Monk Latin and Arabic Geometric Typeface Design by Paul Robb Wins the Silver A' Design Award in Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design

Paul Robb honored for graphics, illustration and visual communication design by the international grand jury of the 2019 - 2020 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 23, 2020 /DesignNewswire/ Monk Latin and Arabic Geometric Typeface Design by Paul Robb, designed for Salt & Pepper, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The result belongs to the 2019 - 2020 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

What the Silver A' Design Award Means

The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.

Regarding Monk Latin and Arabic Geometric Typeface Design

Monk seeks a balance between the openness and legibility of humanist sans serifs and a more regularized character of the square sans serif. Although originally designed as a Latin typeface it was decided early on that it needed a wider dialogue to include an Arabic version. Both Latin and Arabic design us the same rationale and the idea of shared geometry. The strength of the parallel design process allows the two languages to have balanced harmony and grace. Both Arabic and Latin work seamlessly together having shared counters, stem thickness, and curved forms.

About Paul Robb

Paul Robb is a Creative Director and Type designer with over 30 years of experience, and is a Professor of Graphic design at the University of Perugia, and a Professor on the MA Brand design course of the Academia of Perugia. Since 2000 he is Creative Director for Salt&Pepper an award-winning multidisciplinary contemporary graphic design studio focused on transforming brands and businesses. Expressiveness and authenticity are the basis of his work which is completed with a balanced fusion of creative design and technology. In 2020 he started S6 Foundry which develops creative fonts by designers for designers.

Award Record

Paul Robb is a winner of 3 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards were granted between the 2018 - 2019 and the 2019 - 2020 editions of the A' Design Award & Competition.

About the A' Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design Award

The A' Graphic Design Award is an international graphic design competition recognizing good graphic designs by best creative agencies and designers worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to graphic designers, communication designers, graphic artists and illustrators from all countries. Typical entries include logos, posters, infographics, brochures, packaging designs and business cards. The awarded graphic designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/graphics

About A' Design Award & Competition

Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com

Press Resources

Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/95978
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/95978
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!95978
Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/175604

Media Contact

Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953

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Fact Sheet

The Work

Project: Monk Latin and Arabic Geometric Typeface Design
Function: Typeface Design
Category: Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design
Discipline: Communication Design
Industry: Branding & Advertising and Arts
Colors: Black, Lavender, Dark Gray, Dark Slate Gray and Silver
Images: 5
Client: Salt & Pepper

The Recognition

Laureate: Paul Robb
Country: Italy
Recognition: Silver A' Design Award
Edition: 2019 - 2020
Design ID: #95978

Credits

Team: Paul Henry Robb, Naser Imache - Paul Robb and Tommaso Calderini

Design Details

Unique Properties: Monk is a multi-language geometric harmoniously balanced font in Arabic and Latin. The font family has its origins from the Benedictine and Franciscan writing. Both Arabic and Latin work seamlessly together having shared counters, stem thickness, and curved forms. Monk is a type family that seeks a balance between the openness and legibility of humanist sans serifs. Letterforms have a distinct direction of the ductus, a wide overall stance, large open counters that help in its legibility.
Inspiration: The font family has its origins from the Benedictine and Franciscan writing. Originally designed as a Latin typeface it was quickly seen that we needed to open a wider dialogue and expand the font to include an Arabic version, using the same rationale to the design. The strength of the parallel design process allows the two typeset languages to have balanced harmony and grace.
Research: The Monk font family has its origins from the Benedictine and Franciscan writing. The initial research was based around the ancient text stored in and around Umbria in central Italy. Analyzing the form and structure of the monk's letter we created a modern approach to the forms creating repeatable geometric curves, which were applied first to create the Latin font. With a concept of open discussion through the religions, the next logical step for us was to develop those design rationals to Arabic lettering with the development of two harmonious fonts.
Challenge: The challenge was to create a modern typeface based on the historical research.
Realization and Technology: Designed and produced in Fontographer
Operation and Interaction: Our underlying concept was to develop a font that could communicate harmoniously in Arabic and Latin that was constructed with shared geometry. When used in an Arabic text western words would be seamlessly intergraded in the text.
Project Duration and Location: The Project started in 2017 and finish in September 2018, in Perugia Italy.
Specifications: True Type and Open Source Font
Keywords: Typeface design, Font Design, Font Family, Monk, Graphic typeface