Iranian Typography Now

The past few years have been quite exciting for Iranian graphic designers. As Iran’s design gains more international attention, the graphic designers face new challenges and rewards. In winter 2002 a poster exhibition by Iranian graphic designers called “Un Cri Persan” (A Persian Cry) was held in the city of Echirolles as a part of the Month of Graphic Design in France. The exhibition exposed a wealth of works that somehow escaped the spotlight for almost two decades. Ever since then Iranian graphic designers, many of them already internationally known, have been sharing more of their magic with the rest of the world.

Written by Behrouz

One of the qualities that makes current Iranian graphic design unique is its typography. The country has a rich history of visual arts and moreover the better part of this heritage consists of calligraphy. Throughout the times calligraphy has been inventing and reinventing itself and has influenced other forms of art. The incorporation of calligraphy into Islamic architecture is a fine example of this union. In recent times these treasures of beauty and harmony have inspired painters, sculptors, and in particular: graphic designers.

In comparison to Europe and North America calligraphy is a far more popular and practiced form of art in Iran and in most other countries around this area. You can spot at least one piece of calligraphy hung on the walls of most Iranian households.

Perhaps these are all reasons why it is not so easy to draw the line where calligraphy ends and typography starts. Some of the masterpieces of Iranian design are often the results of a collaboration between a designer and a calligrapher. One of the classic examples of such collaborations is the logotype of the Reza Abbasi Museum. The late Morteza Momayez (1936-2005) used the brilliant calligraphy of Iranian master calligrapher Mohamad Ehsaei to create this logotype in 1976.

logotype of Reza Abbasi Museum on the wall of the museum in Tehran

Mohammad Ehsaei has created numerous logos using various traditional aesthetics. His “Calligraphy Paintings” are highly praised for their complex compositions. In many of his works Ehsaei has extracted the essence of letters and traditional compositions and used them to create abstract works that are unmistakably Iranian in tone and character.

Mohammad Ehsaei: logotype for Abouzar Publication

logotype, Academy of Art, 2000

Mohammad Ehsaei: poster, Iranian exhibition in Bologna, 1977

calligraphy painting based on a Molavai poem

religious poster, 1999

poster, Iranian Artists in Bologna, 1977

So what is it about Persian calligraphy and the writing system that makes it so desirable to work with?

The secret lies in the script and its mechanics. This script, that is written in Persian or Farsi, is known as the Arabic Script. It should be noted that the technical term Arabic Script refers to the script used in Iran, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, other Arab countries, and more Indian regions where the Pashtu language is spoken. Moreover it used to be the official writing system in Turkey before its westernization by Ata Turk. Therefore its use for writing in over a dozen different dialects and languages has prompted a natural cultural adoption of specific styles and characteristics.