Articles

The Arabic user interface: Arabic type in new Media

Design, content and technology are booming on the web and the New Media world and this maturation continues at a pace. It is even difficult to know where to look to see the best interactive application due to the large variety existing today. Commercial, promotional, experimental, informative, and purely esthetical interactive applications surrounds us and compete to challenge and rise the business and creative side of the industry. But how much does this success apply to the Arabic web world? And to what extent are we implementing the Arabic typography creatively and successfully in New Media applications?

It is not surprising to mention that the Level of the Arabic web world today is very critical. The Arabic user interface in general is a problematic issue: the integration of Arabic type as a visual language, as a design element and as a functional text into these interfaces fails to reach the standards expected from a written language that promises to be breathtaking if used properly in any printed or interactive application. Many reasons are behind this weak presence of the Arabic user interface.

First are the problems coming from the nature of the Arabic type itself, or to be more specified the Arabic fonts that are used in these new media projects nowadays. The main problem is availability. . Compared to the uncountable number of Latin fonts available in the market and emerging everyday, the presence of the Arabic fonts is really shy. Something like 400 fonts are available, 10 of which would be labeled upon the requested standards. The other problem is that most of these fonts fail to function properly when reduced to small sizes-, which is something vital for any user interface on the web, or in any interactive application. Most of the Fonts are not designed while keeping in mind the functional aspect emerging from the needs of our modern times.

The second problem affecting the level of the Arabic user interface is of course a technical one. Many limitations and difficulties complicate things further to the integration of Arabic in any new media application. Going in details into these problems can be really long but I can mention few examples that would give an idea. Most of the Arabic sites fail to be truly international and accessible to everyone. Arabic text when implemented as HTML is still no viewed by everyone. The installation of Arabic system is a requirement in many cases and Mac users always have great limitations. Lots of minor problems emerges when designing an interface in Arabic or combined Arabic Latin because most of the software and technical tools are originally designed to adapt the Latin fonts need. Hence the “arabization” of the user interface brings always more complexities.

The third problem is a cultural/ social one. Even though Internet is spreading wide in the Arab world it is still a step behind the western world and that is also a cause of the lower standards we see in our applications. The economy of the Internet is in fact growing in the Arab world but still needs more support from the government. This slow start of the Internet and its new arrival affects socially the way people conceive the concept of the Internet. For many people, Internet in Arabic came as second step and even though many people check the Arabic sites now- it feels always weird and very complicated to deal with an “Arabic Internet” today independently. The slow start of the internet emergence makes the Arabic sites always very weak compared to its international rival- English for example- as a result of its shy presence in number and complexity in technicalities. For example, Yahoo, the site with most hits nowadays is not available in Arabic. That is not the problem but the problem is that only few years ago sites like yahoo started emerging in the Arabic world for an Arabic Audience. Not even close to the success of Yahoo. For example, the presence of a search engine in Arabic is also still very limited and not successful. The “Arabic Internet” looks always like the amateur who just came in to compete with an already existing booming international market. And this way of seeing things by the Arab themselves makes the situation even more complicated and hard to improve. Further complexities emerge from the differences of cultures, audiences and target groups within the Arab world.

In short, many complexities and problems exist today and many reasons are behind the weak status of Arabic type as a visual language in the age of new media. However, this does not mean that it is impossible to achieve a successful web or interactive animation. Many approaches can be taken while we are waiting for a better generations of fonts and for easier technical facilities.

Despite the really poor existence of the Arabic fonts available today, despite the problems emerging from every single letter and what it represent, we can’t simply blame it on the fonts, blame it on those letters simplified from calligraphy once upon the time. It might sound controversy but in fact it is an optimistic approach. We just need to deal with New Media just as we did with print.

Graphic design in the Arab world had a very similar start to the start the new media evolution is witnessing today. Problems were limiting a healthy expansion from all levels. More, the problems were almost the same that we have been talking above. However, the printed graphic work raised itself above all these complications. It took time and lots of experimentation with Arabic type used in design pieces. The growing number of graphic designers also helped to raise the level and to find appropriate solutions to the problems faced. There was a better understanding in dealing with these available fonts, in making the best out of them. Choosing the less detailed and calligraphic fonts for reading text and the more ornate ones for illustrative purposes. A kind of a modern look was achieved and that was reached by the designer using his own and personal sense of sensitivity and aesthetics, as well as common sense. Every Arabic designed piece was trying hard not to imitate the Latin style but finding its own style, and then again, not falling into nostalgic Arabic/ Islamic overcrowded style. A clear understanding was there between past and present. But yet, the past was not deleted and it was used to back up the more or weaknesses that we have today. Even calligraphy can still be incorporated, adding the magic touch of the calligrapher himself as a DESIGN ELEMENT in our printed matters. If in Latin type we can achieve interesting shapes and experimentation with the very good fonts we have, we can keep on making use of the calligraphy itself instead of our weak fonts- for decorative and design shape purposes I mean- and have a mix good balance between past and present.

