Khatt Chronicles: Stories on Design from the Arab World

afikra
  • 5.0 (12)
  • Design

Khatt Chronicles, in collaboration with afikra, features remarkable designers, illustrators, and researchers from the Arab World, in engaging conversations about their practice, vision, and aspirations. A podcast series that chronicles and introduces the latest explorations in Arab visual communication and material culture.

  1. Khatt Chronicles in Conversation with Naima Ben Ayed

    4d ago

    Khatt Chronicles in Conversation with Naima Ben Ayed

    Yara Khoury Nammour interviews French-Tunisian type and graphic designer Naïma Ben Ayed. They start the conversation discussing Naïma's serendipitous journey into type design. They discuss her postgraduate studies at École Estienne in Paris and the type design student project (initiated by the Islamic Art Department of the Louvre Museum in Paris) that introduced her to Arabic type design. This project was seminal for her career during which she was introduced to the Khatt Foundation's first "Typographic Matchmaking" project that continued to inspire her work throughout her career.Typographic Matchmaking resonated with her preoccupation with expressing her dual identity and how it was manifestated in her design work. Naima then discusses her type design work in general and her finding inspiration in North African scripts and visual culture, as well as stories in hidden archives, namely in feminist print archives from the SWANA region. Next to her commissioned projects, she conducts her own research for her personal type design projects. She elaborates on her "personal" typeface design project La Grotesque, based on the Arabic Maghribi style and translating this style to a modern and low contrast font family. She explains how this project was a continuation of her research and typeface design for the Khatt Foundation's "Typographic Matchmaking in the Maghrib" project. Naima then goes on to discuss the challenges and limitations of creating Arabic companions for Latin font family. She discusses her TCD Award winning text typeface for 29LT typefoundry, Azahar, for which she designed the Arabic character set. Naima and Yara discuss the parameters of Arabic type design pedagogy, where it overlaps and where it differs from Latin type design pedagogy, and the need to develop a hand-ons workbook that introduces the field to beginners. They conclude with the statement that we "need to build up and build collectively" [the field of Arabic type design]. FOLLOW & RATE KHATT CHRONICLES: » Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/khatt-chronicles-stories-on-design-from-the-arab-world/id1472975206 » Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ATH0MwO1tIlBvQfahSLrB » Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014374489 THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK  Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5mMJ782dhW6yvfq0E0_HhA ABOUT AFIKRA afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity. 📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters 🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts ⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    32 min
  2. Khatt Chronicles in Conversation with Wael Morcos

    May 1

    Khatt Chronicles in Conversation with Wael Morcos

    Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès interviews American-Lebanese designer Wael Morcos. They start by talking about his educational journey in graphic design from Notre Dame University (NDU) in Lebanon to Rhode Island School fo Design (RISD) in the USA. They discuss the people and projects that have had an influence on his development as a graphic and type designer, leading to his founding of Studio Morcos Key (@morcoskey) with his partner Jon Key in Brooklyn, New York. The conversation revolves around what it means to design in the diaspora versus when living in the culture for which one is designing, and what the pros and cons are for working bilingually and biculturally. They unpack Morcos' work as a type designer and his various collaborations with well-known Arab and American type designers, and go on to discuss his Arabic lettering workshops and various prestigious branding, exhibition and publication design projects for clients like the 2nd Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah (2025) (@islamicartsbiennale), to his ongoing collaboration with the US-based Arab cultural foundation and magazine Mizna (@mizna_arabart), to his Arabic logotype for the campaign of New York mayor Zohran Mamdani (@nycmayor @zohrankmamdani). Among his many hats as a designer, Morcos maintains a commitment to Arab culture placing the Arabic script at the heart of his projects wherever and wherever possible. He also makes time to engage in pro-bono activist projects to support social and humanitarian causes, like fundraising for victims after the Beirut port explosion of 2020 with a design for a wool blanket. They discuss the growing design ecology in the Arab region and how it is an essential currency for the preservation and reinterpretation of cultural knowledge. They conclude with Morcos' plea for the need to encourage and advocate for more critical writing and debates on design amongst practicing designers from the region.  FOLLOW & RATE KHATT CHRONICLES:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/khatt-chronicles-stories-on-design-from-the-arab-world/id1472975206» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ATH0MwO1tIlBvQfahSLrB» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014374489THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5mMJ782dhW6yvfq0E0_HhAABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    47 min
  3. Khatt Chronicles in Conversation with Sarah Saroufim

