Exemplar Arabic

Exemplar is slow, like evolution. And sharp after a decades-long refinement. A life’s work, made permanent.

Göran Söderström began drawing this typeface in 1994, on a Power Macintosh 7100. After its public release Göran couldn’t let go. Something was missing. He realized that to draw and redraw is an exercise in understanding — both yourself and the world that shapes you. A second version of the typeface was released in 2008, the excesses of first edition fell away in conversation and collaboration with Rodrigo Cavazos and Stefan Hattenbach.

This final release of Exemplar is ambitious. Five weights with italics and 1018 glyphs spanning Latin, Cyrillic, Greek, and Arabic, across 370 languages.

The Arabic counterpart, designed by Léo Guibert, takes its structure from Naskh, with bold high contrast that mirrors the Latin forms. Certain details break from strict calligraphic tradition — sharper angles, simplified strokes, spiked terminals — to capture the monumental quality of the Latin. A set of swashes was also added, reinforcing the connection between calligraphic roots and ornamental expression.

Read the full story – exemplarfromsweden.com