Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès
Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1965 Beirut, Lebanon |
| Occupation(s) | Typographer, author, researcher, graphic artist, educator, design advisor |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Known for | Expertise in Arabic and multilingual type design; founder and leader of Khatt Foundation |
Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès () is a Lebanese expert in typography, author, researcher, graphic artist, educator, and design advisor operating out of Beirut. She established and leads the Khatt Foundation. With a focus on Arabic and multilingual type design, AbiFarès merges her design skills with scholarly inquiry to promote typographic development within the Arab region.
Biography
Born in Beirut in 1965, AbiFarès completed her undergraduate studies in graphic design at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1987 and obtained her Master of Fine Arts degree from Yale University in 1990.
During her tenure as an assistant professor of graphic design at the American University of Beirut, she recognized a lack of comprehensive resources on Arabic script, calligraphy, and typography. This led to the 2001 release of Arabic Typography, a work that explores Arabic typography from both structural and theoretical perspectives. She also held a position teaching visual communication at the American University in Dubai, where she was department chair for a period of three years.
In 2004, AbiFarès launched the non-profit organization Khatt Foundation in Amsterdam with the mission to advance Arabic typographic practices. She became a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale in 2016 and completed her PhD in Middle Eastern studies at Leiden University in 2017.
Currently, AbiFarès resides in the Netherlands.
Publications
- Arabic Typography: a comprehensive sourcebook (Saqi Books, London, 2001)
- Experimental Arabic Type (Saatchi & Saatchi, Dubai, 2002)
- Typographic Matchmaking (BIS Publishers, Amsterdam, 2007)
- Typographic Matchmaking in the City (Khatt Books, Amsterdam, 2011)
- Arabic Type Design for Beginners (Khatt Books, Amsterdam, 2013)
- Co-authored with Nagla Samir, Mouneer Al-Shaarani, Against the Grain: Exploring the Scope of the Arabic Letter. Amsterdam, Khatt Books, 2023, ISBN 978-94-90939-29-8 (e-book with preview)
See also
- Typographers and type designers
- Writers from Beirut
- Rhode Island School of Design alumni
- Yale University alumni
- Leiden University alumni
- 1965 births
- Living people
- Artists from Beirut
- Typographers of Arabic script
- Lebanese graphic designers
- Academic staff of the American University of Beirut
- Academic staff of the American University in Dubai