Home / ATypI 2026 Stanford
Date 27–30 May 2026
Venue Stanford University / Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center
Exhibition

FiftyFifty: Glyphs of Belonging

Nada Abdallah Nada Abdallah

Glyphs of Belonging was the inaugural edition of the FiftyFifty Student Traveling Exhibition, presented at ATypI 2026 Stanford. Bringing together typographic and calligraphic works by students from universities and design schools around the world, the exhibition explored how letterforms can communicate identity, memory, culture, and belonging across diverse scripts and languages.

The exhibited works reflected a broad range of creative and research-based approaches to typography, demonstrating how emerging designers reinterpret local traditions through contemporary practice. Together, they highlighted typography as both a universal means of communication and a powerful expression of cultural diversity.

Presented within the context of ATypI 2026 Stanford, Homescreen: Design for Belonging, the exhibition celebrated global perspectives in typographic education while encouraging dialogue across cultures through the shared language of type.

Nada Abdallah
Speaker

Nada Abdallah

Nada Abdallah is a designer, artist, researcher, and educator based in the UAE. She teaches design at the Academy of Visual Arts, University of the Arts Sharjah, and serves as President of the Association Typographique Internationale (ATypI). Her practice spans typography, visual identity, exhibition design, and research, with a particular interest in Arabic letterforms, cultural memory, and transforming historical visual systems into contemporary forms. She is also the founder and director of the FiftyFifty International Student Traveling Exhibition and the Bilarabic Design Festival.