New Dubai Font to be available in Microsoft Office

• Hamdan bin Mohammed: Dubai Font (خط دبي) combines the authenticity of the past and the aspirations of the future

• The Dubai Font is the first Microsoft font created by a city and named after it

• The font can be accessed globally by more than 100 million users across the world through Microsoft Office 365

Source: Dubai Font. Government institutions are directed to use the
font in correspondence.

The Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has launched the Dubai Font– Microsoft’s first font to be created by a city and named after it – in line with the UAE’s vision to become a regional and global leader in innovation.

Dubai Font is a project spearheaded by HH and launched by the Executive Council in partnership with Microsoft. HH officially directed government institutions in the Emirate of Dubai to adopt the font in government correspondences, saying: “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. We are confident that this new font and its unique specifications will prove popular among other fonts used online and in smart technologies across the world. Therefore, we urge all government entities to use the Dubai Font in their official correspondence, which is considered as a positive shift that will boost the emirate’s competitiveness in smart technology. This should be a commitment from the Dubai government to guarantee the dissemination and success of this initiative on a local and global level.

“I have personally overseen all the stages of the development of this font, from the first design sketches to the execution phase. I congratulate the project team and everyone who contributed to the success of this unique initiative.”

On the same note, Secretary General of the Executive Council of Dubai HE Abdulla Abdul Rahman Al Shaibani said: “Based on the directives of VP and PM of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who has always urged us to communicate and to open new channels with others to exchange ideas and experiences, in addition to the continuous support of Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and the valuable trust bestowed upon us, we are gathered here today to witness a new contribution from Dubai to serve the region and the world. The Dubai Font– the emirate’s new and innovative mark in the digital world – builds a knowledge bridge linking the East to the West.”

HE added: “The Dubai Font sets itself apart from other fonts because it was designed based on the main pillars that have turned Dubai into a remarkable symbol of success and tolerance. It was simultaneously designed in both Arabic and English, which was later extended to include 21 other languages. It reflects the commitment of the General Secretariat of the Executive Council of Dubai in executing the directives of our wise leadership, as well as achieving its strategy to encourage the use of technology in reaffirming Dubai’s global stature, and asserting its influential role in serving governments and the community across all levels.”

Assistant Secretary General for the Executive Council and General Secretariat Affairs Sector of Dubai, and Project Director of Dubai Font, Engineer Ahmad Al Mahri said: “The Dubai Font reflects the commitment of the General Secretariat of the Executive Council to employ the best technologies and tools in an innovative and effective way. It integrates the traditions of the UAE and its ancient and honourable past with its developed and innovative future, as per the directives of our wise leadership. Our team has executed the orders of HH the Crown Prince and has ensured that the Dubai Font adopts the latest international practices in the world of typefaces.

“This initiative will surely mark Dubai’s position in this fast-paced world of digital typography; therefore, it was necessary for us to embrace these technologies and present them to the people in a way that gives them pride and happiness, allowing them to express themselves with the people around them.

“We present the Dubai Font to the world today, to restate the essential role played by the UAE in promoting the values of giving and tolerance not only within the country but also around the world. The font also supports the technology sector in general by offering a high-quality digital font with unique specifications in different countries of the world without any costs. The font carries special characteristics that facilitate reading and supports printing and display on electronic screens. Dubai Font happens to be the most exemplary font to use in designing promotional ads to be used in larger sizes. It is important to note that the high technical quality of the font fills an important need for high-quality Arabic fonts as part of the Office 365 programme by Microsoft.”

The President of Microsoft in the Middle East and Africa Samer Abu Ltaif said: “Complementing the city’s efforts to adopt more designs and technology on a global level, we are happy to confirm that the Dubai Font will be available globally to over 100 million users around the world through Office 365. The debut of this font is a great example of successful collaborations between the public and private sectors to encourage reading and adopt more technical solutions to serve the communities. This reinforces the vision of Dubai, which aims to become one of the most inclusive cities, as well as Microsoft’s vision to provide better fonts to the world that are accessible to everyone.”