So why can’t we achieve this same way of thinking with new media or with any user interface? We can, we just need more people involved in the field and more experimentation- in short, more time. Individual attempts will lead to collective ones.

The technical limitation can’t also make it impossible to achieve the standards we are looking for in the new media world. With the rate we are going on, all technical difficulties and implementation problems will be solved. We can wait for a while for completely new evolutions but solutions are also coming on a fast rate. And that is where we can act, by finding the appropriate solutions by making use of every single development taking progress. Let’s take the web as a specific example. The best that was done so far in implementing Arabic text in a website was still limited, if we have to think of what the web is by definition- a tool to link everyone, everywhere. However- just like we were referring to technology advancing in a constant way- something came up and gave the web Arabic world lots of more possible solution: Flash, referred as “savior of the world”. Flash came to change lots of thing in the web world in general. It became one of the most emotive topics among designers, attracting both allies and vocal opponents. But if we put aside the usability critic that can be attributed top Flash and focus on what it brought as innovation, we can see how one technological step can solve lots of the problems the Arabic user interface suffers from- the web in particular with this specific example. What is that strength Flash brought? It is accessible almost to everyone- almost everyone online can access your content, the penetration of Flash player being at 96%. Flash content is undemanding for bandwidth and processors. Flash player is tiny and so easy to download no need for the user to wait long time to have it. And the best part is that the tool is versatile, which means that anything needing an interface is a potential market of Flash. All of those things are vital new solutions for lots of the problems the Arabic New Media world suffers from. If Flash is the savior of the world then it should be for the Arabs the savior of the Universe. Now you can design your webiste and be sure that anyone who is going to see will see those Arabic characters and not question marks instead. You can be sure that the viewer will see the font you chose yourself. In short, you can control to a great extent the experience of the user. It is a pity however –at the end of the day- to see how little Flash is used now in the Arabic sites and not fully used according to the advantages it can bring.

Today, the status of the Arabic typography in the New Media field as a visual Language is a very problematic one. Probably because the basic roots are critical- such as the emergence of New Media in the Arabic world. However, many complexities remain on all levels beyond that: Technically, Socially and within the nature and the structure of the Arabic type itself. The problem is far from being only a failure of Arabic typography to impose its visual strength as design element in the industry. It is the Failure of the entire Arabic new media world that tries to incorporate the Arabic typography itself as its visual voice. Creating successful project and overcoming those problems is however not impossible, although very difficult yet challenging. Awareness is needed to deal with the situation and to create the type of projects that would set an example and push the individual eager of change into a collective one. An awareness in knowing how to deal with a complex system of writing, and how to use what is available now while waiting for better products in the future. An awareness in knowing how to overcome technical limitations by finding the appropriate substitutes and solutions. And finally a very critical Awareness in defining societies and instructing them how to deal with their own subjects and matters of investigations. What we need more then ever is a very good pattern of communication and interdisciplinary work that proved to be so useful in the western world. We need it even more for the simple reason that beyond designers- programmers and content managers, we need the involvement and cooperation of typographers and calligraphers to the mentioned team, to define and solve the past/ present dilemma. Long run social planning and reasoning has to be accompanied to this entire communication network aimed to create better results emerging from a more though off teaming.

Being a step behind the western world is at the end of the day not that bad. The great advantage of it is that we can look, see and analyze what the advanced world had reached or was troubled from and learn from it in order to make our path easier and faster in the development of the field and the industry. It is only then when it will be easy to incorporate successful visualization of Arabic typography in a new media project.

Tarek Atrissi is a graphic and Interactive Designer born in Beirut- Lebanon. He holds a BA in Graphic design from the American University of Beirut and an MA degree in interactive multimedia from the Utrecht School of the Arts- the Netherlands, where he developed www.arabictypography.com Currently he is in the US where he continues his study and research at the MFA design program of the School of Visual Arts- New York. Besides his studies he works as Art Director for http://www.tictoc-design.com

Email: tarek@atrissi.com
http://www.atrissi.com