    Feb 20

    Khatt Chronicles in Conversation with Sarah Saroufim

    Yasmine Nachabe Taan interviews American-Lebanese illustrator and designer Sarah Saroufim. They start the conversation by taking us through her educational journey first in graphic design at the American University of Beirut (AUB), and how this led to her interest in illustration; then to her postgraduate studies in product design at Parsons School of Design in New York. Sarah discusses candidly her interests, struggles and doubts. She shares the fact that she has been interested in art and passionate about drawing since high school, but not until the end of her college years did she finally feel better at it and found her own voice in illustration. She discusses her creative process and how she needs the time to experiment and plan extensively before starting her drawings. She also discusses the dot-pattern illustrations and Arabic lettering that she created for a book published by Snoubar Bayrout Bookshop, entitled Dammeh [hug], among other meaningful projects she enjoyed working on. She elaborates on her mainly black and white color palette, and her fascination with drawing patterns using her ballpoint pen that she always carried with her. Recently she started integrating grays, and other vivid colors in her design work. She mentions a course she took at AUB with Lebanese graphic artist and illustrator, Mazen Kerbaj, from which she learned the importance of drawing every day (though she fails to apply this), as well as the importance of drawing every detail from scratch no matter how often it may be repeated in a composition. In her work she takes the hard way in order to feel that the outcome is of any worth. Sarah discusses the economic reasons behind her switching from being a freelance illustrator to working in a design agency on full-time basis. Her studying product design was in the same vein: namely her need to learn something different and practical that she can earn money through. To compensate for her struggle with ideas and the discipline of drawing every day, she designed an app  called Drop for the iPad about daily drawing for her capstone project at Parsons. She shares her disillusionment with AI developments and the way the world is becoming less authentic. She reveals the very personal motivation behind her work and its importance for her wellbeing, and concludes by saying: "No matter how low or insecure you may be feeling, just draw, it's possible to improve and change."   Sarah Saroufim is one the visual artists and graphic women featured in the book, Revealing Recording Reflecting: Graphic Women from Southwest Asia and North Africa (Amsterdam: Khatt Books, 2024). FOLLOW & RATE KHATT CHRONICLES:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/khatt-chronicles-stories-on-design-from-the-arab-world/id1472975206» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ATH0MwO1tIlBvQfahSLrB» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014374489THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5mMJ782dhW6yvfq0E0_HhAABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    38 min
  4. Khatt Chronicles in Conversation with Golnaz Fathi

