Book
Licensed
Unlicensed
Requires Authentication
Letters of Light
Arabic Script in Calligraphy, Print, and Digital Design
-
J.R. Osborn
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2017
About this book
Arabic script is one of the world’s most widely used writing systems, for Arabic and non-Arabic languages alike. J. R. Osborn traces its evolution from the earliest inscriptions to digital fonts, from calligraphy to print and beyond. Students of communication, contemporary practitioners, and historians will find this narrative enlightening.
Reviews
A refreshing and rewarding approach to understanding deeply embedded and cherished cultural values of Islamic lands…Osborn provides important lessons about the Arabic script as a cultural object with a history, grammar, and set of values.
-- Peter Webb Times Literary Supplement
-- Peter Webb Times Literary Supplement
J. R. Osborn’s Letters of Light is a fascinating investigation of the development of Arabic scripts over the past millennium and their problematic encounter with Western typography, which sliced expressive lines of cursive writing into individual sorts of cold type. Osborn ingeniously explores how the advent of new computer technologies in the twentieth century has opened a promising future for the design of Arabic scripts that conform to and expand upon calligraphy’s formal and aesthetic traditions.
-- Jonathan M. Bloom, author of Paper Before Print: The History and Impact of Paper in the Islamic World
-- Jonathan M. Bloom, author of Paper Before Print: The History and Impact of Paper in the Islamic World
Letters of Light is an enjoyable and clearly written historical account of the development of the Arabic script, and the Naskh calligraphic style in particular, that elegantly links scribal traditions and conventions to today’s type design discourse. Osborn creates a much-welcome, impartial framework and foundation for further research into Arabic type design and contemporary design tools. This is highly recommended reading for design students, practitioners, and all interested in Arabic typography and Arab visual culture.
-- Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès, The Khatt Foundation, Center for Arabic Typography, Amsterdam
-- Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès, The Khatt Foundation, Center for Arabic Typography, Amsterdam
Topics
|
Publicly Available Download PDF |
i |
|
Publicly Available Download PDF |
vii |
|
Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
ix |
|
Past Scripts and Future Visions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
1 |
|
Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
15 |
|
Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
42 |
|
Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
75 |
|
Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
102 |
|
Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
131 |
|
Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
164 |
|
Beyond Arabic Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
195 |
|
Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
203 |
|
Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
229 |
|
Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
255 |
|
Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF |
257 |
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
May 22, 2017
eBook ISBN:
9780674978577
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Main content:
280
Other:
2 halftones, 24 line illustrations
eBook ISBN:
9780674978577
Audience(s) for this book
Professional and scholarly;
