In my art history course at the Sorbonne Paris, we’ve just gone deeper into the world of Islamic art. Architecture, ornamentation, geometry, light… and then, something caught me:
Typography.
I’ve always been obsessed with type. And right in the middle of a slide about manuscripts and Quranic calligraphy, there he was:
Yaqut al-Musta’simi.
👇 This guy
A 13th-century calligrapher who redefined the very structure of Arabic script. Not by inventing new letters, but by refining their rhythm, elegance, balance. He angled his pen. He gave the Naskh style more fluidity, more grace. And centuries later—he’s still here.
You’ve seen his legacy. You probably just didn’t know.
If you’ve read an Arabic newspaper, chances are you’ve encountered Yakout, or Simplified Arabic. Developed in 1956 by Nahib Jaroudi and the Linotype team under Walter Tracy, this typeface was engineered to bring Arabic script into the mechanical age—typesetting for mass printing.
👇 Like this
“Simplified Arabic scripts”
They had a challenge: how to simplify a complex, cursive system for metal type. The solution? A modern adaptation of Naskh, rooted in Yaqut’s refinement. Cleaner ligatures, simplified connections, and a reduced number of glyphs. It worked—and it stuck.
So why does it still matter?
Take a look at this visual reference:
It shows the distinctive pen-angle technique—thickened downstrokes, tapered exits—first refined by Yaqut al-Musta’simi. This way of writing didn’t just look elegant, it became a visual system. That angled rhythm still drives Arabic type design today, especially in fonts like Yakout or Simplified Arabic.
Because Yakout didn’t just solve a printing problem. It became the typeface of Arabic newsprint. Its legacy lives on in digital Arabic typography. Even today, its DNA runs through widely used fonts like:
- Traditional Arabic (Microsoft)
- Simplified Arabic (Monotype)
- Arabic Typesetting
Each of these carries the structural logic Yaqut refined nearly 800 years ago.
Design isn’t always about invention. Sometimes, it’s about transmission.
Yaqut didn’t create letters. He shaped perception. He influenced how we see, read, and feel form. And through typefaces like Yakout, his hand still guides the eye.
What if the most modern typefaces are actually rooted in the past?
I left that lecture reminded that the best design stories aren’t always new. They’re just rediscovered.
Curious about typographic heritage and how it informs brand strategy? Let’s talk 🙂