    Jan 23

    Khatt Chronicles in Conversation with Golnaz Fathi

    Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès interviews Iranian visual artist Golnaz Fathi, who starts by sharing her educational journey from her initial training as graphic designer and classical calligrapher, to reaching her her final goal of becoming a painter and visual artist. Golnaz explains her love for all kinds of written scripts; her fascination with their shapes, their ways of carrying meaning and emotions. She describes how she managed to merge all her learned creative skills and passions (scripts and painting) into the type of written art she has been creating for decades. She challenged herself to break the rules of calligraphy and write along musical rhythms, like a performer, capturing the essence of writing — writing the "unwritten" that expressed pure emotion. She talks about pushing boundaries, creating cultural bridges and inviting viewers to respond in individual and imaginative ways to her work. She describes her inspirations acquired through art books, and how certain abstract expressionist artists that have had an impact on her way of creating art. She candidly relays the challenges she faced in Iran in having access to modern and international art, and her joy the first time she encountered those artworks physically in a museum. She discusses how music, poetry, and dance are core elements in her work citing as example an exhibition centered around the poetry of the renown Syrian poet Nizar Kabbani. The conversation concludes with talking about her other passions for cooking, enjoying food, hosting friends, and much more. Golnaz Fathi is one the visual artists and graphic women featured in the book "Revealing Recording Reflecting: Graphic Women from Southwest Asia and North Africa" (Amsterdam: Khatt Books, 2024). FOLLOW & RATE KHATT CHRONICLES:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/khatt-chronicles-stories-on-design-from-the-arab-world/id1472975206» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ATH0MwO1tIlBvQfahSLrB» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014374489THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5mMJ782dhW6yvfq0E0_HhAABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    33 min
  5. Khatt Chronicles in Conversation with Hanane Kai

    12/27/2025

    Khatt Chronicles in Conversation with Hanane Kai

    Yasmine Nachabe Taan interviews Lebanese illustrator Hanane Kai who shares her journey from studying and working as a graphic designer to the moment she decided to concentrate on illustration work. They discuss her illustration career that began with sketching in the park, to online blogs and social media, eventually leading to award-winning commissioned work. They unpack issues related to her response to upsetting events, through personal political posters, some in collaboration with type designer Kristyan Sarkis. They also discuss her passion for children's books that she collects, diving into her work for children and young adults books. Hanane speaks about the challenges of illustrating children's books especially those addressing difficult social topics and mental health issues. Through the conversation they talk about the Bologna Children's Book Fair and the impact of a visit to this fair on her work as an illustrator, inspiring one of her most experimental and playful illustrated children's book. Hanane explains her process and the importance of research, as well as letting the content dictate the media and style of image-making. Hanane also talks about her latest project, an Arabic erotic dictionary, where she combines the human hand with Arabic letters, collaborating with dancers to capture the right gestures. She concludes this conversation by talking about her need for her projects to be challenging—projects that give her "something to push against" and make her "brain hurt a little." Hanane is one the visual artists and graphic women featured in the book "Revealing Recording Reflecting: Graphic Women from Southwest Asia and North Africa" (Amsterdam: Khatt Books, 2024). FOLLOW & RATE KHATT CHRONICLES:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/khatt-chronicles-stories-on-design-from-the-arab-world/id1472975206» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ATH0MwO1tIlBvQfahSLrB» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014374489THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5mMJ782dhW6yvfq0E0_HhAABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    28 min
  6. Khatt Chronicles in Conversation with Golnar Adili

    11/28/2025

    Khatt Chronicles in Conversation with Golnar Adili

    Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès interviews Iranian-American visual artist Golnar Adili on her journey from architecture to teaching and practicing visual arts. They discuss her work that transgresses borders and definition and how she uses the Perso-Arabic script and language as material for artistic exploration. Golnar talks about her love for science and art and how architecture brought these two passions together. She also discusses her first research trip to Tehran to investigate (free)inside/(controlled)outside spaces and what these notions represent in that particular cultural context, which was her starting point into becoming an artist. The research is concluded with a book of photographs entitled: "Tehran, A Landscape of Compressed Freedoms." Through the discussion, they unpack the relation between her work, her personal family history and experiences of living in diaspora, and her work as an artist and designer. They further explore these concepts in her other projects delving into her collage techniques and books arts projects. Golnar explains how her heart-language, Persian, plays a central role in her work, taking lyrical Persian poetry and making it contemporary through the design of the letterforms and the use of material. She discusses how gender has informed her work and how it compelled her to express small intimate stories of women (in her family) in her work. In her work she formally manipulates physical and visual material to convey emotions going by the Persian saying: "What comes from the heart, sits on the heart." The conversation is concluded with a brief talk about her teaching at both the Parsons School of Design (with college students) on one hand and children middle-schoolers on the other, and how her teaching assignments relate to her own work and explorations: straddling two and three dimensions, and exploring materials and techniques of image-making.  Golnar Adili is one the visual artists and graphic women featured in the book, Revealing Recording Reflecting: Graphic Women from Southwest Asia and North Africa (Amsterdam: Khatt Books, 2024). FOLLOW & RATE KHATT CHRONICLES:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/khatt-chronicles-stories-on-design-from-the-arab-world/id1472975206» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ATH0MwO1tIlBvQfahSLrB» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014374489THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5mMJ782dhW6yvfq0E0_HhAABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    41 min
  7. Khatt Chronicles in Conversation with Aude Abou Nasr

