The Mutamathil™ Type Style

Introduction

The Mutamathil (Arabic: similar or unified) type style was created in the years 1998-2000 as a simplified Arabetic* typeface design employing one or more glyphs —with a similar overall "look and feel"— per each alphabet letter of the Extended Arabic script, to preserve the individual Arabetic letter visual characteristics — the adjective word "Arabetic" was introduced and first used by the designer in 2000, as a more accurate, descriptive, and inclusive adjective word than “Arabic” when referring collectively to all scripts utilizing letters of the original Arabic script (i.e. Urdu, Persian, Kurdish, Pashtu ..etc.) As such, a Mutamathil font can contain either isolated or virtually connected letters without incorporating the added visual restrictions imposed by traditional cursive Arabetic handwriting and calligraphy, and without scarifying legibility. The flexibility of the design philosophy of the Mutamathil style can also be utilized to create bi-directional fonts with symmetrically identical glyphs as required in some applications.

The Mutamathil style was conceived as a generic, open-access, non-calligraphic, and technology-friendly design philosophy that is intended to enrich fonts options and availability, not to replace/reform the Arabetic scripts or restrict Arabetic typography. The embodiment of the Mutamathil letterings in various articles of manufacture (e.g. computer software and hardware, communication systems, image printing, translation software, Arabetic languages teaching tools) would introduce significantly less complex systems delivering extended Arabic texts in a form closely resembling their traditional ones. In computer systems, it would facilitate the use of various Arabetic lettering on articles designed for Latin lettering, with a slight or no alteration of such articles’ original design making such system as font-only dependent as possible.

Please, examine the linked Unicode tables, which include glyphs/characters of the three members of the initial fonts/prototypes of the Mutamathil type style: Mutamathil, Mutamathil Taqlidi (traditional Mutamathil),and Mutamathil Mutlaq (bi-directional Mutamathil), and their traditional Arabic characters corresponding tables. Notice that glyphs in each of these tables correspond, in a one to one relation, to all Arabetic characters both in their connected and detached forms. The look and feel of these glyphs reflect only our specific implementation of the Mutamathil type style open design principles. It is limited by the calligraphic and artistic experiences and capabilities of the designer. The following are some of the general design principles or considerations behind this new style:

The Three Styles of the Mutamathil Type Design

Mutamathil: This type family is the mid size member of the Mutamathil type style. It has only one glyph for every basic Arabic Unicode character or letter. With each glyph being semi symmetrical around its vertical axis, this family is mainly suitable for right to left ordering. The Mutamathil family includes all required Lam-Alif ligatures and uses ligature substitutions, and marks positioning but it does not use any other glyph substitutions or forming. Text strings composed using types of this family are non-cursive with stand alone isolated glyphs. The Mutamathil Taqlidi family includes both Arabic and Arabic-Indic numerals, all required diacritic marks, in addition to all standard English keyboard punctuation and major currency symbols. It is available in regular, italic, bold, and bold italic styles.

Mutamathil Taqlidi: This type family is the largest size member of the Mutamathil type style. It has one glyph for every basic Arabic Unicode character or letter and one additional, final-position, glyph for each Arabic letter that is normally connected with other letters from both sides in traditional cursive Arabic strings. With each glyph being slightly symmetrical around its vertical axis, this family is only suitable for right to left ordering. The Mutamathil Taqlidi family includes all required Lam-Alif ligatures and uses final position glyph substitutions, ligature substitutions, and marks positioning. Text strings composed using types of this family are non-cursive with stand alone isolated glyphs.The Mutamathil Taqlidi family includes both Arabic and Arabic-Indic numerals, all required diacritic marks, in addition to all standard English keyboard punctuation and major currency symbols. It is available in regular, italic, bold, and bold italic styles.

Mutamathil Mutlaq: This type family is the smallest size member of the Mutamathil type style. It has one glyph per basic Arabic Unicode character or letter. Each glyph is completely symmetrical around its vertical axis to facilitate bi-directional ordering. This family does not include any required ligatures and does not use glyph substitutions or forming but it does use marks positioning. Text strings composed using types of this family are non-cursive with stand alone isolated glyphs. The Mutamathil Mutlaq family includes both Arabic and Arabic-Indic numerals, all required diacritic marks, in addition to all standard English keyboard punctuation and major currency symbols. It is available in regular and bold styles. To appreciate Mutlaq, compare it with a left to right ordered traditional Arabic font, utilizing Arabetics Basic Java bidi editor

The Mutamathil Type Style as an Open Design Style

It is important to re-emphisize that the Mutamathil type style is not intend to replace Arabetic calligraphy or limit Arabetic typography design but to address the challenges of literacy, education, economics, technology, globalism, competition, as well as legibility. The main goal and mission of this style is to make available more options to users and vendors. We believe that Arabetic typography and fonts do not require the complexity they are now associated with them through earlier imposition of design rules that are rooted in various historical calligraphic schools. There are no fixed Arabic script rules. Calligraphic styles rules should be dealt with as calligraphic-specific rules. In the history of Arabetic or Islamic calligraphy, no school ever claimed to be the final one, and no rules of a specific calligraphy school were ever imposed on other calligraphy schools. This historical evolutionary fact is the main inspiring force behind the creation of our Mutamathil type style.

In other words, the application of the open principles of the Mutamathil styles are not proposed rules for Arabetic typography. They only apply as open design principles to distinguish Mutamathil typefaces from others. Furthermore, not all of the principles are required for the creation of a Mutamathil font. Some of these principles apply to all fonts but others are specific to one of the three styles. Open, free design is the main principle of the Mutamathil type style. This is why we have introduced three styles in one.

For more detailed information about the Mutamathil Type style, you may read related articles, patents, lectures, and media discussions about this type style and the design philosophy behind it, in our library page.

* The adjective word "Arabetic" was introduced and first used by the creator of the Mutamathil type style, in the year 2000, as a more accurate, descriptive, and inclusive adjective word than “Arabic” when referring collectively to all scripts utilizing letters of the original Arabic script (i.e. Urdu, Persian, Kurdish, Pashtu ..etc.)