The font is the first font in Microsoft applications and solutions to be developed by a city and to carry its name. The Dubai Font was designed by Dr Nadine Chahine in collaboration with a team from a global agency Monotype. It was developed as a font with unique specifications that aims to encourage self-expression and reading, such as being optimised for use with screens. Created from scratch, the Dubai Font fills a design gap between Arabic and Latin texts and presents harmonious typefaces combining the two scripts seamlessly. The design of the font captures the unique nature of the Emirate of Dubai, mirroring the city’s qualities and promotes its global standing.

Source: Dubai Media Office. HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid
Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council
of Dubai. 

“The openness and harmony of the people in the UAE, the essence of Dubai and its vision to become the quintessential modern Arab city were our source of inspiration to design the Dubai Font,” explains Dr Chahine, Type Director and Legibility Expert at Monotype. “The challenge wasn’t to create a quality font but to create a new and a special medium of expression to unleash ambitions and transcend borders.”

Interested?

The font comes in four weights and includes 23 languages and is available within Office 365. It is also free for global use in design, communications, or embedding in applications, and is expected to reach more than 85 million users in 180 countries via Microsoft. Download the font

Hashtag: #ExpressYou

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Dubai government to create new font called "Dubai" with Microsoft

Source: Dubai Government Media Office.

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid, the Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, has directed the General Secretariat of the Executive Council of Dubai to design a new font called "Dubai". The first phase of the initiative will focus on developing special fonts with advanced typographic features in both Arabic and English.

Sheikh Hamdan affirmed that the new initiative will further position the emirate of Dubai in the field of information technology, especially that the new initiative is in sync with the government’s strategy as regards to leadership and innovation.

“This step will add to our achievements and will bring Dubai ahead in font technologies that supplied by smart information technologies and digital platforms around the world”, Sheikh Hamdan said. He added that the Dubai font pack is projected to be one of the most used fonts due to its distinctive features and specifications.

Following directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid, Abdulla Al Shaibani, the Secretary General of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) by which Microsoft will be providing the technical support to the team tasked with the development of the font package in accordance to the international standards in this regards. The Dubai font is the first Microsoft font that will be designed by a city and named after it. Microsoft will be providing consultative technical support to the team in charge of the implementation of the initiative to design modern and distinctive typographies in both Arabic and English.

The initiative comes in support to Dubai’s initiatives around innovation launched last year by Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum with aim to foster an environment for innovation in institutions and consequently make the UAE a world innovative leader.

On this occasion, Secretary General of the Executive Council Dubai Abdulla Al Shaibani said that the initiative is in line with the vision of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum aiming to position the emirate of Dubai at the forefront on a global level. He also affirmed that the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed to launch innovative initiatives will pave the way to achieve the emirate’s strategic plans. Al Shaibani expressed satisfaction for being assigned of this project, highly praising the level of cooperation with a global corporation like Microsoft.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that Microsoft is working with the Government to help government bodies, citizen and resident of the United Arab Emirates accrue further achievements. He also added that the company’s first priority is to enhance ties with Dubai in order to realise its targets related to innovation by tapping into the digital technologies so as to improve the living standards of its people and enable institutions to seize new opportunities of growth and development.

Marketing professionals warn of turnover in 2016

A majority of marketing professionals across Asia Pacific plan to switch jobs this year. According to specialist recruiter font talent, which surveyed industry professionals across Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore, local talent said the main reason for wanting a new role is the desire for better pay and benefits (32%), followed by more professional development opportunities (23%) and shorter working hours (20%).

Come early 2016, 57% of professionals across the marketing, digital and creative sector said they plan to leave their current job. Even more talent (74%) said they would use the Christmas 2015 cto take stock of their career and decide what their next move should be.

Said Jacqui Barratt, Director at font: “From an employment perspective, it is worrying that such a high number of marketing professionals are planning to job hop in the new year. This reiterates a very real need for employers to focus on their long-term retention efforts, and for talent to speak up to their managers about their career goals and direction. Open communication is key to ensuring talent stay motivated and engaged as we move into 2016.”

While fixing job dissatisfaction requires a long-term strategy, the study revealed talent could be perked up over the Christmas period with company gifts such as cash (36%), a nice Christmas meal on the company (27%) or an extra day off (22%). Surveyed in late 2015, more than half (56%) of respondents said their company would be swapping presents or partaking in a Secret Santa activity.