You may have noticed that Al Shindagah has a new look! This is because Dubai has just earned its own special font designed by Microsoft – making Dubai the world’s first city to have an official font. Joanna Andrews has the details.
The Dubai Font, commissioned by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, was launched by The Executive Council of Dubai in partnership with Microsoft. “It is designed to unite the world through the power of expression,” according to its website. “The font reflects modernity and is inspired by the city.” And it even comes with its own hashtag - Expressyou.
The font, which has a family of four weights and includes characters in both Arabic and Latin, will be integrated into Microsoft’s Office 365 suite. It marks the first time that the software giant has created a typeface for a city.
Sheikh Hamdan, who was directly oversaw the development of the font, instructed all government departments to use the font with immediate effect.
“The launch of the Dubai Font to the world is a very important step for us as part of our continuous efforts to be ranked first in the digital world,” he said.
“We are confident that this new font and its unique specifications will prove popular online and n smart technologies across the world. Therefore, we urge all government entities to use the Dubai font in their official correspondence.” He said it is part of the emirate’s effort to be ranked first globally in all fields, “This is a positive shift that will boost the emirate’s competitiveness in smart technology.”
Satya Nadella, Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft said, “We are looking forward to further bolstering our strong relations with Dubai, which falls within the priorities of Dubai’s march for innovation in utilising digital technology to improve standards of living for its people.”
To download the font:
www.dubaifont.com