    11/03/2025

    Khatt Chronicles in Conversation with Aude Abou Nasr

    Yasmine Nachabe Taan interviews Beirut-based, French-Lebanese illustrator Aude Abou Nasr. They discuss Aude's educational and professional journey from starting in architecture into illustration and activism. Aude discusses her interest in narratives that address issues of belonging and the strife of migrants (women in particular). She also discusses her passion for projects that address justice and social issues, and her commissions and collaborations with various artists and organizations. Together they unpack her creative process, her creative commitments, and the challenges of making a living as an illustrator. Aude speaks about her collaboration with the architectural collectives representing Lebanon in the Venice Architectural Biennale, weaving stories of nature and politics. She expresses her concerns about not having enough time to execute her work properly, to reflect and explore at a slower pace. She concludes with stressing on the importance of collaboration and collective support within the creative community. FOLLOW & RATE KHATT CHRONICLES:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/khatt-chronicles-stories-on-design-from-the-arab-world/id1472975206» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ATH0MwO1tIlBvQfahSLrB» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014374489THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5mMJ782dhW6yvfq0E0_HhAABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    35 min
  8. Khatt Chronicles in Conversation with Ghazal Foroutan

    10/03/2025

    Khatt Chronicles in Conversation with Ghazal Foroutan

    Roshanak Keyghobadi interviews Iranian California-based graphic designer and illustrator Ghazal Foroutan. They discuss Ghazal's journey as a designer, her educational stages, and her impactful first professional experience at Studio Shizaru in Tehran. Ghazal discusses her interest in design research and design history that developed during her postgraduate studies in the US. She mentions that her design history education (both in Iran and the U.S.) was male-centric, and expresses her gratitude to contemporary platforms, such as Khatt Chronicles and Women Iranian Designers, for broadening her knowledge and providing information about women role models. As a woman growing up in Iran, she experienced challenges that made her want to work on projects that advocated for (Iranian) women's rights and equality. She discusses her cultural engagement and political activism through her personal design projects. Ghazal discusses her design process and her passion for the risography technique and how she employs it for her "passion projects"—personal prints, editorial work, and publications. She shares her challenges of balancing teaching, personal project, and paid design commissions. The conversation ends with a discussion about the future of design: AI and responsible innovation, and adaptability to the complex media and communications landscape. Ghazal believes that we need to see design not just as a service but rather as a way to shape culture and create a culture of solidarity. Ghazal Foroutan is one the designers featured in the book, Revealing Recording Reflecting: Graphic Women from Southwest Asia and North Africa (Amsterdam: Khatt Books, 2024). FOLLOW & RATE KHATT CHRONICLES:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/khatt-chronicles-stories-on-design-from-the-arab-world/id1472975206» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ATH0MwO1tIlBvQfahSLrB» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014374489THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5mMJ782dhW6yvfq0E0_HhAABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    36 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

Khatt Chronicles, in collaboration with afikra, features remarkable designers, illustrators, and researchers from the Arab World, in engaging conversations about their practice, vision, and aspirations. A podcast series that chronicles and introduces the latest explorations in Arab visual communication and material culture.

Information

  • Creator
    afikra
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    51
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2022-2024 - Khatt Foundation | afikra - عفكرة Podcasts / afikra LLC

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