Speaker Naïma Ben Ayed

Naïma Ben Ayed is a French-Tunisian type and graphic designer. She holds a master’s degree in Type Design from École Estienne in Paris. After a decade of working with various studios between Paris and London, she established her independent practice, focusing on Arabic and Latin scripts and the narratives that connect them. Her work spans retail and custom type design, visual identities, and storytelling through letters.

She is also the co-founder of La Bureau, a virtual studio in collaboration with Francesca Bolognini (Italy/USA). Together, they design typefaces that foster dialogue between Arabic and Latin scripts, drawing from their Mediterranean heritages. Their first typeface, La Grotesque, is available at TPTQ Arabic.

Naïma regularly leads type design and digital lettering workshops, most recently at Pickle Bar (Berlin), ESAV Marrakech, and Le Signe (Chaumont). Beyond teaching, she explores ways to make type design education more accessible, including a multi-script type design program published on Futuress. She is currently working with Khajag Apelian on an Arabic Type Design Workbook.