To show support and solidarity for the people of Beirut, the international type design community came together to create a typeface that raised funds to support the victims of the Beirut explosion of August 4, 2020. The resulting typeface, Font Li Beirut, is one that is drawn with love. It brings together a total of 161 designers and more than 300 Latin or Arabic glyphs in a variety of styles and flavors. The designs bond together so beautifully, making this a unique typeface. This talk chronicles this international effort that went into this initiative and looks at how structures of cooperation can spring up in a show of global solidarity.
Presentation by Nadine Chahine followed by Q&A led by moderator Simon Daniels.
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Dr. Nadine Chahine is an award-winning Lebanese type designer and principal at ArabicType Ltd. She has an MA in Typeface Design from the University of Reading, UK, a PhD from Leiden University, The Netherlands, and a Master of Studies in International Relations from Cambridge University. She has numerous awards, including two awards for Excellence in Type Design from the Type Directors Club in New York in 2008 and 2011. Her typefaces include: Frutiger Arabic, Neue Helvetica Arabic, Univers Next Arabic, Palatino Arabic, and Koufiya.
Chahine's work has been featured in the fifth edition of Megg's History of Graphic Design, and, in 2012 she was selected by "Fast Company" as one of its 100 Most Creative People in Business. In 2016, Chahine's work was showcased in the fourth edition of First Choice, which highlights the work of the 250 top global designers. In 2017, Chahine was selected by "Creative Review" to their Creative Leaders 50.
