Felfel
Boharat · 2021
A modern Arabic typeface rooted in Ruq'ah calligraphy, developed from a 1971 Beirut-printed book and early 1920s Egyptian metal type, with dynamic dot positioning and space-efficient component engineering.
About
Felfel draws directly from the Ruq'ah calligraphic tradition, tracing its origins to pressed lettering found in early twentieth-century Egyptian typesetting and a rediscovered 1971 Arabic translation of Jean Piaget's 'Le Structuralism'. Its component-based architecture dynamically repositions dots and diacritical marks to prevent overlapping and match calligraphic context, while a regularised baseline avoids the pronounced slant typical of traditional Ruq'ah. The result supports major Arabic-script languages and covers Arabic, Hindi and Farsi numerals, with advanced contextual kerning.
Classification
Felfel is rooted in Ruq'ah calligraphy, a cursive Arabic script tradition, reinterpreted with a modern sensibility and dynamic component-based engineering. Its flowing baseline, connected letterforms and calligraphic origins firmly place it within the Arabic script category.