Kristyan Sarkis in conversation with Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès [Khatt Chronicles]

Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès interviews Lebanese type designer @kristyansarkis founder of @tptqarabic font foundry in Amsterdam. Kristyan shares his journey to becoming a type designer. He tells us how he learned how to connect with his own cultural design heritage in the Type and Media masters program at the Royal Academy of art in The Hague. He discusses at length his typeface design approach and his research-based and culturally-immersive pedagogical practice. H also delves into his personal contemporary lettering work which affords him a break from the systematic discipline of type design.

The talk unpacks some Arabic type design notions: the difference between writing and calligraphy; the connection of handwriting to digital type design; and the differences between Arabic calligraphy, lettering and type design. Kristyan advocates for new style classifications for digital typefaces that are dissociated from the established calligraphic conventions. He stresses the importance of researching historical developments while creating fonts that are culturally relevant yet express their respective contemporary era.

About Khatt Chronicles

Khatt Chronicles, in collaboration with afikra, features remarkable designers, illustrators, and researchers from the Arab World, in engaging conversations about their practice, vision, and aspirations. A podcast series that chronicles and introduces the latest explorations in Arab visual communication and material culture.