Bridging the Gap Between Traditional and Modern Typefaces | Khajag Apelian
We talked to Khajag about his work and "debakir", which focuses on Arabic typography projects with various organizations such as Opera Amsterdam, One/one, the Mediamatic Foundation, and the Khatt Foundation.
Khajag Apelian is a lettering artist, and a type and graphic designer. Having grown up between Dubai and Beirut, and being raised in an Armenian family, Khajag has an affinity for different languages and writing systems, which he has applied to the development of typefaces in many scripts, including Arabic, Armenian, and Latin. He designed Arek, a typeface that was awarded the Grand Prize at GRANSHAN 2010 Type Design Competition, and was among the winners of Letter.2, the 2nd international type design competition organized by the Association Typographique Internationale (ATypI). He currently operates under the name “debakir” Armenian for “printed type”, and is in constant collaboration with different type foundries and design studios like Commercial Type, Bold Monday, Typotheque and Morcos Key. He has worked with various international brands including IBM, Apple, Samsung, and Disney ME. Khajag also teaches graphic design courses at the American University of Beirut.
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The afikra Podcast
The afikra Podcast is our flagship series featuring experts from academia, art, media, urban planning, and beyond, who are helping document and shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work.
