69. Nadine Chahine

The text below says fa-jii’a, a combined phrase roughly meaning “and it arrived.”

Which is easier to read, the black or the blue type? That’s the question Lebanese typeface designer Nadine Chahine–creator of some of the best-selling Arabic fonts–is trying to figure out. She developed these texts and uses computers to track people’s eyes as they read them. It’s relatively new work in Arabic; there’s little research into which typefaces improve readability. And the stakes are high: “The Middle East has lower literacy rates,” she says. “The best way to resolve our problems is to encourage people to read more.”

Timeline

• 2000

  Graduates from American University of Beirut Lebanon with creativity award

• 2005

  Starts work at Linotype

• 2007

  Releases Linotype’s Frutiger Arabic; the typeface is an immediate best-seller

• 2011

  Featured in Meggs’ History of Graphic Design

FCS