Niaz Mirmobini The evolution of typographic technology, often influenced by Western standards, has posed several challenges for Arabic type design. Consequently, many Arabic fonts have been simplified to accommodate the needs of publishers. The inherent fluidity of semi-connected Arabic script leads to letterform variations, especially in calligraphic styles, where letters frequently blend or stack rather than merely sit side by side. To address the complexity of Arabic script and preserve its original beauty, ligatures were developed as a typographic solution; modern technology now enables more intricate forms resembling handwritten script, though their impact on readability remains unclear. Typically, the use of ligatures depends on individual preferences, but it is crucial to understand when and where to apply them to improve reading efficiency based on specific tasks.
This academic design research explores the potential impact of ligatures as a design parameter on reading performance, including aspects such as fluency, accuracy, and engagement across different typographic genres. The legibility experiment designed and tested ligatures using editorial texts of varying difficulty, revealing their significant impact on reading fluency. Readers were more critical of unusual shapes and showed distinct preferences for ligatures across designs, leading to a categorization of materials for optimal ligature use.
The recognition this project received led to a PhD track introducing Latin disfluency theory, where varying levels of visual complexity in Arabic script guide the exploration of reading comprehension.