Fragments of an Alternative Future
The evolution of typography has primarily been driven by technological innovation designed to meet new use-case scenarios. The 20th century saw an exponential increase in typographic diversity created to take advantage of new technologies and communication needs. The locality of these technological innovations were primarily situated in the english speaking west, and focused only on the latin script. The power of these innovations further marginalized and endangered languages using alternative scripts that were not in a position to adapt to the new technologies and domains of communication.
This project imagines an alternative future where arabic is a primary language and evolved together with the technological innovations of the 20th century. To explore this future, a number of typefaces were envisioned, designed, and produced utilizing technology that represents specific typographic domains. In this case a segmented LED typeface, as well as a dot matrix arabic typeface. Based on our research1,2,3, this is the first fully functioning segmented arabic typeface design ever produced (some patents were created in the 1980's but were not produced). The typeface was designed by Fatima Abbas, programmed by Levi Hammett and Hind Al Saad, and constructed by Levi Hammett.
Exhibitions & Publications:
Hammett, Levi., Ryan Browning, Fatima Abbas, & Hind Al Saad. xLab (Electronic LED display installation, paper print, single channel screen). Research Labs Exhibition. Qatar America Institute for Culture. Washington DC, USA. (Invited, Group Exhibition). 2 February - August 2023. link
Hammett, Levi., Fatima Abbas, Hind Al Saad, & Mohammad Suleiman. Alternative Typographic Histories: Arabic Script as a Driver of Language Display Technology. Acadia 2022: Hybrids & Haecceities, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States. (Presentation, Proceedings). 28 October 2022.
Hammett, Levi., Ryan Browning, Fatima Abbas, & Hind Al Saad. xLab (Electronic LED display installation, paper print, single channel screen). Qatar Week Research Lab Exhibition, Anderson Gallery, Richmond, Virginia, USA. (Invited, Group Exhibition). 16 September 2022.
Hammett, Levi., Fatima Abbas, et al. Fragments of an Alternative Future. Hammett, Levi., & Fatima Abbas. Tasmeem Radical Futures exhibition, Tasmeem Doha 2022, VCUarts Qatar, Doha, Qatar. 7 March 2022 - April 2022.
Hammett, Levi., Fatima Abbas, et al. Fragments of an Alternative Future. Hello, World!, Doha, Qatar. (Juried, Solo Exhibition). November 2021 - February 2022.
Concept: Levi Hammett.
Type Design: Fatima Abbas.
Programing: Levi Hammett & Hind Al Saad.
Hammett, Levi., Ryan Browning, Fatima Abbas, & Hind Al Saad. xLab (Electronic LED display installation, paper print, single channel screen). Research Labs Exhibition. Qatar America Institute for Culture. Washington DC, USA. (Invited, Group Exhibition). 2 February - August 2023. link
Hammett, Levi., Fatima Abbas, Hind Al Saad, & Mohammad Suleiman. Alternative Typographic Histories: Arabic Script as a Driver of Language Display Technology. Acadia 2022: Hybrids & Haecceities, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States. (Presentation, Proceedings). 28 October 2022.
Hammett, Levi., Ryan Browning, Fatima Abbas, & Hind Al Saad. xLab (Electronic LED display installation, paper print, single channel screen). Qatar Week Research Lab Exhibition, Anderson Gallery, Richmond, Virginia, USA. (Invited, Group Exhibition). 16 September 2022.
Hammett, Levi., Fatima Abbas, et al. Fragments of an Alternative Future. Hammett, Levi., & Fatima Abbas. Tasmeem Radical Futures exhibition, Tasmeem Doha 2022, VCUarts Qatar, Doha, Qatar. 7 March 2022 - April 2022.
Hammett, Levi., Fatima Abbas, et al. Fragments of an Alternative Future. Hello, World!, Doha, Qatar. (Juried, Solo Exhibition). November 2021 - February 2022.
Concept: Levi Hammett.
Type Design: Fatima Abbas.
Programing: Levi Hammett & Hind Al Saad.
Notes:
1. Md. Abul Kalam Azad., Rezwana Sharmeen., & S. M. Kamruzzaman. Universal Numeric Segmented Display. Proc. 7th International Conference on Computer and Information Technology (ICCIT-2004), Dhaka, Bangladesh, pp. 887-892, Dec. 2004. Link
2. Rahman, Mohammad Osiur., & Shafique, Mubashsharul., & Scavino, Edgar & Hussain, Aini & Basri, Hassan. The design of a complete uniform segmented display unit for Arabic alphanumeric characters.
1-7. 10.1109/ITSIM.2008.4631901. 2008. Link
3. Beg, M., & Ahmad, Wasim. Dot Matrix Alphanumeric Display System for Arabic. Consumer Electronics, IEEE Transactions on. CE-33.
47 - 50. 10.1109/TCE.1987.290216. 1987. Link
1. Md. Abul Kalam Azad., Rezwana Sharmeen., & S. M. Kamruzzaman. Universal Numeric Segmented Display. Proc. 7th International Conference on Computer and Information Technology (ICCIT-2004), Dhaka, Bangladesh, pp. 887-892, Dec. 2004. Link
2. Rahman, Mohammad Osiur., & Shafique, Mubashsharul., & Scavino, Edgar & Hussain, Aini & Basri, Hassan. The design of a complete uniform segmented display unit for Arabic alphanumeric characters.
1-7. 10.1109/ITSIM.2008.4631901. 2008. Link
3. Beg, M., & Ahmad, Wasim. Dot Matrix Alphanumeric Display System for Arabic. Consumer Electronics, IEEE Transactions on. CE-33.
47 - 50. 10.1109/TCE.1987.290216. 1987. Link