Type Design
Multiscript type design is not a search for identical shapes. It is a search for a shared voice, compatible rhythm and comparable performance across different writing systems. Here is what that means in practice when we pair Arabic with Latin.
Related, not matched
Arabic and Latin come from different tools and traditions. Latin letters are separate shapes that sit between a baseline and an x-height. Arabic is written right to left, letters connect along the baseline, and the script uses a much taller vertical range, from the alef above to the deep bowls of letters like noon and yeh below. Copying Latin details into Arabic, or the other way round, usually weakens both. The goal is two scripts that feel like one family when they are used together.
Size: visual, not numerical
At the same point size, Arabic and Latin rarely look the same size. We compare the main body of each script, the Latin x-height against the Arabic tooth and bowl area, and adjust until a mixed line reads evenly. Because Arabic needs more room above and below, the vertical metrics and default line spacing are set for the taller script. Otherwise marks and descenders get clipped or lines collide.
Contrast and stroke
Many Arabic styles follow the logic of a broad pen, with thick and thin strokes that depend on direction. A low-contrast Latin sans next to a high-contrast Naskh-style Arabic will look like two unrelated fonts. We decide one contrast model for the family and translate it into each script in a way that still feels natural to readers of that script.
Weight and texture
Readers judge weight by the overall colour of a paragraph, not by stroke measurements. Arabic often has more stroke and more marks in the same area, so a matching weight usually means slightly thinner Arabic strokes. We set the same text in both scripts, print it, blur our eyes a little and compare the grey.
Numbers and punctuation
Arabic text may use Western digits (0–9) or Arabic-Indic digits, and Persian and Urdu use their own forms for some numbers. Arabic punctuation has its own shapes, such as the Arabic comma (،) and question mark (؟). These glyphs are easy to forget, and they are among the first things a native reader notices.
Test mixed lines
Real bilingual material mixes scripts in one line: a brand name in Latin inside an Arabic sentence, prices, dates, URLs. Line direction, spacing between scripts and the baseline relationship all show up only in those mixed settings, so they are part of every test document we make.
A good bilingual family lets each script look like itself. It feels coordinated when the two scripts appear together.