Letters of light : Arabic script in calligraphy, print, and digital design / J.R. Osborn.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2017Copyright date: �2017Description: ix, 268 pages : illustrations ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780674971127
  • 0674971124
Subject(s): Genre/Form: DDC classification:
  • 492.7/1109 23
LOC classification:
  • PJ6123 .O83 2017
Contents:
The layers of proportional naskh -- Ottoman script designs -- European printing and Arabic -- Print in Ottoman lands -- Questions of script reform -- Arabic script on computers.
Summary: Arabic script remains one of the most widely employed writing systems in the world, for Arabic and non-Arabic languages alike. Focusing on naskh, the style most commonly used across the Middle East, Letters of Light traces the evolution of Arabic script from its earliest inscriptions to digital fonts, from calligraphy to print and beyond. J.R. Osborn narrates this storied past for historians of the Islamic and Arab worlds, for students of communication and technology, and for contemporary practitioners. The partnership of reed pen and paper during the tenth century inaugurated a golden age of Arabic writing; the shape and proportions of classical calligraphy known as al-khatt al-mansub were formalized, and variations emerged to suit different types of content. The rise of movable type quickly led to European experiments in printing Arabic texts. Ottoman Turkish printers, more sensitive than their European counterparts to the script's nuances, adopted movable type more cautiously. Debates about "reforming" Arabic script for print technology persisted into the twentieth century. Arabic script continues to evolve in the digital age. Programmers have adapted it to the international Unicode standard, greatly facilitating Arabic presence online and in word processing. Tech companies are investing resources to facilitate support of Arabic in their products. Professional designers are bringing about a renaissance in the Arabic script community as they reinterpret classical aesthetics and push new boundaries in digital form.-- Provided by publisher.
Item type: BOOK
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Holdings
Current library Call number Vol info Copy number Status Date due Barcode
Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center Library STACKS PJ6123 .O83 2017 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) V. Copy 1 Available 197013032
Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center Library STACKS PJ6123 .O83 2017 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) V. Copy 2 Available 197013007

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The layers of proportional naskh -- Ottoman script designs -- European printing and Arabic -- Print in Ottoman lands -- Questions of script reform -- Arabic script on computers.

Arabic script remains one of the most widely employed writing systems in the world, for Arabic and non-Arabic languages alike. Focusing on naskh, the style most commonly used across the Middle East, Letters of Light traces the evolution of Arabic script from its earliest inscriptions to digital fonts, from calligraphy to print and beyond. J.R. Osborn narrates this storied past for historians of the Islamic and Arab worlds, for students of communication and technology, and for contemporary practitioners. The partnership of reed pen and paper during the tenth century inaugurated a golden age of Arabic writing; the shape and proportions of classical calligraphy known as al-khatt al-mansub were formalized, and variations emerged to suit different types of content. The rise of movable type quickly led to European experiments in printing Arabic texts. Ottoman Turkish printers, more sensitive than their European counterparts to the script's nuances, adopted movable type more cautiously. Debates about "reforming" Arabic script for print technology persisted into the twentieth century. Arabic script continues to evolve in the digital age. Programmers have adapted it to the international Unicode standard, greatly facilitating Arabic presence online and in word processing. Tech companies are investing resources to facilitate support of Arabic in their products. Professional designers are bringing about a renaissance in the Arabic script community as they reinterpret classical aesthetics and push new boundaries in digital form.-- Provided by publisher.