La Grotesque
Naïma Ben Ayed Bureau · Naïma Ben Ayed, Francesca Bolognini · 2025
A dual-script grotesque spanning Arabic and Latin, developed collaboratively between 2022 and 2024 by two type designers, each specialising in their respective script.
About
La Grotesque pairs Naïma Ben Ayed's Arabic with Francesca Bolognini's Latin in a typeface built from the ground up as a bilingual system rather than a retrofitted adaptation. The project ran for two years before its release through TPTQ Arabic in January 2025. The design treats both scripts as equal participants, seeking visual coherence across their fundamentally different structures.
Classification
A bilingual grotesque sans-serif with Arabic and Latin scripts, designed in parallel by two specialists rather than adapted from a single source. The grotesque classification applies to both scripts, implying a low-contrast, utilitarian aesthetic across the family.