Sakkal Design

Sakkal Design is a father–daughter studio in Bothell, Washington focused on Arabic calligraphy and typography since the 1990s. Dr. Mamoun Sakkal works with his daughter, Aida Sakkal, who specializes in developing and programming font systems that model the artistic tendencies of beautifully handwritten calligraphy.

Sakkal Design’s clients include Adobe, Amazon, Apple, Linotype, Microsoft, and Monotype among others. They were also commissioned to design the corporate Arabic typefaces for Dubai’s Burj Khalifa and Armani Hotel. The firm has been the Arabic language expert for Microsoft for more than 20 years, and several of their Arabic typefaces are now widely used as Microsoft Windows system fonts. Their original typefaces have won multiple awards, including six awards of excellence from the Type Directors Club of New York, six awards from the GRANSHAN competition, and others.

In addition to practicing art, Dr. Sakkal has degrees in architecture from Syria and the United States, and a PhD in Islamic art history from the University of Washington. He has lectured on Islamic art and geometry, Arabic calligraphy, and Arabic typography at universities and conferences in the United States, Canada, England, Dubai, Kuwait, Syria, and Uzbekistan.

Aida Sakkal has worked extensively with OpenType since 2001 and has been involved in the growth and advancement of OpenType and its application to Arabic fonts. With a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Washington, her other focus is on developing tools to aid and automate the font creation process.