Home / ATypI 2026 Sharjah
Date Thursday, October 29th 2026
Venue University of the Arts Sharjah / AVA 1

In the Margins of History: Scripts and Stories from Saudi Print

Hanan Alshawi Hanan Saleh Alshawi

Saudi Arabia’s graphic design industry is relatively new, having only been around for less than 50 years. This research examines the development of bi-scriptual typography in Saudi graphic design, focusing on professionally printed materials from the inception of the Kingdom to the present. As Saudi Arabia undergoes rapid cultural, social, and technological transformation, bi-scriptual typography has emerged as a crucial element in shaping the visual communication language.However, the historical development of bi-scriptual typography in professional practice remains unexplored in academic literature.

This study addresses this gap by analysing professional printed materials, such as posters, advertisements, magazines, pamphlets, booklets, and book covers. The aim is to document changes in script choices, typefaces, layouts, and hierarchy and examine what factors have influenced its development over time.

A synchronoptic timeline from 1900 to 2020 maps typographic developments in relation to historical, cultural and technological trends. The collection is sourced from diverse locations, including private collections, archives, studio portfolios, and book fairs. They collectively inform questions about authorship, intent, audience, and production context.Interim findings challenge dominant narratives in the literature, suggesting that all Saudi graphic design work prior to the 1960s was designed and printed abroad; collected materials reveal a richer local history. Archives and interviews with experts reveal active printing presses operating well before the Oil Boom era. Furthermore, initial observations indicate that the prevalence of bi-scriptual typography was not consistent. Although it is frequently used in signage and branding, its application in printed materials was more influenced by the target audience, the client, and the regional context.

For ATypI attendees, the talk will share the timeline and annotated examples of typeface selection across scripts in a rapidly changing context. The presentation will open the discussion of multi-script practices across industry and education.

Hanan Alshawi
Speaker

Hanan Saleh Alshawi

Hanan Alshawi is a PhD student at Typography and graphic communication department at the University of Reading, UK, where her research focuses on the development of bi-scriptual typography in printed materials in Saudi Arabia, analysing the relationship between Arabic and Latin scripts in printed materials and their impact on visual communication. Through her research, Alshawi aims to record the change in bi-scriptual typography use in printed materials over time and understand the factors that affected this change. Alshawi holds a Master of Arts in Graphic Design from Suffolk University, Boston, USA, where she developed Bestow, a game-based learning platform designed to improve the quality of life for seniors through interactive storytelling.Since 2017, she has been a faculty member at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University in Riyadh, where she has shared her expertise in typography, introduction to graphic design, publication design, web design, and interactive design. She also works as a freelance graphic designer, with a focus on branding and typography projects that bridge Arabic and Latin scripts.