribute in the promotion of new designers. |
2. What does the theme of the WinSoft Arabic Typography Contest mean to you?
I hope the theme of Rapprochement of Cultures will be an opportunity of a "Rapprochement" to our own Arabic culture first in order to understand the rapprochement to other cultures.
3. What, in your opinion, are the main skills necessary to create a quality work of typographic design?
A good understanding our culture and of the rules of good typography and of course a lot of imagination.
4. What advice would you give to participants?
Stay simple and don't overdo it.
5. What are your expectations for the WinSoft Arabic Typography Contest?
Some sort of "back to basics". I know for a fact that the technology behind Tasmeem is based on the rules of good calligraphy, so using Tasmeem as the main typographical tool for the design will enhance the contestant's knowledge of the calligraphic rules.
6. Where does your passion for typography come from?
In secondary school, we had a literature teacher who was a passionate of calligraphy and he used to spare half an hour from each lesson to teach us the rules of good calligraphy. By the end of the year, my hand writing improved greatly and I loved it! especially writing in roq'a.
7. In your opinion, what will be the main trends in Arabic typography in the next few years?
Lack of respect for the basic rules of good calligraphy, and an increase in font tweaking, unfortunately. As promoters of innovation in fonts creation we receive on our web site a lot of proposals but most of them are trying to mimic Latin fonts instead of sticking to the basic rules of good Arabic writing. Others take an existing font tweak it a little and claim it their own.
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