DUBAI – Dubai has become the first city to get its own Microsoft-designed font, called simply “Dubai”.
The Dubai Font integrates Arabic and Latin alphabets and is available for use in 23 languages in versions of Microsoft Office around the world, according to the government communication office.
In partnership between The Executive Council & @Microsoft, this is the first font created for a city & made available on Office 365. pic.twitter.com/rnQFpMIqYg
— Dubai Font (@DubaiFont) April 30, 2017
Government bodies will now begin to use the new font in their official correspondence, under orders from Dubai’s Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
“I have personally overseen all the stages of the development of this font, from the first design sketches to the execution phase,” the Crown Prince said.
“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”.
Dubai’s government said the typeface’s design “reflects modernity and is inspired by the city” and “was designed to create harmony between Latin and Arabic”.
The Middle Eastern city will host the World Expo in 2020 and has ambitions to be a hub for new transportation technologies. It is hoping to host the world’s first Hyperloop high-speed train and will host Uber’s flying car programme from 2020.
